Love by a Different Name (14/14)

[serafina19]

Title: Love by a Different Name
Summary: "It was nothing but a chance encounter, a simple set-up that neither of them wanted to attend.  But they did, and they had found each other." Sequel to “Time Makes it Harder,” takes place in the Mirror-verse.
Rating: NC-17
Warning: adult content, coarse language.

Dedication: To daydreamer22688, I don't know if you remembering asking for this, but ask and you shall receive.
Thanks to: alxnhnt22 for the banner.

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7   Part 8 Part 9 Part 10   Part 11 Part 12   Part 13

Part 14

“Lois?”  When there was no response, Chloe left the room, trying to find her cousin.  She had finished what she had to do with Victor’s computer, as she knew that his connection and software were more updated and secure than hers.  Such are the perks of having Queen Industries maintaining their home technology.  She almost couldn’t believe she pulled this off in an afternoon, but now that she was done, there was somewhere they all had to be.

Stepping out into the hallway, Chloe continued to look around.  But the apartment seemed empty, which was odd because Victor and Lois were here not that long ago.  A couple strides further and she looked towards the main room, where her eyes met someone else’s.

Oliver had just hung up the phone and looked up to see Chloe standing there.  His eyes momentarily widened as he took in her appearance.  “You look nice,” he quipped, knowing it was an understatement, but it was easier to play it safe.

Slowly, Chloe cracked a smile.  “Thanks.” Looking down at the dress that Lois had picked out for her, Chloe couldn’t help but feel that she just got set-up.  After all, if Oliver was here, there was a very high chance that he knew the whole truth of her other life.  Which worked for Chloe, it probably would make some things easier.

However, the silence grew to be too much for Oliver, as he shrugged before saying, “Well, I won’t keep you.”  He figured that he’d say goodbye to Victor and take off.  Safe to say that this wasn’t the start he wanted, the reminder of Chloe right there, but he couldn’t stay here either.

Seeing Oliver turn his back to her, Chloe stepped forward. “You know that I couldn’t let you turn away from your company.”  Fortunately for Chloe, he stopped, moving his head to look at her again, so she tested another step. “It’s... it’s what allowed us to meet.”

Glancing down, Oliver fired back calmly.  “And what caused you to walk away. Or was it me?”

Chloe felt her expression fall as those words cut deep.  Swallowing hard, she asked, “Come on Oliver, you know me better than that.”

At one point, he thought he did.  But now... Oliver wasn’t sure how well he knew her at all.  “Look Chloe, if this is what you want, then—”

“It’s not,” she harshly interjected, her confidence coming back. “It’s what you thought I wanted.”

The words sunk in for about a second before Oliver replied.  “Your actions speak otherwise.”  If what Chloe said was true, she could have changed her mind, she could have come to him.  But instead, they lived as strangers, trying to forget the other.

Except Chloe meant every single word.  Sure, his skeptical attitude was expected, but that made Chloe grateful that she had grabbed her purse before going out to find Lois.  “Well, then I guess I better give you this.”   Opening the clutch, it didn’t take long to find the card she needed as she walked around him.  It had been a while since she had stood so close to him and Chloe could feel her breathing increase.  However, she met his eyes nonetheless and added, “Because this is what I want.”

Glancing down at what Chloe was holding, he noticed how the California drivers licence read her name, her real name. Taking it from her hands, he read it over twice, maybe three times to be sure.  “When did you...?”

Chloe sighed, glad to hear that small speck of hope in his reaction.  “This afternoon.  With the right technology, anything is possible.” It took some time to update and legitimize her old identification that Victor had somehow found, but having the real thing was worth the trouble, as was the urgency in making it.

Taking a step back, she felt her head shake in memory.  “Oliver, I was so caught up in everything that... that I didn’t know what I wanted.  It looked like you were giving up on me and as much as I wanted to tell you it was misplaced, the truth was that I needed time and it didn’t look like you were open to that suggestion.” After she shrugged a shoulder, her eyes glanced up again. “So I left.”

“I told you that I was willing to delay things.”  He knew he said something to that effect that night, but Chloe never seemed to clearly take that option.

However, that was because Chloe thought that option disappeared as their talk had escalated.  “Initially, but you were acting like what you really wanted was a certainty. I could see it in your eyes and I knew I couldn’t give it to you.  I thought it was better that I walked away than tell you maybe.”  Grasping her hair in her fingers, damning the possible consequences to the ‘do that Lois had given her, Chloe shut her eyes.  “It’s been a long month Oliver, one I’d really like to forget.”

Oliver watched her take a few breaths, still with her eyes closed, so he took a careful step.  “Chloe,” he said, a small smile sneaking through, as he never saw this coming.  “Chloe, you know that you can’t go back once people know, right?”

She opened her eyes finally, but her eyes were still on the floor.  Chloe wanted to look up, but part of her didn’t want to know Oliver’s reaction, in case it wasn’t what she wanted.  “I do.”

But Oliver kept walking to her, stopping eventually to hold her card out towards her.  “So this is it?”

Taking her identification back from him, Chloe nodded. “To get what you want, sometimes you have to sacrifice something, right?”  As the clasp on her clutch closed, Chloe stared ahead. “I’m scared out of my mind for what’s ahead, but I was reminded of something by our friends.”

It was more than the words spoken to her during this time, it was the little actions they did throughout the day.  Risks and chances were taken, but each day, the smiles on their faces were easy to see.  It reminded Chloe of how she had this once, and she almost let it slip through her fingers.

“We have gone through so much, we fought through everything because of one simple concept.” She grinned, remembering that first night where Oliver first told her he loved her.  Her smile still in place, Chloe took Oliver’s hand in hers, stroking his palm before looking up at him.  “I don’t care what they print or what they threaten against us.  Because I know we’ll get through it together.”

Hearing her last sentence got Oliver’s smile to widen even further, as it was everything that he needed to hear.  Lifting his other hand to cover hers, Oliver had to ask, “What about your job?”  This month had been hard enough, so he had to ensure Chloe would be okay with every facet of her choice.

“It’ll be a transition for sure and a bit of a blindside for my boss,” Chloe said with a little humour in her voice.  “But if Lois can hack it, I see no reason why I can’t.”   Shaking her head again, she knew Oliver believed that all along.  “I just needed time to believe that I could.”

“So let me get this straight,” Oliver said, wrapping his arm around her back, pushing Chloe even closer to him.  “If I would have given you time... we wouldn’t have gone through all this mess?”

The question at this point felt rhetorical to Chloe, but she answered nonetheless. “Along with my unclear messaging... pretty much.  Sounds pretty stupid, doesn’t it?”

“Sounds like us actually,” Oliver replied, watching as Chloe laughed in response, at how she leaned her head against his chest.

Standing there, Chloe felt herself warm around him, her fingers trailing down his jacket.  Taking a deep breath, she whispered, “Any chance that you’re willing to forget all this?”

Oliver leaned his head down to rest atop of hers, felt how she squeezed herself against him tighter as seconds ticked by.  “I say that’s a very good possibility.”

Chloe took a small step back, peering up in his direction again.  “I mean, you did mention something about starting again. Together.” Her smile forming, she added, “I think I’m ready to make that change.”

It didn’t take long for Oliver to match her smile, followed by him cupping her cheeks, pulling her in for a kiss.  It was short and sweet, but worth the second it lasted. “I love you.”

“I know,” Chloe replied, taking his hand again as she glanced towards the entryway.   “I also know that we’re late for your own event.”

“You’re coming?”

Chloe laughed.  “What did you think the dress was for, Ollie?”

Oliver titled his head in acknowledgement, as that concept should have crossed his mind, but it never did.  However, that didn’t matter now, as what was important was that Chloe was back in his life.  As they walked towards the door, Oliver knew things could only get better from here.
 

~0~

This was part of her decision, she knew that, but it was still nerve-wracking to be standing here now.  This was far from her plans when she woke up this morning, but she couldn’t go back on it now, as she had already been introduced to some board members. Some thought she didn’t exist, a fair assumption considering her elusiveness, but Emily was here now, and the nerves she had, she had to push them aside.

“This your first time?”

His voice seemed familiar, so Emily looked to her left, noticing Hal Jordan standing next to her. "That obvious huh?”

“Here,” Hal replied, handing her a glass of champagne.  “It takes the edge off.”

His charm was in full effect, and while Emily felt flattered by the offer, she held her hand up to stop him from passing it.  “No thanks, Mr. Jordan.”

Nodding, Hal set the other glass down, wondering how he knew this woman.  “Have we met?”

Rolling her eyes, she realized that she should have introduced herself.  “Indirectly,” she said as she turned towards him.  “I’m Emily, a friend of Cora’s… I mean Chloe’s.”  Well, the friend status was tentative right now, but saying Chloe’s name in public felt better more than Emily wanted to admit.

Seeing the woman’s resulting smile from the name mix-up, Hal felt like he was missing something.  Then it hit him.  “You’re the barista friend,” Hal remarked, able to piece that together as he remembered Cora pointing out how she had a friend named Emily. “Why did you call her Chloe?”

Emily was about to respond, more than willing to fill in the blanks, but Victor joined them, ready to introduce himself too.  “Hal Jordan… nice to meet you in person.”

“Hey, you must be Victor,” Hal replied as he shook Victor’s hand.  Noticing how Victor looked back at Emily, Hal laughed under his breath.  “And her boyfriend.”  It was probably best to take his leave from the couple now, so Hal bowed his head slightly.  “Well, let me just say that I’m incredibly out of place here, but I appreciate the invite.”

“No problem.”  Looking around the room, Victor was hoping to see the guests of honour soon, but he supposed that he shouldn’t be surprised by their tardiness.  “After all, you deserved to be here more than anyone.”

Narrowing his eyes, Hal stopped his exit attempt, turning back to point between Emily and Victor.  “You two are on the same page… feel like helping a guy out here?”

Emily glanced up at Victor, and once he nodded, she began to explain.  “Do you remember Chloe Sullivan?”  After the question, Emily spotted Chloe in the crowd, looking the happiest she had seen her in ages.

Hal looked over his shoulder when he noticed Emily staring, but he didn’t see anyone.  Turning back, he decided to answer Emily’s question.  “One of Ultraman’s most high-profile hits, right?  Explosion five or six years ago.”  Hal had never personally met the woman, but he knew about her ties to Oliver, what she had meant to him.  “What about it?”

When she just shrugged, she hoped Hal would figure it out.  Eventually, it did, as his mouth widened in disbelief.  “That’s why you corrected her name before. But if that’s true than did I...”  His voice trailed, not sure how what he did was possible, but both nodded their heads almost instantly.  “Damn, I’m good.”

Holding his arm out to point behind Hal, Victor said, “Meet Chloe Sullivan.”

“Hi Hal,” Chloe said quietly.

He turned around, still in shock over how she had completely fooled him... and how he had indirectly set this whole thing in motion. “Chloe," he said slowly, "I...I’m really happy for you.”

That meant more to Chloe than she could possibly express.  She thought back to the day when she met Hal, not knowing that something so small could have caused her life to fall back into place.  “Thanks... and thank you for everything.”

Hal just shrugged it off before scanning the crowd.  “Okay, we need to catch up at some point, but I need to talk to Oliver first.”

Unwrapping his arm from around Emily, Victor said, “I’ll take you to him.”  Both men left silently, leaving Chloe to turn her head back to look at Emily.

She knew another reason the month had felt so long was because they were avoiding each other.  In Emily’s case, it was probably because she thought it was what Chloe wanted, but again, it appeared Chloe wasn’t great at phrasing what she wanted.  Even after everything, here Emily was, albeit standing uncomfortably, likely wondering what to say.  So Chloe broke the silence, “I can’t believe you’re here.”

Emily shook her head slightly. “Oh please, you think I was going to miss your debut?”  There may have tension, but moments like this were too important to let it go to waste.  Emily knew she had to be here tonight, no matter what.  “Even if you are two hours late.”

Chloe chuckled, happy to see Emily still had her sense of humour.  “And you’ve been here for...?”

“Twenty minutes,” she replied honestly, “but we left after you did.”  It was a half hour before Victor braved looking back in the apartment.  It was silent, so he tiptoed inside, just in case.  Eventually, he found the handwritten sticky note at the door, reading Thanks in Chloe’s handwriting.  It was attached to Chloe’s old identification, the card Victor had initially given her, as well as the driver’s license she used as Cora. That’s when they knew everything was okay.

“We had some catching up to do," Chloe quickly replied.  It started with Chloe showing Oliver her apartment, which was initially an innocent request, but it seemed that they couldn’t avoid christening at least one item at her place.  Feeling her cheeks warm, Chloe shook her head, not embarrassed of it, but she quickly heard Emily laugh in response.

She had missed her, more than she ever thought, so without a second thought, Chloe closed the distance, hugging her friend.  “Em, I’m sorry.”

Emily’s eyes widened as she first felt the contact, but she returned the hug, grateful for the olive branch.  “So am I, but you were right.  It’s time I figure my own stuff out.”

“Well, this is a good start.” Backing away, Chloe took in Emily’s appearance, a rarity for a girl who rarely wore a skirt, let alone dresses. “But where’d you get the dress on short notice?”

“You weren’t the only person your cousin bought a dress for.”   Emily laughed as she ran her fingers over the material, still figuring out how Lois knew to buy one in the first place.  “She is uncanny for figuring out sizes.”

“Actually, I had Victor’s help with that,” Lois interjected.  Victor didn’t take too long to cave regarding his relationship with Emily, so she figured it was only best to cover all of her bases, even if her boyfriend didn’t think she’d show up.

Biting her lip before turning her head over her shoulder, Emily said, “I have to admit Lois... you did well... on both counts.”

“You’re welcome on both counts,” Lois replied, keeping her smug grin in place.  “You and I both know they wouldn’t have lasted much longer without each other.  But I’m all for giving that little necessary push.”

“It’s true.  Lois is all about that ‘little’ push,” Chloe added with air quotes, noticing how her cousin was about to slap her arm in response, but Chloe dodged it.

Not fazed in the slightest, Lois shrugged.  “Well, someone had to do it...Emily was too loyal to you.”  After a sip of her champagne, she titled her head towards Emily, “You definitely found the right ally in this one.”

Her head jarring back, Emily narrowed her eyes, unsure she heard Lois right.  “Is that a compliment?” The whole time, no matter how short it was, Lois had been questioning Emily’s tactics and decisions, so it was hard to believe that Lois had said those words.

“Absolutely,” Lois said as she looked up to see Oliver approaching them. “And on that note... I think we better make ourselves scarce.”  She turned to Emily, who was already starting to walk away, as she had shared a smile with Oliver before turning around.

Feeling confused, Chloe was about to turn around, but she soon felt Oliver wrap his arms around her, leaning in to kiss her neck.  “Hey,” he whispered, the single word sending chills down her entire body.

She titled her head back to see Oliver better, repeating, “Hey,” as their eyes met.

Watching as Chloe turned in his arms, Oliver asked, “Now that you’re here, do you have any regrets?”

“One,” she replied as she went up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “That I hesitated.”

“It wouldn’t be you if you didn’t hesitate.” Staring down at her, he moved a loose strand of hair out of her face. “But I’m glad you changed your mind.”

Chloe nodded as she looked around, noticing the supportive faces of her friends, the relieved face of Clark Luthor, Tess’ grateful expression.  The rest may have been strangers in her life, but Chloe was determined to see this through.  Looking back at Oliver, she shrugged, knowing that even if she did continue to fight it, she would still find her way back to him.  Because more than anything, she knew, “This is where I belong.”
 

~End~

Sera’s Scribbles:  Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving everyone!  I admit... this one feels good to finish, as there was a time where I regretted the expansion of the piece.  Hopefully you enjoyed it.