Perfect Patience
How could he have been so stupid, so slow to the punch? Why had it taken this long for him to see the truth – that Chloe, this feisty, spirited, petite, blond standing in front of him was the one? She had been there all along, sometimes in the background, sometimes front and center, yet always there, fighting the good fight with him. Why hadn't he seen her, I mean really seen her, in this light, right from the start? Maybe though, it had taken all his life's experiences to bring him to this point. Maybe he had to live through the good and the not so good, to know when it was . . . . perfect.
Oliver wasn't exactly certain when his feelings for her had changed. They had always been friends with this quick, easy, banter constantly going on between them. It had to have been slowly building over time; years maybe. Almost from the first day they met, they had some sort of connection. Sure, they may have come from different backgrounds, but they were very much alike. They both believed and fought for justice and for a better, safer world. They had done this side by side, for a long time now. Together, they experienced joys and sorrows; life and death; love and loss. When he had been at the lowest point in his life, apart from when he learned his parents had died, she had gone to the most elaborate of measures to drag him out of the gutter and give him a fresh start, a new beginning; bringing him back to the man he always knew he could be. The kind of man he wanted to be for her.
Why he hadn't taken her in his arms and kissed her passionately that day outside the coffee shop, the day when he told her that he knew what she had done for him, that she had saved both the man, Oliver Queen, and the myth, Green Arrow, he just didn't know. Maybe he was an idiot, or just scared, still trying to comprehend what she had done for him, what no one else would have ever done. He couldn't believe his good fortune when he did get a second chance to hold her; the night he was target shooting at the Watchtower. He had been hanging around there more often, not realizing at the time that he just wanted to be near her. With her, he felt safe; he felt alive, he felt like he could really be himself. As he showed her how to hold the bow and the arrow, his arms around her, it just clicked. The sparks between them flying like rockets, they got caught up in a passion they both seemed to need and want. He couldn't believe that he used to go for the stick-thin, plastic model types with their fake everything. She was soft and real and . . . perfect. They both couldn't seem to get enough of each other. He had never felt such intensity before. He never wanted that night to end. But end it did, however, and the next morning, she tried to make light of it, light of them. Told him she wanted to keep things simple between them. A "no-strings" attached relationship, she said. They could just have fun. But he knew it was more than casual for him. He had had enough of "casual" to last him the rest of his life. This thing with her, it went much deeper than that. It was that connection. With her there was no pretending, no secrets. Sure, when he had found out she had taken money from Queen Industries; it had been a major blow to him at first. But knowing her like he did, he understood that she felt like she was doing what was best for everyone, for the world, to fight against Zod and the Kandorians, if it came to that. It wasn't like she took the money for herself. She had purchased Kryptonian weapons for heaven's sake! She hardly ever even thought of herself. He made a silent promise that he would do whatever he could to take care of her the rest of his life. If she would let him, that is. She could be so stubborn and independent. He just had to take it slow with her, not push things; be patient. Maybe he was a little scared too. He didn't exactly have a great track record when it came to relationships.
But, they had gotten past all of that and had even managed to get away from everyone and everything for a weekend; just the two of them, or so he thought. Their short time together at the Scottish bed and breakfast had been wonderful till Clark and Lois showed up. He almost blew things with Chloe when he started to doubt himself and how he was handling the relationship after Clark had gotten to him. He knew Clark cared about Chloe, probably felt guilty about how he had treated her, so he tried to show her that he wasn't going to take her for granted. If he had been able to, he would have flown to the ends of the earth and gotten her the most expensive jewelry his money could buy. He knew that wasn't her type of thing, but he had purchased the most costly item in the inn's gift shop, a charm bracelet, and had it gift wrapped anyway. When she saw it on the bed, she freaked out, and he knew he had rushed things with her. He hadn't been patient. After the disaster with the Silver Banshee and Clark and Lois was over, they were getting ready to leave the inn. He watched her on the porch, and he saw as she struggled to allow herself to open the gift. He made a joke of it and told her it was a spoon. The fact she was struggling was progress. Maybe, just maybe, she could think of this as more than just "casual" between them. But what was even better, they both had been able to open up a bit about their past loves, their scars, and how those scars were healing and he really felt that maybe her resolve against something more with him was lessening. She was slowly giving her heart over to him, he just knew it. Patience; more patience.
Back at home, life had fallen into a steady rhythm. They were together every chance they could get, still having "fun." Things took a turn, however when he learned that a secret government agency had taken Watchtower. Oh my god, not Chloe! He about went crazy! He felt utterly helpless, but did what he could to help, getting Tess to show him how to disable the power grid at the castle where they believed she was being held. He later learned that this action had allowed Clark to rescue her, but he realized right then and there, he couldn't live if anything had happened to her. After having a conversation with Tess, where he threatened her if she ever came near him and his "friends" again, he left in search of Chloe. He knew she was safe, but he wouldn't rest until he saw her with his own two eyes. She in turn had come looking for him, and when they had met up, he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at the sight of her. She, as usual, made light of what had gone on; joked about it even. But looking down at her now, he told her that it had scared the life out of him; it really had. She looked up at him with that angelic face of hers and told him to be careful; she might just start to think he was falling for her. It was then that he knew, deep in his very soul, that he loved her. Oliver Queen loved her, Chloe Sullivan, with every fiber of his being. She was the one. Fall for her… yeah; right... hell… it was like he had taken a running leap off a Metropolis high-rise building, head first.
She took his hand in hers, and he felt warmth go through him. They wound up back at his penthouse, and that night in bed, holding her tightly in his arms, never wanting to let go, it took everything within him not to tell her that he loved her. He was just afraid that it would drive her away, that she wasn't ready for that yet. He knew for such a tiny thing, she could be so strong, but he also knew that her heart was fragile. Clark, Jimmy, Davis, they had all taken turns at hammering away at it. He just couldn't risk losing her. Just the thought of that took his breath away. He would play this charade for as long as it took. He knew that she had feelings for him too, and he felt that it would turn to love, if he was just patient. And patient he would be, because he was certain that they were somehow fated to be together; they were made for each other. Sure, he had been in love before: Tess, Lois; or at least at the time, he had thought it was love. But being with Chloe now, he knew this was different, this was right. It just felt . . . perfect.
Now things were happening fast, the Kandorians were missing and Chloe felt that Zod and his army were assembling and close to attacking the planet. He wanted to be at Watchtower with her if a war was going to break out. He inwardly cringed when she seemed surprised about that, and then tried to convince herself and him that it their database they needed to protect. The database! Was he ever going to make headway with her? Patience, that word again, he told himself. He arrived at Watchtower as Green Arrow, ready to do his part in this battle. Their fellow team of superheroes had assembled around the world on standby, ready to fight Zod and his army, and yet they lost their satellite connection and couldn't communicate with them anymore. He had been planning a special occasion to tell her of his gift for her. This was more up her alley than jewelry and he also knew she couldn't refuse something that wasn't wrapped in bows and ribbons. When he saw her panic at the thought of leaving their team at risk, always worrying about others, he knew he couldn't wait for a more romantic time. He told her about the satellite dedicated to Watchtower that he had purchased. She was definitely excited over this and almost seemed speechless! Damn, he wished they were in bed together right now. He was sure she would show him her gratitude. Anyways, he told her he still had to flip some switches at the earth station to get it up and running. She gave him an "old-school," walkie-talkie so the two of them could stay in contact. As she handed it to him, he could hear the concern in her voice as she told him to keep a low profile. She did care! He knew it! When would she just admit it! He leaned down to kiss her. Green Arrow kissing Watchtower! This seemed … well …perfect. And it was definitely a first. Of course he didn't want to stop there, but there wasn't time for that. Instead, he joked with her about his green leather, always turning to humor to lighten things up with her, to not scare her off. This was getting old. Patience, he reminded himself. It was a good thing she was worth it. He made it to the station, crawling through the small confines of the ventilation system to get to the transponders. Just hearing her voice on the two-way radio made him feel better. He had just gotten the satellite feed up and running, and now was ready to get back home to Chloe, when he heard the urgency in her voice, an instant before he heard the smashing sound. She told him that there was a swarm of them, trying to get at him; he had to get out of there fast! He crawled quickly through the air ducts as the thin walls around him kept smashing in. He suddenly worried for her; that she could be traced back through this old technology. He didn't want to stop hearing her voice, his only connection with her, but it was just too dangerous, and he told her he had to get off the radio. She yelled, "no, Ollie!" She didn't want to let him go! He knew right then, in an instant, that he may never get another chance to tell her how he felt; to tell her he loved her. He couldn't worry anymore about scaring her off. Hell, he may never see her again. He just had to say it. When he heard her say that she loved him, he couldn't believe his own ears. He wasn't sure what was after him, but he knew they weren't Kandorian and he managed to tell her that. His last thought, as he found himself losing consciousness, and being carried away, was that he would do whatever it took, to make it back to Chloe, to start a life, a real life with her, his one true love. He just needed to be patient…