Disclaimer: I own nothing. Okay, so spoiler-ish. AC is supposed to show up with his wife in a few episodes. This upsets me on many, many levels. However, in the first place, there's Chlollie potential to be had at the wedding we missed out on! And, of course, I don't ship AC/Mera. So, randomness. This would assume that Salvation didn't happen, and no one really cares about Zod. Fluff! Because that's what I do.
57 days until the wedding
The invitations came as a complete surprise.
You are cordially invited to celebrate the wedding of Arthur Joseph Curry and Mera of Aqua on Saturday afternoon, July the 10th at three o'clock, followed by a reception at sea.
After she'd received the mail that day, Chloe had gone stark white and demanded her phone, which Oliver had incidentally been playing Sudoku on, since he'd thrown his own outside his car window in a fit of rage earlier that day. Damn paparazzi.
"Phone, now!"
Oliver, worrying that she'd received a death threat or something similarly scary, tossed it to her and got up from his comfortable position sprawled on her couch. "What's going on?"
Chloe gave him a look, shushed him, shoved an envelope at him and started dialing as she walked off to her office space inside of Watchtower.
Oliver reopened the envelope quickly, worried. "Oh." As he read the invitation he was incredibly confused. Why was Chloe so upset about AC getting married? Was she secretly in love with him? Was she now calling him to tell him how much she loved him, and how much she wanted to be with him? Was she—he cut off the nervous train of thought.
They'd been "together" for five months. There was no reason to think that she wasn't happy with their relationship, or that she had secret feelings for AC. In fact, she could have just called Lois, to make sure she was completely okay with this turn of events. Unlikely, but possible. Hopefully.
In fact, maybe how odd she was acting had absolutely nothing to do the wedding invitation. Maybe she was worried about something else, and she merely happened to shove whatever had been in her hands at him. Possible, again, but unlikely. Maybe, in fact, she thought AC was being blackmailed into marrying this 'Mera'-who he had never even heard of before. It was kind of insulting, actually, because he liked to think that members of the league considered him to be at the very least a friend . . .
Okay, so maybe he needed to stop with the conspiracy theories and jealousy.
Finally he got up the courage to go talk to her—wondering if their friends-with-benefits arrangement had finally come to an end—and he braced himself for heartbreak.
He walked up to Chloe's little office space and, upon noticing it wasn't closed all of the way, nudged it open a little. He wasn't proud of it, but he listened.
"I know this is hard for you—" Chloe stopped, and listened to whomever she was talking to—"I wish you'd told me this sooner, maybe—" Chloe sighed. "Look, the wedding isn't until July. That's two months away, maybe it won't happen. Maybe he'll realize that she isn't the one for him."
Oliver nearly sighed with relief, then realized Chloe would hear him, so he did a bit of a happy dance that it would have shocked anyone who knew him—except, possibly, Chloe—to see.
"Why don't you take a break before the wedding and come visit me at the Watchtower?"
Oliver felt his heart drop. Well, that was less fun.
"I'm not taking no for an answer. You need this, take a few weeks off, please. Especially since you've been working so close with him lately. You need to get away."
Oliver realized that Chloe wasn't talking anymore, and that she had ended the call. He heard her walk to the door, and before he could get out of the way so that she didn't realize he had been spying, she opened the door.
When she saw him standing there she merely lifted a brow.
Oliver shrugged.
"AC is getting married," she said finally.
"I noticed, you kind of shoved the invite at me. I think you gave me a paper cut." Oliver lifted up his finger in a feeble attempt to distract her. He did, in fact, actually have a paper cut.
"Were you listening at the door?" Chloe asked.
"Maybe," Oliver replied, sheepishly.
"Why?"
"I—I don't know."
"Oliver," Chloe said, a warning clear in her voice. "What's going on? We're trying to avoid secrets, remember? That was your idea, in case you don't remember."
"I remember. I was worried when you shoved the invitation at me. For a brief moment I thought you were upset that AC is getting married."
"I am upset." Chloe looked at him as if he'd lost his mind.
"No, but I thought you were upset because you're in love with him."
Chloe stared up at him, stunned. Without even thinking about it, she lifted her hand and smacked him across the face.
"Ow!" Oliver screeched in as manly a way as he could, considering that he was indeed screeching. "Why did you do that?"
"Oliver, I'm with you. And I want to be with you." Chloe said, without realizing the implications of what she was saying. It dawned on her. "I mean, not that I'm with you. But, you know, in the way I'm with you, I'm with you. Does that make sense?"
Oliver tried to hide the smile that wanted to pop up—if she saw it she'd probably withdraw from him, and considering that she had just revealed that she enjoyed being with him . . . he was in a pretty damn good mood.
"Perfect sense, Chloe. Anyway, what is this about a visitor to Watchtower?" Because a visitor would cramp his style . . . and probably involve less sexy times with Chloe.
"Oh, that. You were listening." Chloe gave him a look that suggested that he avoid doing that in the future. "Um, Dinah's coming to visit for a while. She's a little stressed out at work, she needs a friend."
"I didn't realize you were that close."
"We are. After everything with Jimmy, she was really kind."
"Oh. Remind me to thank her," Oliver pulled Chloe in close to him for a hug. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."
"You're here now, that's all that matters."
And it was.
Dinah Lance did not like having to see AC and his bride-to-be every day.
It broke her heart daily to even think about it. Sadly, she'd been hanging around him for the past few months, expecting that one day, something would change between them.
Something had, of course, but not in the way she wanted.
She'd thought something would happen between them. She hadn't expected Mera—who was apparently some sort of Sea Royalty—to show up and win him over.
She also hadn't expected them to fall in love, and to get engaged after only a few months of dating.
They were getting married, and it was killing her. Not literally, but in the inside. Her heart felt weaker, her talk show was getting crabbier, and she needed a break.
She'd known about the wedding before anyone else, and she hadn't told anyone, because AC had asked her not to, saying he wanted it to be a surprise. When she'd gotten the call from Chloe, she'd known what the league's Mama Bear was going to say. She'd expected sympathy, maybe pity.
She appreciated, more than she could possibly put into words, that the first thing Chloe had said had been, "So, do you need help to shank the bitch?" She'd laughed, which she hadn't thought would be possible since her heart hurt so much.
"Thank you," Dinah had said. "Thank you."
The conversation, of course, had gone on to be more serious, and actually involve those sympathetic catchphrases that she'd been expected, but it hadn't mattered. Because when Chloe said them, she meant them. And although she'd been kidding—mostly—when she'd offered to help Dinah kidnap Mera and set her free in a nice lake somewhere, Dinah really did appreciate the thought. The fact that Chloe actually understood what she was going through really helped.
Chloe knew what it was like to see the person she loved want and need to be with someone else. She'd been in love with Clark for so long, it shocked Dinah that she could still be friends with him. Honestly, Dinah wouldn't be able to have anything to do with AC and Mera if it weren't for the fact that she had a responsibility to the league. Well, and if it weren't for the fact that she was so pathetically in love with him.
There was another reason, of course. Pride. But that was another issue altogether. For now, she would run—to Chloe, to Watchtower, to a place where she could feel safe and start to prepare for that damn wedding.
25 days until the wedding
"Out." Chloe pointed at the doors to the Watchtower. "She's going to be here anytime now. And, not only do I not want the league to find out about this," she motioned around, trying to indicate their 'relationship,' "But I also don't need you in the way. I went shopping today for snacks and girly movies. This is some major girl time, which means bitching about guys. Possibly including you."
"How long is she going to be here with you?" Oliver fought to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He'd always liked Dinah, but now that she was going to be cock blocking him with her mere presence . . . he suddenly felt less friendly towards her.
"Until the wedding." Chloe saw Oliver wince. "Don't worry, she'll be busy. She won't just be here, she'll be off . . . doing things, I'm sure. Shopping. And you and I can, well, enjoy our favorite, ahem, bedroom game."
"Soon?" Oliver wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her forehead.
"Soon," Chloe promised.
"Fine." His mouth swept down quickly and powerfully, kissing her hard and so swiftly that when he broke away she felt a little dizzy. Whiplash.
He smirked at her as if he knew he'd just turned her into goo and walked out of the building quickly so that he wouldn't be tempted to walk back and finish what he'd just started.
She stood there, just kind of gawking. Only he could turn her into complete mush. Honestly, it terrified her.
She didn't have much time to contemplate it though because minutes later Dinah showed up.
Dinah walked in, saw the silly look on her face and asked, "Who are you sleeping with and can I borrow him? Because if the look on your face is any indication, you are a well-satisfied woman."
Chloe blushed. "Dinah. We're not going to talk about that, we're going to talk about you."
Dinah sighed. "I think I'd rather talk about you and your sex life. Honestly. So, who is it? And why haven't you told me about him," Dinah stared intensely at Chloe, narrowing her eyes. "We're friends, you're supposed to share this sort of thing with me. I need to live vicariously through you."
"You don't need to live vicariously through anyone, Dinah."
Dinah plopped herself down on the couch. "Not normally, no. But now, I don't even know who I am anymore. It's driving me crazy. And I'm horny. But I can't—"
"You can't be with just anyone, because you just want to be with AC," Chloe finished softly. "I get it."
"I—" Dinah started to say, then she felt her eyes start to fill with tears.
Chloe sat down quickly and hugged Dinah toward her, letting her head drop down towards her lap. "It's okay. Just let it out."
"I'm not crying." She was.
"I know."
16 days until the wedding
"All clear," Chloe called out to Oliver as he entered through Watchtower's double doors.
"How is she?"
"Better, worse. It's hard to tell. I think she's better off here than there. There she'd just be waiting, watching them plan their wedding. It's not healthy."
Oliver approached her, caught her up in a hug from behind. "It's hard to see someone you love in love with someone else."
"It is,"Chloe sighed, leaning back into his arms. "You and I both know that fairly well, don't we?"
"Well, not anymore." Oliver said. "I-"
Chloe cut him off, "Yup, because you're not in love with anyone. It's rather convenient when you think about it."
"That's not what I was going to say."
Chloe turned around in his arms, stepped back a bit and looked him in the eyes. "What were you going to say?" she asked, clearly indicating that she didn't want the truth.
"The, um, wedding. We should go together."
Chloe blinked, slightly confused. "What?" He'd changed the topic so quickly she'd been caught off-balance.
"Well, it makes sense. It's on a island, right? Which means you'll probably have to fly there, and you know." Oliver motioned around nervously with his hands.
Chloe raised an eyebrow.
"It would, um, be good for the environment."
"And we all have to do our part. For the environment." Chloe said, bemused.
"Exactly."
"Okay. So, I'll call the rest of the league, it would probably be more efficient for all of us to go together."
"I-okay." Oliver said, defeated.
He looked so sad, Chloe felt a pang of sympathy. "And, maybe, when we get there, we can be together. Not together-together. But, you know. Share a hotel room, share showers. Again, for-"
"-for the environment," they said together.
They shared a smile.
"Now get out of here before Dinah gets back."
"Chloe, we work together, it's perfectly natural for me to be here."
"She thinks I have a secret boyfriend. I don't want to give her any reason to think it's you. Not that-"
"Not that I'm your boyfriend, I get it." Oliver shook his head, smiling. He kissed the top of her head and left her alone with her thoughts.
It amused him that she didn't realize sharing a hotel room with him would pretty much announce to the world that they were 'together.' He highly doubted the environment excuse would work on them.
7 days until the wedding
"I'm not going."
"You have to go, Dinah. You've already RSVP'd."
"I can't."
"What will he think? You're his friend, his teammate. If you don't go, he won't forgive you."
"I'm in love with him, Chloe. Maybe I don't want him to."
"You'd rather have him think you hate him? Maybe even have him start to hate you?"
Dinah closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "No."
"Then you're going, I'm going, we're all going."
Dinah seemed like she was about to let it go, but then suddenly she burst, "Why? It's one day. I've been there for him. It's one day. Just one damn day. We've worked side-by-side for almost a year. He's my best friend, he should understand."
"He won't." Chloe said simply.
"I know. I have to go."
"I'm sorry."
"So am I."
3 days until the wedding
"If we leave now we can escape without incident." Dinah suggested, nearly turning around and hightailing her way back into the tiny little island airport.
"Dinah, you have that 'dear trapped in headlights' thing going on. You're hot, and you can pull it off, but you might want to, um, be careful with the wide-eyed look. It's kinda intimidating." Bart suggested. He'd sped over to Metroplis, saying that he preferred flying to having to run over water to the island where AC's wedding was supposed to be.
"Not helpful, Bart." Chloe gave him a stern look.
"He has a point," Victor mumbled under his breath. Dinah had been slightly terrifying during the hours-long plane ride. At one point he'd asked if she could hand him the pillow on the other side of her. She'd turned and stared him down. He swore that if it were possible to stare holes into someone, Dinah would be an expert. After that he'd merely mumbled something about not needing it and he'd turned back to his window and avoided eye contact for the rest of the flight.
"Hey, Dinah, can I talk to you for a minute?" Oliver turned to her, pulling her along with him a little ways off.
"Well, since you're not giving me a choice, I suppose so."
"Dinah, I know how you feel, I do. But you need to snap out of it."
"I can't."
"You have to. You are better than this, Dinah. You can do this. Just-be brave. Do you want everyone to think of you as the girl who almost ruined the wedding because she was in love with the groom and too afraid to admit it?"
Dinah stared at him, as if he'd finally broken through to her. "If I wanted to ruin this wedding, then I would. There's no almost."
Oliver let out a breath of relief. "Yes, that's it. You're going to be okay." He placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her a little.
"I am. If I wanted to ruin this wedding, I would. But I'm not, because I-because I'm not going to."
"Exactly." Oliver took one last look at her before going back to the rest of the group standing in the lobby of the hotel, waiting for room keys. "Are you going to be okay?"
Dinah smiled faintly, "Yes. I am. Thanks."
2 days until the wedding
"I can tell Mera you don't feel well if you want me to."
"No, I'll be fine." They were getting ready for the bachelorette party-which for some cruel, cruel reason involved Mera inviting all of AC's female friends, because she didn't have any of her own, except a nice girl who was serving as her maid of honor because Mera's sister hadn't been able to make it to the wedding.
It was a small wedding, so there were only five of them: the bride, the meek maid of honor Clara, Chloe, Dinah and Mia-who had been invited, but had come as Bart's 'date.'
"So, let me get this straight. AC doesn't have any friends outside of the league, and Mera doesn't have any friends . . . at all?" Mia popped into Dinah's hotel room without knocking.
"Yes, Mia, come on in."
"Sorry," Mia said, unapologetic.
"AC spends a lot of time off protesting, and whenever he comes back home, he has-had me. Mera has Clara, and some secret twin sister I've never met. They're private people." Dinah shrugged.
"Speaking of private . . . " Mia turned to Chloe, "Someone didn't inform the rest of us that she was sleeping with Oliver."
Dinah gasped. "Really?"
"Really. They're sharing a hotel room. After I found that interesting little fact out yesterday I saw the look on their faces when they were looking at each other. They've got it bad."
"Chloe, I can't believe you didn't tell me the guy you were sleeping with is Oliver."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Chloe turned around so that they couldn't see her face was bright red. "That's absolutely ridiculous."
"That explains why he stopped returning my flirty emails."Dinah said casually, hoping for a response.
Chloe turned and stared her down. Dinah smirked. Win.
"Hey, I wasn't serious, and neither was he. I'm in love with AC, and he was obviously in love with you." Dinah motioned at Chloe.
"He's not in love with me." Chloe said firmly.
"She believes it," Mia turned to Dinah. "She actually believes it, how ridiculous is that?"
"Ridiculous, obviously." Dinah and Mia met each other's eyes and burst out laughing.
"Please, leave it alone." Chloe asked.
Dinah stopped laughing, and seeing the serious look on her face, so did Mia. Dinah closed the small distance between her and Chloe, "I am in love with a man who is marrying someone else the day after tomorrow. I won't leave it alone, because you are in love with Oliver, and he loves you."
"Dinah-" Chloe started to speak, but Dinah gave her a look that cut her off.
"The person you love loves you back, so I will not leave it alone. Don't be me, Chloe. Everything is fine now, right? But one day you might wake up, and it'll be over. And you will regret never telling him. And one day, if you have to see another woman walk down the aisle towards the man who you should be marrying? Your heart will break, and you will hate yourself for not saying something sooner."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not the one you need to say that to. Anyway, I have to go the the bachelorette party for the woman who is marrying AC. So, you know what? I get to bitch a little."
"You do, come here," Chloe hugged Dinah, waved Mia closer. "Group hug."
They pulled apart a few seconds later. "Okay, we'll be happy. Fake smiles, everyone!"
Later that night-"I think I'm drunk." Chloe said.
"I know you are." Dinah replied, giggling.
"You are too." Chloe said, took another sip of wine, and giggled again.
"But you're a little more drunk than I am." Dinah smiled happily.
"Thank you both for coming!" Mera popped up, perkily at that moment. "I really appreciate. Anyway, I should probably get back so that Arthur doesn't worry about me."
Chloe snorted. "Arthur."
"It's his name." Mera said, confused.
"We usually call him AC." Dinah shrugged.
"I know, such a vulgar name. I wish you'd stop."
Chloe lifted an eyebrow, "Hmm."
"Well, thank you ladies, anyway, for a lovely evening."
"Aren't you supposed to spend the night away from him?" Mia came up at the moment and asked.
"I-I don't know. Am I?"
Chloe caught Dinah's eye and nodded.
"Yes, Mera, you are."
"Oh, well then I suppose I'll just have to spend the night with Clara."
Dinah smiled, "I suppose so. Bye!" She watched as Mera grabbed her friend from the counter and sauntered off. "Is it just me or does she kind of treat Clara like she's her bitch?"
"She does. Anyway, we should probably get back now."
"What, you don't want Ollie to worry about you?" Mia teased.
"Ollie doesn't worry about me. Anyway, that's not the point, the point is-" Chloe got down from her bar stool, almost falling over, but Mia caught her,"I think I had way too much to drink. Can I stay with one of you tonight?"
"Of course," Dinah said.
They made their way back to the hotel-which was luckily just down the street. Mia said goodnight, and Chloe and Dinah stumbled back to Dinah's room.
"I don't usually drink this much."
"I know, Chloe. I thought I'd drink a lot more, but you have me beat."
"I was feeling . . . thoughtful. I tend to drink when I feel contemplative. I don't recommend it."
"The drinking or the thinking?"
"Both." They both laughed until their sides hurt too much to continue.
Chloe dropped down on the bed, and Dinah dropped down next to her. They stared up at the ceiling.
"What were you thinking about?"
"Love. And what you said before we went out. I'm afraid, Dinah."
"I know, but it's worth the risk, isn't it?"
"I don't know," Chloe responded. "Honestly, I don't."
"I think you better decide soon, because he loves you, and if you're not careful, you might lose him."
Chloe just sighed."Did you ever try telling AC?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I was afraid." Dinah answered simply.
"More afraid than you are of watching him marry someone else and live happily ever after?" Chloe asked.
"I-"
"Sorry, that wasn't fair. It's the alcohol. Means it's probably a good thing I don't drink often, or I'd reveal league secrets," Chloe laughed.
"No, you're right. You did, however, have a lot to drink, so we should probably get some water into you so that you're not hungover tomorrow."
"Good plan."
1 day until the wedding
"I can't believe you."
"I can't either. Water, drugs, please. Now." Chloe was lying on the bed with a wet towel over her face.
"Here you go," Oliver handed her water and pills. "Up, I'd rather you not choke and die."
Chloe sat up slowly, taking it from him. "I'm not worried, you'd save me."
"I'd rather you not put yourself in a situation that involves you needing saving."
"Not likely to happen, Ollie. I'm in a lot less danger than the rest of you."
"I know," Oliver pulled her into his arms so that she was leaning on him. "But I can't lose you.""
"Look, Oliver-" A knock on the door interrupted them.
"Hold that thought," Oliver said, getting up and opening the door. "AC, hey."
"Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you about-oh, hey, Chloe. I didn't expect you to be here."
Chloe smiled awkwardly, blushing. "Yeah, I overindulged a bit last night."
"Yeah, well, I can come back later."
"Oh, I'll go. I wanted to go . . . do something anyway."
"Cool," AC moved to let Chloe pass. "I really need to talk to you about something."
"Is everything okay?"
"Oh, yeah. I need you to stand up for me."
"What?" Oliver asked, confused. "I thought Victor-"
"He refuses to do it, I don't know why. Anyway, will you?"
"Of course."
"Thanks, man."
15 hours until the wedding
Mera sighed. "You messed up."
Clara looked down. "I'm sorry."
"I told you to be careful."
"I made a mistake, sister. I'm sorry."
"Don't call me sister. I can't be found out now. I'm so close."
"Why him? I don't understand."
"I've chosen him. He's the mate I want."
"Hila-"
"Mera," Hila warned.
"He seems of inferior blood to me. He has weak genes."
"You and I always have had different tastes in men."
"Hila, please. Don't do this."
"I'm so close, Mera. So close. I just need to continue on for a little longer, then I'll rule over all of Atlantis, and I'll give birth to a strong, powerful successor."
"What about Arthur?" Mera had already given up on being upset that Hila was stealing what didn't belong to her.
Hila shrugged. "I don't care."
Mera felt her eyes go wide, "You're not going to kill him."
"I might."
5 hours until the wedding
Chloe had a point. A good point. She'd never told AC how she felt about him. And sure, it was unfair of her to tell him today, mere hours before his wedding, but she thought that she deserved points for not waiting until he was already married. And she was close to exploding, she had to tell him.
Dinah knocked on his opened it up, dripping wet, with only a pair of board shorts on. "Dinah, hey."
"AC. Hi."
"Is there something you wanted?" AC asked after Dinah just stood there for almost a minute without saying anything.
"Yes. I-I need to tell you something."
"Okay."
"I'm in love with you. And I've been in love with you for a while now. Remember all of those lunches and dinners we used to have? Arguing politics and such. And the trips to the beach, and to the opera. Which, by the way, I'm shocked that you enjoyed. And all of the missions we worked on together? I-I fell in love with you. It's strange, because you're not the kind of guy I thought I'd fall for. I always pictured someone a bit more like, well, honestly, Oliver. But it's you. Only you. And I know you're getting married today, I do. And I'm so sorry. But I had to say something. I couldn't let you get married without saying something. And you," Dinah took a breath. "You're not saying anything."
"I'm sorry, Dinah. I'm in love with Mera. I'm sorry." AC didn't have anything else to say.
"I knew that. I did. But-like I said before, I needed to say it. I hope this doesn't affect our friendship in any way."
"It won't."
Dinah felt her heart drop and break-shatter-into what felt like billions and billions of little pieces. She ran off quickly, without looking back, afraid that AC would see her tears.
Mera-the real Mera-stood watching this entire display. She sighed. She couldn't do this anymore.
3 hours until the wedding
Oliver opened up the door, surprised to see Mera's little friend Clara standing there. "Um, Clara, hello."
"I'm Mera, the other "Mera" is Hila, my twin sister and she has this weird mind control thing going on over AC, she has since she met him. I was going to let it go, because she threatened-well, it doesn't really matter. What matters is, I'm done. I'm here because I thought you and Chloe were the right people to come to." Mera said it so quickly and firmly that Oliver couldn't help but believe every word.
Oliver steeled himself, "Come on in." He opened the door wider and Mera could see that Chloe was sitting on the bed, she'd heard every word and she didn't look shocked. She looked ready to get down to business.
"We can fix this."
15 minutes until the wedding
Everyone was in place. Hila-as Mera-was beginning to make her way down the beach towards AC.
Everything went according to plan until the "Does anyone have a reason these two should not be wed?" question. At that, Chloe had quickly stepped up and said, "Well, I do."
Dinah looked up at Chloe-she'd been sitting next to her. "What?"
Chloe met her eyes, and gave her a look that said don't worry and looked back up. "Hila, do me a favor and explain to everyone here why you can't marry AC."
Hila gasped. "How did you find out?" She turned to her sister. "You."
"Yes, I couldn't go along with this anymore."
Hila sighed, "Fine." She seemed resigned, ready to accept that she'd lost.
"Really, fine?" Chloe asked, surprised. "We expected more of a fight."
"I don't want to hurt anyone. I just wanted what I deserve."
"So you're just giving up?" Oliver asked. It was rather unbelievable. After all of this trouble, she was just going to give up because she'd been found out.
Hila laughed. "Of course not. I'm just not interested in starting a war with a bunch of superheroes."
"Oh." Chloe said. "Can you let AC think for himself again?"
Hila sighed. "Sure." She pulled out something small and walked over to AC. "Open wide," he did, swallowing whatever it was.
"He'll be fine. But a little confused, and hazy on certain events." Hila walked away, disappeared before anyone could stop her.
Dinah thought her heart was going to fail her. She got up and started to walk down the beach.
She heard someone call out to her. She turned around. It was AC.
"Dinah, I-I'm sorry."
"For what? I should be sorry. I knew you'd been drawing away, and acting oddly. But I didn't do anything."
"It's more complicated than that, and you know it."
"Really? I like to think that I'm your friend . . . and I didn't notice. I'm sorry."
"Don't be," AC stepped closer to her, wiping the long blond hair she'd grown out away from her face. "About everything that you said this morning-"
"You remember that? Oh." Dinah grimaced.
"I love you too. I have, for a while, but I was afraid. And then Mera-I mean Hila, well, everything got so complicated."
Dinah felt a shift in her own personal universe. She smiled.
"You know what's not complicated?" Dinah asked, with a twinkle in her eye.
"What?" AC asked curiously.
"You kissing me right now. Pretty damn simple," Dinah grabbed the top of AC's shirt and pulled him towards her.
They kissed. AC pulled away for a moment, "Would it be too soon to ask you to marry me?"
"Probably. We'll talk later." Dinah kissed him again. "Okay?"
"I like this plan. Kiss now, talk later."
Oliver turned to Chloe, "Well, that was anticlimactic."
"But happy."
"But happy," Oliver agreed. He nudged her away from the crowd of confused guests. "I want to talk to you about something."
"Should I be worried?"
"No, but I probably should be."
"Well, in that case, I need to tell you something too."
"Should I be worried?" He asked, teasingly echoing her words.
"I don't know." Chloe replied honestly. "Look, I know that when we first got involved we decided that we would just be bedroom buddies-"
"We were never just bedroom buddies, Chloe." Oliver cut in firmly.
Chloe swallowed nervously. "Okay, but I feel like we've gone beyond those guidelines we-"
"You," Oliver cut in again.
"Okay,I feel like we've gone beyond the guidelines I set." Chloe admitted.
"And?"
Chloe was a little flustered because she'd expected a different sort of reaction. "When we started this-us, I told you that we couldn't fall in love with each other. That this would just be casual."
"And?"
"We seem to have, um, gotten away from that plan. We're here together, at a wedding. A few months ago we went on a vacation to the middle of nowhere to have some time together and we didn't have nearly as much sex as we should have."
"That was the Banshee's fault."
Chloe gave him a look. "I know that. The point is, we're friends, we're sleeping together, we work together, and we're doing . . . couply things."
Oliver decided he'd let her flounder enough, he took her hands in his. "We're dating, Chloe."
Chloe let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you see it that way, because if I had to explain that to you, it wasn't going to come out well at all."
Oliver kissed her forehead. "It's a good thing you have me here then, isn't it?"
"It is." Chloe smiled. She was about to let it go, but then she realized that she wasn't done. "One last thing."
Oliver was nuzzling her neck, "Yeah?"
"I'm in love with you."
"Obviously. I'm in love with you too."
Chloe turned a bit so that Oliver's lips met hers. "Were you just waiting for me to say it first?"
"Honestly? Yes."
"Okay. Well, I'm going to say it again for good measure. I love you."
"I love you too."
"Until you, I didn't think I could ever feel this way, Ollie."
"I feel the same way, Chloe. You're the heroine of my heart."
"And you're the hero of mine."
"We need to get back to the hotel, now." Oliver said, kissing her again.
"I see a nice large rock over there. We could try that instead."
"I love the way your mind works."
And so, a sappy ending. A random story. Yup. Review?