Time Makes it Harder
She hated funerals. She hated the solemn moods, genuine or otherwise, and the clouds that inevitably filled the sky. Or maybe it was because she could never attend a funeral right, no matter what her role was in it. Whether she was supposed to be dead or alive, Chloe Sullivan was destined to loom in the shadows, watching as people she loved cried over a body.
It was hard to determine which time hurt more, his funeral or hers. Three years ago, Chloe held her strength by a thread as she watched him stand over her tombstone. There wasn't supposed to be a body, because Luthor had made sure of that. After all, her 'death' was the first Ultraman attack, which she had narrowly escaped through Lex's help. Apparently, Clark wanted to prove himself to daddy dearest and apparently it took shutting up the girl no one took seriously.
However, the reason Lex prevented her death was because he saw professional potential, a way to bring Clark and his father down. It felt like accepting a deal with the devil, but she owed him her life, and he promised that he'd return her to Oliver if she helped him, even though he had no idea what she saw in him.
That answer was easy…. he listened. Plain and simple. Or at least, that was how it started. In Smallville, she was a joke in high school, a silly girl who wrote 'conspiracy' articles for her school paper, but she didn't need friends. Her father was away on business most of the time, and her mother was long gone from her life, so she had practically raised herself. She may be a pint-sized blonde, but she was one of the few people who dared talk back to Clark and Lex because she didn't care who they were or how much money they had. The Luthors, including Tess, had their comebacks and threats, but Chloe wouldn't back down. She had nothing to lose until she met him.
During her first year of college, she caught signs of Luthorcorp wanting to buy Queen Industries from under Oliver's nose, so she drove from her dorm to Queen Towers, grateful that the reluctant CEO was in Metropolis at the time, and actually convinced him that she was telling the truth. Part of her wondered why she did it, because Oliver Queen's reputation was no secret, but within seconds of him believing her, Chloe saw how much he cared about his company. It was what he had left of his parents, and after not being able to do anything about Lionel taking them away from him, Oliver did everything in his power to stop the transfer, and firmly stepped into his role as CEO from that day on.
Days later, he tracked her down, and wanted to offer gratitude, but Chloe didn't see it as doing him a favour, so she said No problem and shut the door in his face. Yet, he was oddly persistent, and after leaving a display of flowers outside her dorm, she agreed to meet him at his office, insisting that she helped him because she believed in the truth, not because she was part of the Oliver Queen fan club. After a chuckle, he insisted on taking Chloe out to dinner, as a thank you only, and oddly enough, she accepted. It wasn't every day that someone put any effort into getting to know her.
They managed to keep their friendship a secret from the adoring press that followed him, while also ignoring the bubbling emotions they felt for each other because each side had counted out their own cons, and didn't see it being worth the pros. It worked for awhile, as Oliver traveled from city-to-city, but months within Oliver settling in Metropolis, things changed.
On her twenty-first birthday, they crossed that line, giving into the passion they felt for the other, and for once in her life, Chloe felt alive, felt there was someone in her life to live for.
But it didn't take long for it to be stripped away.
It was Tess who first saw signs of their relationship, and being the bastard-child and all, she wanted to prove her usefulness to Lionel as well. He took that information, and instead on taking the information to the tabloids, planned carefully on a way to hurt a business rival where it hurt the most. What he didn't know is that the son Lionel likely wished was still alive today was actually the one who betrayed him. But Lex too had rejoiced with his father that day, wishing nothing more to take him down, even if it meant using a family enemy to do it.
But that secret still forced Chloe to hide in plain sight, to take up a new identity. All this time, her new life almost felt like a lie, but she had done it if it meant Oliver would remain safe, no matter how hard it was to see his face that day. He was one of two attendees to her funeral, not that Chloe was surprised, considering her underwhelming popularity. That being said, Lois, her estranged cousin, came out of shock, and started digging up the circumstances of her murder, but Lex had covered Clark's tracks. As much as he wanted Clark to be found out, if Lois had found him then, there would only be blood to be paid and Lex and Chloe agreed the only blood that needed to be spilt was Luthor.
Finding gold kryptonite they thought would be the solution, but Lex could only scar the surface of Clark's skin before his ultimate demise, leaving Chloe alone again.
Her world had become dark, her life focused on killing two men who seemed to be invincible, and with her limited resources, despite the money left to her by Lex, the mission seemed to have little hope. But that was when she saw Oliver again.
She thought about returning to him numerous times, but this time, Chloe saw that he had moved on, with Lois no less, and Chloe refused to hurt him like that again. So she kept on the mission, determined not to kill the men, but to destroy them, whatever it took. Within days, she had created a new alias, and after hacking into a watch-list for Luthor 33.1 projects, she formulated a team, created structure to keep them safe. They searched high and low, for ways to get to either Luthor when they heard Ultraman had emerged again, for good it seemed, causing her team to head back to Metropolis.
It was those days that she saw the irrational behavior in Oliver, him going to desperate measures to bring Clark or Lionel down. Chloe wanted to stop Oliver, but the time still wasn't right. So she waited, and watched as the cracks formed even in his relationship with her cousin, despite being engaged. With each day that went by, Chloe could see they were settling for each other, and that he never got over her, a thought that initially filled her heart again, but was replaced quickly.
His feelings mattered, but she couldn't let her emotions get in the way. Her team was getting close, even closer after Clark Kent's sudden appearance in their world. Chloe never spoke to the alternate-Clark, but she wished she would have. Things might have been different.
Even though Oliver Queen was far from being respected, now was a very dark time in Metropolis, as people were forced to walk the city with green rocks in their hands, afraid of Ultraman's next move. It was one of the few decisions Oliver made that she questioned, but she could hardly blame him. His desperation hit a high, wanting justice for everything he had lost through the Luthors, and once he knew a way to inhibit Clark Luthor, he used it to his advantage, even though it got him killed.
There was no cover-up, no staged attempt on Oliver's life, he was really gone, and he would never know that Chloe was alive, only that she would clean up the mess he made. The mess he made because of her.
With a single breath, she took a final look at the ceremony four rows from where she stood before turning her back. She couldn't stay; she couldn't handle the pain in her chest, the tears that seemed to stain her face. Considering the lack of love in her life before Oliver, Chloe never figured she would play a part in an epic love story. But like most of those, the ending would be nothing more than bittersweet, and the only way to accomplish that was to complete her mission.
After opening up her car door, she looked up to the sky, and whispered, "I love you," hoping he'd hear it, because he deserved to know that despite all the things in their lives which had changed, that never did.
~End~