Word Summary: "It wouldn't take long after they met to build a solid professional relationship, but it took some time to find that strength, that boundless connection. But as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day."

Thanks to: hellzz_on_earth for the prompt. A great word, but a hard one not to risk being over-the-top with, so I took a different approach. Hopefully, it turned out.


Infinity

The state of being infinite, boundless, endless.

In a way, the symbol for infinity contains two imperfect circles coming together to make a different shape. Apart, there is still strength in each shape's composition and no point where the lines end, but they are isolated. So once they wind together, they create a stronger bond, share a greater meaning and represent one shape that has no aesthetic or literal ending.

In the beginning, one could not argue the strength that both individuals possessed. But they kept to themselves mostly, not letting anyone get close to them because they had seen too much go wrong in their lives. It's what happens when you take as many risks as they do, people almost believe that they're living with a death wish. Sure, they probably couldn't prevent an exploding safehouse and a shipwreck, but the rest was due to curiosity, a need to protect, or a need to blame oneself for something.

Chloe would claim the chances she took were necessary to protect the world and never second-guessed putting her life at risk to do the right thing. Yet somehow, life gave her infinite chances, but she would never understand why.

Neither did Oliver. Years would go by, as he tried to redeem his character, but he would continue to make mistakes, often falling into the pitfalls of his circumstances and reputation. Yet just when he thought he had run out of luck, something or someone would pick him up, remind him to live on.

It wouldn't take long after they met to build a solid professional relationship, but it took some time to find that strength, that boundless connection. But as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Distance, time, even murder, it wasn't enough for them to lose sight of each other, the values they held, the effect they had on each other's lives and on the world itself. There were speed bumps along the way in their professional relationship, but they had found their way through that, leading to a completely different problem.

It was in their nature to care, to love, even if it was a different kind, but it was hard to maintain a real relationship with their job description. Even with each other, which is partially why they avoided the label in the first place. Being friends with benefits meant that the end would always be in sight. After all, relationships always ended up in tears for her, boredom or selfish-natured defense mechanisms for him.

There were plenty of reasons not to attempt a more personal relationship, but they pushed forward, ignoring the feelings underneath. However, the 'L' word is eventually spoken out of desperation, just when devastation hits them both. All they had to endure to find their way back to each other was torture by a secret society, a potential loss of sanity, and a hope that a cyanide antidote would save her life.

Then again, that was nothing in comparison to the challenge of staying alive in the time they were apart. They weren't like many of their teammates, as human wasn't a popular trait. Yet they kept fighting, knowing that if nothing else, they wanted to admit their love face-to-face.

Even as the storybook ending seems to appear, there never seems to be an end to the struggles that they must face. Even as they stand inches apart with their respective halves of a marriage certificate that fit perfectly together, they know the dangers ahead. However, they're ready for whatever challenge comes their way.

That's because the world can throw whatever it wants at Oliver Queen and Chloe Sullivan-Queen. In the end, they will always find a way to survive, to maintain their bond, creating a simple, yet eternal symbol.

~End~