People Make Mistakes (1/13)

Banner By: Andrea
Title: People Make Mistakes
Rating: R
Author: Sxymami0909
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Oliver/Chloe, Clark/Lois
Word Count: ?
Part: 1/12
Prompt: “Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are” from Miss_Morrygan



Chapter 1
July 15th 2010

The elevator sounded as she entered her code and bypassed the security system. The doors slid open and she walked into the darkened penthouse. She caught sight of the paperwork she’d left at his place earlier and sighed.

It looked liked nothing had been touched since the last time she was there. The apartment was silent save for the noises of Metropolis’ night life coming from the open balcony door in his living room.

Chloe put her bag down and cautiously made her way out onto the balcony. She shook her head at the sight in front of her. He was wearing jeans and a blue stripped dress shirt that was hanging loosely around his body.

Oliver lifted the small glass of amber liquid to his lips as he gazed out over the city, eyes taking in everything yet seeing nothing. He knew she was there. He could feel her, but he said nothing. When she placed a warm hand on his arm Oliver titled his head in her direction acknowledging her presence without words.

“We missed you at the meeting tonight.”

He took another sip of his drink and grunted. Chloe’s worried eyes strayed to the stubble on his face and dark circles under his eyes. She let out a long breath.

“Ollie…you can’t keep doing this to yourself. The team is worried…I’m worried. This isn’t healthy.”

He shifted his head, pained eyes meeting tired green ones. She sucked in a deep breath at the depth of anguish on his face. Chloe reached up and cupped his cheek, her voice soft.

“It was an accident Oliver. How long are you going to blame yourself for something that was out of your control?”

Oliver’s eyes hardened slightly and he pulled away from her, straightening up and pushing away from the railing. She watched as he closed himself off from her moving as far away emotionally and physically as he could.

Chloe could feel her emotions bubbling to the surface as she watched his back waiting for a sign that he was going to speak. These last two weeks had been difficult.

Oliver had always been an open book to her, ready and willing to share every part of himself, where as she was the closed off and emotionally stunted one as he liked to call it.

He was always patient with her and now their positions were reversed and she didn’t know what to do. His agitated voice brought her out of her thoughts.

“How can you say that? Accident or not that woman is dead because of me. I don’t know about you, but I have actual feelings. We can’t all be as robotic as you Chloe”

She winced as tears prickled in the corner of her eyes. She knew Oliver well enough to know what he was doing. He was using her hang-ups and fears against her to push her away. Did it hurt? Yes. Was it a low blow? Absolutely.

Was she going to leave him here to wallow in self pity and guilt because of it? Not a chance. She took a deep breath and closed the distance between them again. His body tensed when she touched his back. The fact that she hadn’t left even after what he’d just said made him feel that much worse.

Oliver was the first person since Jimmy that she had opened herself up to. It had taken him months to get her to trust him and if he wasn’t careful it was going to take him minutes to ruin everything he’d worked for. She’d stayed by his side for the past two weeks.

She hadn’t pushed him to talk about it or made a big deal about the drinking, but when he started missing meetings and patrols, Chloe had started to worry. Being Oliver Queen CEO was only part of who he was. She knew that the Green Arrow was just as much a part of the person he’d become over the years.

“Oliver, you made a mistake…people make mistakes.”

He whirled around knocking her hand off of him in the process. His brow was creased and he caught the look of caution on her face.

“Yeah, but not everyone’s mistakes cost people their lives. I told you two weeks ago after it happened that I was done and I meant it. As far as I’m concerned the Green Arrow is dead.”

He walked past her and back into his apartment. He could hear her following him as he moved toward the shelf grabbing another bottle of scotch. She shook her head, concern being replaced by anger as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at his back.

“You’re being ridiculous.”

He slammed the bottle down and she winced.

“Tell me Chloe, How many times have your actions as Watchtower gotten someone killed?”

Her face softened slightly.

“We’ve gone over this. You didn’t get that woman killed. Oliver it’s not possible for you to be in two places at once. You’re not God. What happened was horrible…I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but giving up who you are, pretending to be normal, how is that helping?”

Deep down he knew she was right. He’d been in the middle of taking out two muggers that had gone after a woman and her son when a van came speeding down the road. He’d been too far away and barely had time to grab the boy before the van came crashing onto the sidewalk.

His mother wasn’t as lucky. She’d been rushed to the hospital and died in the ambulance on the way there. In all his years of being the Green Arrow, he’d never lost someone he set out to save and it had hit him hard.

She watched as the anger in his body deflated and he plopped down on the couch, holding his refilled glass against his head. She walked toward him and sat on the table in front of him. When Oliver met her eyes she could see the tears pooling in them.

“She’s dead Chloe…that kid…he’s gonna grow up without a Mom because of me. The Green Arrow ruined his life. I ruined his life.”

She shook her head frantically and took his hands in hers.

“No Ollie. You saved him and his Mom. The guy who got behind that wheel killed her. Giving up being the Green Arrow won’t change that. It will just put more people at risk.”

“No, but it’ll prevent another situation like this from happening again.”

She sighed.

“Oliver think of all the people that the Green Arrow helps…that you help. All the people you save on a daily basis. Wanting to be someone else…it’s just a waste of the person you are. A person that I happen to think is a hero, no matter what he says.”

He gave her half a smile and she returned it as he reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. His voice was low and emotional.

“I’m sorry…what I said--”

She waved him off.

“It’s forgotten. Don’t worry about it.”

He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She gripped his head with her hands and deepened the kiss. Seconds later they broke apart and she mated their foreheads together. It was the closest they’d been in weeks and she craved the affection.

She let out a sigh as he wrapped his arms around her. Chloe ran her hands through his hair as he buried his head in her chest.

“What would I do without you?”

She let out a soft laugh.

“Let’s not find out…okay?”

He nodded.

“Deal.”

Chloe moved back and glanced into his face some of her earlier concern coming back.

“Are you okay?”

Oliver shrugged.

“No…but I will be.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

Oliver sat back, a thoughtful look on his face. She raised a curious eyebrow at him, but there was a smile pulling at her lips. For the first time in two weeks he was actually starting to look like himself again.

“No, but I think I know something that can…”

Chapter 2