FicWad

I never wanted to fall in love again. My life has been one long issue with heartbreak and abandonment, and I had finally reached the point where I have had all I can take. My name is Chloe Sullivan, and you can’t see my heart for scar tissue.

After losing my husband Jimmy I knew I could not physically take any more loss. I had already given so much of myself that my chest ached with the pain, and the recovery each time was taking longer. So I swore off of love and tried to prove to myself that I was better off on my own. I had come to the conclusion that love and relationships were all well and good for the rest of the world but that was just not meant to be my life.

I was content to live through my work and give my life to a higher cause. I never would have anticipated that an impromptu archery lesson with Oliver Queen would turn everything upside down.

…no labels…no definitions…

I know everything has changed while staring at the hero in the hospital bed in front of me. It seems as though that scar tissue was not quite thick enough. Oliver had somehow managed to find his way to my heart, with as much precision as the arrows he was so fond of. And he was never careless with his aim, every one was a planned shot.

…no flowers…no presents…no pressure…no strings…

I am still unsure when I stopped listening to my own advice. I had been the one so adamant not to let this thing between us become more than amazing sex and having fun. At what point did the butterflies start appearing whenever he smiled at me? At what point did receiving a simple text message make me smile? Chloe Sullivan the all-observant Watchtower had missed all of the signs.

Its only in hindsight I can clearly see how he never stuck to our rules, always testing the boundaries. And I had let him. I had fallen in love and it had happened without my permission, because now that familiar pain was back. Just as I had lost Jimmy, I could lose Oliver thanks to Zod.

“I need you to come back to me.” My voice was barely above a whisper “Because I swear if you have made me fall in love with you just to leave me...” I couldn’t even finish that sentence. I knew that if Oliver died then I would probably die with him. There would be no coming back for me this time, all that would be left is a shell.

“You’re strong Oliver, you can come back from this. The world isn‘t ready to lose you yet. ” I squeezed his hand a little tighter as if that action alone could help him through. Chloe had seen the nurse redress the burns on his chest, and she had watched Oliver’s sleeping features grimace with pain. Zod was going to die for this, even if she had to pick up a kryptonite laced arrow and do it herself.

I felt the grip of the fingers in my hand tighten and looked up to see a small smirk on his face “Not going anywhere Sidekick.”

Relief flooded through me as I gave him a chaste kiss. “Oh Oliver! Thank God!” I noticed the smirk grow into a grin “How long have you been awake?”

“Long enough.”

I could feel the blush spread across my cheeks “I’ll go get one of the nurses and let them know you’re awake.” With a final squeeze of his hand I crossed the room to find help.

“Chloe?” he called out

“Yeah?”

“You know once I get out of here I think we need to talk about those strings and definitions. There aren’t nearly enough.” The grin had turned into the full blown smile that called out those butterflies. I couldn’t help but smile back.

The funny think about scars…they’re always there…it doesn’t mean they haven’t healed