Title: Frenemies
Category: Smallville
Genre: Humor/Friendship
Characters: Tess Mercer, Oliver Queen, mentions of Chloe Sullivan
Ship: Chloe/Oliver, past-Oliver/Tess
Rating: PG
Spoilers: 9x19 - Sacrifice
Timeline: A few months after Sacrifice.
Word Count: 980
Summary: Tess Mercer just had a very unfortunate realization.

Frenemies
-Drabble-

Tess Mercer just had a very unfortunate realization.

Her enemy was her best friend. And, of course, it had come in the guise of her ex-boyfriend.

"What are you doing here?" Tess asked, brows quirked in both suspicion and undeniable curiosity.

Pushing things to and fro with idle fingers, Oliver Queen sat behind her desk, waiting boredly for her return. He looked up at her voice suddenly intruding on his musings, half-smiling with his usual cocky charm. "I can't stop by to see an ex-girlfriend just for the hell of it?"

She snorted, curled her lip. "Given who your current girlfriend is, I don't think she'd appreciate the pow-wow."

He smirked. "I dunno about that… Now that you two seem so chummy."

Eyes wide, Tess almost reared her head back in surprise. "Chummy? Not the word I'd use."

Irritatingly amused, he leaned back in her chair, resting his threaded fingers across his stomach and stacking his feet on top of her desk. "From where I'm sitting, you two are riding the train toward actual, dare I say it, friendship…" Thinning his eyes and cocking his head to one side, he asked in feigned confusion, "When was the last time you had a friend, Tess? One that wasn't using you to take over the world and destroy humanity, I mean."

Glaring at him witheringly, Tess undid her jacket to toss it over a chair, dropping her purse in its seat before she walked toward the fridge. She needed a drink; a stiff one.

"Did you only come over here to remind me how little you approve of my choice in allies?" she called back, searching for a glass and something to take the edge off in her kitchen.

"If I wanted to do that, I didn't have to waste my night here… I could've just sent an e-mail, a text, had a sky-writer scrawl something out for you."

Pursing her lips, she looked back at him as he sat so relaxed his eyes had fallen closed. "You know, you and Chloe are on rather thin ice already, what with her obviously avoiding the fact that you're in love with her and all… You really think you should be spending time here? It's not going to look too good." Downing her decanter of bourbon, she cocked a brow, waiting for his reply.

He didn't even flinch or frown in her direction; instead, he smiled. "She's not easily threatened."

"And I'm harmless, right?" she muttered, curling her lip.

He laughed shortly. "I wouldn't call you harmless, Tess… ever. But in this instance, I also wouldn't say you were a threat."

The truth of that statement still stung.

"And Oliver Queen grows a sense of honor toward woman," she sneered, filling her glass once more. "I'll alert the media tomorrow…" Raising her glass in salute to him, she added, "They'll never believe me."

Opening his eyes now, he looked over at her with subtle sadness. "I've apologized for the past, Tess."

"And that's supposed to make it all better, right?"

He shrugged, eyes falling in shame. "I was hoping it might… At least a little."

She sighed. "What are you doing here, Oliver?" Leaving her empty glass and her bottle of bourbon behind, she crossed the room to stand in front of her desk, staring at him darkly. "Last I checked, the woman of your dreams was a blonde superhero out to save the world even though she held little hope for it."

His lips curled at the corners. "Reminds me of someone."

Her chest warmed a little at that. "We have very different tactics," she reminded.

And his face clouded once more. "You know… Now that you've befriended my team's main player, you could rethink just where those allegiances of yours really stand."

Brows furrowed, Tess frowned. "What is it with you and thinking I have even the slightest bit of interest in becoming friends with your new lover?"

He stared at her, knowing deep in his dark brown eyes. "Because I know her… and I know you…"

"And that means we're meant for life-long best friend bracelets?" She snorted, unconvinced. "Turn your radar elsewhere, Queen. You've got your signals mixed on this one."

He grinned, shaking his head. "Trust me, Tess…" He rose from her chair. "Sooner than you think, you're going to realize that the person you turn to most, the person you trust in this world, is the one person you never thought you would." Tucking his hands in his pockets, he gave her a boyish smile. "And if you're wondering… I wouldn't stand in the way of true friendship."

She watched with her mouth parted in astonishment as he left her apartment without another word and she was left to ponder the utterly ridiculous conversation she'd just had with him.

Shaking her head, she snorted. Her friends with Chloe Sullivan? She wanted to laugh at the very absurdity. But truth be told, some of what he said rang true. Just a few months ago, she'd let Chloe literally kill her and even trusted that she would revive her. Or, okay, for a moment she really hadn't trusted she would, but she still let her do it. And just how trustworthy was a woman who would willingly revive someone she must hate? Frowning, she sat down on her couch, suddenly wanting another drink of bourbon. Over the last year, she'd allied herself with aliens, learned the secrets of her ex and his group of superheroes, fought for and then went AWOL against Checkmate, and lastly… confided in someone she never meant to. So maybe they weren't best friends, frenemies was a more fitting term, but when it came down to it… Tess Mercer could actually see herself being true friends with Chloe Sullivan.

Sighing, her head fell back with acceptance. Oliver was never going to let her live this down.