Pairing: Chloe/Dean, Chloe/Oliver implied
Spoilers: Some season 8 & 9 Smallville. Possible Season 5 for Supernatural.
Summary: AU. Sequel to 'Back To Reality'. Chloe's relationships are changing.
Author Note: This story will evolve over a series of one shots. I have no Betas so all mistakes are entirely my own. All comments and reviews are appreciated - they are like crack to me!
I promise there will be more face-to-face Chlean in the next fic!
Chloe ushered Bart into the alley next to the Talon. "So what's the big emergency?"
"Victor believes he has found proof that Lex Luthor is still alive. Oliver wants a second opinion, and that's you."
"Really! Okay then, let's go." She said waving her hands eagerly.
Bart was giving her a hard look and it stopped her in her tracks. "Don't you think you should tidy yourself up before I take you to watchtower?"
"What do you mean?"
"What I really meant was before Oliver sees you." He pointed to her shirt. She had missed a couple of holes while buttoning her blouse. Trust Dean to distract her while dressing.
"How could you do it Chloe?"
He never ever addressed her using her real name. "Do what?"
"I'm not an idiot. That Impala we were trailing is parked up further down the street, and you ran down the stairs looking as if you've been kissed five ways to Sunday. And not to mention that." He said pointing to a small bruise forming on her neck.
Chloe's hand automatically went to the offending spot before searching blindly in her bag for the silk scarf she kept with her. She had to come clean. "You have no idea what's going on Bart."
"So enlighten me." He folded his arms across his chest. It was clear they were going nowhere until he knew what was happening with her.
"Oliver and I are no longer together. That guy up there…I don't know what he is to me if I'm honest. I've been feeling pretty low the last couple of days and I guess he was just there."
"He the reason you're not with Oliver?"
"Oliver cheated on me. With Dinah." She muttered as she tied the scarf around her neck. It gave her all the opportunity she needed to avoid eye contact.
"Dinah?" Bart took a step towards her. "How do you..? Are you sure?"
"I can't remember if it was his hands inside her shirt that convinced me or her hand in his pants." She sounded bitter even to herself and wiped her cheeks as she felt the unwanted tears trickle down. "I've really got to stop doing this."
A look of pure fury swept across his face, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. He had always accepted that Oliver was with Chloe because he was sure he would look after her. After everything she had been through she deserved to be loved, and as she didn't want him Bart had been happy Oliver was able to give that to her. Or so he had thought.
He was going to run off and happily kick Oliver's ass but he saw the grief stricken look on Chloe's face. Bart stepped forward and brought her into a crushing hug. "I am so sorry 'licious. I shouldn't have doubted you."
"I feel like you're the only friend I have left Bart. Please don't think any less of me, I can't lose you too."
He just held onto her tight. "You're my number one, beautiful." He pulled back and raised her chin with his finger. "Are you sure you want to head to Watchtower? I can say you're not well."
"It's okay, really. Oliver knows that if he makes life uncomfortable for me I'll have to stop being Watchtower."
"Would you really?" He didn't like the thought of losing Chloe from his life because Oliver couldn't keep it in his pants.
"I would never completely abandon you. I'd always be there for you guys if you needed me, I just wouldn't be able to work with him."
"If you need to leave at any time tonight, you just let me know." He scooped her up in his arms. "So does this mean I have a shot with you now? Because that would be awesome!" He said flashing her his trademark grin.
Playfully slapping his shoulder she rolled her eyes. "Time to show me if your feet run as fast as your mouth, Impulse.". With a final grin Bart sped off taking Chloe with him.
Dean had heard most of the conversation from around the corner. He had been a rebound guy before, that didn't bother him. Sex was sex and Dean knew you took it when you could get it. But he knew Chloe was kidding herself if she believed she had been all over him just because he was there. This kid looked more than willing to be in his place, and as someone with trust issues he figured she would have stayed with what was safe. Dean was as far from safe as you could get.
'I'm just that irresistible.' He thought to himself, stifling a snigger.
He looked around the corner just in time to see Chloe hop up into the kid's arms before practically vanishing into thin air, the rustling of trash indicating their wake.
"Woah."
It had been two weeks since Chloe had left Dean in her apartment. She wished now that she had told the guys she was busy as Victor's lead turned out to be a dead end. A dead end which had meant sitting at Watchtower for sixteen hours with an atmosphere that could be cut with a knife.
Chloe had asked Bart not to say anything to Oliver, but the tension radiating from the young hero was visible to anyone with eyes. After six hours Victor had sent him to grab breakfast for them all. It took him an hour to return.
She could see a 'man-to-man' conversation brewing in the future. She just hoped that Bart would be able to work with Oliver without the attitude. She didn't want to be the reason for the league to start dissolving.
Right now she sat at watchtower in her comfy chair with a cup of coffee in her hands watching her monitors. It seemed to be a slow night for the criminals of Metropolis, not that she was complaining. She had Clark handle a suspected bank robbery just after ten and Oliver had stopped a mugging around the same time, but that was it.
She switched the city map to another monitor and brought her latest obsession up onto her main screen. Over the week she had read the contents of John Winchester's journal several times. She was focusing on possessions using what she had read to look into further on the internet. She knew that she was starting to reach the point where she was going to have to start parting with cold hard cash for some old fashioned books. Some reading materials were just reluctant to make their way into the digital age apparently.
Her cell phone began to ring and she smiled when she saw the caller ID. "Mr Winchester! Three times in a week? Keep this up and I might start to think that you're not just interested in me for sex."
"If I remember right, I haven't gotten that lucky yet."
"I love that you're confident in your powers of seduction." Chloe couldn't help but smile at the sound of his voice. She knew that as much as she could protest at the end of a phone, two out of the three times she had been in Dean's presence sex had been at the forefront of her mind.
"Confident for a reason blondie."
"You know, out of all the possible nicknames you could come up with for me, why are you sticking with that one?"
"I could come up with better but my geek brother shares a room with me. Don't wanna hurt his virgin ears."
Chloe laughed as she could hear a protest in the background. "So is there anything in particular I can do for you or is this a social call?"
"You always ask me that. You ever just talk for the sake of talking?"
"On occasion." She could hear the snort of disbelief. She was fast realising in the few conversations they had had that Dean was not a man of subtlety. In a life full of secrets and lies she found it refreshing, if not annoying. "While I have you on the phone I've got a question for you if you don't mind?"
"Does it involve phone sex?"
She rolled her eyes. "I thought you said your brother was in the room?"
"Ah, it'd be an education for him."
"As much as I hate to disappoint you I'm afraid it's more to do with demons than sex."
"Demons? Are you in trouble? I can be there in two days."
She was surprised by the panic in his voice. "Woah, clam down there cowboy, I only have a question. There are no problems here I just want to use your expertise."
"You trying to give me a heart attack?"
"Just listen to me before you give yourself an ulcer. That journal of yours inspired me to do some further reading."
"Girl, you need a hobby."
Ignoring him she continued. "Anyway, as you know, I deal with some pretty freaky things in my line of work, and it seems as though there is a greater chance that my colleagues will run into your sort of problem. I'm looking at improving security at my workplace. As great as it is I think I would have a hell of a time if a fully fledged demon came knocking on my door."
"So what do you need?"
"I've been looking at devils traps. There seem to be a lot out there and obviously I can't just go painting the entire place. I just wanted some recommendations for the best ones to use."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. And if you know where I can get my hands on some anti-possession charms that would be great."
"Is this your way of getting me to buy you jewellery?"
"I'll have you know I'm more than capable of buying my own jewellery."
"You're serious about this aren't you?"
"Deadly. And please pardon the irony there."
"I'll have to talk to a friend about the charms but I'll sketch out a few traps. See if Sammy can use his computer to send them to you. It'll put his laptop to better use than searching for porn."
She could hear another protest on the other side of the phone. "I have a feeling that it's not your brother looking for porn. I'll text you my email address, and thank your brother for me in advance."
"No problem sweetheart. Look, my brother's making bitch faces at me so I gotta run. Talk soon."
"Speak to you later Dean."
"Bye."
Chloe hung up feeling pretty good about herself. She hadn't felt like smiling much lately, but it just seemed that it was a side effect of talking to Dean. She could forget all about her problems and just lose herself in his voice, she could laugh out loud about a funny story and not feel guilty for feeling anything but sad.
Chloe was quickly becoming fond of the hunter despite the bravado he constantly displayed. She would never have thought that her feeble attempt of a one night stand would lead her into making a very unique friend. In her opinion life would never be quite the same with him in her life.
She stared at some of the drawings in front of her while listening to some of the mild chattering of her team through her earpiece. A brief glance at the screen to her side showed a robbery in progress in Keystone.
"Bart, robbery in progress. Electronics store on the corner of Fifth and Wiltshire."
"On it 'licious."
On the monitor next to it she realised that Oliver had gone offline. Before she could issue an alert the double doors to Watchtower opened and Oliver walked in sporting his full Green Arrow costume.
"You could warn me before just going offline like that." She scolded him before turning her attention back to her monitors.
"I didn't think two minutes would make a difference." He offered her an apologetic smile.
"Just…give me a heads up next time." She turned back to her monitors and checked in on Victor. "I take it you're calling it a night?"
"Yeah. Clark is going to stay out for longer but things seem calm tonight."
"I think you're close to jinxing yourself there Oliver." She picked up her coffee and took a sip. She raised her eyebrow in surprise as Oliver perched on the edge of her desk.
He looked down at his feet briefly before raising his gaze to her face. "Did you get the flowers I sent?"
"I saw them briefly, yes. Lois accepted the delivery." Chloe tried not to smile at the image of her cousin accepting the delivery before proceeding to wedge the bouquet down the waste disposal. It turns out Lois was more unforgiving than she was.
"Oh." Oliver had been on the receiving end of several hostile phone calls and one right hook from an enraged Lois Lane. He absentmindedly rubbed the tender spot on his jaw, and the action was not unnoticed by Chloe.
"She hasn't told Clark in case you're wondering. I may not be his favourite person right about now but I think he would care enough to at least give you a disapproving look." She slowly got up to refill her coffee mug "I have asked Lois to keep this nasty business quiet. As far as anyone knows it was a mutual decision."
"Can we talk about it Chloe?"
Oliver had quickly killed the happy feeling she had ten minutes ago. Sighing audibly she felt her shoulders slump. Letting him talk might help her move past her funk and allow her to work without the fear of hearing his voice over her shoulder.
She poured the hot liquid into her mug and began adding the cream and sugar. "Okay Oliver. Go right ahead." She leant against the counter and kept her mug close to her, as if she could use its warmth to protect her. Oliver seemed to pause for a second. Chloe figured that he hadn't really expected her to agree so easily.
"Chloe, I know you will never be able to forget what happened but I'm really hoping you'll be able to forgive me. It was a stupid mistake and believe me when I say that I regret everything that happened that night." Chloe just sipped on her drink, allowing him to continue. He was going over old ground, this was nothing he hadn't already told her.
"I know you won't believe me but I do love you. I want you back and I'm willing to do anything to make it up to you."
"There are two things I really want to know Oliver. For all of your apologies you have never told me why you did it. Was it just that you don't find me attractive enough? Or was it the thrill of the chase that held your interest, and when that was gone you became bored? Is that why you're desperately trying to make things up to me? A new chase?"
"It's not like that at all!" He seemed genuinely agitated at her reasoning and crossed his arms to prevent himself from grabbing her by the shoulders to make her see sense. "I felt that we were drifting apart and Dinah hooked onto that. She came onto me and…I can't justify what I did Chloe, I really can't. But I am begging you for another chance. I want to prove to you that I think we are worth it and that this will never happen again."
She felt her stomach clench at his words. She really wished she could believe him but she had too much dignity to allow herself to go back. "Things haven't changed that much in the last couple of weeks Ollie."
"I betrayed you in the worst way , I know. But I also know that I don't want you to become the person you were seven months ago. I don't want you to give up on the person you are - you are too special to be shut off from the world."
"Is this about me coming back to you, or the worry that I will lock myself back into Watchtower never to come out?"
"This is about us, but I still worry about you whether you want me to or not."
Chloe put her coffee mug down and took a step towards him. "Oliver, I am never going to be able to trust you again with either my heart or my body." For some reason the image of Dean smirking at her entered her mind. She mentally shook herself and concentrated on the man in front of her. "Your refusal to let this go is just going to make things worse for us and the team."
"There's not even the slightest possibility of us is there?" His chocolate brown eyes held her own. She could see the pain there, but she knew it was not of her own doing.
"This is what I have been thinking about the last couple of weeks. What I want is for us to work on rebuilding our friendship because that is what I miss. That is what would break me, because you became my best friend somewhere along the way and I can't lose you the way I've lost Clark."
Oliver pulled her into a tight hug, resting his head on top of hers. "I'll take whatever I can get sidekick."
"Just so you know, I'm really not comfortable with all the touching yet." Chloe told him from beneath his embrace.
Oliver pulled away quickly. "Right. Yeah. Sure, no problem." He watched as Chloe picked up her drink.
"So in the name of rebuilding our friendship, am I allowed a coffee?"
She gave him a small smile. "Sure. But if you don't mind I'll let you get your own. I want to check in on Bart again quickly."
She sat down at her desk and was shortly joined by Oliver. "Bart knows the truth doesn't he?"
Chloe wasn't surprised by the question. In fact she had been expecting it sooner. "Yes, and before you ask it was never my intention for him to know. But he thought I was actually cheating on you, and there are some things I do not wish my friends to think about me."
"Why did he think you were cheating on me?" His tone was clipped and Chloe watched his posture stiffen. She couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"He saw me out for coffee with a friend and made a few assumptions." It was bending the truth completely, but if Oliver reacted this negatively over an assumption he would probably bust an artery if he knew the truth about her real relationship with Dean.
'And what exactly is your relationship with Dean?' The little voice in the back of her head asked.
"You're probably going to have to talk to Bart you know. As amazed as I am that he is behaving so maturely about the nature of our break up, I think he would benefit from speaking with you."
Oliver nodded his head. Bart had always looked up to him and he felt as if he owed the young man an explanation. "At least now I know why he's hardly talking to me."
Chloe continued scanning her monitors looking for alerts. As she did so Oliver's attention was caught on her main screen. "Meteor freaks and aliens not enough to occupy your time professor?" He got to his feet and approached the monitor for a closer look. "Are you branching out?"
"That is the reason I met with my friend. I came across some literature which scared the life out of me." She answered honestly.
Oliver frowned reading some of the information displayed. "Demons, ghosts, shape shifters…who the hell is this friend of yours Chloe?"
"He hunts down the things that go bump in the night. I'm just expanding our knowledge base. From what I have been able to find out, supernatural disturbances are increasing at an alarming rate. There is a chance you and the guys could go out there thinking you have a meteor freak on your hands and it could be something like this. I don't want to be unprepared."
"So on top of everything else we have to be worried about Casper too?" The disbelief was clear in his voice.
Chloe shook her head. "And after everything you've seen I would think you would be a little more open minded. Just look at Zatanna and the mojo she's pulled in the past. I spoke to her by the way, she pretty much confirmed all of this."
"Is it something we need to be worried about now? Do I need to pull the team in?"
"No. I've asked Dean to come up with some protective charms for all of us. He's going to help me secure Watchtower so we can at least be sure there is one completely safe place."
"Dean, huh? He have a last name?"
"Yes, he does."
"Are you going to tell me about him?"
"Nope." She knew that the last thing Dean needed was a full background check performed by Oliver. The man had enough money and resources other than Watchtower to dig up enough dirt on the Winchesters. Chloe knew that Oliver was not beyond trying to mark his territory whether he had the right to or not.
Oliver ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Do you trust him?"
Chloe took a moment to really think. She had only known him for a few weeks but there was just something about him. She must be going crazy. "Yeah, I think I do."
"If you trust him, then I guess I do too. Just let me know if there's anything I can help you out with."
"Thank you Oliver." She gave him a small smile. This was the Oliver Queen she wanted to know. The one who cared about his team and his friends. The one she could just talk to. Maybe things would be able to return to a sense of normalcy after all.
"Dean." Sam tried to get his brother's attention for the third time. "Dude, seriously. Put your phone away, she hasn't called."
"What? I'm just checking for messages. Bobby said he might have a lead for us."
Sam just raised his eyebrow at his brother. He was fooling no-one. "I never thought I would see the day when you would be so hung up on a girl."
"Sammy, I swear the chick works with superheroes. Superheroes. Seems smart to keep in touch, she could be useful."
"Since when are you interested in the smart thing to do? Admit it, you like her."
Dean just snorted. "She's hot, what's not to like?"
"Yeah. Alright." Sam smiled before looking back at the local paper's obituaries.
"You're such a bitch." Dean said swiping his beer and putting his phone back into his pocket.
"Jerk."
Three weeks later…
Chloe had tried to patiently wait for the recording to end until she finally heard the beep. "Uh…Dean. It's Chloe. I really need your help. I don't know what to do."