Title: The Night Is Ours
Category: Smallville
Genre: Romance
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver
Rating: PG13
Prompt: Picture by ellashy
Word Count: 2,132
Summary: At night, they're not soldiers… Just two humans in love.
The Night Is Ours
-1/1-
The bell tower was empty; the old rusty ringer long forgotten in the city of Metropolis. Where once it rang high and clear for all to hear, singing praises for the many Sundays of mass, now it was no more than a reminder of the past. High above, overlooking the near-empty city landscape, where walking the streets meant being a target for the powerful Kandorians out to enslave all humans, a round window gave a view worth sighing over. Night had fallen some hours ago and Oliver knew that if he turned to look he wouldn't be able to see them, but they'd be out there. Their team, their not-so-merry band of resistance; fighting the aliens that meant to destroy them all. They were quick and quiet and went unnoticed; hiding in dark alleys, dressed in clothes that let them blend easily into the dirty and shadowed background. Always moving, planning, ready to do what had to be done.
It was these rare moments where he tried to forget that, however. Where the moon glowed an eerie red from the backlight of the monstrous sun that had taken over the Earth. So he didn't look, he didn't turn dark brown eyes outward to see if he might spot one of their men or women, their soldiers for justice. Instead, he held Chloe; he felt her warm breath skitter across his chest. Her head perched on his shoulder, hair soft beneath his cheek. The breeze that swept through the glassless window was warm; it seemed days and nights were the same temperature. Like a dusty town with rolling tumbleweeds in the streets for a little cliché character. Where once the streets were busy, the sidewalks bustling with people and vendors, with life, now there were empty stores, dirt collecting where once feet would have been treading constantly.
It would have been smarter for them to hide away in the shelter; in the carefully guarded buildings where their team lived and slept; where he and Chloe shared a bedroom that was secluded from eyes. Instead, they lay in the curve of the window, no doubt easily noticeably by any Kandorian out for a late night fly-by. Still, neither of them tensed or worried. Their clothes long tossed in aimless piles around the dusty floor, Chloe was draped across him; her hand reaching for his far shoulder, thumb stroking absently. Her could feel her bare breasts against his ribs; the cool, softness of her naked skin aligned with his body. They came here when everything and everyone else became too much; when responsibilities needed to be put away for a time and they could just be themselves; the two of them, outside of war.
"We have to be back before daybreak," she murmured, nuzzling his chest with her face. "They'll worry if we aren't…"
"They'll survive."
He stared off into the distance, vaguely making out the building that once served as their Watchtower. They hadn't been back in so long; preferring to keep any attention far away from their last resort. Inside laid his Green Arrow gear; he couldn't quite remember what it felt like to have leather against his skin. It'd been so long; it'd just been dark clothes and bandanas around their faces lately; like the low-key vigilantes they had to be. Once, their hero days were so much more technological; there were missions that had to be strategized for days, weeks, even. Big businesses destroying the little people; rogue scientists out to play with the unsuspecting. And now it was all aliens and war and kryptonite weapons… When had it all become so complicated?
"You say that now… Wait until we get back and they're interrogating us; thinking we've somehow been brainwashed by the Kryptonians," she scoffed.
"Bart needs to stop reading those sci-fi books," he laughed, shaking his head. "He's got a real one going on right outside his window."
She smiled, nodding. "He thinks it'll give us the advantage… Like somehow they'll have the answer hidden away in Chapter 14 – Revenge of the Humans…" She rolled her eyes, amused by their younger soldier; one of entirely too many teenagers forced to join the resistance; to grow up too early.
"If he's got a plan, I'm willing to hear it… Even if it involves laser beams or 50's music played over the loudspeaker."
She scoffed, looking up at him. "Mars Attacks? Really?"
He grinned at her, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead.
She pursed her lips to keep from smiling and rested her head against him once more.
His thumb stroked her arm, palm cupping her elbow lightly. She'd be soothed into a half-sleep in no time; the aftereffects of sex having already drained most of her energy. She didn't sleep enough and any opportunity they got, he encouraged.
Her nose wrinkled. "I know what you're doing…" She tried to sound like she disagreed but there was a slur to her words.
His mouth quirked in a smile. "You've got a few hundred soldiers counting on you, Professor… Sleep'll keep that quick mind of yours up to task."
She scoffed, but he knew her eyes had fallen closed. "I'm always on task."
His other hand lay across her waist, finger spread across the dip of her ribs and the flair of her hips. She was his only salvation in this world; the only person he had left from his old life that could understand what he went through now, what he wanted for his future, how much he wanted to do and couldn't. She'd been against the Kandorians a long while and when Lois went missing and they took over, without Clark there to help keep them at bay, he and Chloe were the only two who had any idea what was really happening and how to fight it. Things between them had first begun out of convenience; there was so much stress, so many worries and fears, and sometimes they just needed to release it, to share it all with someone they could trust. But as they days grew longer, the nights shorter, and the sun continued to shine its red glow of defeat, the two of them grew closer. Sex became holding each other, relying on one another, sharing secrets and concerns and dreams for a time when they wouldn't have to fear the unbearable hatred of the alien race that tried so hard to rule over them all. And somewhere in between saving lives and losing soldiers, between fighting and trying desperately not to lose hope, they fell in love. It was hard; for something so fragile to bloom between them when they had to keep a strong façade up for the others, when they had to kill alien dictators and bury the bodies of their fellow man. But they kept the hope; that one day the world would live again, properly; that one day he and Chloe could be happy together, free together.
"If I have to sleep…" she murmured tiredly, "so do you…" One of her fingers poked his chest and he chuckled lightly. If the men of their team could see her now, they'd be confused. Chloe Sullivan was hard, even cold, and she could lead the harshest of men into battle; but late at night, with only Oliver there to see, she was sweet and soft and as loving as he'd ever known a person could be. She was real with him, never hiding her true feelings about what was happening all around, what they were losing and might never get back. She was just a woman and he was just a man and together, with the fatigues tossed away, they were humans with hearts that beat loud and strong, together.
"One of us has to be awake for when the sun rises," he replied, dragging his blunt nails down the back of her arm, half-smirking when she shivered in response. He could point out every spot on her entire body that would make her respond and he knew exactly what would happen with every touch. He knew her feet and ribs were ticklish, the backs of her thighs were sensitive, the hollow of her throat was her favorite place to be kissed, and she liked his teeth against the hammering pulse at her wrist or her neck. He could play her like a priceless instrument and have her screaming high and loud for all to hear, not caring in the least that she might draw the attention of their enemy; wanting only more, wanting all that he could give.
"We'll feel it," she said, her hand sliding around his shoulder, squeezing. "We always do."
He could feel her heart slowing, beating lightly against his ribs; he closed his eyes and listened to it for awhile, found his breathing imitated it.
It was dangerous; letting their guard down for any amount of time. It was worth it, though. He'd rather die having a moment with her; holding her, feeling her, being just them for awhile. Truth was, he was sure that one day they would die in the field; the soldiers they'd become. He hoped it was together because without her, he didn't imagine he'd keep the team together well. He would be a wreck, a disaster, and he'd run them all into the ground. His arms tightened around her; losing Chloe was not an option. If he had to, he would take on the whole of the Kandorian army with no more than his bow and arrows and he'd die along beside her; just knowing he'd made one last stand, that he would be with her in the end, was enough.
"We're okay…" she whispered knowingly, fingers stroking. "For tonight, at least." She looked up at him, her eyes at half-mass, sleep tugging at the corners. Reaching for his face, she stroked the planes softly, delicately, as if he were something to be marveled over.
He stared at her a long moment, at the green eyes that spoke of trust and affection and hope. Leaning down, he caught her mouth; her lips smooth and warm against his. He buried his fingers in her hair, tightened, held on, and let himself be whisked away. The wind blew warm through the window, rustling messy blonde curls and sweeping across naked skin and tangled bodies. The red sun lit up her pale skin, highlighted her; the curve of her back, the swell of her full breasts, the flair of her round hips. Thick panting breaths escaped between slanting mouths and reaching tongues; hands reached and squeezed and spread down arms and chests. Finally, they drew apart, their foreheads still bent together. She looked up at him, her mouth wet and swollen. "You expect me to sleep after that?"
He grinned lightly, reached up and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Your fault."
Her nose wrinkled. "I dare you to tell me how…"
"Well if you dare…" He chuckled. His face sobered slowly, warm eyes staring down at her sweet, upturned face. "You're beautiful… And the idea of ever losing you—"
She covered his mouth with her hand and he was glad for it, because he could feel the swell of emotion that build in his throat, ready to choke his words. "You won't." She stared at him searchingly. "Just like I'll never lose you." Her brows quirk with the kind of finality he loved in her; as if just saying it meant it was true. And he wanted to believe her; he wanted to think that they would all survive this, somehow. But deep down he knew it wouldn't be so. Perhaps the world would right itself one day, a hero bigger and stronger than them would rise up and save them all, but he didn't think they'd be there to see it through.
"Right?"
"Right." He made sure his voice was strong, certain, because she needed to hear it as much as he needed to believe it.
They would not survive but they would fight until the bitter end. And until then, they would have each other and these nights; they would have the bell tower and the warm wind caressing them as they lay tangled, enjoying the last bit of normal they had; one another. She hugged him close, her head light against his chest, and he wrapped her up in his arms, listening once more to the beat of her heart, faster now, a harder staccato than the once peaceful pace. She was afraid, scared, because she knew the truth of it. Chloe and Oliver were not meant to survive this war, only keep it going, keep the fight and resistance alive, until one day it would be their time to lay down arms and finally rest… together.