Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of Smallville.
Author's note: Dedicated to the wonderful folks at the Chollie LJ community. I have really enjoyed the amazing creativity and positive energy from the community.
Set after Escape and Checkmate and before Sacrifice.
No beta. Feel free to let me know my mistakes. My first Smallville FF!
He get's me
"My flight will be in by 5. How about dinner Mrs. Green?" Ollie asked into his cell phone as he shutdown his laptop and got ready to head to the airport.
"Sorry Mr. Green. I didn't expect you back until tomorrow. I already have plans." Chloe's calm voice replied. She was obviously also multitasking as well. He could hear the clicking of her keyboard through the phone.
Oliver was taken aback, but kept moving.
"What kind of plans do you have? I'm pretty sure I would remember if the team had an operation tonight. Got another blonde billionaire coming to sweep you off your feet?" He asked good-naturedly. There was no jealousy in his voice, just curiosity.
"Well you got the blonde part right." Chloe replied with a smile. "Courtney is stopping by tonight. I have more information on some of her family's old friends."
"Ah Goldilocks. Say hi to the kid for me." He frowned for a moment as he closed up his briefcase. "That doesn't sound like it will take all evening." Oliver stated it like a question. He smiled and nodded to his secretary on his way out.
"Courtney wanted to talk about a few other things. She wasn't specific. But she's a teenager who has taking the road less traveled which includes a WIDE variety of big bad wolves." Chloe explained.
"I can relate." She added after a moment.
Green Arrow sometimes coaxed remarkably stories from Watchtower when they bantered to kill pre-mission tension. Chloe's ever-eventful high school times included multiple kidnappings and near death experiences. He knew that in four years, Chloe had lived through more than most people experience in four life times.
"Besides," Chloe continued. "I'm looking forward to a little girl talk which doesn't involve Lois's mile-a-minute verbal marathons." She paused. "Truthfully I'm a curious too."
"So you're going to pop popcorn, watch a chick flick, and have a pillow fight?" Oliver teased as he got into his limo to the airport.
Chloe rolled her eyes.
"I can hear you rolling your eyes." Oliver said.
"Goodbye Mr Green. Call me in the morning. Maybe we can have breakfast." Chloe replied. A part of her loved that he knew her so well.
Another part of her, a much bigger part, still couldn't believe that he actually did know her so well.
She sighed as she clicked to hang up. Chloe pushed away thoughts on her ambiguous love life to focus on patching a security hole in Watchtower's system.
Ollie wasn't surprised that the young Stargirl piqued Chloe's curiosity.
For all of Watchtower's experience, Chloe still wanted the human-interest side of the page one article. Stargirl was also far more open about the JSA than their stoic leader Hawkman.
As Oliver Queen walked onto his plane, his anticipation to see Chloe grew. Metropolis was an important business and technological center. But increasingly the main attraction was a person he had known for years, but only really come to appreciate in the last six months.
"Maybe breakfast tomorrow" seemed like a long time away…
Oliver rationalized. "Well, the best time to plan for breakfast is the night before." After he landed, he would do Queen Industries work for an hour or two. That should give Chloe enough "girl time" with Courtney.
Chloe wouldn't mind a late night visitor. It was pretty common actually.
And if she did get upset, Ollie could think of a few ways to make it up to her. He smiled with confidence as he settled in for the flight back to Metropolis.
It was later than he planned when Ollie finally made it Watchtower. The plane ran into bad weather. The airport put them in a holding pattern. The late evening one-hour conference call with China took two and a half hours and spawned a slew of follow up emails and work.
There was always one more thing that Queen Industries needed from its CEO.
Now it was just past midnight.
Oliver was tired and frustrated and he really wanted to see Chloe.
He heard voices as he approached the doors. His mood improved at the thought of her only a few steps away. Oliver was certain that Courtney could be convinced it was past her bedtime. He would soon have some quality time with the woman he had been missing for the past week.
The billionaire's anticipation turned into confusion when he walked though the double doors to find Chloe sitting on the couch with Carter Hall.
Chloe was wearing jeans and had her feet tucked under her. Her hair was messy and her green eyes were bright. Carter was clearly relaxed as he pulled a drink from his beer. Chloe was smiling at something he had said.
"Did I miss a memo?" Oliver asked bringing their attention to him. The confusion showed on his face.
"Ollie!" Chloe looked up and smiled brightly. She walked over and hugged him. "Welcome back. Though it's a bit early for breakfast."
"Yeah well, it's breakfast in Europe." He retorted as he wrapped his arms around his almost girlfriend. This was what he had been missing all week. This warm feeling of belonging to someone.
Oliver leaned in for a kiss but was interrupted when Hawkman moved. "I'll head out." He pulled on a coat that was hanging by the door.
Much to Oliver's surprise, Chloe pulled away from him and stepped to her departing guest. She looked…embarrassed?
"Thanks Carter." She said with a small smile.
"It was fun Chloe. We can do it again sometime." Carter responded with a softness in his voice which Oliver had heard once before. It was the same way Hawkman talked about his beloved wife.
Carter turned to leave. Chloe impulsively reached for him and gave him a quick hug. "Really. Thanks." She smiled genuinely.
Carter looked down into her open green eyes as he hugged her back and released her. "Take care Chloe. Goodnight Green Arrow."
"Yeah. Goodnight Big bird." Ollie replied.
Hawkman snorted. "Don't hurt yourself playing with all those pointy objects." He turned dismissively away. But his good humor was clear.
Chloe closed the door behind him. "Courtney had to help her step-father with something, so Carter came to pick up the information instead." She explained before Ollie could ask again.
"It looks like he stayed for the girl talk too. You two looked like new BFF. Should I let Clark know his spot is being scoped out?" He teased.
"Is that a hint of jealousy Mr. Green?" Chloe snarked in response. She stepped back to Oliver and eased into his embrace again.
Ollie pulled her body to press intimately against every part of his. He finally leaned down and was rewarded with a warm soft kiss. Chloe's lips moved with just the right mix of desire and affection. The gentle sweep of her tongue against his lips, the pressure of her palms on the back of his neck and intimacy of her body fitting snuggly against his.
"I missed you Mrs. Green." He whispered softly between kisses. He said it in a way that did not require a response.
Oliver was instinctively careful to not push her commitment phobia button. Any time he said something to show his concern, he did it without expectation or pause. Ollie didn't want Chloe's silent non-response to push them apart. So he filled the moments after his declaration with more kisses and caresses.
That technique usually worked. He protected his own heart and took a small brick down from Chloe's formidable defenses.
So he was surprised when she pushed him away.
"Sorry Ollie. I…um…I have one more thing I have to do tonight." She mumbled as she pulled away awkwardly.
Chloe edged away from him and toward a workstation. Before she could get very far Ollie grabbed her by elbow and spun her back into his arms. He kissed her again. This time more urgently and filled with lust. He kissed her passionately. It left her breathless.
And abruptly released her again.
"No problem Chloe. I can wait." He smirked.
She rolled her eyes at him and turned back her workstation. But she was blushing and a hint of a smile graced her lips.
Oliver made his way to the small kitchen area and filled a glass with water. The familiar sounds of her Chloe's typing drifted over to him.
It was then that he noticed three things.
One, there were three beer bottles in the recycle. In addition to the one Hawkman had put on the counter when he left. Chloe didn't like beer. She might drink one at most to be social.
Two, most of the Watchtower monitors were already in night mode. In fact the place looked like it had been already left on automatic night mode for a while.
Three, Chloe wasn't using her preferred the large display for her work. She was using the more private desk display.
He wondered over to Chloe and she turned to block his view.
"Just a couple more minutes. You might want to review the Victor's last mission debrief. I pulled it up for you." She pointed to a different work area, smiled and turned away.
Oliver ignored her attempt to distract him and caged her from behind with his hands placed on her desk. Chloe could feel the curiosity and vague unhappiness come off him in waves. "I am much more interested in what you are working on." He stated bluntly. "What is taking all your attention ?" He asked as he leaned in to nuzzle her at the crook of her neck and shoulder.
She instinctively tipped her head to give him better access to her neck. Chloe knew her lame attempt to distract him with a mission report was a long shot. She could sense his patience warring with his curiosity as his waited for her explanation. He was giving her a chance to let her guard down and start playtime.
Oliver could smell her shampoo. He could feel the awkward tension of "being caught." He placed a few small kisses on her pale skin. Whatever she was working on couldn't be worse then they what they had endured before.
She sighed as she gave in and turned to kiss him. But he pulled back slightly and asked again with a "Humm?"
Chloe reached for him again and mumbled quietly, "It's private."
And she immediately regretted it.
Ollie stepped back as if slapped.
"It's nothing." Chloe qualified and step forward to close the distance again. He put his hands on his hips and stared at her. She stopped. His disappointment and hurt was apparent.
"I thought we were doing better than this." He replied with a small amount of bitterness. "What is it Chloe? Hawkman wants your help running an op? You need to do some top-secret research for him? What's the big deal? You know you can talked to me about this stuff."
Chloe kept eye contact and shook her head. "No. No! It's nothing like that. I would tell you about that. We are in this together. The mission comes first. I won't make that mistake again."
The weight of her deception when she "borrowed" Ollie's money to build green kryptonite weapons had changed her. She wouldn't make that mistake again. She took a deep breath to stop babbling.
"I know I can trust you with all of Watchtower's work." Chloe said it like a confession of love.
Oliver heard it differently.
"But you don't trust me enough. Right? Not with whatever you are doing with the Winged Wonder?" He asked heatedly. The anger and hurt was at the surface.
Oliver crossed his arms and leaned against the couch. What the hell was she doing with Carter Hall if it wasn't related to the mission?
He wasn't jealous.
He could convince himself that he was just mad that she was keeping secrets from him. Keeping secrets with Carter Hall. Carter Hall with a stick so far up, it affected his brain. She'd hugged him. They must have been together for hours to go through three beers.
Maybe "jealous" was the right word.
Oliver gritted his teeth and looked away. Unwilling to take a chance on speaking again.
A handful of tense heartbeats passed.
He felt Chloe's hand on his arm. "I'll show you. It really is nothing." She tugged and Oliver let himself be led back to her workstation.
"It's just some notes." She said.
Chloe didn't want Ollie to be angry. It was just hard to talk about.
It had been easier with Carter.
"Carter and I talked for awhile. He gave me some ideas. I wanted to write them down before…well…I didn't want to forget them."
Oliver scanned the document.
It was notes on Jimmy Olsen and his family. There were a few dates with notes by them. It didn't make any sense to him.
"You talked about Jimmy?" Oliver asked quietly as his anger seeped away. Chloe and Oliver had discussed Jimmy only a small handful of times. Jimmy was a hard topic for both of them.
She nodded. "And about Shayera, Carter's wife." She closed the document and shut down the system. "Carter said, it helps to think about her life and what she would be doing now for the people she cared about. It's one of the reasons he tries to help with Courtney and the other kids so much. It's what Shayera would have done."
The notes were about Jimmy's life. His little brother's birthday, his estranged father's problems. Carter had suggested she do one or two things for Jimmy's brother. Something Jimmy would have done. Maybe a birthday card to his brother or a special gift at Christmas or extra money for new computer.
Chloe looked down at her keyboard. She had pushed away so many parts of her old life.
Jimmy deserved better.
Jimmy had always deserved better.
Chloe felt the water in her eyes and blinked. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on what Jimmy would like for his brother. Maybe Jimmy's brother would like a trip to a Daily Planet and a burger from a Radu's. .
Oliver suddenly felt like a complete heel. Chloe looked sad.
Tonight she wasn't hiding a big secret. Chloe bonded with bird boy through grief. She made a friend. And Carter had helped her find a way to make her smile when she thought about Jimmy.
Green Arrow and Chloe Sullivan both crashed in different ways after Jimmy and Davis had died. Oliver lost himself and nearly self-destructed. Chloe had saved him.
But at the same time Chloe walled herself up in Watchtower and started watching others lives rather than living her own. If Tweety could help pull Chloe out of Watchtower and back to the real world…then Oliver could only thank him.
Oliver leaned in and tilted her head up. He kissed her gently pouring his apology into his actions. He caressed her mouth and lips. Chloe melted into his arms. She clung to him and hid her face, embarrassed. Her emotions were too exposed and she wanted to be held. Oliver was getting too close. It was going to get too complicated. Chloe breathed in the musty smell of Ollie and his fading cologne and didn't care. The strength of his arms surrounded her in acceptance.
"Are we good now?" Chloe asked. Her voice was full of uncertainty.
Oliver breathed intimately into the shell of Chloe's ear.
"We're good."
They kissed and touched in forgiveness and acceptance and growing desire until Chloe pulled away.
"Ollie, can we go to your place?" She asked. Chloe ducked her head so she could cover her disappointment if he said no.
"Let's go." He answered without pause. Oliver smirked. He pulled her toward the doors urgently. She asked to go to his place and he was not going to let her change her mind.
The night was definitely looking up.
Less than twenty minutes later, Oliver pulled the last stitch of clothing off his Watchtower. She laid spread out on his bed. The cotton sheets bunched between Chloe's fingers as gripped it. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut, lips wet and parted. Ollie leaned over and pressed his naked torso against her petite frame. She moaned appreciatively and arched her back. Ollie nearly lost it.
He groaned and pulled her knees up on both sides of his waist. He ran his length along her moist center. Chloe caught her breath as Ollie slowly wet himself before he pressed into her.
They both sighed with pleasure as they connected intimately.
Ollie stroked evenly and deeply. Chloe bit her lower lip as the sensations built up. She ran her fingers through his short hair and looked at him through lidded eyes.
He was so gorgeous. Corded strength wove through his body and she could see the muscles ripple with each move. She tightened around him and made small appreciative noises.
Oliver took the cue and increased his pace. Chloe was beautiful when she came apart around him. She was so incredibly human and insanely sensitive. He loved touching her and being with her. He grinned at her as she mewled in response to their new pace. His Chloe was almost there. Ollie thrust in deeply and leaned in for a kiss before he pulled back and brought his hand to her nub. Chloe cried out his name and arched against him. Pleasure blinded her as it pulsed through her in waves.
He kept his pace a few more moments and found his own release. Ollie shuddered with pleasure as his poured into Chloe.
Chloe squeaked as Ollie collapsed on her. He immediately shifted to spoon her from behind. He panted and his warm breath tickled her neck. The puffs of warm air were a reminder of their shared intimacy.
"Are we good?" Ollie asked good-naturedly. They were both almost asleep as the endorphins left them replete and happy.
"We're better than good Mr. Green." Chloe replied with a smile as she closed her eyes and pulled his arm around her waist.
"Glad to hear it Mrs. Green." Ollie chuckled.
"Sleepy?" He asked.
"I'm sleeping Mr. Green." She corrected. "It's super late and I am very satisfied. " Chloe mumbled, struggling to keep awake.
"Hum." He replied as he tugged the covers up over both of them. His body was more relaxed then it had been all week. Oliver had missed her more than he cared to admit.
But something nagged him in the back of his mind and made sleep elusive.
"Hey Chloe?" He whispered.
"Wha…?" Chloe responded incoherently as she was roused from sleep.
"What's so special about Hawkman?" Ollie asked suddenly.
"Wha…? Carter? He's alright." She mumbled again. Chloe was really asleep. Her mouth just hadn't caught up yet.
"How did you two become buddies so quickly? Not your normal M.O." Ollie asked. His curiosity overcame his post-coital sleepiness. He prodded her gently again.
"Hum? Oh, Carter." Chloe responded in her sleep. "He just gets me."
Oliver chest tightened. He pulled her close against this body and took a deep breath to calm himself. Chloe felt so warm and so right in his arms.
But Chloe wasn't his. Not yet.
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