Title: Five Times Chloe Was Kissed By Bruce Wayne
Author: Karen U
Pairing/Character: Chloe/Bruce
Disclaimer: No one you recognize belongs to me
Rating: PG13/T
Summary: see title
Spoilers: for Smallville, post-season 6. For Batman, post-Batman Begins. I'm using some stuff that was introduced early in TDK, but just general things, like Gordon being over the Major Crimes Unit. In my head, however, Rachel is played by Maggie Gyllenhaal 'cause I don't like Katie Holmes
Warnings: mild languge, violence.

Part One: Encounter With the Caped Crusader

She'd been in Gotham for a week. Part of it was for a story she was researching (hello, the city had a man that swooped around in full Kevlar costume and beat the crap out of criminals) and part of it was doing research for Oliver Queen. Clark Kent didn't approve of either of her reasons for coming to Gotham, but Chloe had reminded him yet again that what she did and didn't do wasn't really any of his business. He held no dominion over her, and even if it was difficult to say no when he gave her those puppy-dog looks, there was no way she was missing out on this.

So far, unfortunately, things hadn't gone quite as she'd hoped. Oh, she'd managed to get the information for Oliver: Lex was indeed trying to set up shop in Gotham, but it wasn't working out very well because Bruce Wayne was apparently blocking any attempts at a legitimate-appearing business venture on Lex's part. Of course, Lex could do things under the table as well, and despite Batman's hard work at cleaning up the city, he was still only one man, so the mob was still in business for the moment... And well, Lex Luthor had absolutely no issues going to the mob on occasion if it got him what he wanted. Yes, Chloe had managed to get plenty of information on Lex's attempted dealings in Gotham, but she'd gotten very little on the actual story she was there for.

Batman. Or, as some people referred to him, 'the Batman'. Chloe preferred to refer to him simply as Batman because, well, putting 'the' in front of it just sounded a little silly. She'd interviewed some people that'd had encounters with him, though really, civilians never seemed to see more than just a blur, and she hadn't been able to get in to see more than a couple of the criminals the man had caught. Jim Gordon, the man in the Gotham Police Department and the new head of the Major Crimes Unit that Batman preferred to deal with, had been polite but distant. He seemed intent on protecting this caped crusader (Chloe had found she rather liked that as a description for the as-yet unseen vigilante), and though Chloe had no intention to print anything harmful about Batman (despite his somewhat harsh methods at times, she knew he had his own code and obviously stuck to it and was definitely improving the city), he was hesitant to give her, a reporter from another city, too much information. That, of course, led Chloe to going out on her own in an attempt to spot Batman, something that she was cautioned not to do... But really, if her friends couldn't get her to stop running headlong into danger, why would she listen to the head of Gotham's Major Crimes Unit?

Okay, so maybe not listening to Jim Gordon's well-intended advice wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done.

Unfortunately, it was probably too late to do anything about it. In fact, it was probably too late to do much of anything except fight for her life.

Chloe cursed as she was thrown to the ground, the blonde grabbing her taser and turning it on, jamming it into her attacker's gut. He screamed at the contact, Chloe wincing at the sizzle of the voltage burning clothes and skin, and she might have managed to get away then if it wasn't for the fact that her attacker wasn't alone. A hand fisted in her hair, yanking her up, and tears sprang to her eyes at the pain. She kicked the guy in the kneecap, almost causing him to lose his grip, but all she ended up getting for her efforts was backhanded across the face. Her back hit the wall, and she saw the glint of a knife, and then-

He was gone.

Yanked away from her in an instant, the man thrown away from her. There had been no warning, no sound to alert anyone of her rescuer's presence, but suddenly he was there, beating the holy hell out of one of her attackers. He seemed huge, covered in miles of black, his face covered by a mask that was far less likely to fall off than Oliver's hood probably was. (Somehow, however, she just couldn't see the Green Arrow taking fashion tips from Batman. Especially when it came to the color of their costumes.) His fighting style was vicious and efficient, and within seconds, the thug that had attacked her was unconscious at his feet. He turned to look at her then, and Chloe licked suddenly dry lips as Batman's gaze fell on her.

There was very little light, but she could still tell that his eyes were dark. They stared out at her from the mask, a penetrating gaze, and Chloe understood why it was that people spoke about Batman with such hushed voices, such hints of awe. His presence, his appearance, was intended to inspire fear, and for the typical person, it did.

Chloe Sullivan was anything but typical.

She wiped at her cheek, wincing when she felt a scrape there. "Thank you," she said, her voice strong and clear, and if he was surprised by how steady she sounded, he didn't show it.

"You shouldn't be out here." His voice was low and gravelly. Disguised, she imagined, though it wasn't the metallic sound of a voice distorter. He seemed to mostly be lowering his own voice, speaking more harshly.

"Yeah, well, I do a lot of things I shouldn't," Chloe replied, stepping closer to him. A flicker of... something... in his dark eyes made her think that the movement surprised him. He was probably used to people - even those he was rescuing - being too afraid of him to get very close. "It's a bad habit of mine."

He frowned. "You're not afraid of me," he said, and Chloe shrugged, answering despite the fact that it was clearly a statement and not a question.

"You're not the first hero vigilante I've met," the little blonde replied, then tilted her head to the side. "Talking like that probably hurts your throat after awhile. You could always use a voice distorter. The Green Arrow does."

He blinked. "Why would I want to be like the Green Arrow?" He sounded vaguely insulted, and Chloe couldn't help the grin that came to her face at the tone of voice.

"Well, he does have some pretty tricked-out gadgets," she said, still smiling, her gaze just barely flicking from his as she noticed a movement in the background. Chloe acted on instinct, lunging sideways and unthinkingly yanking Batman with her, and she supposed the only reason he didn't react like it was an attack was because he didn't see her as any sort of a threat. As they fell a shot rang out, the thug that Chloe had tasered before no longer forgotten on the ground but instead holding a gun as he stood over his unconscious buddy. The bullet went right through where she and Batman had been standing, missing them by inches as they fell to the side, strong arms coming around her as the man in black turned them so that he took the brunt of the fall.

Batman was back on his feet in an instant, and the thug was on his back only seconds later, Chloe still laying on the ground as the crack of a bone breaking rang out, the thug running off holding his injured wrist, the gun now on the ground. The caped crusader turned to her then, stepping towards her and reaching out a gloved hand to help her up, Chloe taking it with little hesitation.

"He was going to shoot me in the back," came the low, gravelly voice, and Chloe pressed her lips together. "You pulled me out of the way."

"You probably would have noticed him yourself if I hadn't distracted you," the blonde said quietly, starting to think about how surreal this whole situation was. She was standing in some crappy place in Gotham, actually having a conversation with Batman. Batman never stopped to talk to people more than he had to. He just rescued, then left, from what she could gather. Of course, the fact that he hadn't just run off this time had nearly gotten him shot.

"I should have checked him for a weapon," Batman said, sounding a bit disgusted with himself, and then he turned back to her. Chloe's eyes widened in surprise when his hand lifted, coming towards her, and then his gloved fingers were on her cheek. "You'll have a bruise."

She took a deep breath, surprised by the little thrill that shot through her at the touch. It wasn't even skin on skin; the man was wearing gloves, for goodness' sakes! Damn her for having such a thing for hero-types. Although she usually picked more cheerful, less broody and forboding heroes... And no, she was not going to have a crush on Batman. No way, no how.

"Trust me. I've had worse," she told him, glancing away, and he stepped back, seeming to think she was intimidated by his presence, and seeming almost like he didn't want to intimidate her, which was kind of weird... Intimidation seemed to be Batman's thing.

"You should get home."

"Back to my hotel, actually. I'm not from around here. I'm from Metropolis, mostly," she told him. It was, after all, where she spent most of her time now, between working for Oliver and working for the Planet.

Batman nodded, though he didn't say anything, the large man stepping back from her, but before he could just disappear into the night, Chloe reached out again, putting her hand on his arm. He froze instantly, turning back to look at her. She gave him a smile.

"Thank you. For saving me tonight," she told him, eyes locked on his, and then something happened that she never would have expected and really couldn't explain. Because as she stood there looking up at Gotham's vigilante hero, a dark man that most feared, he stepped closer to her, his hand on her face once more, gloved fingers touching her cheek...

And then, quite suddenly, he kissed her. He didn't force anything, didn't try to maul her, his lips just brushed over hers once, twice, three times, and then he pulled away, something about the way he was looking at her making her think he'd shocked himself as much as he had her... And then he was gone. Batman was gone, having left as suddenly as he came, and Chloe stood there in shock for a moment before she reached down to pick up the purse she'd lost as well as her taser, then hurried off in the direction she knew her hotel to be in.

She wasn't aware of the eyes of Gotham's resident hero watching her every move, making sure she got to her destination safely.