She'd done it again, Oliver thought heatedly, glancing at Chloe. Once again she had claimed that she was not tired, that she'd gotten plenty of sleep the night before, and that she would be fine to keep their meeting for the evening.

...And then passed out on his couch after fifteen minutes. He rolled his eyes. It wasn't fair. He'd been planning to...well, talk to her about some things. Most specifically, about them.

Not that there actually was a "them." He figured that was what he had wanted to talk about. Of course, he'd had absolutely no game plan beyond that. All he knew was that he promised himself that he wasn't going to bed that night unless he'd at least tried to tell her how he felt.

She moaned in her sleep and rolled onto her stomach, making Oliver groan. It simply wasn't fair.

He wasn't going to let her get away with it. That was all there was to it.

He marched across the room to her with every intention of roughly shaking her awake. Of course that ambition died by the time he was within six inches of her. The peaceful look on her face was too much. He sighed, running a hand through his hair in vexation. Then, tentatively, he ran a hand over her back, rubbing her shoulder slightly. Chloe frowned in her sleep, burying her face slightly.

"Sidekick," he whispered.

"mmmmm." It was the only response he was to expect. He smiled, brushing his thumb over her cheek. Then, as gently as he could, he moved her aside on the couch to sit down beside her. The result was that she ended up tucking her fingers under his leg and resting her head on his lap.

He sighed in despair. If he woke her now, she'd only be embarrassed and there would be no getting anywhere with her.

He ran his hand over her shoulder, stroking her arm absently as he watched her sleep. He was getting nowhere fast.

Not that he really found himself minding either way. His hand drifted from her shoulder onto her side, rubbing it gently, half-heartedly hoping she would wake, but she didn't. She was really out. He wondered vaguely when the last time was that she got a decent night's sleep. As busy as things had been for the JL, he had a feeling it had been a while.

He became very still when she moved in her sleep, bringing her top hand out from where it had been tucked under his leg and moving her arm on top of his, holding it around her stomach.

He stifled a groan. This would be very difficult to explain when and if she woke up. With a sigh, he carefully lifted her whole body into his arms and carried her from the couch to the bed where he laid her down delicately.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he looked at her doubtfully. Maybe it was just a sign that she wasn't ready yet. He'd finally got up the nerve to address the issue and she'd thwarted him brilliantly.

He couldn't argue with her if she didn't even give him a chance to bring up the subject.

He shot an annoyed look at the ceiling. Then, on a sudden whim, he started talking quietly to her, just softly enough that it wouldn't wake her. "Well, this is pretty much pointless because you're sleeping and won't hear a word of it, but I thought you should know that I have discovered I'm in love with you. Don't know how it happened, or when. Just did. And I had every intention of fighting with you tonight as long as it took to get you to be my girlfriend, but--" he shook his head. "Well, it's pointless, like I said. I've been aware of this for a few months now, and I guess I've just been sitting around hoping you'd magically make the first move. Not that I really expected that to happen, but you know me, I suck at the whole 'now let's share our feelings' thing."

He heaved yet another sigh.

"Well, anyway," he said, leaning over and brushing the hair out of her face to plant a soft kiss on her cheek. "Sleep well, Sidekick. You've earned it," he whispered. "Love you."

And he walked out of the room dejectedly, making his way to the couch. He grabbed a pillow and a blanket and was unbuttoning his shirt when he felt a hand slide across his chest from behind, pulling him back slightly until his body met hers.

Chloe pressed her face into his muscular back and took a long slow breath, breathing in the smell of his cologne and...just...him.

"Months, huh?" she laughed softly. "You really do suck at communication." She pressed a kiss onto his shoulder before he slowly turned to face her, a slight feeling of mortification sinking in.

"You were awake?"

She smiled demurely and nodded.

Oliver groaned inwardly. "How long?"

"Oh...sometime after you joined me on the couch."

He rolled his eyes. "Great."

"Oliver?"

"Yeah?"

"You're an idiot."

Before he could respond she'd pulled him into the softest of kisses, moving her lips slowly, lovingly, wearily against his. It was enough to send electricity through his entire system as well as enough to tell him exactly how exhausted she really was.

"You should go back to bed," he sighed into her kiss, his heart lighter than he could ever remember it being.

He felt her smile against his lips and nod slightly. "Only if you're coming with me," she said quietly, tugging his shirt to take him with her as she backed toward his bedroom.

He grinned, sweeping her up into his arms for the second time and carrying her back to the bed. This time, though, he climbed into bed with her after laying her down, and she immediately snuggled into his chest, allowing him to wrap his arms around her.

"G'night, Sidekick," he whispered.

"Mmmm..."

He thought she'd already drifted back to sleep but a moment later she spoke again.

"Ollie?"

"Hmm?"

"I forgot to mention. I love you, too," she said into his chest.

He chuckled lightly. "Go to sleep, Chloe."

She smiled and complied before long.

Oliver sank into a contented slumber, thinking to himself how beautiful she was when she slept.

Author's Comment: Can I just say that now that I have written this, I feel extremely sleepy? Sadly, I have no Ollie to carry me to my bed. --sigh--