A/N: I wrote this simply because I needed some light-hearted Chollie among the angst. Yes, I know the ending is incredibly cheesy, but that's the point of fluff isn't it? This takes place soon after "Escape"

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters/locations. They belong to the creators of Smallville/Superman.

First Date

Well, I hope Lois is happy. I went on this blind date so she would stop asking about Oliver and me, but it has turned out to be a waste of time. Twiddling my thumbs, I looked over the menu for what felt like the twentieth time. I was just about ready to give up when my phone rang.

"Hey Oliver, what's up?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to see what you were doing."

"Wasting my time actually. Lois set me up on this blind date, and the guy hasn't shown up."

"How did Lois get you to agree to this?"

"Jealous?"

"Why? You're alone, aren't you?"

Touché, Ollie. "Well, it was a compromise. If I went on this date, she would stop asking questions. I told her that we were 'no comment' to her, but I should have said 'no questions' too. So seriously, there's nothing exciting going on with you? No shareholders meetings? No show-downs with Tess?"

"Honestly, for the last twenty-two minutes, I have been trying to come up with the proper way to tell you something."

"Well, aren't you specific." I was worried that 'something' would complicate matters, but then I looked at my watch. 6:22. My date was supposed to meet me at 6. "She didn't."

"Oh yes she did."

"Where are you?"

"Just inside the entrance. How do you want to handle this?"

I looked around subtly and noticed Lois sitting three tables down. She had tried to disguise herself in a blonde wig, but it immediately gave her away.

"Lois is here."

"Yeah, I noticed she can't quite pull off your hair colour."

I laughed. "Well, if she's here, so is Clark."

"Way ahead of you, Sidekick. I accidentally spotted him across the street on my way here."

I looked out the window and sighed. He was well-hidden, but I could see the white 'S' across the street.

"Throw the white flag, Ollie. We're not getting out of this."

"You sure?"

"You have any better ideas?"

"I'll be right there."

I closed my phone and within a moment, Oliver sat down. "So, this is what exactly?"

Looking at the menu again, I replied, "Clearly they want this to be a date."

"I say we give it to them."

I dropped the menu and looked at him. I raised my eyebrow. "You're kidding right?"

He put his hands up in defence. "Hey, you pulled out the white flag." He put his hands back down and lowered his voice, probably not wanting to make a scene in front of Lois. "It's like taking this date in the first place. We do it, satisfy them for one night and then they'll back off for awhile. To us, it'll be a normal dinner. To them, it'll be a date."

I smiled. "Not a bad plan, Queen, but know that unlike your usual date, I actually eat. I hope you came prepared."

"What? We're not splitting the bill? Isn't that what people usually do on a first date?"

"Come on Oliver. You've seen my bank account."

"Actually, it's more likely you've seen mine. Don't you have my bank information on file?"

I snickered. That was true. "Fine, I'll pay my share."

He narrowed his eyes and grabbed my hand. "You really think I would let you pay?"

I shook my head. "So what do you think I should get? I'm debating between the pad thai and the cheeseburger."

"You know that pad thai has peanuts right?" He looked disappointed, not that I blamed him, but he was the one who suggested treating this like a date. Just because I agreed to the idea doesn't mean I liked it.

"I'm sorry; I thought we were treating this like a first date. I'm not supposed to know your allergies. Besides, I like peanuts."

He looked nervous as the waitress came by a few moments later. "Are you ready to order?"

Ollie gestured to me, so I replied first. "I'll have the cheeseburger, please."

He looked surprised at my choice. "Same here."

After she walked away, Oliver looked at me. "What, no pad thai?"

"I hate cilantro."

Clearly unconvinced, he responded, "Sure."

"Fine... I like you more than peanuts. Happy?"

He simply grinned and sipped his water.

After a while, we tried to forget this was a set-up and just talked. Of course, we knew that this wasn't a typical night. Both of us took turns at spying out Lois and Clark's facial expressions. After Oliver paid, we got up to leave and then we faced the circumstances of how we got here.

"So you want me to drive you home? We could finally get some privacy."

I elbowed him. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Queen. Honestly, I was going to walk back to Watchtower to get some work done."

He held the door for me and then followed me outside. "Do you ever take a night off?"

"You can't exactly take a sick day when we're on the brink of World War III."

He looked up at the skies and then back at me. "It's survived this long."

I sighed. "We can't, Ollie, not while they're watching."

"Let them watch, Chloe. We're not doing anything. C'mon, at least let me walk you there."

"I don't know..."

"Regardless of tonight's circumstances, I'm not letting you walk down these streets by yourself. I know you can handle plenty of things, but I can't risk you getting hurt for the team's sake."

I shook my head at him, trying to find the right words, but I didn't have anything.

He put his arms on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "Look, Clark won't want to compromise Watchtower's location, so he'll send Lois home. Worst case scenario, he keeps Lois busy while we walk. Best case, he gets sick of following us and leaves us alone. Besides, it's five blocks."

He was persistent, I'll give him that, but he forgot the fact that Clark was currently on patrol as the Blur. Clark would never risk spilling his secret to Lois for our sake, but I didn't think to argue. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you planned this."

He withdrew his hands and we started walking. "You kidding me? I wanted to do this even less than you."

I doubted that. "Hey, I can't have been that bad of a date." He smirked the moment I said the word 'date', but he didn't call me on it.

Soon enough, we arrived at Watchtower, and Ollie stopped walking at stared at the building.

"Well, this is where I take my leave."

"Thanks, Ollie."

I went to open the door, but Oliver grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him. "You think I'm letting you off that easy?" He slid his hand through my hair and kissed me. After a few moments, he backed off and said, "You know where to find me in case you change your mind about that sick day."

"Night."

I watched him walk down the street for a moment before I stepped into the building. We made the most of what could have been an awkward situation. However, that didn't mean I was ready for the next step. I'm not sure I would ever be ready for it. Stepping into the elevator, I entered my passcode and started heading up to Watchtower. I really didn't have any work to do, it was just an excuse to get out of the situation as soon as possible, but it didn't work. Oliver saw right through me.

I walked into Watchtower and thought about that fateful night. It wasn't planned; at least I didn't think it was. Regardless, it was nice to have a break from the stress my life was putting on me. One night off wouldn't hurt. I opened the door and entered the elevator.

He's probably going to kill me for walking by myself, but it was a short distance, and I always had the bare necessities of self-defence with me. I knocked on his door and waited a moment.

He opened the door and looked at me. "Hello."

I walked past him and said, "I was thinking about that sick day. Does my forehead feel warm to you?"

He closed the door and stuck his hand on my forehead. "Nothing that a good night's sleep won't fix, but I thought you had a world to save."

"I think it can survive by itself until morning."