AN: My first Smallville fic so please be kind.

Chapter 1.

Chloe

Chloe sat on the plush orange couch a tub of ice-cream opened on the table in front of her, one spoon deep inside the cold sweet relief. What she was doing here she couldn't say but she had needed to be somewhere quiet and without people, Queen Tower or at least the Penthouse fitted the bill.

The rest of the place was still covered in dust sheets but that was okay, all she needed was access to a working fridge, a bathroom and a place to sleep, all of which this place provided. Oliver of course made sure that the place had a continuous supply of electricity, she guessed he never knew where he was going to end up next. So she had her laptop at hand playing out some stupid sloppy music while she kept chomping her way through the ice cream.

Normally she would have gone home to The Talon and talked things out with Lois even if she didn't always get it Chloe had thought her cousin would have listened, just not this time because this time Lois was the problem. One confidant down two left, Clark and Lana, Lana was so wrapped up in the nightmare that was her marriage to Lex Chloe didn't have the heart to dump her own problems on the friend she counted as sister.

As for Clark, Chloe huffed and pulled another scoop of the now dissolving mass into her mouth before adding a gulp of sweet hot coffee, in a crisis Chloe was pretty sure there was nothing better.

A buzzing noise distracted her from her melancholy long enough for her to note it was Clark calling, she pushed the cell away from her rapidly sending it to the floor with a dull thud. Talking to Clark was the last thing on her mind, in fact she didn't want to think about Clark at all.

The image replayed in her mind for the nth time and she wondered why it was bothering her so much, after all he was just her friend, they had agreed on it and she had moved on, started seeing Jimmy, but that of course had died a not so glorious death. "Sullivan you really know how to make a mess of things." She grumbled quietly to herself, although it was Clark and Lois she had walked in on.

Loving Clark had just been something she had always seemed to have done, it wasn't rational and Chloe knew that but she hadn't been able to stop herself and she was content with being what she was, best friend, confident, researcher, sidekick, actually she enjoyed it, it definitely made life more interesting. So what was the problem?

The music was for a start and with a few clicks the choice of tunes had changed, more upbeat, faster, livelier yet more relaxing and she closed her eyes rolling her neck from side to side feeling a familiar click.

"Well thank god for that." The voice startled her and she jumped a little as her head whipped round, her eyes widening as she set sight on Oliver Queen. "Oliver," it came out a little breathlessly and she stared at him as if he were some kind of apparition. "I thought you were in Borneo or somewhere with lots of trees."

Sipping on her coffee nervously she gave him what she hoped was a bright smile while she tried to figure out how she was going to explain the ice cream, the coffee ring on the table, the electricity bill and more importantly how she got in.

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Oliver

Oliver was just passing through Metropolis, a pit stop on his way to Gotham, he needed to take five, catch his breath and get his thoughts together before his next venture, Bruce Wayne.

The rest of the team had scattered for a few days, Justice needed to be served, especially when it came to Lex Luthor and his endless desire for power but even Justice needed a break. Ollie was proud of his team they each brought something unique with them and not just their power but personality, determination to help those who couldn't always help themselves.

Once the jet had landed at the airport he arranged to meet the guys back in Star City, they could make their own way there although the jet was at their disposal if they chose that option. He'd already known Bart's destination and he was half tempted to head there himself but refrained, that ship had long since sailed and it hadn't been quite as painful as he had anticipated.

He could have headed to a hotel, taken over any suite but he wanted to come here, back to the place he considered his own, besides which he had a supply of gadgets and gizmos there to keep himself amused with while he wound down. Queen Towers they called it now, at least that was the unofficial name, Oliver had not sought to change it preferring The Clock Tower, it seemed less pretentious.

Bernie the doorman had greeted him warmly before a slightly sheepish expression crossed his face and he explained that there was a young lady upstairs, he knew he should have called the police but she'd been there before and well she'd seemed so upset he hadn't the heart.

Ollie patted the older man's shoulder reassuring him it wouldn't cost him his job, but he was curious as to who was making use of the empty penthouse. He adjusted the bag slung over his shoulder, he had no need of clothes, one of the good things about being so rich was he had a ready supply where ever he went. Leaning against the side of the elevator his eyes closed, exhaustion ripping through him.

The music that greeted him as he finally left the confined space confused him even more, soppy, annoying, wait was that Celine Dion? Wrinkling his face he waggled a finger in his ear sure his brains were about to start pouring out in protest when it was switched off, "Well thank god for that," he said in a loud voice still surprised he hadn't been noticed.

Her eyes, they had caught his attention the first time he had met her in Clarks barn, they were soft, playful, full of energy, warmth and they had a sparkle that lit up her entire face, more so when she combined it with that hundred watt smile but all that was missing right now and Ollie didn't know why. Chloe Sullivan aka Watchtower, not exactly who he was expecting but she wasn't unwelcome and given the expression on her face he didn't feel inclined to give her a hard time, well not too much of one.

"Oliver,"

It was the look on her face that caused him to smirk, she looked like a child who had been caught doing something naughty. His eyes swept quickly over the table and he caught sight of the ice cream and coffee. The coffee didn't surprise him in the slightest, according to Lois, Chloe practically survived on the stuff, how he wasn't sure he preferred tea himself. Ice cream, big tub one spoon, now that didn't look like a good sign, but then was the fact she appeared to be hiding out here a good sign? He guessed not.

"I thought you were in Borneo or somewhere with lots of trees."

"I was, we left." Another 33.1 facility cleared out and destroyed, they had so much data now he had been thinking about contacting Chloe anyway to offer her a job of sorts, not one she could place on her resume.

"I hope that's not a ring on my table," he gestured towards the multiple sets that were centred on one area of the table. His voice was amused, concerned, curious and tired, very very tired. "Because that was an expensive table." Kicking off his shoes he dropped his bag on the floor and made his way over to the couch dropping into the seat alongside her. "Got a spare spoon? And why is my floor making a buzzing sound?"