Disclaimer: Not mine, not for profit, for entertainment only.
Spoilers and changes to the timeline: Dark Thursday never happened, Lex is bad, but not evil (similar past to the show without the more extreme things, ie. he never kidnapped Chloe). He dated Lana to try to learn Clark's secret for a short time, but there was no marriage or baby. The larger issues of alien invasions will not play in this story, but there are still meteor freaks, and Lex's interest in meteor freaks. Chloe and Clark are 21, Lois two years older but the same year in college, Oliver and Lex are older (6-7 years).
Money can't buy love
Chapter 2
-Smallville—
Chloe avoided seeing Oliver for a several weeks, feeling unsettled about how she'd spoken to him. While it was all true, it was also true that Oliver always put himself out there for his friends. He was generous. And not just with his money. He helped Chloe with information she would have to break several laws to get, that he could access with a simple call. He not only contributed to Martha Kent's campaign, he held fundraisers for her, and set up a fund to make low interest loans to family farms in trouble. He loaned Lois the money to fix her car before her father came to town (and Chloe knew Lois hadn't paid him back and Ollie hadn't asked) and always used his name to get Clark reservations to the best restaurants in town so Clark could take Lana out in the style she'd like to become accustomed to.
Chloe didn't even have to ask him for help anymore, if he knew she needed it, or even if she didn't he still extended himself to help her. And on top of all that, Oliver set up nights out for all of them, nights out that Chloe needed desperately as things with Jimmy got worse.
It wasn't like she didn't see Oliver's good side, it was that his bad side was hard to ignore.
A few days later, Chloe entered the Ace of Clubs, greeting Bruno, the bouncer she'd befriended that first night. "How's things, Chloe?"
"Good," Chloe said with a contemplative look. She actually felt good, it had been two weeks since she'd seen Jimmy, and the lack of drama had taken a load off her shoulders. "Surprisingly good. How about you?"
"Good." He grinned widely. "I haven't seen you in awhile. I have news," he said with a grin. "Mary's pregnant."
Chloe grinned and hugged him tightly, and while the club manager frowned at them he knew better than to interrupt. The blonde was a particular friend of Mr. Queen's and Mr. Queen liked to keep her happy. Even if that meant monopolizing his bouncer and distracting him from his job.
Chloe made her way over to the VIP area, looking for and not finding either Lois or Clark. But she did find Oliver. She smiled at him tentatively, seeing him sitting with an unfamiliar man. Oliver smiled at her and waived her over. Chloe felt a tinge of discomfort, but kept the smile on her face as she approached.
"Hi Oliver."
"Chloe, let me introduce you to my friend, Hal Jordan." The dark haired man stood up to shake her hand, his attractive face creasing in a smile, but his gaze was serious.
"Best friend," Hal asserted, shaking Chloe's hand briefly.
"Nice to meet you Hal," Chloe said in a friendly tone, despite the faint chill she felt from him.
Oliver frowned and broke the ice. "So Bruno told you about his impending fatherhood?" Chloe smiled up at him, one of her beaming smiles that lit up a room, and Oliver felt something in his chest ease, a tension he'd refused to acknowledge lessening, and all because Chloe had smiled at him.
Later, Chloe found herself momentarily alone and Hal took the opportunity to approach her. He took her elbow and led her towards the bar. "Let's get a drink," he suggested but the fact that he was escorting her firmly in that direction already made it more of a formality.
"Sure," Chloe agreed, somewhat perturbed, but pasting a smile on her face for Oliver's friend.
Once they were seated at the bar and Hal had placed their order, he turned to her. "Tell me about yourself."
Chloe hadn't expected that. She didn't know what she'd expected, but not that. "What do you want to know?"
"Anything."
"Something more specific would help," she said lightly. With secrets like hers it was helpful to know where questions were going before they started. Her secrets had secrets, and it was pretty clear that Hal didn't like her, and his sharp gaze said that he wasn't likely to let her fob him off easily if he asked something that Chloe couldn't, or wouldn't, answer.
"Are you stalling?"
"Why would I be stalling?" she asked with an innocent tone, but he could see the ironic amusement in her eyes.
"I don't know, I don't know you. That's why I asked. Unless you have something to hide."
Chloe frowned. "Look, I know you're Oliver's friend-"
"His best friend."
"Right, so if he said something about me…" she flushed, still uncomfortable with her unkind words. Even if they were strictly the truth. "I know I said some things… If he…"
"Oliver's only ever had good things to say about you," Hal interrupted her stuttering attempts. Chloe's guilt came rushing back, and she flushed a deep shade of red. "So. Ms. Sullivan, have you always wanted to be a reporter?" Hal asked an easy question, and Chloe looked at him gratefully.
Once she loosened up, Hal could see why Oliver liked her so much, beyond the obvious physical attraction. Hal understood that Chloe was reacting to Oliver's public image, not who he really was, but Hal didn't like that Chloe's simple scathing words had had such a large impact on Oliver. Hal was in Metropolis just to meet the beguiling Ms. Sullivan and see what exactly was up between his friend and the student reporter.
-Smallville-
Summer rolled around, and school let out, but Chloe signed up to take a few online classes. She'd met with her major counselor and knew if she managed to get in an extra six credits that she could graduate a semester early, saving on tuition and getting started with her career.
Her most recent relationship with an artist had ended when their conflict over their opposing schedules had finally become too much. He had slept in most days until well after noon, and stayed up until 4 in the morning most nights. Whereas Chloe got up to go to school or work at seven in the morning and often didn't come home until after ten, either from her two paper jobs, schoolwork, or moonlighting as Clark's sidekick.
Her phone rang and Chloe glanced down seeing Oliver's name on the screen. She smiled and picked up the call. "Hello, you've reached Chloe's phone, press one to leave a message and two if you acknowledge that you should always greet Chloe with a coffee cup in hand." She grinned as she heard a key tone sound. "That better have been a two."
"It was. While you think I don't value my life,-"
"You base jumped off the Grand Canyon, Ollie."
"I have no intention of dying for the folly of approaching a Sullivan-Lane woman without a caffeine offering at the ready," he finished his sentence.
"I'm pretty sure Lois would also accept garlic fries, a double bacon cheese burger, or any form of alcohol…"
"But not you. For you it's coffee, and maybe some form of sweet bread. A muffin. Coffee cake. Even pancakes on occasion."
"You do know me," she said lightly, realizing suddenly that it was true. Oliver was always doing small things for her. Nothing big, just a hundred little acts of kindness. The thought popped into her head that he always seemed to know when to appear with a cup of coffee or insider information or just an hour of his time so she could talk something out. She frowned, considering that for him to know meant that either he was paying attention, close attention, or it was a string of coincidences. And Chloe didn't believe in coincidences that repeated themselves. "What's up Ollie?"
"The temperature. It's sweltering in Metropolis. So I was thinking about taking a trip back to Star City… if you're free?"
Chloe bit her lip, suddenly unsure. "When?"
"This weekend?"
"I can't. I'm covering the tip line at work so one of the other interns can go home for her sister's wedding."
"The whole weekend?" he questioned, mentally rearranging his plans.
"No, just the morning and afternoon shifts, eight hours, but I couldn't…" Actually she could. Clark could take her, but that would look suspicious to Oliver and Lois and Lana, and everyone else Clark was still keeping his secret from.
"Hmm," Oliver murmured, knowing where her mind had likely gone. But Chloe didn't know that Oliver was Green Arrow, or that either version of him knew about Clark Kent's powers.
"So you're off at five?" he confirmed.
"Yeah, but…"
"Then I'll see you then."
"Ollie…" she said with a laugh, but he hung up before she could question him further.
-Smallville—
Friday evening, Oliver was waiting for Chloe at 5 o'clock, just as he'd promised. Chloe exited the Daily Planet dressed in a little business outfit and Oliver took a moment to inspect her lush form. The pencil skirt did an admirable job of making the most of her legs, hips, and waist, without being work inappropriate, and the silky shirt she wore covered her, but failed to hide that her impressive curves didn't stop at her hips and butt. Oliver forced his eyes up to her face and smiled.
Chloe approached him without hesitation, and he held open the passenger door of his Aston Martin for her. "Such a gentleman," she commented as he offered her hand to help her slide into the low slung car.
Oliver loped around to the driver's side and they were sliding through Metropolis rush hour traffic with ease. "I try."
"Hmm," she murmured noncommittally. "But a gentleman wouldn't force a lady to arrive unprepared for the evening."
"I told you, it's a surprise."
"And I told you I hate surprises," she pouted and Oliver looked over to grin at her. His teeth were startlingly white, and his brown eyes twinkled. Chloe felt the unexpected tug of attraction. She'd known Oliver for nearly a year, and considered him a friend, but while she acknowledged that he was attractive, that was a far cry from her being attracted to him.
He more than half expected her to balk when he pulled into the Bridges Suites hotel, thus named due to its view of both the bridge over the Missouri and Kansas rivers, but Chloe held her tongue.
In reality Chloe was pondering the odd nature of her friendship with Oliver Queen. For half the time she'd known him, she'd ignored him, belittled him, and finally outright insulted him. But he'd stuck around. He never held her harsh words or attitude towards him against her, always greeting her with a smile.
In fact, her harsh words had been the turning point in their friendship. Chloe figured anyone who was strong enough to take what she said in stride, not hold it against her, and still want to spend time with her. Especially someone like Oliver who had many options for who to spend his time with. But Oliver didn't seek out the sycophants. He preferred company like Chloe, Lois, and Clark. Three people who were never easy, people who were always real (pardoning a gigantic secret here or there), even when it wasn't comfortable.
Entering the elevator Oliver pushed the button for the 15th floor. He could practically see the questions in her eyes, the gears turning in her mind, but again she surprised him and kept quiet. The elevator opened to a brightly lit lobby that faced out to a large pool and lounge area, and Chloe could see her friends and a few of Oliver's work associates already dressed in swim suits and casual summer clothing, enjoying the pool and the cool breezes being this high and this close to the rivers brought. "How do you feel about pool parties?" Oliver asked with a grin.
"Overdressed," she said tartly, then smiled back at him. "But I assume you considered that."
He pulled a room key from his pocket and held it out to her. "Your own room, where you should find a bag packed by your cousin. So… if anything is wrong with what she packed take it up with her."
Chloe's eyes grew wide, just imagining what swim suits Lois likely brought for her. "I'll make it work," she said, and turned to go back inside to find her room. Twisting to look over her shoulder, she smiled at him again. "Thanks, Ollie. This is a great idea. Sorry about your trip home though."
He shook his head, denying that it was a sacrifice to remain in Metropolis, and in fact it wasn't. Not if Chloe was agreeing to spend time with him. Even if it was at a party full of other people.
Chloe didn't waste time in her room, returning to the pool area within a half hour dressed in a sun dress, but Oliver could see the straps of a white bikini tied behind her neck. She headed to the open bar, exchanging hellos with the people she knew then turned to survey the pool once she had a drink (complete with little paper umbrella) in her hand. Oliver pulled himself out of the water and walked towards her dripping wet, swiping his hand over his face to wipe away some of the water. Chloe watched him come towards her, and her smile faded to dull expression of stunned disbelief.
There was no way she was not attracted to Oliver Queen. Six feet three inches of golden tanned skin stretched over rippling muscles, topped with a square jawed face that was classically handsome.
Arriving in front of Chloe he took in her wide eyed gaze, a questioning look on his face.
Her eyes finally moved up his chest to meet his and she glared at him. "Are you serious? You look like you're photo shopped." Her gaze dipped down to his chest again and Oliver's grin grew.
"Chloe?" he said in a teasing tone.
"Seriously?" she said again and stomped away, leaving a bemused Oliver behind.
-Smallville-
Sometime over the previous few months, Oliver had stopped his efforts to keep up his playboy reputation. Stopped hooking up with random women. Stopped going to so many clubs and parties. Stopped dating entirely. Chloe hadn't noticed, but just about everyone else in their circle of friends did. It wasn't that Chloe didn't pay any attention to Oliver, their friendship had become more solid, less tangential over those months, but Chloe had been making an effort to focus on his good side, not on behaviors she had issue with. So she didn't ask about his dates and he didn't volunteer, and subsequently she'd not noticed that Oliver had seemingly settled down into a more sedate lifestyle.
Not that the rumors and speculation about his love life stopped in the least. If Oliver was seen talking to a woman, he was having a steamy affair. If he was out at a club, he was reported as drunk and either barely in control, out of control, or causing mayhem. It's what sold papers.
But Lois knew the truth. Or at least part of the truth. She knew that Oliver had stopped his indiscriminant womanizing. And she'd begun to suspect why Oliver had changed his behavior.
And right now, watching Oliver sit by Chloe on a lounge chair, she was certain she was right. Oliver Queen, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, had a crush on her baby cousin.
Oliver sat next to Chloe, surreptitiously looking at her bikini clad form out of the corner of his eye. He'd meant to be casual, keep a comfortable distance from her, for at least part of the night, but as soon as she'd peeled off her dress to take a dip in the pool in her triangle top blue and white bikini he'd been at her side.
Chloe wasn't the only attractive woman at the rooftop party, but she was the only one who made Oliver feel something, something that he was beginning to realize wasn't going away. So there was no way he was going to sit back and watch as some other guy, any other guy, tried to pick her up at his party.
For as smart as Chloe was, Oliver was pretty sure that she was lacking in the self awareness and female mystique that would alert her to the fact that even if Oliver was acting casually, he was staking his claim on her by staying by her side.
Chloe took a drink of her cocktail and sighed. "This really is perfect, Ollie." She tilted her head to look at him. "Even if the beach would have been fantastic."
"Consider it an open invitation. Anytime you want to make a trip to Star City, just let me know."
Chloe didn't reply to his offer, instead choosing to ask about Hal. "What's Mr. Jordan been up to lately?"
Oliver laughed. Chloe and Hal had taken to referring to each other as Mr. and Ms., but their barbed comments had a friendly vibe (but not too friendly) so Oliver didn't press the issue. "Hal is busy in Coast City."
"That's where your aeronautics division is located?" Chloe asked, knowing that Hal had left his former employer Ferris Aircrafts for Oliver's company several months earlier.
"No, that's in Star City, but we keep a test flight facility in Coast City. Hal… commutes."
Chloe laughed. "That's quite a commute. And I thought the drive from Smallville to Metropolis was prohibitive."Oliver smiled, forcing himself not to look at her breasts as the jiggled with her laughter. "It's too bad he couldn't be here."
Oliver nodded. He would have invited all his real friends, the team he was so proud of, but for the fact that Chloe knew them all, and knew they were all "special." Due to Clark's demand to keep Chloe in the dark, they couldn't come to Metropolis much, and had to stay off her radar when they did.
"You know what?" she asked suddenly.
"What?"
"The best part about a pool party at night is that I don't have to gunk on all that sunscreen, even if that means I remain as pale as Casper the ghost."
Oliver wanted to tell her that she as beautiful, her pale skin exquisite, but as his mind filled with scenarios of him applying sunscreen for her, he felt his groin tighten. He closed his eyes and tried to corral his thoughts, but the visions only got stronger. Standing up, he held out a hand to her.
"Second best part?" he asked, and she responded by arching an eyebrow. "The pool."
Chloe shook her head, but Oliver grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet anyway. "I don't want to get in right now Ollie."
He grinned and shook his head. "Too bad."
In a quick move that Chloe barely registered he had lifted her over his shoulder and was striding to the pool. She pounded on his back, kicking her legs as she yelled at him to put her down, but he ignored her. The partygoers cheered as Oliver ignored her noisy protests.
He jumped into the pool, taking her with him, Chloe barely managing to pinch her nose shut before she hit the water. He kept his arm around her as they sank, pulling her deeper with his larger mass, and she clung to him as he pushed off the bottom and rocketed them back to the surface.
Chloe pouted at him, pushing her hair out of her face, before suddenly realizing that her arms and legs were wrapped around him, and she could feel every muscled inch of his chest pressed against her. She released her hold suddenly, retreating, but tried to act normally, splashing water in his face as she treaded water with a few feet of space between them. "Was that necessary?" she asked in playful exasperation.
"It really was," he confirmed, feeling the cooling effects of the water on his raging libido now that her breasts weren't crushed against his chest and her legs weren't wrapped around his waist any longer.
-Smallville—
Chloe resumed attending regular classes in the fall, looking forward to her early graduation. On the other side of things, Lois changed her major from criminal justice to communications. She'd already spent time as a psychology major, business major and public policy major. Clark was set to graduate in the spring, and Lana would likely finish the year after.
Chloe met up with some of her girl friends, including Lois and Lana, to celebrate landing a front page story (albeit below the fold this time). The mayor's wife had been taking "gifts" from various stores and establishments around town, including clothing, food, spa services, cars, and vacations totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars and violating about 50 tax and campaign finance laws.
Chloe was slightly buzzed and feeling good, sitting at a grouping of tables in a small pub close to campus. "Geeze, Chlo, couldn't you have called Oliver to get us in somewhere nicer?" Lois complained.
"Or at least someplace cleaner," Lana chimed in, wiping her napkin across the table.
"Since when does Lois Lane object to a dive bar?" Chloe deflected their comments. It bothered her that people, even her own friends, expected Oliver to shell out for their amusement. "Besides, this is girls night out."
Lois snorted. "Like he wouldn't have offered anyway."
Chloe frowned, but was distracted by her phone. She pulled it from her purse to see a text from Oliver informing her that a piece of information she'd been waiting for on another story had finally come in. They messaged back and forth a few times, Oliver offering to drop off the documents to her, Chloe saying that she was out for the night, until she ended up telling him where she was.
"Who are you texting with?" Lois complained loudly.
Lana giggled. "I bet it's Jimmy."
Chloe glared at Lana, but it was too late. "Jimmy? Jimmy bore-me-to-death Olson?"
"He's not that bad," Chloe defended her former boyfriend.
"Oh yes, he is. But I suppose you didn't think he was all that boring when he was being a jealous insecure little brat, so no, maybe not all that boring for you," Lois said bluntly.
Chloe grimaced. "We're not getting back together, OK? Don't get your panties in a twist." She shrugged it off. "I ran into him." Lois snorted, thinking it likely that Jimmy had arranged for their run in. "And I thought we might be able to be friends."
Lois rolled her eyes but let it drop. The cousins had had countless arguments over Chloe's on and off relationship with the wanna-be photographer. "Then who are you texting?"
"Just Ollie," Chloe said simply.
Lois and Lana shared a look. "Right," Lois drawled. "Just Ollie. Just Oliver Queen. Just the billionaire Oliver Queen. Just the guy who jumps through hoops to see you, spend time with you, bring you coffee, help you with stories, homework or anything else. I mean really, does the man volunteer to give you pedicures too?" Lois ranted.
Lana giggled, but Chloe frowned. "He's my friend."
"He's not your friend Chlo, and you're not that dumb."
Chloe's frown grew. "He is my friend."
"Yeah, yeah, you're deliberately missing the important part."
"Which is?" Chloe replied testily.
"He's in love with you," Lana said softly.
Chloe's mouth fell open, and Lois realized that Chloe really hadn't seen it. "Chloe," she said in a softer tone than she usually used. "He's always around, does anything he can to help you, did you really not know?"
Chloe's face paled, her eyes wide with confusion and the beginnings of panic. "Chloe?" Lana questioned in a worried tone.
"He doesn't… He can't."
Lana squeezed Chloe's suddenly cold hand. "I don't know if he's actually in love with you, but it's pretty clear to anyone with eyes that he likes you." Lana paused. "A lot."
Chloe sat silently trying to deny their claims, but as her mind drifted back over their history using this information as a new filter for everything, it became glaringly clear. Oliver liked her. And she'd barely given him the time of day during the first half of their acquaintance, and even now, Chloe knew she actively tried to deflate his overblown ego on a regular basis.
But now she wondered what it must have been like for Oliver, and her chest suddenly felt too tight. She grabbed her purse and threw some money on the table. "I have to go," she said quickly, not meeting her friends' eyes.
"No, Chloe…" Lois objected.
"Let her go," Lana said, watching Chloe weave through the crowd towards the door.
On the street outside, Chloe gulped in several breaths of crisp night air, her mind racing.
She closed her eyes and looked up at the dark sky, only a few stars visible through the light pollution of the city, and forced herself to take in a deep breath, hold it, then release it slowly. Feeling slightly more calm she turned and plowed into a solid male chest.
Chloe instantly pushed back, her hands splayed wide on the man's chest, as her head jerked up to find that the chest in question belonged to the object of her thoughts. Oliver Queen.
AN- words 4208
This fic is getting a ton of reviews- way more than for any other Chlollie story I've written… so either it's better (which while I like it, it I'm not sure that it is better than the other 2 full length Chlollie stories I've written) or there aren't a lot of Chlollie stories being written right now.
On a different note, I've seemingly learned how to move through time faster in my stories, focusing on big events instead of the moment to moment development. It's different for me.
