And these are my dreams
That I'd never lived before.
Somebody shake me
'Cause I, I must be sleeping.

So Far Away
Staind

-10-

"So, Chloe, I've been following your work in the Daily Planet lately. I'm impressed," Bruce grinned at her.

They were seated in the parlor, Lois curled into Bruce's side, her now bare feet tucked under her. She looked especially nice in the red dress she'd chosen for the evening, Oliver decided, although, he couldn't help but prefer Chloe's color scheme, he added to himself as he once again glanced appreciatively over Chloe's choice of evening-wear. She caught him looking at her, and he quickly turned away, not wanting to provide her further opportunity to rebuff him.

Her eyebrow raised and her eyes briefly trained on Oliver, who quickly took a deep draught of his scotch, Chloe responded to Bruce's compliment. "Thanks, Bruce. I've just been really fortunate. Right place at the right time." She paused momentarily, and Oliver caught the sudden flush to her cheeks. "And I've had some help."

"Help?" Bruce asked while Oliver smirked in a self-satisfied manner.

"An anonymous source," Lois explained, with a tone as such that she might as well have been saying, "A scandalous bedfellow."

"Anonymous source?" Oliver asked, trying not to grin too obviously. "How interesting."

Chloe's face was turning scarlet, he noted with pleasure. "Isn't it?" she said through clenched teeth, shooting a warning glance at Lois. Oliver found he wasn't remotely bothered by the tightness in her voice. As much as being the direct cause of her discomfort for the majority of the evening bothered him, so much more did he enjoy the Green Arrow being the new cause.

"Oliver Queen likes you."

Chloe paused, her fork hanging in limbo as she forgot to bring the bite of pasta the rest of the way to her mouth, her attention diverted across the table to her clearly mental cousin. "Are you out of your ever-loving mind?" she deadpanned, unable to stop the words from spilling out.

They were enjoying a relaxed lunch together in a restaurant Bruce had recommended for them. The man himself was at a meeting with one of his department heads - a Lucius Fox. He'd said it was urgent and that this was a prime opportunity for Lois and Chloe to spend some of that "cousin time" Lois had been insisting on.

Lois rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her wine. "It was so obvious. Did you see him ogling you in that dress? I told you it looked amazing on you."

Chloe shook her head. "Lois, Oliver Queen is a man. He might find me attractive. Maybe. But he can still appreciate my cleavage without actually having to like me. There's a difference."

"Yeah, but he did like you," Lois persisted. "And I don't see why you're so rude to him." she added, raising a questioning eyebrow at her cousin.

Chloe sighed. "Was it that bad?"

"And then some."

She put her fork back down on her plate, the bite slightly less appetizing all of a sudden. "I wasn't trying to be. He makes me get all flustered and I was so distracted with everything that happened with the Green Arrow that I just kept putting my foot in my mouth. It was ridiculous. Either way, I can tell you with absolute certainty that Oliver Queen does not like me. I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm socially inept at best."

Lois snorted. "Right. Which is why he spent the entire evening at Bruce's trying to get you to look at him for more than two seconds put together. I gotta say, I kind of liked him. Any friend of Bruce's is okay with me, for one thing. And anyway, as much as I approve of you getting hot, steamy sex from Jolly Green - "

"For God's sake, Lois. This is the last time I'm asking you to stop talking so loudly about my sex life in public."

Lois just waved her fork at Chloe, chicken parmesan nearly flying off the end. "Don't interrupt. As much as I approve of that development - Happy? - we both agreed that you couldn't possibly have a normal relationship with him. So I say keep an open mind."

Chloe just stared. And then she started laughing. "About Oliver Queen? Oh, Lois, you really have lost it. Look, even if, by some mad stretch of the imagination, Queen does like me, that doesn't mean he wants to date me. And come on, have you seen the stunts he gets up to in the media? He doesn't exactly strike me as the relationship type. I'd almost go so far as to suggest that any relationship I have with You-Know-Who would be more normal than one with Oliver Queen." She returned to her pasta with sudden vigor, stabbing at it and taking a large bite.

Lois snickered. "Okay, first of all, let's don't call him 'You-Know-Who.' I'll feel like we're talking about Voldemort. Second of all, you know better than to trust the media. You work for it. And anyway, look at Bruce. He pulls all kinds of crap - less now that I'm around, of course, but crap nonetheless. And he's a really great guy. Half the stuff in the papers are exaggerated and the other half is because he likes people to underestimate him as a businessman."

No, Chloe argued internally, the other half is because he parades around in Kevlar at night fighting crime. Oliver Queen has no such excuse. Of course, she couldn't say that out loud, so instead she answered, "I guess I see your point. But not everyone's as great as Bruce."

Lois smiled. "Yeah."

Chloe snorted. Then her phone buzzed.

emeraldarcher1 when will you be home in Metropolis?

She smiled, texting back her response while Lois watched from across the table with narrowed eyes.

emeraldarcher1 DP 1 hour

Chloe stared at the text message for the millionth time and glanced at her watch. Any minute now. She'd been home from Gotham for less than a day, and to her surprise, instead of talking about the fact that they'd done the horizontal macarena together, he'd texted her about the fact that he had information for her on Lex Luthor. Something about how he thought the Planet might be interested.

Which was great, of course. It was part of their dynamic. They gave each other information on the bad guys essentially.

She shivered convulsively, unable to stand the cold any longer. With another glance at her watch she shook her head at herself and headed for the door. She let out a yelp of surprise when an arrow soared in front of her, blocking her path toward the door as it stuck in the wall firmly about a foot from her. She looked in the direction it had come from, glaring. Sure enough, there he was, walking over to her, his expression unreadable in the shadows. When he spoke, though, even the voice distorter couldn't hide the amusement in his voice.

"Tired of waiting on me already? My watch must be slow. I thought I was early."

She continued glaring. "You could have hit me, you neanderthal. And I wasn't leaving. I was just going to wait inside. It's cold and I forgot my jacket."

He smirked, wrapping an arm around her waist and dragging her over to him, and she fought a smile as he did so. "Like I would hit you," he teased. "Oh ye of little faith. I never miss." He leaned down and kissed her gently and she sighed into his mouth, her eyes sliding shut, irritation melting away.

"I missed you," she muttered against his lips.

"I missed your mouth," he teased. "And other parts of you. But mostly your mouth."

She shoved him back playfully, rolling her eyes, smiling anyway, but he didn't quite loosen his grip on her waist. "So you said you had information for an article?" she asked by way of salvaging what little professionalism she had left.

She caught the sudden grimness in his demeanor as he nodded, releasing her hips to reach a finger into the inside of his left glove and pull out a flash drive. "There's video footage," he said simply, handing it to her.

She took it, feeling strangely nervous about the contents of the tiny piece of plastic. "Of what?"

"Of what he's been up to. That mental illness research facility?" He paused, and she barely suppressed a shudder at the anger rolling off of him. "Not so much."

She swallowed tightly. "I'll look into it. Thanks."

He nodded shortly.

She raised an eyebrow at his evident tension. "It's bad, isn't it?"

"Very."

She opened her mouth to say something, although she wasn't sure what, so she closed it again. She was aware of a vague sense of disappointment, although she would have dies before admitting it to herself. Curse you, Lex Luthor, she thought humorlessly, Getting in the way of my sex life. She sighed, resigning herself to another long night at the Planet. "Well," she said, slipping the flash-drive into her purse. "I'd better go, then."

His bad mood seemed to lift almost immediately as he stopped her. "So soon?" he teased, leaning down to capture her lips again, as if he couldn't imagine what would make her dream of leaving already. She smirked against his mouth, hands sliding around his neck behind the hood. "Why? You got a better suggestion?" she mocked him, then let out a squeal of delighted shock when he pushed her against the wall and gripped her hips a little tighter. He silenced her effectively as his tongue forced entrance to her mouth, and she moaned, eyes sliding closed. His thumbs were rubbing back and forth over her hips, and she could feel that familiar ache beginning to grow between her thighs. She was planning to make some suggestion that he meet her at her apartment - as soon as she could figure out a way to say it that didn't sound absolutely ridiculous. But the thought process was banished from her mind when she felt his hand graze her breast through her sweater, and she suddenly realized that apparently he didn't see anything wrong with exactly where they were. She pressed her breast further into his hand, encouraging him to continue. She bucked her hips forward, pressing against his hardening bulge and he groaned, the hand still on her hip squeezing just tight enough to hurt.

"Chloe," he breathed, and she shuddered. There it was again, that distinct sound that she could almost separate from the distortion, but not quite. "God, Sidekick," he groaned, involuntarily grinding against her. "All weekend I've felt like you were just out of my reach. I wanted you," he whispered in her ear, brushing his lips against the shell of it.

Chloe gasped, head falling back as her thighs quivered in need. "I'm here," She breathed. "I'm here."

His hands released her and she whimpered, leaning against the cold, course brick behind her, feeling his lips brush over her throat, his body lowering in front her. Her breathing quickened as his hands shoved her skirt up, and she felt the cold air hit her bare thighs. She flattened her palms against the brick wall as if looking for purchase, eyes shutting in anticipation. And then, to her shock, his mouth closed over her through the lace of her already wet panties. She gasped loudly, the heat from his mouth soaking through to her core, his hot breath delicious on her folds. She whined in the back of her throat, thrusting against his mouth. He curled his hands around the backs of her thighs, spreading them further for him and she groaned at the feel of the leather, wondering what his bare hands would feel like on her, more than just the exposed finger tips brushing so close to her panty-line.

"More," she pleaded. "Please."

His tongue licked her all the way along her slit through the lace and she cried out again, a low, strangled whine that grew into the makings of a scream. And then, suddenly, she felt him drawing her panties off and standing up and freeing his cock. She was so busy trying to catch her breath that she wasn't prepared for him to wrench her up, forcing her thighs to wrap around his waist as he sunk into her. She bit his shoulder, trembling as he filled her, rolling her hips against him, her clit rubbing against him as he thrust into her, pressing her hard into the wall for support. She was vaguely aware of the bruises and even scrapes she was likely to have from that brick come the next morning, but she was also firmly convinced it would be well worth it. He sank into her repeatedly until she could feel her climax growing, the tip of his cock rubbing against her G-spot, her swollen clit grinding against him with each thrust. She clung to him, nails digging into the leather, whimpering in need every time he pulled out of her, only to sink back in again. Finally she released a scream, coming around him, body tensing in his arms and then slackening, his own release following within seconds.

They stood - or rather he stood, and she hung in midair, legs still wrapped tightly around him, pressed between the hard wall and his hard body - in silence, both gasping for breath, the cold autumn air welcome around them as he held her there, not pulling out of her for ages after they both came down from their orgasms.

He rained kisses over her face and hair, clutching her to him, his chest rising and falling as heavily as hers. Then, finally, as both of their breathing calmed, he pulled out of her and gently set her down, helping her slide down the wall and setting her properly on her feet. He redid his pants and she pulled her skirt back down, although there was no helping the fact that it was considerably wrinkled at the moment. She leaned against the wall for support, her legs feeling a bit like jell-o, and he leaned his hands on either side of her face, swooping down to kiss her lingeringly. His mouth departed from her lips after a moment, ghosting up her jawline toward her ear. "Next time I'm taking my time with you," he promised darkly, and she shuddered.

"Next time?" she questioned, not much room in her mind for fully coherent thoughts at the moment.

He paused. "Tomorrow?"

She chuckled breathily, dropping her face into his neck and inhaling deeply. "At risk of sounding over-eager: Whenever you want."

He smirked, kissing the top of her head smugly.

Chloe yawned, folding her arms across her desk and putting her head down on them.

Clark raised an eyebrow. "You know, it is possible to write an article at a normal time of day," he suggested, saying a quick thank you as someone handed him a stack of photos. "You're not nocturnal."

Chloe chuckled into the darkness her arms created. "I'm not."

He frowned. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing," she sighed, pushing herself back up. "I guess I just keep getting information at the wrong time of night, and I can never bring myself to put off the article until morning, not when it's something like Lex Luthor experimenting on the meteor-infected."

Clark's expression turned grim as he glanced at that morning's headlines. "But you weren't able to connect it to him?" he asked resignedly, skimming the article.

She shook her head, sparing a withering glance at the headline as well. "He covers his tracks well. He wasn't on any of the video footage I had. There were no papers with his signature, at least not that I could find. Unfortunately, all I could viably put in print was that the doctors at his research facility went rogue. But he can't hide forever. Lex has been inconspicuously opening up facilities for various projects all over the country for over a month. I'm willing to bet that 90% of them have the same aims as this one." She reached for her empty thermos and stood from her desk heading for the copy room and where the coffee was brewing. "As soon as I manage to prove it, it's going to be painfully obvious that he's behind it all. He can't claim that everyone he's ever hired has gone rogue."

"Chloe," Clark said warily, following her until she reached the coffee pot, his voice full of concern. "You can't take Lex Luthor on all on your own."

"I'm not on my own," she said without thinking. She glanced at the surprised expression on Clark's face as she poured coffee into her thermos, filling it to the brim. "I mean," she covered quickly, "I've got you," she said meaningfully. After all, he was Superman. "And Lois, and pretty much the entire city of Metropolis. We're all just waiting for the day we can finally expose Luthor for the scum he is."

Clark shook his head, disapproving. "Maybe so, Chloe, but I don't think it's wise to deliberately go after him. We both know the kind of trouble it can cause. Not to mention the danger for you," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her from brushing past him. "Chloe, I'm worried for you. Promise me you'll be careful and you'll back off for a little while."

Chloe scoffed, unsuccessfully trying to squirm out of his grip. "Clark, you know how I feel about it. This is the whole point of journalism, to bring down people like Lex. To expose the truth, regardless of danger to myself. I'm always careful, but I'm not going to be cowardly."

He sighed, letting her go. "If you say so. Just remember - "

"To call you if I need you. I will," she smiled warmly at him.

As they were returning to their desks, Lois swept in, pulling off her coat and tossing it to Clark, who caught it in surprise. "Morning, Smallville," she greeted, sending him a rare but brief smile as she sank into her chair. "Hey, cuz," she beamed, looking positively like the cat that swallowed the canary. "Tell me how wonderful I am," she said, grinning up at her.

Clark raised an eyebrow, watching Lois curiously. He had that sinking, the-Sullivan-Lane-women-are-going-to-get-into-trouble feeling.

Chloe smiled, sipping stifling a yawn and taking a sip of her coffee. "You're oh-so-wonderful, Lo," she teased. "Why am I being asked to flatter you?"

Lois leaned forward, glint in her eye. "Because we have a story."

Chloe's eyebrows disappeared. "Oh?"

"Yep," she said, leaning forward and resting her chin on her hands. "And you're gonna love me for it."

"Oh?" she repeated.

"Yep." She smirked.

Chloe rolled her eyes, laughing. "Well, come on, Lo, what's it about?" she asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

"I'll tell you over lunch," Lois said. "Grab your stuff." She rose again, looking for her coat. She spotted it still hanging from Clark's hands. She chuckled, shaking her head as she took it from him. "You make a good coat-rack, Smallville," she teased him, winking as she slipped it back on. She looked over at Chloe, who hadn't made a move for her things yet. "Well come on," she encouraged. "We're not getting any younger."

With which remark she headed back towards the door, expecting Chloe to follow. Chloe slipped on her own jacket, eyeing Clark in amusement. "You know," she said, eyes dancing, "you really shouldn't let her do that."

He rolled his eyes, snapping back to reality and shoving her shoulder gently. "Just go," he said.

"Bye Clark," she laughed affectionately as she took off after her cousin.

Outside, Lois, grabbed Chloe's arm to encourage her to pick up the pace.

"What's the rush?" Chloe asked confusedly, doing her best to keep up.

"We're meeting someone."

"We are?"

"Yeah. So, I went in to get my hair done this morning - "

"It looks nice, by the way. Did you go a shade darker?"

Lois grinned. "Yeah, actually. Thanks. Anyway, I went in and you'll never guess who else was there." She looked at Chloe excitedly, apparently actually expecting her to guess.

Chloe sighed, looking skyward for answers. "I don't know...The Joker."

Lois glanced at her grimly. "Not funny. And no. It was the mayor's personal assistant, Laura."

Chloe's eyes widened. "You're kidding me!"

Lois shook her head. "Yeah, I wouldn't have realized it was her, except that she mentioned her scuzzy boss, and I remember what you said about the mayor's personal assistant, so I slipped the shampoo girl a five-er to give me her name and it turns out it was her. So you know, I started getting chatty with her while we were both getting our hair dyed, and I got her to admit who she was and who she works for. And then I mentioned I would love to do lunch with her this afternoon, and she agreed, even after I told her I work for the DP."

"Unbelievable. I've been trying to meet with her - "

" - For ages, I know. Which is why you're coming with me. This is your baby. Partners?" she asked grinning.

Chloe returned the grin. "Partners." She'd been trying to track down the Prinn's secretary, but the woman had a distinct aversion to the press. Apparently meeting Lois in person first had made her feel more comfortable.

"Sweet. Mayor Prinn...going down." Lois smirked in triumph.