Oliver straightened his leg to move from his Warrior position to a reserve triangle, one hand up, the other brushing the floor until it was locked firmly around his ankle, his arms in a straight line. His lungs filled to capacity then he emptied them, breathing through his nose as he focused on relaxing the muscles in his thighs, then his back. He straightened up, brought both feet together and repeated the pose, this time with his other leg forward.

He had to admit Lois' plan was good. Simple. So simple it could work. Oliver led both arms above his head to salute the sun.

Step one : make Zatanna try to jinx, curse or do whatever she could to test their resistance to magic to make sure they—or at least Chloe— was indeed immune to it.

Step two : let Savage know they had found the dagger and bargain : his and Chloe's safety for it.

Step three : distract the man long enough for Hawkman to stab him in the heart.

Simple.

Much better than the plan they had started to discuss the day before. Step One. Step Two. Step Three.

Simple.

Risky as hell.

Chloe would be in the line of fire with him. He couldn't allow that, no matter what she said. Step Zero point Five was to call Clark or Bart to pull her out if things went south. He'd deal with her anger and disappointment later. If he lived to face it.

The small of his back itched, a somewhat dull reminder that Chloe was not within arms' reach now either, but in Smallville with her cousin to pick up clothes more suited to Metropolis' late spring weather.

Oliver pushed air through his nose again, willing his concentration back on the rest of his Yoga routine. His arms supported his weight easily when he finished on a handstand. He held it longer than usual out of sheer stubbornness then swung one leg then the other back to the floor when his arms shook hard enough to threaten his equilibrium.

He grabbed his tee-shirt on the nearby lounge chair, using it to towel off the sweat before he flung it over his shoulder and headed inside. Since Chloe was gone for the rest of the afternoon and working out wasn't providing enough of a distraction, he could kill time by sorting through the mountain of emails waiting for him.

Two hours later, Oliver wondered why he'd bothered. He'd barely made a dent in the mass, and each new message he read made him want to pull his hair out. The same men who'd fought him tooth and nail to keep control of Queen Industries now seemed unable to function a week without him to captain the ship. Wallace had almost ruined the proposal Oliver had spent three months slaving over, Denise had completely missed the point in her presentation to key investors in Belize, and Graham… "Damned it! What's so hard to understand in : if you receive any information regarding Evergreen, send it to Walter? I should have force that old idiot to retire," Oliver muttered under his breath, punching a key to flag yet another idiotic email from the man to deal with in the morning.

"Talking to yourself, Hero? You know, they say that's the beginning of insanity…"

Oliver swiveled in his chair to smile at the blonde he'd missed all afternoon. "Only if I was engaging myself in conversation."

He stood to join her at the door, resting his hands on both sides of her head. Chloe lifted amused eyes to him, though they widened a little when she realized he'd effectively caged her against the doorframe. Oliver searched her eyes, enthralled by the stars in them. Part mirth, part wonder, her eyes mirrored the swirl of emotions the brush of their bodies sparked inside him.

He dragged his fingertips along her cheek and taped her nose once. Chloe pouted, either annoyed by the tease or because he was delaying kissing her. Oliver laughed and pecked her mouth. She tilted her head back for another, and he automatically reached for her waist to haul her up against him.

His hand slipped under her shirt, finding her mark instantly. His pulse skyrocketed as his flared in return.

"Ollie…"

He kissed the breathy plea gently, a simple touch of lips, then stole another taste. Everything inside him burned bright and hot, tempting him to devour and take, so he took his time, only delving into her mouth when she rose on tiptoe for more contact. He had to fight not to lose himself in the kiss, in the sweetness of her. She tasted like bubble gum and almond mocha. Pure, unique Chloe.

When air became an issue, Oliver eased away, keeping her firmly against his chest. Chloe sighed in pleasure, brushing her nose against his jaw and he sucked in a breath, overwhelmed by the need to wrap himself around her and never let her out of his sight ever again. She smiled against his neck when his hold tightened. "Hi…"

He forced himself to ease away and grinned back. "Hi. How was your Chlo-Lo time?"

"It was nice. Though I can honestly say my cousin is way too interested in our sex life."

Sex. He wished she hadn't mentioned sex.

It was hard enough to feel her within his reach and not grab her. Especially when she blushed like she was doing now. The mix of innocence and determination urged him to reconsider stepping away. Oliver allowed his hand to run down her bare arm. Just a taste of what they'd missed while she was away… "Sounds like Lois."

Good. Distract her with jokes while you weave a web around her so she can never, ever go away again…

Chloe hooted out a noise between a complain and an agreement. Then her gaze passed his shoulder to fall on the desk and his laptop. "Oh, you're working?"

So close. Oliver shrugged.

"Just passing the time. Considering some of my emails, I wish I didn't have to go back to work tomorrow morning."

"Then repeat after me, Oliver. Mistress, I wish…"

Chloe jumped in surprise and he instinctively put himself between her and the newcomer. Zatanna beamed at them. The expression on her face reminded him of people ready to dig into popcorn and swoon at the romance on screen.

Oliver glowered when Chloe wriggled out of his grasp.

"Zatanna, you've got my message!"

And she'd found a way to interrupt. Again.

"Of course, Chloe. I'll see what I can do but like I explained before, the Shenu creates some sort of shield around you. If the spell is meant to hurt, it'll work. If not… I don't know how it will react if I try. My spells use light magic, they are mostly harmless."

Oliver did his best not to snort. Zatanna's "light magic" spells had gotten them in trouble more than once, including putting his identity in jeopardy, almost getting Chloe killed twice, drugging Clark… "It'll be a start. We don't have much time."

Chloe was right. If Savage had them watched, their meeting with Carter in Metropolis was going to leak at some point. Besides Lois' master plan, he wanted to know if it worked.

He squeezed Chloe's hand. "Go change. Better to try this in the gym, where there's padding and less risk to break something."

Except bones. Hopefully it wouldn't get to that.

Chloe nodded and disappeared toward their bedroom. Oliver turned toward Zatanna.

"It's safe for you, right? Bruce will kill me if whatever you try bounce back and hit you."

The pretty brunette smiled. "I'll be fine."

He nodded and glimpsed at the empty doorway. "Something else on your mind, Oliver?"

"I feel like I'm asking the same questions over and over and I don't get an answer no matter who I ask."

"Ask again, maybe you'll luck out."

Oliver watched her hand trailed along his sleeve until she pated his forearm. He detached it as gently as he could. Her touch didn't bother him like it had in Turkey, but there was no point for it. She wasn't Chloe.

"Chloe is healing me through our bond. Is there any way to stop that? It's draining her even if she claims to the contrary. I can't allow that."

Zatanna pursed her lips. She examined him from head to toe with a curious expression, as if she was examining the material for a new stage trick. "I do see some of Chloe's energy on you. It's really fascinating…"

Oliver frowned. "Glad you're entertained. So? Can you break it? I get scarps and bruises all the time, I don't want her to hurt."

"I can try. Sel rérapes."

Oliver felt a punch to the kidney so hard he bent into two, breathless. When he straightened up, his abs clenched as if he'd just gone up and down a Salmon Ladder a hundred times. He gritted between his teeth. "Ow… Little warning next time, if you don't mind?"

Zatanna didn't answer. Her eyes glowed like they always did when she pulled on her magic. Oliver forced himself fully upright. "Zee. Did it work?"

"I… don't know."

Oliver sighed. He'd heard enough "I don't know" today to last him a lifetime or two.

The only way they could sure the spell had worked was if he got hurt, but he wasn't enough of a masochist to injure himself on purpose.

"Let's go to the training room."

Truth be told, he was also concerned by the phantom pain in his chest. Both Carter and Zatanna insisted magic couldn't hurt Chloe. The way she'd healed him through the marks, he'd assumed he couldn't be touched either. Either the spell had broken the link, or… Shit. If for some reason, Chloe was susceptible to magic, Lois' plan was going down the drain.

Oliver stepped inside the training room and drained of colors.

"Chloe!"

He rushed to the petite blonde hunched with her head between her legs.

"Hey… Hey… No, seat down… Breathe… Just breathe… Zee! Water!"

He kneeled in front of her so she could lean into him. Her skin felt like ice under his palms. His fault. He'd jumped before wondering what breaking the link would do to her. Idiot Selfish. When would he learn…

"I'm okay… Just got a little lightheaded for a minute. I must have stood too fast or something. I'm fine…"

Oliver pressed a kiss on her forehead before pushing to his feet and helping her up. Her hand in his, he turned toward the magician.

"Maybe we should postpone—"

"No," Chloe interrupted. "I'm fine and Zatanna is here. Let's try it." She looked at the brunette. "I'm ready."

Oliver started to protest then caught sight of the stubborn tilt of her chin. He squeezed her fingers and nodded at their friend. "Do it. Something small, to start."

The magician pursed her lips in consideration. Her eyes glowed. Oliver braced himself. "Resilibommi."

Nothing happened save for Chloe squirming with a giggle. "It tickles."

"Srodne Iot," Zatanna ordered.

Her violet eyes lit up again and Oliver planted himself firmly on his feet. His jaw tensed as if to contain a yawn but he felt nothing.

Zatanna nodded. "Let's try something else. Oliver, let go of Chloe."

He wanted to refuse. Her fingers loosened around his and he had no choice but to free her hand. Chloe stopped aside for good measure. "Go on, Zee."

"Srodne Iot."

Chloe didn't move a muscle. Oliver dropped to the floor like a rock.