Chloe
She wasn't exactly sure what to expect, someone along the lines of Oliver or a billionaire ruthless and cold like Lex. Not that it mattered, her curiosity was piqued and Chloe could smell the beginnings of her story.
Gotham was everything she had expected and more, dark, gloomy, mysterious, scary, a reporters dream. It had crime, glamour, big industry and a city beat most would kill for. In fact it wouldn't surprise her to find out some had. She'd heard the stories about Arkham Asylum and its escapees, her brow began to knit as she wondered if she would be able to worm her way in there for an inside scoop, Arkham verses Bellereve which would come out worse?
That just left the Batman, her brain was ticking over trying to figure out how she could get him to put in appearance, in Smallville or Metropolis she knew the way things worked, well for the most part, but this was new territory, in the end though that just made it more exciting.
Sitting for the rest of the journey in silence, she took note of the route and road signs filing them away for future reference. It seemed like she was a million miles away from Metropolis and her life there, university, studying, working at the Planet, her friends, Clark, Lois yet she knew it was only a couple of hours flight, less for Clark at full run. It reassured her to know that he was only a phonecall away if she wanted or needed him, right now it was neither.
The drive had taken them out to deserted roads before they arrived in front of two imposing gates that opened in greeting, "Wayne Manor, it's been in his family for a while now, impressive huh." Oliver was peering out of the window and Chloe followed his gaze spying the house as it loomed out of the dark. She'd heard it burnt down in a fire but having seen before pictures it had been rebuilt exactly. "Very," she said in reply wondering what inside had in store.
The car had pulled to a stop and a gentleman dressed in what Chloe thought was a very odd fashion opened the door a fraction before she did before offering her his hand much as Oliver had earlier. He was way too old to be Bruce but his manor intrigued her for a second before she put two and two together. His butler. "I'm Alfred Pennyworth Miss, welcome to Wayne Manor." She saw him glance over at Ollie but her attention was fully taken by the structure in front of her, "Welcome back Master Oliver, it has been a long time."
She liked his clipped tone, British, it suited him and his job although she still found the whole concept a little old fashioned but she guessed that this was how the other half lived. Idly she wondered if Oliver had a butler back home in Star City and what he thought of his Masters nocturnal doings.
Even as she stared her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a tall handsome man, not in the same way as Oliver, he was darker, more classically handsome. "Oliver," she smiled inwardly at the infectious happiness in the voice, at least he was pleased to see Ollie.
A voice spoke softly in her ear, "Perhaps you would like to come inside out of the cold," a white gloved hand appeared in front of her as she began to move towards the doors. Stepping inside she turned around taking in the full view as Alfred watched her. "May I take your jacket for you?" Chloe slipped off the small jacket she was wearing before hesitantly handing it to him, "I'm Chloe, Chloe Sullivan," she wasn't sure if she should offer him a hand to shake or not but he solved the question by giving her a small bow. "Pleased to meet you Miss Sullivan," and with that he disappeared leaving her inside the entrance hall looking round, a deep breath told her some of the paintwork was still fresh.
Oliver
Oliver was surprised at the warmth of Bruce's greeting but he wasn't going to complain, it had been a while since they had seen each other. The hug was a little surprising but he returned it smiling watching Chloe move inside the house with Alfred. "Come on, come in, its freezing out here." Ollie fell into step alongside his friend as they quickly climbed the steps before shutting out the cold, "And who is this?"
The tone of his voice sent a flash of jealousy through him, it sounded predatory, with a definitely tinge of lust in there. Not that he was surprised, Bruce's reputation as a playboy had grown quite significantly on his return. He glanced at Chloe and was pleased to see her amused look, she was a reporter of course she knew his reputation.
"Bruce Wayne, Chloe Sullivan." He watched as Bruce brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, he shook his head, "The pleasure is mine Miss Sullivan." "Chloe, call me Chloe, Miss Sullivan makes me feel like I'm at work."
As Bruce slipped Chloes arm into his Oliver found himself stepping forward doing the same on the other side, what was it she had said to him earlier about territory being marked?
"Looks like you managed to get the place back to what it was," he commented looking round at the structure. "We had the plans for the building it wasn't too hard, not much had changed over the years." Bruce led them into the dinning room gesturing towards the table, "Alfred made us dinner." There was a chase on as both men moved to pull out Chloe's seat and Oliver scowled as he lost. "Nothing fancy, I know you like simple food Oliver."
He wasn't cross at Bruce just frustrated with himself, watching them together as the night wore on, her spark and wit bouncing off Wayne and being returned. Bruce had been a somewhat serious kid, unlike him, but they had bonded over the loss of their parents. It had been strange to find someone in a situation much like his own, only Bruce was a lot angrier about his situation, Oliver understood he blamed himself.
There were somethings money couldn't buy and as much money as he had Oliver would gladly swap it all to have his parents back, probably much the same as Bruce.
Dinner was nice, and truth be told they all spent most of the time laughing and poking fun at each other, stories about their time at school giving Chloe fits of the giggles, he wasn't always the bully who had harassed Lex and driven his poor friend in front of that car. Oliver would carry the guilt of that with him to his grave, along with other things.
"Alfred was always the best cook," he felt full, at ease for the first time in a long time, no pressure to go running out on to the streets to save some unsuspecting person who had gotten themselves into trouble. Gotham had Batman, it didn't need the Green Arrow.
A couple of glasses of bourbon later and Oliver was ready to sleep, the car was due to pick them up and he began to make the relevant noises to indicate they needed to leave. "It's been good Bruce." He shook the other man's hand before gripping his shoulder and squeezing, "We'll see you tomorrow night." He saw the twinkle in Bruce's eyes and wondered what he had in mind, trouble no doubt.
He moved ahead to get Chloe's jacket letting Bruce escort her to the door shaking his head as Bruce once again brought Chloe's hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. "Miss Sullivan, Chloe, it has been a pleasure, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night and I hope you will do me the honour of saving me a dance."
Putting his hands in his pockets he watched while Bruce waited for an answer, "We'll see," was all he got in return before Chloe moved to his side and tucked her arm into his. "It was nice to meet you, please say goodnight to Alfred for me." And with that Oliver walked her to the car making sure she was safely inside before moving in himself.