Chapter Four
"When we're done here, take me to the penthouse. Everything will be fine."
Taking Watchtower at her word, they had all returned to the penthouse in Metropolis, putting Chloe in Oliver's bed. Oliver had taken it upon himself to clean her of the blood that Chloe had ended up getting all over her and then disrobing her of everything but her bodysuit, which he found to be a simple turtle-necked leotard with no arms, showing her shoulders, made in leather and vinyl. He left her hair braided as well, not wanting Chloe to get tangled in her hair if, when, she started moving around.
The other three showered and changed and then came back to Oliver's bedroom for their own part in the vigil. AC was having an incredibly hard time understanding why Watchtower had done what she'd done. While each of them knew the risks of what they did, and they would each do what was necessary to protect the other, to have someone literally and without any thought for themselves, exchange their life for yours… it was… it was just beyond their ability, as the selfless people they were, to come to grips with the reality of it.
.
Several hours later, Clark found all of them in Oliver's bedroom, looking haggard and grim. Seeing Chloe lifeless in Queen's bed had the Kryptonian seeing red. Before any of them had more than registered his presence, however, Clark had pulled Oliver up out of his chair and had him pressed hard against the wall.
"What happened? I told you – ."
Oliver had already attempted to push Clark away from him but the man didn't even budge and the other three were standing now, all of them making to come around to help pull Clark off their leader. The cacophony of sound was deafening after all the hours of near silence and they kept raising their voices, each trying to be heard over the other and Clark was going on and on about 'I told you so' and it was all just a jumble.
"ENOUGH!" In the chaos, no one had noticed Watchtower awaken and the yell brought them to a stand still. However, it seemed to take an inordinate amount of whatever energy Chloe had regained over the time she was out.
Clark let go of Oliver, letting him slump against the wall, and came to the side of the bed. AC sat down on the other side, looking a hundred questions to Chloe as she looked at all of them.
Blinking her eyes, she settled on Impulse. "Bart, could you please get me some water and… something with some sugar, I don't care, cookies, candy bar, something." Barely even nodding at her request, he was out of the room and back before anyone could do more than finish a breath. Handing her the glass, he let her drink her fill and then gave her one of the Twinkies that he kept on hand for a quick fix.
Giving him a ghost of a smile, she thanked him with a nod of her head.
Watchtower looked at AC, "Everything alright?"
AC looked down for a moment, taking a breath. Looking up he just stared at her for a moment, a myriad of emotions showing in his eyes, a log jam of words that couldn't get passed the lump in his throat.
Chloe smiled with understanding, putting a hand up to cradle his cheek. "I'm fine, AC. You would have died if I hadn't done what I did. You would have done the same for me, for any of us."
Bypassing Clark, she looked to Oliver. "How long was I out? Did I die this time?"
Before Oliver could respond, Clark grabbed her upper arms, "I told you you needed protection. What the Hell did you do, Chloe, that you can ask that?"
"Release me. Now." Clark had never heard Chloe use such a tone with anyone in his entire life. Shocked, his grip relaxed and she pushed him away from her.
Chloe's eyes were diamond hard and anger radiated from her. "If you ever touch me like that again, Clark, I will hurt you. Is that understood?"
Still shocked, Clark simply nodded.
"You have no right questioning what I do with my life. You do what you do without answering to anyone but yourself and you need to accept that all of us have things that we need to do and the choices we make are ours to make, right or wrong."
Turning back to Oliver, she looked at him, expecting answers to her questions.
Oliver blinked and set aside his own questions and anything else he wanted to say, "Eighteen hours and yes."
Slowly, Chloe got out of bed, paying no attention to what she was, or wasn't, wearing, or the fact that she had five men in the room with her. Having seen the rest of her clothes, Watchtower got dressed and then started for the bedroom door.
Before opening it, Watchtower looked back to them and Oliver saw heavy sadness in her eyes for just a moment before it was replaced with something normal. "Bart, care to give a girl a lift home?"
Impulse smiled, "Anything for you, Chloelicious."
And they were gone in a blur of colors and a stiff breeze.
*^*^*
Another month went by before Chloe and Oliver had another face-to-face meeting at another benefit in Metropolis and, once again, Clark was hovering over Chloe in disguise as Caly.
.
Chloe sighed with frustration and anger. The moment she had arrived at the LuthorCorp building, Clark had attached himself to her side and he wouldn't leave her alone, no matter what she said. When Oliver had arrived, she had smiled tiredly at him and had just decided to take her leave of the event, putting it down to a bust because of Clark's behavior, when, as before, the attention of both Oliver Queen and a tense Clark Kent brought Caly Scott to the notice of Lex Luthor.
While Caly had true connections to Oliver Queen, in regards to articles of the billionaire's charitable donations and business dealings, there was no reason besides his being another reporter, for her to associate with a Kansas farm boy. Oliver Queen could claim some sort of association with him because he was a contributor to a variety of projects that Senator Kent was in support of, and Clark and he had met on several occasions thusly.
However, Clark, in or out of his Daily Planet persona, had no reason to be in protective mode of a simple freelance reporter and writer.
"My, Oliver, what is so fascinating about this woman. This is the second event I've seen you at personally where you couldn't keep away from her. I heard you had her on your dance card back in Star City at some other benefit a short time ago, as well."
Oliver didn't like that Lex was keeping that much of an eye on either Caly or himself but before he could answer Lex's statement, Caly broke in.
"Mr. Luthor, it looks like the benefit for this evening is doing well. Mr. Queen and I were just discussing doing another feature article on his contributions to Senator Kent's educational reform bill. Have you heard about it?" Caly's stance was easy, her smile distracting and her question shook Lex of his curiosity for a moment.
"Yes I have, Miss Scott. It's a worthy endeavor."
"Are you planning on supporting it?" Caly was actively watching the bald billionaire, eagerly awaiting his answer.
Lex could see that Caly was a good reporter, she stroked the subject's ego but continued asking the questions she wanted answers to in a very diplomatic way.
"I'm having my legal department look into it. If it's as clear as it sounds, I don't see why I wouldn't want to contribute to the Senator's project."
At this, Caly smiled brightly and she turned giddy. "That would be wonderful, then I could use both of you for the article. Two billionaires pulling together for the betterment of educational reform. I can just see the commission I'll get for it." She finished with a laugh.
Lex and Oliver smiled, chuckling slightly, while Clark hung back, seeming uneasy about the group's conversation.
"Clark, once again you seem tense. You'll never be the reporter that Ms. Scott is if these things bother you so much. Perhaps you should think of another line of work, and let the Senator know that you'd prefer not to be invited again." Lex once again observed Clark's seeming protectiveness of the non-discrepant reporter and it forced him to take a more detailed look of the woman.
Cursing the overprotective young man's presence for something they didn't need when dealing with Lex Luthor, Oliver knew they needed a distraction because he didn't think Lex would allow Caly to excuse herself from the conversation this time.
.
Bruce Wayne was also at the event and he'd already deduced from Clark Kent's behavior, that the woman he was following around was the mysterious Watchtower. Having been kept in the loop of everything by Green Arrow, he understood that Lex Luthor was becoming far too interested in the freelance reporter; noting Oliver's masked expression and Kent's tension, he decided to provide them with a distraction.
Wayne arrived just in time it appeared, for he noted Oliver's observation of a waiter coming towards them and his aborted movement of placing himself in the path of a full serving tray of champagne flutes.
"Lex." Bruce nodded his head towards the bald billionaire. "Oliver, Ms. Scott." He nodded towards the blonde and then smiled at the petite woman.
Inwardly sighing with relief, Caly spoke up, "Mr. Wayne, a pleasure to see you again." She extended her hand and he brought it to his lips and kissed her fingers, garnering him a smile and a nod.
"Bruce." Lex managed while he and Oliver shook hands with Gotham City's playboy.
"We were just discussing Senator Kent's educational reform bill." Oliver announced.
"Yes, I was already planning on doing an article on Mr. Queen's support of it, and then Mr. Luthor said that his lawyers were currently looking at the legislature and if, everything looked as good as it sounded, he wouldn't mind contributing to the piece himself. How about you, Mr. Wayne?"
"I've already been through all the legal aspects of it and must say that it would be a very positive piece of work to put in place."
Caly smiled and laughed, "That's two for and one undecided. If I could quote you on that, of course, Mr. Wayne." Bruce nodded his head towards her, granting his permission.
"You know, combining your opinions of the bill would make for a wonderful show of support for the nation's educational system…" The freelance reporter and writer trailed off hopefully.
Oliver laughed, "That isn't very subtle, Caly."
"I'm going to be leaving relatively early in the morning, Ms. Scott. That interview would have to be this evening, if you have a few moments." Wayne knew Oliver and Watchtower wanted to get out from under Luthor's scrutiny.
Caly smiled brilliantly, "As I'll be leaving as well, it would be perfect; I would love to, Mr. Wayne, thank you."
"Why don't I join you, then you'll have all the information you need from both of us before you leave?" Oliver questioned.
The brown-haired, petite woman blinked but recovered quickly, "That would be wonderful, if you don't mind cutting your evening short?" Oliver responded that he didn't and left to give his farewells to everyone.
Caly turned back to Lex, "Mr. Luthor, let me know what your stance is on the issue once the lawyers are finished with it, please." She smiled and offered her hand. Once again, Lex bowed over it, kissing her fingers and Caly nodded her head slightly, dropping her eyes.
The freelance reporter then excused herself to retrieve her coat. Before Bruce could stop Clark from following Watchtower, Lex engaged him in conversation and Wayne couldn't grab Kent's shoulder without making Lex even more suspicious.
Once they reached the cloak room, Clark spoke up, "Chloe –"
"Caly." Chloe hissed at him.
"Caly, you shouldn't have come here tonight, you knew Lex was going to be here."
"Clark, this is what I do. I keep track of Lex, just as I do all the other rich and famous; it's how I get all the information I do. And if you can't accept that, and you can't keep my identity secret, then you need to leave me alone."
She took her coat from the attendant and moved them a little further away before continuing. "I can deal with the attention of the likes of Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne. But yours I can not; you are the one putting me in danger, Clark; your attention is going to get me killed!" She finished in a harsh hissed whisper and then moved towards the billionaires who were approaching them.
As each of them offered her an arm, all three nodded their goodnights to the Daily Planet reporter and then slipped outside.
Clark sighed and then went looking for his mother.
None of them had paid any attention to the security camera with the flashing red light, in the corner.
*^*^*
Bruce and Oliver both felt the tension in Caly's body and, as they made their way to Queen's limo, they made small talk for whatever ears and eyes there were. However, it hadn't released any of Chloe's smothered anger or seething frustration by the time they entered the long vehicle.
When they were safely inside, with the driver directed to Bruce's hotel, Chloe let out a sigh and threw her clutch to the other side of the car before crossing her arms over her chest.
"Clark … Clark's…" She sighed, a hand rising to rest on the bridge of her nose and then carefully rub her eyes with thumb and forefinger. "He's going to get me killed." The two playboys could tell that it hurt Chloe to say that, but neither of them could disagree with her.
Oliver looked at the woman sitting beside him. Without the black outfit, with the deceptive height of her boots and the black leather jacket, he again noticed how petite Chloe really was. When he'd realized this, he had better understood Clark's concern of how he believed Chloe needed protecting; however, unlike Clark, he knew she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
"You know… maybe you should stay in Metropolis for a couple of extra days."
Chloe's eyes widened as she turned to look at him, mouth falling open, arms falling from her chest in exasperation, "Oh God, not you too!"
Oliver realized he could have worded that better and turned towards her, reaching out to stop her from moving to the other side of the car as she looked over to Bruce.
"And you? Do you have an opinion on this, also?"
Wayne was wise enough to shake his head and remain quiet.
Oliver quickly went on to explain himself.
"No, no, I mean, maybe if we did some sparring while he was watching, Cark would understand that you can take care of yourself. Maybe if he sees that, maybe he'll get off your case."
Chloe snorted. "Oliver, that would be more supportive if you actually knew how well I can take care of myself."
Oliver nodded his head and chuckled slightly. "Well, that's true, but even if I haven't seen you in action, I've heard about it, and I've read about it."
Just then, the limo came to a stop at the curb of Bruce's hotel. "If you'll send me a copy of your questions, Watchtower, I'll send the answers back to you for the interview you need."
"Thanks, Bruce, I'd appreciate it. And thank you so much for the distraction, I think Oliver was thinking of dumping an entire tray of champagne on himself." Chloe told Bruce sincerely.
"No, not on me, I was going to have them land on Lex."
Chloe laughed and Bruce just shook his head.
Wayne bid them both goodbye and then made his way into the hotel. As the limo pulled away from the curb on its way to where Chloe was staying, Oliver continued with their previous conversation.
"So… how about you and I going at it tomorrow, in the penthouse?"
Chloe's heart stuttered and her mouth opened slightly, at what could be considered the double meaning of that sentence. She made herself swallow and give a full bodied laugh, wrinkling her nose slightly. "Mr. Queen, if that's a pick up line, I can't understand how you've gotten the reputation as a playboy because that was really, really bad."
Shaking his head, Oliver chuckled quietly as his cheeks colored slightly, ignoring his unintentional double entendre. "Maybe my smile is all I need? Or maybe it's just my natural charm?"
Heartbeat slowly going back to normal, Chloe laughed slightly at Oliver's embarrassment and rolled her eyes at him, "Oh yes, and maybe it's your money. Obviously it's not because of your ego because you so don't have one."
Oliver couldn't help it, he laughed again. As they continued talking, a part of his mind kept thinking that maybe he really had meant to say that double entendre.
*^*^*
While Chloe had agreed on sparring at the penthouse, neither had figured on having all the boys, including Bruce, as an audience. However, thinking it would probably be a good idea for all of them to know what Chloe was capable of, they decided to continue with their plans and, shortly after changing into appropriate attire, they were getting ready to warm up when Clark arrived.
"Chloe." Clark approached his friend somewhat uncertainly.
Chloe looked at her best friend of years ago. Even though she was upset with him, she couldn't help but want to recapture the closeness they'd had before the safe house explosion made her life path change. Unable to voice anything that she hadn't already said to the 'big dump alien,' she sighed and opened her arms, inviting him to hug. Clark let out a brilliant smile and almost crushed her in a bear hug that brought back tons of memories for her. After letting her go, he looked her up and down, frowning slightly.
Interpreting the look, she rolled her eyes, "Oliver and I are going to do some sparring."
Seeing the stormy expression on Mt. Kent's face, Bruce stepped in and pulled the younger man away while Oliver and Chloe began warming up.
Even though Chloe had arrived with Oliver dressed as Caly Scott, she was now free of disguise. While she had been focused on Clark, Oliver had taken the time to thoroughly look his fill of her without any disguise, without her being unconscious, and he was incredibly pleased with what he saw. Yes, she was petite, long blonde hair in a single braid down her back, and he could see why Clark thought she might need protecting. However, he also saw evidence of the years of training she'd undergone and, coupled with regular workout sessions, her body was well honed. Chloe was in excellent shape, and, if Oliver was honest with himself, a complete feast for the eyes.
As they warmed up, Oliver spent some time watching Clark watch Chloe and saw surprise crossing the younger man's face on several occasions during her warm up. Oliver snorted, shaking his head slightly. Obviously Clark was going to be in for a rude awakening of having a friend who was no longer a damsel in distress for him to save if just the warm ups were surprising him.
Once they finished limbering up and getting their blood pumping, Oliver and Chloe faced off on the mats in some basic hand-to-hand sparring. As the pace increased, they moved flawlessly into more advanced moves. Chloe definitely knew what she was doing and proved she was more than able to defend herself against the average opponent.
Stopping briefly to retrieve a couple of well used practice staffs, they continued. Oliver was impressed with Chloe's training, strength and focus. He hadn't gotten a workout of this caliber in a long while and was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Speeding up, he raised his voice, "Come on, Watchtower. Is that all you got? I thought you told me that you could take me to the mat."
Without missing a beat, Chloe smiled, "I don't want to hurt your ego, Arrow. If I bruised you, you might not live it down."
Oliver laughed. Intelligent, quick witted, spontaneous, caring, loyal, secret keeper, always searching for the truth, unafraid of putting herself in danger to get to that truth and using it to bring justice to those who needed it. God, the woman was incredible.
"Bring it on, Sidekick. Or should I call you Shortstuff?"
Chloe smirked and took him at his word.
Oliver didn't have time for more laughing or smirking as Chloe poured on the juice and went full out on him. She was a whirling, tumbling, acrobatic dervish and it took a lot of concentration to keep up with her. The powerful connections of the staffs were sending shocks through his arms and he marveled at the strength she produced with her smaller form.
Oliver had been taught by a lot of masters and he could tell that, while Chloe hadn't been, she was more than up to the challenge of protecting herself. He was incredibly pleased with not only that but that he had backed her against Clark.
Slipping on some sweat on the mat, Oliver fell sideways, twisting himself off form and off balance just enough that he wouldn't be able to significantly counter the maneuver that Chloe had already begun. She was fully committed to the swing of the staff and there wasn't anything she could do in the few seconds before the staff connected with Oliver; even if Chloe tried pulling it back, there was no way that she wouldn't either hurt herself or severely injure him.
As the staff continued its way towards him, he saw the fear for him in her eyes.
But, within the blink of those eyes, he was pushed out of the way of the staff, the expected blow never landing on him.
Struggling to a sitting position, he turned around to see Bruce supporting Chloe while Clark was sprawled beside him on the mat looking at Chloe with an absolutely dumbfounded expression. Not bothering with him, Oliver hurried over to Chloe.
Bruce had grabbed the young woman, using his strength to help lessen the impact of the pulled maneuver and was gently rubbing the muscles of her arms, knowing that the aborting of the blow would have strained her muscles more than continuing with it. Bringing her down to the mat, he urged her to lay flat on her front so that he could work on her back.
"While you have obviously had some intensive training, you'll do better with some more, Watchtower. There are ways of pulling committed blows without having the muscles cramp after." Bruce commented to Chloe matter of factly. "In fact, I think all of you would benefit from more training."
Oliver crouched down in front of Chloe. She looked up at him, her gaze filled with apology and relief. He smiled, grasping a sweaty hand with one of his. Giving her a look, panting with exertion, "You're right, you could have taken me, easily."
"Like I said, good things come in small packages, Archer." She laughed, grasping his hand back before resting her head on the mat, trying to get her breath and heartbeat back to normal after nearly killing the leader of the Justice League.
*^*^*
Oliver and Chloe had taken showers and all of them were now sitting in the living room getting to know Watchtower and Batman a bit more on a personal level – Chloe even telling them about what little she knew of her healing ability and noting that she was the only 'meteor infected' individual, besides Clark, as they didn't know yet that he wasn't from Earth, that they had probably come in contact with who wasn't insane.
.
"So, when you healed me, you felt the … you felt like you'd gotten shot?" AC was pale under his healthy tan and no one could blame him.
Giving a look to AC, Chloe reached over to grasp the sea population lover's hand. "I feel a portion of it, yes." Watchtower shrugged. "All in all, it's a small price to pay to heal someone when it's needed."
Oliver had a feeling she wasn't telling them everything and asked his own questions. "You asked how long you were out and if you… if you'd 'died'?"
Chloe breathed a breath. "… I was actually hoping you had forgotten that part." Oliver looked at her intensely, knowing that he wasn't going to like the answers she was going to give him.
Looking at the others, he saw the same expression and thought reflected on their faces.
"Depending on what I'm healing, it takes time and a portion of my energy to recover. Healing near death injuries… or … bringing those back from death –"
Chloe let the noise of the uproar her statement caused, to die down, and then continued, "Where they have died just minutes prior – require significant energy, or more of my life force, if you will, to heal them. Each time I've healed someone or something like that, the time I've been 'dead,' has increased."
There was complete silence as the six men digested her comments.
Oliver had to know. He had to know how many times this amazing and extraordinary woman had willingly traded her life for someone else's.
Apparently he wasn't the only one because Bruce asked first.
"How many times? How many times have you literally taken someone else's place into the darkness?"
It was an interesting way of phrasing the question and Chloe answered, without much hesitation, "Four."
But after a pause, she amended, "I think."
"You think?" Bart voiced.
"I'm not certain how many times I died at the safe house actually. My memories of that incident aren't really reliable…." Watchtower trailed off, her eyes showing them that her thoughts had turned inward.
.
After the sparring that could have ended with Oliver severely injured, Clark was forced to admit that Chloe really could take care of herself. She was too much of a good person to tell him that she had told him so but he felt like she should. However, he also recognized within himself that, even if Chloe did tell him that, he'd still feel as uncomfortable… off balance… as he did now.
Clark realized that he should feel a lot better about the situation now that he knew she could stand up to the likes of Green Arrow when it came to defending herself. He should also feel a lot less tense and burdened with worry for her, especially knowing that, if worse came to worse, she could heal herself, but he found himself … upset… instead. And he had no idea why. All of this was good, so why did he feel the way he did right now?
After an hour of watching Clark Kent brood, Oliver decided he needed to intervene. As he was beginning to raise himself off the couch, Chloe put a hand on his leg, near his knee. Looking over to her, very well aware of the heat of her hand, Chloe shook her head at him and then stood up.
Walking over to her friend standing near the floor to ceiling windows, she reached out to grasp one of Clark's arms.
When the six-foot, four-inch man turned to face her, the others in the room were struck anew with how small Chloe was in comparison to Clark and wondered at how she had gotten through all the various situations they had been talking about just moments ago, without being killed. She was so small compared to most of them actually, Bart being a notable exception, and yet she had proven that she could take care of herself, that she was a force to be reckoned with.
"Feeling a little lost? Adrift maybe?"
Clark sighed and let his chin rest on his chest for a moment before looking back to her with his brows furrowed.
Before he could say anything, Chloe spoke gently to him. "Clark, you're used to protecting people, it's who you are, it's what you do. You're used to protecting me, saving me from all the situations I've gotten myself into – with or without help. It's perfectly natural for you to feel kind of lost at the moment, knowing that I can take care of myself now.
"Think of how your parents dealt with you when you were young and how they dealt with you as your grew up. A parent does the same thing to a child that you were doing to me."
Chloe smiled and chuckled slightly before continuing, once again looking him in the eyes.
"Newsflash, Clark… I grew up while I was away and you didn't have time to adjust or process that change because you thought I was dead and you didn't get to see me change and grow. But Clark, you can stop worrying about me now. I may not need you to save me or whatever like I used to those years ago but that doesn't mean that I don't need you as my friend."
Clark hesitantly reached for her and when she didn't pull back, he pulled her into his arms, lifting her a few inches off the floor, hugging her with his eyes closed. He nodded his head into one of her shoulders. Putting her down, he let go of her and closed his eyes for a moment before sighing. Opening his eyes, he found her smiling at him, her eyes telling him that she understood.
He smiled at her before pulling her into another hug. "Thanks, Chloe."
She pulled away still smiling. "You're welcome, Clark."
*^*^*
The day after the benefit, Lex Luthor sat in his castle office going through some stills of the threesome he'd come upon shortly before Bruce Wayne had joined them. Then he moved to the pictures of the woman and Clark near the cloak room. Listening to the audio of the area had told him that Clark knew who 'Caly Scott' was and that 'Caly' was very upset with him for his behavior and inability to keep quiet about her.
What he didn't know was what Oliver Queen's interest was with Chloe Sullivan or how well the blonde billionaire knew Clark. Was she nothing more to Queen than a reporter he was familiar with? Was she playing with Oliver and Bruce as much as she was him, just using her disguise as a freelance reporter to gather information? And what type of information? What did she do with it?
Calling his head of security into his office, he continued to look at the stills from the security cameras of the LuthorCorp building.
"Yes, Mr. Luthor?"
Taking a moment more to look through the photos, he then looked up to the man currently heading his security force. "I want to know everything about a woman named Caly Scott, she attended the party last night. I want to know who she contacts, when, where, how. I want complete surveillance on her at all times.
"While you're at it, put a team on Oliver Queen. Find out what his interest in Caly Scott is and why; what's her connection to him. Find out if he's been having any unusual guests lately."
"Right away, Mr. Luthor."
Lex tossed the photos of the threesome on his desk, his security chief picking them up and beginning to walk out of the room, cell phone already in hand.
Before the man in the black suit could exit his office, Lex gave him one last set of instructions.
"Find out what her connection is to Bruce Wayne and vice versa. No surveillance on him at the moment; if he's involved somehow, I don't want to tip him off.
The man nodded his head and continued out of Lex's office.
Taking another photo from the stack that was still on his desk, he looked at the non-discrepant brown-haired woman that was supposedly Chloe Sullivan.
Studying the picture for a moment longer, he then mused aloud, "Where have you been hiding Chloe and what are you doing surfacing now? What are you up to?"
*^*^*
While Oliver had offered to order a late lunch for everyone, they had all bowed out, leaving him alone with Chloe. As they waited for it to arrive, he watched Chloe as she toured his penthouse; reading the titles of the books on the shelves, looking at knickknacks and such. When she came to a stop at a certain place among the shelves, he knew she'd found the photo of him and his parents in front of their yacht.
.
When she came across the photo of a yacht with a man, woman and child in the foreground, Chloe knew she was looking at Oliver with his parents.
Touching the young Oliver in the picture, Chloe found herself thankful that he hadn't been lost with his parents but also very sad that he had to live without them, to have lost them both at such a young age. Even though she was now an orphan as well, she had had her father with her until her late teens.
Sinking into memories of her own younger years, she came back to herself a few moments later. Turning around to return to the common area of the penthouse, Chloe found Oliver watching her. They stared at each other, neither saying a word; the moment seeming to elongate, sliding from a mere look into blatant… something. Just before Chloe was about to try and break eye contact, the buzzer for the elevator sounded and Oliver blinked a couple of times, shaking his head as if he'd been caught in his own deep thoughts.
Turning, Oliver walked back into the common area to check the monitor to see who was requesting entry.
.
As Chloe watched Oliver set the table, a small rectangle of glass and metal that sat near a corner beside the floor to ceiling windows that looked out on the city, she began to think that staying was a supremely bad idea. As he was turning back towards her, she decided to just grab her things and head off to her hotel room, maybe call in some room service after she took another shower.
He looked at her.
A cold shower.
*^*^*
As he turned around, Oliver could clearly see the indecision on Chloe's face. Stepping over to her, he gathered one of her hands in his and, using the remote he had stashed in his pants pocket, turned the sound system on. Throwing the remote onto the couch, Oliver then grasped her other hand and pulled her closer to him as the music started playing.
Looking into her eyes, he moved his head slightly closer, one hand going around her waist. "Should I tell you that I haven't been able to get you out of my mind for months; that, at that benefit we attended over a month ago, all I wanted to do was dance all night with only you, to whisper all manner of things into your ear and to hear you laugh and to see one of your incredible smiles?
"Would it be too much to tell you that, for uncounted nights I have dreamed of you and that I've taken more cold showers within these last months than I have my entire life?"
Chloe pulled back, her eyes wide, but Oliver didn't loosen his grasp on her. He stopped dancing, never looking away from her eyes and, for the first time, in any situation Chloe had seen him in, Oliver looked anxious, his emotions unguarded.
"I've fallen head over heels in love with you, Chloe Sullivan. And not just for Chloe, but Caly and Watchtower as well. Every single permutation of you, you have me completely.
"I'm not asking for forever, but I don't want just a night with you either."
Unnerved with her silence, he swallowed. "I need you to say something, Chloe. Please."
For one of the few times in her life, Chloe was struck speechless. Oliver watched her lips part and then she wet them, perhaps in an effort to prime her mind for something, perhaps as an invitation, perhaps as only a nervous gesture.
Oliver took it for the second 'perhaps.'
*^*^*
Chloe saw Oliver's eyes travel to her mouth and then saw his pupils dilate when she licked her lips and then he was slowly moving his head closer to hers, watching her eyes, gazing at her face, looking for any sign that Chloe didn't want what was about to happen, and then his mouth was on hers. Lightly brushing her lips and then placing a kiss on each side of her mouth. Then he was back, nibbling at her lips, nuzzling her nose with his and then going back to her mouth, inviting her to kiss him. More pressure was added, and then his tongue came out to caress her lips and Chloe opened her mouth to him, a few seconds later his tongue moved into her mouth and she was lost.
Mouths mated, tongues tangled and then the rest of their bodies got involved.
Chloe found herself slowly backing up until she came up against one of the penthouse walls. Once she was secure against it, Oliver pressed his body into hers, bringing them into full body contact. His hands were caressing her from shoulder to hip and then they were at her nape, tangling in the base of her braid. Taking his hands away from her, Chloe was momentarily confused when he pulled her braid from behind her back. As he began undoing her hair, she softly smiled at him, blushing slightly.
He looked to her eyes, smiling back. "I've wanted to run my hands through your hair since the first time I saw it." Oliver ran his hands from the nape all the way to the ends and then came up to her temple and ran his hand down to the back of her neck. Pulling her head forward, the kiss this time was much more passionate. His hand moved from her neck and hair and settled on her waist. Using both hands, Oliver pulled her into him and then pushed her into the wall with his hips, grinding himself against her, both of them letting out breathy moans at the contact and pressure.
Chloe was completely overwhelmed with everything she was experiencing. She'd kissed guys, not many but enough to know that Oliver was… he could teach her a lot and she wouldn't mind being a student, for years. He worshipped her mouth and she strove to give him the same pleasure.
No one had ever worshipped her before, in any form. The way he unbraided her hair and then caressed it, it was so sensual feeling, in a 'mental' way if that made sense. The way he'd started kissing her, so tender and adoring. The way he'd caressed her…
And then he'd pulled her forward and then pushed them into the wall, crushing and grinding them together and it was all she could do not to have an orgasm right then and there. God, if this went on much longer, she'd never make it to the main event.
Oliver pulled his body away from Chloe slightly and he couldn't help but be satisfied that, not only did she groan, but her hips tried to follow him. Moving his hands, he clasped hers and pulled her with him, crossing the penthouse and making his way up the stairs, pulling her gently along with him.
Once in the bedroom, he pulled her through the door and then closed it behind them with the simple act of pushing her against it, once more drawn to her mouth. She had the sweetest mouth; taste, touch, smell it was all right there for him. He plundered it, passion burning more and more brightly and he had to stop or he'd blow, literally. Oliver hadn't been so turned on from a kiss, just a kiss, since he was a teenager.
Stepping back from her, he noted how wide her pupils were, her kiss bruised lips, the flush of her cheeks, the long golden waterfall of her hair around her. God, she was a sight to behold. As he moved his hands to the base of his shirt, he watched her carefully. While he was sure she wanted this as much as he did, he needed to make sure they were on the same page.
As Oliver started taking off his shirt, he saw, with just a touch of amusement, that Chloe started with her shoes. Shirt off, he started toeing off his own shoes. Motioning her over to the end of the bed, he sat down and took his socks off. Moving to his pants, he glanced over to see her taking off her shirt, pants already on the floor. Once he was finished, he extended one of his hands and then guided her to the side of the bed amidst more kissing, one hand caressing through her hair, the other her back.
He backed her down onto the bed, never breaking the kiss, then straddled her on all fours. Oliver moved one hand to shape her side, from shoulder to hip and then coming up the front, over her underwear, up her stomach, over her bra and into her hair. Soon, he moved his mouth down her neck, suckling on one side under the ear, moving down towards the collarbone and then to the valley of her breasts. While one hand caressed one breast, stroking a thumb over the nipple, his mouth sucked in the other, fabric and all, and he felt her buck against him.
God, she was so incredibly responsive, he had to grab the base of his erection; Oliver was too far gone for this to last long.
Chloe started begging him, a single word, spoken over and over again.
"Please."
From what he was hearing, Oliver wasn't the only one too far gone for this to last much longer.
Quickly using one hand, he divested himself of his boxers. When he was finished with that, he helped Chloe take off her bra and then her underwear. Fumbling open his bedside drawer, he pulled out a condom package and opened it.
While reaching down between her legs with one hand, he used his other to roll the condom into place. Oliver found Chloe's entire groin soaked with moisture and they both groaned. Straddling her, he bent to kiss her and then moved down once more to her nipples. He slowly brushed his erection against her soaked juncture and was scorched with her heat. Unable to stop himself, he plunged into her…
… and came to the incredibly shocking realization that he'd just taken a virgin.
There was no other explanation for the resistance he came across, the sudden feel of something tearing inside her body to admit him to the treasure inside of her; the sensation of body temperature liquid coating him and making its way out of her body.
He pulled his head up so quickly, his eyes wide and mouth open, that he was sure, if this were a movie, this would have been a moment that had everyone rolling in the aisles.
He was aware of her hot walls spasming around him as she had her first intercourse induced orgasm and, despite the situation, Oliver couldn't help but groan and move against her, letting her muscles pulse against his impaled length. Unable to help himself, he started moving, pulling out and pushing inside of her and Chloe wrapped her legs around him, pulling him into her even further, her hips thrusting up to meet him and soon, he wasn't thinking, he was pumping into her, pushing into her harder and faster, following the directions Chloe's body was giving him.
All too soon, he could feel his testicles tightening and the spark at the base of his spine and then he felt Chloe stutter inside and he watched her body flush, her face contort into an expression of ecstatic pleasure and her insides started squeezing him, much harder this time and his own orgasm hit him seemingly out of nowhere. His rhythm halted as he thrust inside of her, hard and deep, his throat locking on a shout, eyes rolling towards the back of his head.
Oliver came back to himself as his body was slowly moving to cover Chloe's and he slid himself to the side. Her muscles still clamped onto him, Oliver pulled her closer to him, as close as he could get them and still allow them to breathe properly.
He covered her face with kisses, caressing her body, running his fingers through her hair while she cuddled and nuzzled against him, caressing him gently, tenderly, raining light kisses down on his shoulders, neck and chest.
They both groaned when Chloe's body released him and sighed as Oliver's flaccid shaft left her body.
Not wanting to move but knowing he had to, Oliver got up from the bed, caressing Chloe and motioning for her to stay where she was when she made a move to get up. Hurrying into the connected bathroom, Oliver tossed the spent condom into the trash and got a couple of hand towels and wet a couple of washcloths. Cleaning himself up, he brought the other things back with him and found Chloe sitting up in the bed, covering herself with the top sheet.
The sight made him stumble to a stop momentarily. Hesitantly, he came forward. Chloe had her head down so he sat on the side of the bed and bent down, tilting his head to the side and looking up at her face.
"Chloe?" His voice was gentle and comforting.
She looked up at him and he struggled not to suck in a gasp of air as he saw the tears in her eyes and the evidence that a couple had escaped down her cheeks.
Before he could say anything, she smiled self-consciously. "I'm sorry, Oliver. I should have told you, but I was afraid you'd stop and I wanted … I wanted you so much… I've wanted you for a long time actually. You don't have to marry me, I wasn't saving myself for anyone in particular, I just hadn't … I didn't… There just wasn't anyone besides someone in high school that I wanted to share that part of myself with. I know this probably changes things but you don't have to worry about anything – "
Oliver realized that Chloe was more than nervous, she was scared that he was angry or upset with her and it was translating to her rambling and motor-mouth behavior. He'd never seen it but Clark had mentioned it a time or two, or rather, its absence, because she hadn't done it once in his presence since 'returning from the dead.'
Knowing this was something major, Oliver did the only thing he could think of to get Chloe to understand that her concerns weren't his.
Bending forward, his mouth smothered hers and halted the words from continuing to stream from her mouth. Only meaning for the kiss to distract her so he could reassure her and they could talk about everything, he found himself spiraling into a deeper level, desire and passion flowing through him and Oliver felt himself slowly following Chloe down onto the bed.
Her arms came around his neck and he wrapped his around her, coming back up over her shoulders and gathering in her hair. Oliver left off kissing her, looking down into Chloe's face, her eyes were bright, her hair spread out around her and on her shoulders where his hands had left the strands. Slowly he leaned down, capturing her mouth once more, letting the kiss grow hungry; he could feel Chloe's body heat rising through the sheet she still had wrapped around her, feel her nipples pebble as his chest rubbed against her.
God, he was addicted to her and they'd only made love once. Oliver's need to have her again quickly consumed him and he found himself unwrapping the sheet from around Chloe's body, giving her a quick cleanup with one of the towels he'd brought out with him, as he worshipped every spot of revealed skin with hands, mouth and tongue. Suddenly Chloe's hands were pushing at his chest and as he pulled himself up from her body, she pushed him over and he fell back on the bed.
Before he could grow concerned, Chloe straddled him, a shy yet determined look and smile on her face. Oliver laughed, relieved, and smiled back. "By all means." She leaned over him, using her own hands, mouth and tongue.
Minutes, maybe hours later, he let out a strained yelp when he felt her mouth engulf his erection. Steel, hell, diamonds, had nothing on him and he could only drown in the pleasure of what she was doing to him. But, no matter how good it felt, and that was an understatement, he didn't want to come in her mouth; he wanted to feel her own natural vise on his length again and Oliver moved to pull her up, his hands tangled once again in her hair.
She looked up and saw the strain on his face, saw him shaking his head and she moved upwards to him. Once he was sure she was almost level with him, he motioned for her to sit. She smiled with understanding, nodding at him and then towards his bedside table. Oliver quickly produced another condom packet and ripped it open for her, letting her take it from him and roll it on to his hard length.
Chloe slowly mounted him, her hair hanging all around her. Oliver watched her face, watching it change as she impaled herself fully on him and he thrust his hips upwards. Her eyes snapped open and she leaned forward slightly, drawing guttural groans from them both and his hips jerked in response to the movement.
Slowly, they began a rhythm of give and take that worked into something harder, deeper and faster. Oliver watched the sweat running down her body, plastering her blond hair along her curves, hearing the noises she was making as she spiraled higher and higher. Overwhelmed with desire and passion, he turned them over and repositioned himself in her. At her nod, he began pounding into her, harder and deeper than they could with her on top. Once again, she wrapped her legs around his waist and he couldn't stop himself. While his bottom half was pumping into her, he lowered his top half and laved one nipple, biting it and then caressing the hurt away, feeling Chloe run her hands through his hair, hard. He moved to the other nipple and then, as he felt her body begin to tighten around him, he attacked her mouth. Just as she was about to orgasm, he changed the rhythm of his pumping and slipped a finger down to play with her clit, using his mouth to bite, suckle and caress one of her nipples.
Chloe exploded around him, both inside and out. Her internal muscles clamped down on his erection and literally ripped his orgasm from him. Their cries of completion, loud enough to probably wake the dead, mixed together just as their orgasms did.
Once again, Oliver found himself falling to cover her body, Chloe's inner muscles still clamped around him, he could feel both of their bodies pulsing at their internal connection. Rolling to the side, he gathered her to him and continued so that he was on his back and she lay on top of him.
Oliver couldn't help it, he tried to pull Chloe even closer to him, her legs falling to either side of his hips, her arms went around his neck and, surprise, surprise, she pushed into him and he felt himself jerk inside of her. She did it again and he saw stars. A third time and he was jerking his hips into hers, muscles straining all over his body, shouting out with shock as he came within her vice like cavern once more. He felt her pulse around him and then they were both shaking. Chloe raised her head, her face filled with wonder, amazement and other emotions that Oliver didn't have the mental ability to figure out right then. He looked back at her, unaware that he was completely unguarded at the moment, his eyes reflecting many of the same emotions back to her.
Slowly, Chloe laid her head back down on his chest, her ear directly over his heart.
As they both came down from… as close to heaven as any living being could probably get… Oliver knew that what he'd said to Chloe before this whole thing started, was a complete and utter lie.
Oliver Queen wanted this woman, Chloe Sullivan, AKA Caly Scott, AKA Watchtower, forever.
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They must have fallen asleep because a couple of hours later, Oliver woke to find Chloe still lying atop him. He should have found it to be terribly uncomfortable but he didn't; in fact, he enjoyed the weight of Chloe's body snuggled into him, her head tucked in below the hollow of his chin, her left hand entwined with his right, her right hand settled on his left breast. Oliver noticed he still had his arms wrapped around her, meeting at the small of her back and he began to caress her once more.
Oliver also realized that their groins were still matched and, while he didn't have an erection, it wouldn't take much for him to be back inside of her, as his penis felt like it was still snuggled against her entrance. Just thinking about it made him close his eyes and struggle to keep the groan from passing his lips. However, his body had already translated the thought to desire and he felt himself hardening and beginning to push at Chloe.
Chloe moaned slightly, shifting, turning her head to the other side, dropping the hand that was on his breast, down to his arm and moving a leg so that it hiked up his torso a bit, unintentionally opening herself up more. Oliver groaned and shifted his hips, putting his hand between them to retrieve the spent condom and to adjust himself, and just like that, Chloe raised her head, blinking and then moved to look up at him.
The gentle, sweet smile she gave him was breathtaking in its own right. She blushed slightly, suddenly seeming incredibly shy and made to move off of him. Oliver held her tightly to where she was, looking at her intensely yet somehow gently.
"Uh… hi." Chloe almost whispered.
Oliver couldn't help it, he pulled her up and closer to him, his burgeoning erection sliding along her entrance, kissing her lingeringly while chuckling slightly. "Hello yourself, Angel."
Chloe fell into the kiss as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She brought both hands up to Oliver's face, cupping it in her palms before running one of them up and through his sweat dampened hair to the back of his neck. Chloe felt the newly awakened desires within her spiraling outwards into her body, her mind and tried to rein them back in.
Oliver found himself deepening the kiss, his desires spiraling outwards and upwards, his erection hardening and making its way deeper into Chloe's body. God, where was his self control!? Since he'd met this woman, it was like it was nothing; the iron control he'd placed himself under for years, to cover emotions, feelings, thoughts, desires he didn't want to deal with since the death of his parents and beyond, was like tissue paper when confronted with all things Chloe.
He groaned as Chloe shifted around him, his hips jerking into her and when she moved to let him back inside of her and he felt his bare length slide back into her wet core, they released twin shudders of need and want and… something that just lacked words.
Before either of them could rein themselves in, they were back to where they were, over two hours ago; tongues tangling, breaths mingling, giving and taking, caressing, pinching, biting, whimpering, moaning, groaning and looking into each others eyes with some emotion that was too strong for either to go against.
And both of them could feel in the other the same fear they were feeling themselves.
The fear that they were already so far into each other that it would be impossible to let the other go, for any reason. The fear that, no matter that this, whatever this was, couldn't, shouldn't go anywhere, it was already too late to stop. That no matter how much neither of them wanted or needed this type of complication in their life, it was already there and nothing they did would ever be able to break it.
There was no way this could be causal; there was no way this was anything other than forever.
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Shaken by their recent love makings, they both made to get out of bed. Chloe hesitated, assuming that Oliver would want the shower first but when he held his hand out to her with an understanding smile, she smiled back, accepting. They showered together, washing each other tenderly but with no sexual overtones and then dressed.
The late lunch that Oliver had ordered was congealed and cold and, as he tossed the containers, his thoughts were clearly elsewhere. Chloe startled him with her quietly voiced comment of needing to get to the airport for her flight back to Star City.
Turning to her, he realized that, even if they had been thrown a fast curve ball, life still continued around them, the universe hadn't halted in its tracks for the situation they now found themselves in. Stilling for a moment and then taking a couple of steps towards her before stopping, he quickly nodded his head.
"I could take you to the hotel and then to the airport." Oliver offered.
Chloe smiled very slightly, "I don't think that would be the best idea, Oliver. Caly's supposed to be a wall flower, remember." She pointed to the wig she was wearing and watched him nod his head.
They stared at one another for a moment before Chloe swallowed and cleared her throat, breaking eye contact. "Well, I … uh… I'd better get going."
As she began to turn to make her way to the elevator, Oliver stepped over to her, reaching out and taking hold of her nearest arm and pulled her around to face him. Chloe looked up to him, her eyes searching his intense gaze. While she could see that he was struggling to say what was running through his mind, Chloe knew that her own mind was just as chaotic with trying to process everything that had happened within the last few hours.
Slowly, she put the tips of her three middle fingers to his lips, shaking her head slowly. Swallowing once again, Chloe brought her gaze back up to his face after looking down to his chest. "Don't. Not right now."
Lowering her hand, she continued to look into his eyes, allowing him to see the chaos and the myriad of emotions that were going on inside her. "Let's just… let's just… take some time… try and figure out what's going on. We both have lives that require our attention, people who are counting on us …."
Chloe ran out of words and she supposed it was just as well because Oliver brought her up against him, holding her close, almost crushing her to him, laying his cheek against the top of her head before pushing her away just enough for him to dip his head and capture her mouth. The kiss was passionate, desperate and crushing. It was almost like a soldier going off to war, trying to store up as much sense memory of his significant other before being shipped out.
And then he was pushing himself away from her. Chloe pulled him back to her; she couldn't let him go, overcome with a sudden panic, a deep and unsettling feeling of foreboding, taking hold of her. But when they ran out of air, Chloe allowed him to push himself away from her this time.
Both panting, Chloe attempted to take a huge breath, fighting to keep her tears at bay as she nodded with understanding. Turning, she walked to the elevator, struggling to keep her emotions in check. She closed the mesh grate and pushed the button for the lobby of the building, all with her back to him.
Just before the elevator left the penthouse floor, she turned to him and found his intense gaze meeting hers, and then she was below his floor.
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Three days later…
While Oliver Queen didn't have any personal security details shadowing his every step, for obvious reasons, Queen Industries' facilities did. It was that aspect of Queen's life that brought his attention to the fact that Lex must have him under intense surveillance. Knowing that Lex would have done it sooner or later, Oliver was still concerned that Chloe had been compromised and he made sure to warn the other League members of this complication for when they needed to see or communicate with him.
Using the same secured line within his office in Queen Industries, Oliver tried to get hold of Watchtower to let her know that Lex might be having her shadowed as well. Unable to reach her via phone or communications link, he sent an encrypted email with the information as well as an 'order' to let him know her status.
He actually had to chuckle at himself for that as he didn't think Chloe would respond to the order really. But he hoped she'd let him know how she was doing.
.
Twenty-four hours later, after having checked in with Bruce and found that someone had been looking into his connections with Caly and that his own communications with Watchtower weren't being responded to either, Oliver was officially worried. He'd grown more and more concerned as each hour passed in silence from her. Oliver decided that the easiest way to check up on her would be to send Bart; Impulse could get in and out of her place without anyone seeing him entering or leaving the building.
.
Bart was back in minutes and his news wasn't good.
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