Crisis control with dl_greenarrow

[chloeas]

After the meeting and once AC, Bart, Dinah and Victor had left, Chloe had no doubt that Oliver's extended silence meant he was not only pissed at her for not asking her opinion on the plan, but he was also probably pissed for being left behind while the others went on a mission

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[dl_greenarrow]

He studied her for a long moment, arms still folded across his chest as he remained silent. Then he finally responded, his voice quiet. "I know it is. I need to know if anyone was hurt or killed in the explosion," he told her, his shoulders tense.

[chloeas]

"They are going there now, they will check the building, but from what I read, no one was in there when it happened, no one other than you or one of us could have gotten in anyway." She told him as she stepped closer to him.

[dl_greenarrow]

"Someone could have been nearby. Some innocent person out for a walk or just driving by at the wrong time." He looked down at the floor.

[chloeas]

She sighed softly and walked closer to him, "there are no reports of anything so far, Oliver. Stop kicking yourself over it,and realize that Lex Luthor just tried to kill you."

[dl_greenarrow]

When she hugged him back instead of pushing him away, he relaxed a little. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I apparently forgot my phone at the office, and then my car broke down on the way here. I tried to figure out what was wrong with it, but by the time I realized I had no idea what I was doing, I was already late."

[chloeas]

At his words, Chloe pulled back, taking a deep breath and looking up at him as she shook her head, "I'm not trying to guilt trip you for not being here." She held his gaze, "I just want you to understand that this is serious and you're in danger and we need to take precautions so this doesn't happen again."

[dl_greenarrow]

"I know you're not trying to guilt trip me. I was just explaining," he said softly, searching her eyes. "And I know it's serious." He hesitated a moment, then leaned her forehead against his. "I'm just glad no one was hurt."

[chloeas]

Chloe hesitated then placed her hands over his arms, nodding slightly but keeping her eyes on his, she didn't know if her stomach was tight from worrying earlier or from how close he was, "me too."

[dl_greenarrow]

Oliver smiled as he felt her relaxing beneath his hands. He slowly made his way down her spine, pressing his thumbs along her spinal column gently and rubbing.

[chloeas]

Sighing deeply, she let her head fall forward as another shiver ran down her spine and she opened her eyes, straightening her back slightly, her face flushing. That wasn't the appropriate kind of reaction.

[dl_greenarrow]

He held his breath as she shivered involuntarily and he slowly moved his hands back up to her shoulders. "Better?" he murmured.

[chloeas]

Chloe straightened her back again and nodded, turning her head up to look at him once more, "thank you."

[dl_greenarrow]

"I don't want to be responsible for putting the rest of you in danger." He looked down at their hands.

[chloeas]

"Oliver," Chloe shook her head, "you are not putting anyone in danger, Lex is."

[dl_greenarrow]

"And Lex is the kind of guy that will happily hurt someone I care about because he knows that would be worse than hurting me directly." His voice was quiet.

[chloeas]

"We won't let that happen," she took a deep breath and nodded, "we'll protect the league and Lois," she paused, "and we'll protect Tess." As much as she hated admitting it, the woman was high on the list of people that Oliver cared about.

[dl_greenarrow]

He smiled at her. "And maybe we'll get lucky and find a new recruit to help us out."

[chloeas]

Frowning slightly, she watched him, "isn't that the whole point of the trip?"

[dl_greenarrow]

"Yeah, provided we can find the person," he said with a shrug.

[chloeas]

With a nod, she unconsciously squeezed his hand as she considered, "okay, we'll start making plans in the morning."