Holiday drama with dl_greenarrow

[chloeas]

The party had lasted a few hours, Chloe hadn't meant to stay for all that time, but between Oliver, Bart and Arthur, she hadn't managed to leave and when she realized what time it was, Oliver was leaving to take Mia back to the hotel she was staying at, AC and Bart were going to patrol and Oliver had made her promise to wait for him to get back to

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[dl_greenarrow]

Oliver arrived back at the clock tower a half hour later, his mind alternating among concern for Mia and concern for Chloe, and concern for the entire planet. He took the elevator up to his loft and stepped out. The quiet was a change from just a short while ago. It had been a nice party, and he'd enjoyed spending time with friends that he didn't see as often as he'd like.

"Chloe?" he called, heading toward the kitchen.

[chloeas]

She had gotten tired of cleaning so she had decided to sit down, in the kitchen, in one of the stools, and her eyelids had gotten heavy so she had laid her head down against the table just seconds before Oliver walked back into the tower.

It wasn't until she heard him calling out for her and lifted her head way too fast, causing the room to spin around her that she realized she might have had a little way too much to drink. She had to do her best to act sober.

"In here." She called, taking a deep breath and pushing herself up. Not a good idea either.

[dl_greenarrow]

Her voice sounded off and he frowned, stepping into the kitchen just in time to see her standing up and swaying a little. He moved quickly, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her. "Whoa, Sidekick. You all right?" His frown deepened as he tried to figure out what was wrong. But one look at the nearly empty bowl of eggnog, which hadn't been nearly that empty when he'd left to take Mia back, told him everything he needed to know.

"All right. Let's get you into bed."

[chloeas]

Sighing deeply, she leaned into him but shook her head, "I'm fine," the words were slurred even to her ears and she sighed, embarrassed, she hadn't meant for this to happen and most of all, she hadn't meant for Oliver to see her like that.

[dl_greenarrow]

"Uh-huh," he responded, shaking his head a little and rising to his feet. "Do you want to sleep in that or do you want a shirt to wear?" he asked, heading for his closet. Anything of his, she'd swim in, but it's probably be more comfortable than staying dressed.

[chloeas]

Making a face, she just looked at him, "where are you going to sleep?"

[dl_greenarrow]

He shrugged a little. "I'm not even tired yet. I'll figure it out. Now, shirt? Yes or no?"

[chloeas]

She looked down at the dress she was wearing and sighed deeply, "I guess," then looked up at him again, "and the bed is big enough and it wouldn't make me uncomfortable."

[dl_greenarrow]

"So you can stop having the spins and sleep the alcohol out of your system, Chloe," he said patiently. "Now lie down."

[chloeas]

"I don't wanna sleep." She said quietly, sighing and looking down, she didn't want to upset Oliver, but she didn't want him to leave either.

[dl_greenarrow]

Now he was at a loss. She didn't want to talk, but she didn't want to sleep, either. "All right, I'll bite. What do you want, Chloe?"

[chloeas]

At that, her face fell, too late, he was already annoyed. Shaking her head, she pulled on the cover, and laid back down, "I don't want anything."

[dl_greenarrow]

"Yeah, I pretty much gathered that," he admitted, watching her intently.

[chloeas]

With a sigh, she rested her cheek over her knees, looking at him, "but it's between the two of us, and you can't... get mad at him over it because that'd just make things worse, he already feels like we don't want him around."

[dl_greenarrow]

Oliver paused at that, completely thrown by her statement. "And here all this time I assumed he didn't want to be around us considering he's never around," he responded wryly.

[chloeas]

"I thought the same," she admitted, glancing at him, "but I guess he... felt left out, and apparently I hurt him with some of the things I said."

[dl_greenarrow]

Oliver closed his eyes and wound his other arm around her, as well, holding her close. He rubbed her back gently, letting her cry as he just held her. His heart ached for her and he found himself wanting, not for the first time in recent weeks, to lift the weight off her shoulders. He knew he couldn't do that exactly. But maybe he could help her bear the weight of it all.

[chloeas]

After a long moment, she pulled back and looked at him, but didn't let go of him, "I don't want us to end up the way we did in that future, but if we do, I'm glad to have you with me." She said sincerely.

[dl_greenarrow]

His eyes softened, her words touching something deep inside him. He reached up and tucked some hair behind her ear, his hand lingering against her cheek for a moment. "And I couldn't pick a better person to follow," he said just as sincerely. He offered her a small, soft smile and kissed her forehead.

[chloeas]

Chloe smiled softly at him and shook her head, turning her face slightly and kissing his cheek, "you wouldn't follow me, you'd be my partner."