Defining Moments 5/?
‘Oh, Chloe…I got to…duty calls’
They hadn’t spoken properly since the death of Lex Luthor. And Oliver was ready to admit that he missed her. So, when Clark had come to him to help rent the Ace of Clubs for Chloe’s birthday, Oliver had agreed.
He had walked into the party, ignoring Lois, a parcel clenched tightly under his arm. He wove through the crowd, onto the balcony, pausing to admire Chloe in a halter-neck green dress. He stepped closer, gazing at her as she stared out at the city of Metropolis.
He held the parcel out, smiling as she glanced down. She took it, thanking him, then realising he wasn’t Clark. Her eyes widened slightly and she glanced down at the present with disappointment. Oliver hurried to explain why Clark hadn’t come, trying not to notice how her dress was low-cut.
She frowned, opening the box and examining a copy of ‘Tales of the Weird and Unexplained’. She grimaced, talking to him about how she missed the days when things were weird and unexplained, before shivering.
Oliver placed an arm round her waist, noticing as she turned to him with wide-eyes, before letting him lead her inside. She stopped, staring at Lois with jealousy, before complaining about her life, how her and Jimmy hadn’t lasted.
Oliver didn’t want to smile at that, but he couldn’t help his mouth twitching.
He didn’t think she noticed, so he joked slightly with her, groaning when he received a phone call from Victor.
He hated Victor for taking him away from Chloe’s party, but he told her he had to go and she nodded, understanding.
Just before he left, he directed the hired magician over towards the birthday girl, shooting her grin and smiling as she attempted to do the same.
‘This is where I belong…Watchtower is officially online’
He hadn’t heard the whole story, but he had been fighting down laughter when he heard Chloe had been stuck as Lois for a whole day. Once, he had thought she would have been more like Lois, but thinking about it now, he couldn’t imagine Chloe any other way.
When she had called him, he had answered almost immediately, wondering why she would be calling him when they had had so little contact over the past few months.
She had said she accepted his offer and if he needed her, Watchtower would be there.
He was glad, because she would be very useful on the mission he and the team had planned for tonight, and because she had said she would be there for him not the team.
So, he had turned up at the Isis Foundation, earphones in his pocket, and asked her if this was what she really wanted - because really, joining his team was a large commitment and she really had to be sure.
And then she had said things he would have never imagined her saying - that being at the Daily Planet wasn’t what she was meant to do, and that behind her computers, as Watchtower, was where she belonged.
He hadn’t been able to argue with that, so instead he mentioned how he wished he had been given some of the clarity that seemed to come hand-in-hand with Zatanna.
She had rolled her eyes and told him that he probably already knew what he wanted. Oliver had gulped and watched her open the small box containing earphones - one for him, one for her - and then smiled up at him, the first time she had smiled at him for so long.
Oliver smiled back, watching with admiration as she unlocked the door to the secret computer room and strode inside, sitting at the computer. She pressed one button and images of his teammates flickered onto the screens.
Impulse, online.
Cyborg, online.
Canary, online.
Aquaman, online.
He paused, slipping the earphone onto his ear, smirking at her. Arrow, online.
She turned to him, smiling as she slipped the final earphone slowly onto her ear before turning back to the computer.
Watchtower, online.
He had stared at her, amazed as she took control of the team, already directing them. Unlike the first time, she was welcome in the team, she deserved to be in the team, and it didn’t feel strange at all.
She turned to him, eyebrow raised.
“Arrow, I think the world’s a safer place when you’re kitted up and patrolling the streets, not watching me watch the world.”
He shook his head, already leaving.
By the time the mission was over, he was certain that Chloe had always been meant for this job. As he split from Bart - who was off to Mexico - and Victor, he turned away from the Clocktower, driving towards the large pink sign of the Isis foundation.
He walked inside, grinning when he saw the blue of the computers as they shut down, Chloe still perched in front of them.
“Watchtower.” he greeted, and she turned, her smile the brightest he had ever seen it. “Good job.”
She smiled back, her head tilted up towards his. Oliver felt his smile fade away, unsure whether or not he should speak.
“Really good job.” he whispered, leaning down to press his lips against her cheek just as she turned slightly to face him.
Their lips slid together, both of them tensing, not moving, remembering the last time they had kissed. Just as Chloe’s eyes fluttered shut, Oliver pulled away, looking at their reflections in the blank screens.
“You did a great job tonight.” she said, her voice quiet.
Oliver turned, catching her eyes and stepping closer so there was little space between them. He heard her breath hitch, so raised his hand to her face, caressing it slightly before gently slipping the earphone from over her ear.
“Are you firing me already?”
Oliver shook his head, leaning down to kiss her cheek - admittedly millimetres from her lips - before straightening up. She smiled up at him, her cheeks flushed pink.
“See you, Watchtower.” he said, his voice low as he turned to walk away.
He stepped outside, pausing when he heard her voice behind him.
“You’ll be hearing from me.”