Gift of Fate Chapter 13 (14/?)
Summary: Oliver has been missing for two years, ever since his boat went down in a sudden storm. Chloe is still grieving for him. What will it take for her to move on and live her life again? What happened to Oliver? Will he ever come back? And who's behind the mysterious disappearances in Star City?
Rating: PG-13 for the most part, however there are sections that are NC-17 (my first attempt, for the record) for sexual content. This fic contains violence and language. Chapters containing sexual content will be preceded by a warning.
Spoilers: The entire series, basically. The basic setting is season six with a twist, but anything is fair game if it works for this fic.
Warning: Again, this is AU and is a continuation of my fic Twist of Fate, which you really need to read first or this isn't going to make any sense. There will sexual content and violence.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I'm just playing around with them.
Beta: jessicaj703 Thanks for all the help!
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12
Banner by geek_or_unique
Author’s Note: NC-17 WARNING!!! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SMUT. NO ONE UNDERAGE IS ALLOWED!! This is my first attempt at smut so it may not be that great, but it is still smut.
Chapter 13
Chloe couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She’d been waiting years for their relationship to reach this point. In high school, Oliver had been worried about the repercussions of having sex given his past history of meaningless flings. Since Chloe was his first serious relationship, he’d wanted to be sure that they were both ready before taking that step. She’d completely understood and she doubted that she would have been ready to have sex back then even if he had. It wasn’t something she had wanted to rush into either. By the time summer had rolled around, they might have been ready to talk about it, but his disappearance had destroyed any plans they might have made.
When he’d finally gotten back, they’d once again had an iron clad reason for taking things slowly. In fact, it had been almost the same reason as before. They were just trying to maintain their relationship. Having sex would change their relationship on a fundamental level. But after being apart for two years and the misunderstandings that had followed, that hadn’t seemed like a good idea. Still...she’d wanted it. She’d longed for the sense of closeness it would bring.
Now that they were finally on the same page, Chloe began to feel nervous. She wasn’t exactly experienced. The only people who’d given her a second look in high school, before Oliver at least, had been psychos hell bent on killing her. While he’d been missing, she hadn’t even been able to bring herself to look at other guys, let alone sleep with them. Oliver on the other hand...saying that he had experience was putting it lightly. He’d definitely lived up to the role of the stereotypical horny teenager. He’d willing admitted as much in some of their late night conversations. Ever self conscious, Chloe couldn’t help but be nervous and worry that she’d do something wrong.
Sensing her hesitation and misinterpreting it, Oliver drew away, putting a good four feet between them. The faint, unfamiliar heat of a blush rose to his cheeks. He’d moved too fast. He should have known that sleeping together less than an hour after finally admitting their feelings for each other wouldn’t be a good idea. It probably hadn’t helped much that they had both had near death experiences within the last twelve hours. He’d let himself get carried away. It was all well and good to follow his impulses and not rely solely on logic when he remembered to balance them. Once again, he’d done a complete one-eighty instead of finding the middle.
He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. Feeling insecure in a relationship was something that he wasn’t used to, so in a weird way it made sense that Chloe would be the one to make him insecure. Considering how much trouble they’d had in their relationship, Oliver decided not to push his luck with her. “I don’t want to push you into anything if you’re not ready,” he said softly. “So I’m going to take a shower. You should get some sleep.”
Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead then turned and walked out of the kitchen before Chloe could process what he’d said and formulate an answer.
Once in his room, Oliver dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his temples. Being in a committed relationship the right way was much more difficult than he thought it would be. He was going to have to keep his hormones in check if he wanted it to work. After so many years of being sexually frustrated, he wasn’t sure how well he was going to be able to do that.
He sighed heavily and dropped his head against the door. As he did, he caught sight of the bloody sheets and realized that he hadn’t been in his bedroom since Chloe’s apparent death. Too tired to deal with it right then, he grabbed a change of clothes, careful not to look at the bed. Locking the door behind him, he walked tiredly into the bathroom down the hall. He slowly stripped out of his uniform, grimacing when he pulled his under-shirt over his head and saw the dried blood still caked to his skin, as if he needed something else to remind him of what had happened. Maybe it was a good thing Chloe had been hesitant to have sex. She probably would have stopped short the moment he took off his shirt and she saw all the dried blood. That wouldn’t have been very romantic.
The searing hot water of the shower rinsed away most of the blood and he scrubbed off the rest. Oliver leaned his head against the tile. He’d never been more confused or lost. He literally had no idea what he was doing with Chloe. He was either thinking too much or not enough and he always seemed to be doing the wrong thing with her. Maybe it was because she was the one person he wanted to do things right with, but whatever the reason was, it was really getting on his nerves.
When the water ran cool, he shut it off and stepped out of the shower. He was beginning to feel numb and he barely felt the towel against his skin as he dried himself off. Oliver mechanically pulled on sweats and a t-shirt. Running a hand through his hair, he padded down the hall to the same guest room that Bart had left the Green Lantern in and stopped short in the doorway.
Chloe was sitting on the edge of the bed. She’d changed too, probably realizing that her shirt had his blood on it. Now she was wearing her pajamas. Oliver had to force himself not to look at the enticing amount of leg her shorts revealed. He’d never realized quite how short those things were. They were almost hidden by her over-sized t-shirt, which he recognized as one of his. She wasn’t looking at him. In fact, her attention seemed to be fixed on a loose string on her shirt. Her nimble fingers were toying with the thread, twirling it around. Her hair, which had been pulled back for work, was loose about her shoulders. She looked comfortable and relaxed. If he hadn’t known any better, he’d have thought that it was any other night. But the strange tingling up and down his spine told him otherwise.
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” he asked softly, when he finally found his voice.
Chloe finally looked up, a small smile on her face. “I wasn’t really tired.”
“You look exhausted,” he pointed out.
She shrugged. “Maybe I’m still running on adrenaline, because I don’t feel like going to sleep.”
He nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. He wanted to ask why she wasn’t in her room, getting some sleep, but a small voice in the back of his head warned him that if he did, he’d just complicate things further. So he just stood there, trying not to look at her.
Chloe arched an eyebrow. “You left the kitchen pretty quickly,” she said with exaggerated nonchalance. “What happened?”
He stiffened at her words. “I didn’t think you were ready.”
“And what gave you that idea?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t know what to say.
Chloe gazed at him for a moment. He looked uncomfortable. If he’d been wearing jeans, his hands would have been stuffed in his pockets, and he was barely making eye contact with her. She’d realized the instant that he walked out of the kitchen that he’d misunderstood her hesitation. What had just been expected anxiety about something that was going to fundamentally change a relationship that was so important to both of them, he had seen as a sign that she wasn’t ready. She could have kicked herself for not realizing what was going through his head sooner, but by the time she’d processed his words and his actions, he’d already been in the shower. So she’d gone into her room, changed, and returned to his bedroom to wait for him. The door had been locked, but then she’d heard sound of the shower from the guest room and had gone to wait for him there.
The silence remained unbroken. Oliver was looking at the floor, his head down. She could see that he was tense and she could guess the reason. He wasn’t sure what to do. From his point of view, she was sending him some seriously mixed signals.
Biting her lip, she rose from the bed and closed the distance between them. Oliver looked up in surprise as she looped her arms around his waist. She smiled up at him. “Ollie, I’m ready for this. I really am. What gave you the idea that I wasn’t?”
He looked down at her in confusion. “You just didn’t seem ready,” he said softly.
“I’m nervous,” she admitted, staring at his chest instead of meeting his eyes. “We’ve both waited so long, I want to do this right and...well...I’ve never done this.”
“Oh,” he whispered. Gritting his teeth, he dared to ask the kind of question a guy rarely asked a girl. “Chloe, are you...are you a virgin?”
Chloe’s face turned bright red, but she looked up to meet his gaze. “Well it’s not like I was going to sleep with the meteor infected psychos who came after me in high school and I was still too hung up on you when you were on that damn island to even look at anyone else. So yes. I’m a virgin. I’m also ready for this.”
In an attempt to prove her point, she slid her arms up his back and pulled him down, planting a slow passionate kiss on his lips. For someone without much experience in lovemaking of any kind, she was incredible. Oliver responded eagerly. Her touch had been slowly driving him crazy ever since she had closed the distance between them. One of her hands slid beneath his shirt, caressing his skin. He let out a reflexive groan, stepping closer to her. Emboldened, Chloe slipped her tongue into his mouth. She arched her body against him, stroking his tongue with hers.
And then she pulled away, leaving both of them panting slightly. She looked up into Oliver’s lust-darkened eyes and whispered, “I’m ready.”
Oliver chuckled and kissed her once, hard and swift. “I believe you.”
“So now what?” she asked, genuinely at a loss for what to do next. She knew what she’d read in books and seen in movies, but she wasn’t sure that was what she was supposed to do. It seemed better to let Oliver take the lead.
In a smooth, easy movement, he swept her into his arms. Chloe giggled, instinctively latching her arms around his neck. He leaned his forehead against hers as he cradled her close. “You want to know the truth?” he whispered. “I’ve been wanting this since before graduation.”
“That’s a long time,” she said, sounding slightly stunned. She’d only ever suspected that they might have started talking about it that summer, not that they would have ended up sleeping together.
Oliver shrugged easily. “I wanted to prove that I trusted you in every way, and I wanted to prove that I cared about you enough to risk everything on you.”
His words and his manner seemed to indicate that what he’d just said was unimportant, but his eyes said differently. They were almost gleaming with intensity. Chloe’s face softened and she kissed him on the cheek. “I already knew that.”
“Yeah, well, I was eighteen and slightly insecure,” he chuckled. “Back then, I felt like I had something to prove.” He paused slightly as he realized that that might have been why he’d felt like he had something to prove this time around too. It was almost like unfinished business. At least he’d finally figured things out.
“You, insecure?” Chloe teased. “Perish the thought.”
He captured her lips again, as gently as he could. “There’s only one person who can do that to me. She’s the only person I care about enough to be worried about what she might think of me.”
“How do you always know the right thing to say?” Chloe whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder.
“I don’t,” he admitted. “I just try to be honest with you.”
Chloe looked up, pressing a kiss to his jaw. “Don’t ever stop.”
“Never.”
Oliver kissed her again. On a whim, he carried her back to her room. There was something about the idea of sleeping with her in the impersonal guest room that rubbed the wrong way. He kicked the door shut behind him. Pulling back the covers with one hand, her lowered her onto the bed. The early morning light streamed in through the window, infusing her skin with color. Knowing that they’d eventually end up asleep, he crossed the room and closed the blinds. Only the slightest amount of light filtered in through the blinds, enough to see by. Chloe’s eyes followed him as he moved. For the first time in years, Oliver found himself nervous about having sex with someone. Chloe meant more to him than everyone else he’d been with combined. He wanted everything to be perfect.
Remembering something, he turned to Chloe and said, “I’ll be right back,” before hurrying out to the living room. There was a chance that Hal would stop by. Oliver had no idea why his friend was in town or when he’d come over. Hal was known for showing up at the oddest times. It had led to Oliver getting caught in some interesting positions with girls before. In the past, Oliver had just shouted at him to leave and they’d have a laugh about it later. He wasn’t about to risk Hal walking in on him having sex with Chloe. So he keyed in the code to lock the elevator on the ground floor. Hal would just have to come back later.
Chloe was propped up on her elbows when he returned, her eyebrow cocked. “What was that about?”
“Just making sure we don’t have any visitors,” he said with a grin, sitting down beside her.
“Oh. Good idea.”
Oliver laughed. “I thought so.”
For a moment, they just looked each other. Silence filled the room as they stared into each other’s eyes. Then, Oliver leaned forward, sliding closer to her, and pressed a kiss to the base of her neck. A shudder ran through her and her head lolled reflexively to one side. Slowly, he trailed kisses up her neck, to her jawline, to the corner of her mouth. Chloe let out a small noise of protest when he stopped short of her mouth. He grinned and pushed her back against the sheets before leaning over her.
“We’re going to do this right,” he whispered, once again kissing the base of her neck.
Chloe had no idea what that meant, but she didn’t complain. The feel of his lips on her skin was driving all rational thought from her mind. Acting on impulse, she threaded one hand through his hair and grasped his shoulder with the other, trying to anchor herself to reality.
After a moment, Oliver propped himself up on his hands, hovering over her. “Are you really sure?” he asked once more.
Groaning in frustration, Chloe surprised him by hooking her leg around his waist and flipping him onto his back so that she was straddling him. “Yes, damn it. How many times do I have to say that? I’m ready!”
“I’m just making sure,” he said soothingly, reaching up to stroke her hair. “Sex is never easy the first time,” he pointed out.
“You think I don’t know that?” she snapped. “Lois made sure I knew that a long time ago. So make up your mind already and either do something or stop getting me all riled up!”
Oliver smirked and flipped them back over. “All right then. And for the record, I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered, her irritation draining away.
“We’ll go slow,” he said firmly, leaving no room for argument. “And I want you to tell me if I hurt you.”
She rolled her eyes, but nodded in agreement. “I will.”
His lips descended on hers again and he kissed her slowly. One arm slid beneath her waist. He pulled her into a sitting position and his hands fell to her sides. He began toying with the hem of her shirt, slipping his fingers beneath the fabric to brush the soft skin of her stomach. She shivered at the feel of his light touches; every hair on her body was standing on end in response to the sensations of his calloused hands on her body.
He deepened the kiss slowly, sucking her bottom lip into his into his mouth and caressing it slightly with his tongue. Chloe moaned in the back of her throat, fire racing through her. She fisted her hand in his hair, clutching at him tightly. He had to suppress a groan of his own. His hand slid up her side, brushing against the underside of her breasts. His palm itched to feel them with no fabric in the way. Her back arched and she shuddered as tension coiled in the pit of her stomach.
Breaking the kiss, Oliver looked deep into her eyes. Slowly, lightly dragging his fingers up her sides, he raised her shirt. He paused slightly before baring her breasts, sucking in his breath in anticipation he’d rarely felt with a woman. She raised her arms, allowing him to pull the fabric over her head. He tossed it over his shoulder to land in a heap on the floor. Chloe suddenly realized that she was sitting, half-naked, in front of Oliver. She’d never been overly comfortable with her body. After years of being overlooked in favor of Lois and Lana, she’d come to the conclusion that there was something wrong with her. Being with Oliver had helped her become more comfortable with who she was, but she was still unsure of herself. Reflexively, she crossed her arms over her chest.
Gently, he took her wrists in his hands and drew them away from her body. He kissed them lightly, then held them against her sides while he stared at her body in amazement. Her skin was flawless and she was as prefect as he had imagined. Blushing under his scrutiny, Chloe dropped her gaze, looking anywhere but at Oliver and waiting for him to find something wrong with her. He slipped a finger under her chin, forcing her eyes back to him.
“Hey,” he whispered. “Don’t be embarrassed. You’re absolutely beautiful. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable with me. There must be something seriously wrong with all the guys in Smallville if only the crazy ones could see what I see.”
She blushed more deeply, still trapped in her insecurities. Even though she wanted to believe him, she’d never turned heads before. No one had ever noticed her. Except Oliver, and he had dated supermodels. How could she measure up to that?
Reading the expression on her face and the apprehension in her eyes, Oliver kissed her fiercely, leaving her breathless before moving down her neck. He sucked lightly at the base of her neck, deliberately leaving a mark. He wanted to make it clear to Chloe, and to everyone else, that she was his and he was hers and nothing was going to change that.
Once more, his hands brushed up her sides, against her breasts. She sucked in a breath and felt heat pool in the pit of her stomach and even lower, tightening her gut in anticipation. Feeling suddenly bold, Chloe slipped her hands beneath his shirt, running her fingers across his abdomen. He caressed her hip gently with his fingers, moving back to her mouth, trying to convey encouragement and reassurance, urging her on. Chloe lifted the hem of his shirt, running her hand further up his chest, nimbly tracing the lines of his muscles. It felt amazing. Eager to urge her on, he broke the kiss and pulled his shirt over his head. As soon as he was free of the material, he leaned over her and gently pushed her back down onto the mattress.
For a moment, he looked down at her in adoration. She chewed her lip, looking both nervous and excited -- and sexy as hell, Oliver added silently -- at the same time. Seeing her lying beneath him like that sent a jolt through him, right down to his groin.
He sank down onto the bed beside her and rested on his elbow above her, gazing down into her face and drawing light patterns over her skin with his fingers. As much as he didn’t want to, Oliver was giving her one last chance to end things if she was uncomfortable with what was going on. Chloe read and immediately rejected his silent offer; she ran her hands over his shoulders, down his chest, and across his abs. She slipped her fingers into the waistband of his sweats, teasing the soft skin. She bit her lip and gave him a questioning look, unsure if she was doing it right. His breath caught and he cocked an eyebrow, fascinated with the girl lying beneath him and the strange combination of boldness and timidity that she was exhibiting.
Moving down her body, he pressed a kiss to her chest, just above her breasts. She closed her eyes, and tossed her head back, clutching at the sheets. Heat pooled between her legs and her blood raced. His free hand traveled down to her hip, sliding beneath the loose pajama shorts she was wearing. She tensed slightly, burying her hand in his hair, but said nothing. He was the only person she wanted to touch her like that.
“Trust me,” he murmured, sliding the shorts down her legs with exaggerated slowness.
Chloe felt her heart clench. “I do,” she whispered. She flushed again, still slightly nervous with the prospect of being completely bare to Oliver, but also yearning for what she knew as soon to come.
Oliver threw Chloe’s shorts and panties aside, taking a deep breath as he did, trying to calm himself. He was desperate to be inside of her, but he was determined to take things slowly. He wanted to savor it and he didn’t want to hurt her any more than necessary. Gently wrapping his hand around the back of one knee, he pulled her legs apart and rested himself between them.
Lowering himself onto her so that they were once more pressed together, Oliver kissed her again, ravaging her mouth with his. He ran his hand down her hip, drawing his fingers along the edge of her panties. Heat pooled between her legs, filling her with need she’d never felt before. She reflexively arched her back, pressing her breasts against his chest and rubbing their bare skin together. With a groan, he shifted his grip on her hip, cupping her butt with one hand and lifting her up, grinding her him.
Desire knifed through Chloe, almost literally setting her on fire. She wound one leg around his, pulling herself closer, craving the feel of him against her. Her breathing was uneven. So was his. He pressed another kiss to her chest, between her breasts, while his hand brushed against the sensitive flesh. She shuddered and arched into him again, forcing her breast more firmly into his hand. It felt like every nerve was awake and screaming for more. She already felt overstimulated, but it was amazing. She was acutely aware of his weight on her, his hand trailing from her breast down to her hip and back, his mouth on hers. The heat that stemmed from his touch was igniting feelings in her that she’d never felt before.
“Still with me?” he whispered, his voice rougher than before.
Chloe nodded, her eyes locking on his. They were dark with desire. “I trust you.”
Without further prompting, he slid his hands down her thighs, caressing the skin lightly. To his surprise, Chloe hooked her fingers into the waistband of his sweats. She was biting her lip, obviously nervous, but running on pure instinct, her eyes shining with determination and desire. Guiding her hand, Oliver helped her push them over his hips, then he kicked him off onto the floor.
For a moment, they stared at each other, relishing the feel of having absolutely nothing between them. Then Oliver slid a hand between her legs, gently caressing her center. Unprepared for the contact, Chloe cried out, her hips bucking automatically as pleasure coursed through her. Eyes closed, she clutched at Oliver’s shoulders, her fingers biting into his skin. Capturing her mouth again, he kissed her deeply, caressing her mouth as he stroked her. She twisted beneath him, pressing against him as she did. Oliver groaned and increased the pressure on the sensitive nub of flesh between her legs. She moaned.
“Ollie. Please.”
She’d started to shiver. Recognizing that she was close, Oliver slipped one long finger inside of her. Eyes shutting tightly, her back arched again, lifting her so high off the mattress it seemed that her spine would snap in half. He began pumping his finger in and out of her slowly. She was so tight and he wanted to be sure that she felt as much pleasure as possible before the inevitable pain of the sex act itself.
Sparks of electricity began shooting through her body, igniting her skin. The pressure on her core and the coiled tension in the pit of her stomach were swiftly becoming unbearable. She mewled in the back of her throat and Oliver leaned over to kiss her. Before he could, she suddenly cried out and grabbed the sheets. He could feel the slight fluttering of her inner walls around his finger, that indicated how close she was to coming. He continued to slide his finger in and out of her until she cried out again, nearly jack-knifing off the bed. At the feel of her coming around his hand, Oliver groaned. Every muscle in his body tightened as he forced himself to remain in control.
After a moment, Chloe fell back against the bed, moaning weakly. Aftershocks from her orgasm were still pulsing through her. She felt more relaxed than she ever had before. More loved and contented, too. She realized vaguely that Oliver was doing everything he could to make things easier and more pleasurable for her, even if it meant that he had to wait longer himself.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and their gazes locked. Oliver gently withdrew his hand and lowered himself onto her. She could feel him pressing against her sex.
“Ready?” he asked.
“When you are,” she whispered.
Her simple words turned him on even more. Oliver ran one hand through her hair. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. He stroked her cheek with his thumb until she opened her eyes and looked at him. Locking his gaze with hers, he positioned himself at her entrance, then froze.
“Damn it,” he hissed. “I don’t have any condoms.”
To his surprise, Chloe flushed bright red. She muttered something unintelligible.
“Can you repeat that?” Oliver asked, curiously.
“I’m on the pill. I have been since right before you left.”
He was stunned. “Really?”
If possible, her blush deepened. “I thought it was possible that things might change over the summer and I wanted to be ready. After you went missing, I just kept up with it because it was kind of a way to keep faith that you’d come back.”
“So you’ve been on the pill for over two years?”
Chloe nodded.
Grinning, Oliver kissed her soundly. “God, I love you.”
“For taking birth control unnecessarily for two years?” she asked incredulously.
“For never giving up on me.”
Her face softened and she whispered, “I will never give up on you.”
Oliver kissed her again, more thoroughly than before. When he drew back, he caught her eye and slid slowly into her. She fisted her hands in the sheets, another moan escaping her lips. Recognizing the undercurrent of pain in her voice, Oliver kissed her and stroked her side soothingly when he reached her natural barrier and her entire body tensed.
“This is going to hurt,” he warned. There was no way around it.
She nodded, her jaw tight, and clutched her hand in his. Her other hand still gripped the sheets. Taking a deep breath, Oliver pushed into her with one smooth, quick stroke.
Crying out, Chloe’s back arched, lifting off the bed as tears pooled in her eyes. Oliver froze, trying not to cause her any more pain. He continued rubbing her side soothingly, tenderly kissing her collarbone, then her neck, and finally reaching her lips.
“Are you all right?” he asked gently, stroking her hair.
She nodded sharply, her eyes still shut tightly. “Just give me a minute.”
“I’m sorry,” he murmured against her shoulder.
Turning her head, she kissed his cheek. “I’m not.”
Before Oliver could reply, Chloe rolled her hips experimentally. The pain was slowly receding to be replaced with something wonderful. Sweat broke out across her forehead. She moaned, rolling her hips again. Pleasure shot through her, washing the rest of the pain away.
“God,” Oliver choked. “That feels amazing.”
She almost stopped at his words, surprised that she’d managed to elicit that kind of response from him. A rush of feminine pleasure, completely different from the carnal feelings she was experiencing, washed through her and she rolled her hips again. Oliver began moving slowly inside her. Sweat started to bead across his body under the strain of keeping himself in check. He hadn’t been with anyone for a long time, not since he’d met Chloe. That, combined with the fact that it was Chloe, had him at the edge of his control, without any other stimulus.
He grit his teeth, forcing himself to move at a snail’s pace, to draw out both of their pleasure for as long as possible. He slid almost all the way out of her before pressing in completely, keeping the pace slow and even. His hands caressed every inch of her skin that he could reach, all while he kissed her with all the passion he’d been holding for years.
Chloe’s heart soared, all of her insecurities and nervousness stripped away by the way Oliver was worshiping her body. She gasped and clutched at his shoulders, arching beneath him. Her hips began rising and falling in time to his thrusts as she found herself instinctively desperate to take him in deeper.
The pleasure she was feeling began to slowly intensify. She felt as though she was about to come undone at the seams. Her body couldn’t contain all the sensations flooding through her. She whimpered, wrapping her legs around Oliver’s waist, pulling him closer still, moaning his name. He dropped his head against her shoulder, giving in slightly to the need burning through him and increasing his pace slightly.
“Oh my God! Oliver!” she whimpered, writhing beneath him.
He paused, looking down at her worriedly. “Are you all right?”
“Not if you stop!” she bit out, bucking her hips against him for good measure.
He managed to smirk before resuming his movement, faster and harder than before. He drove in and out of her mercilessly. Chloe buried her hand in his hair, yanking him down so that she could kiss him. Oliver reached between them, caressing her as he had before. She gasped against his lips as a feeling more intense than anything she had ever felt before began to slowly consume her. She tossed her head back, desperate for breath, and his lips moved to her neck. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, nails biting into his skin.
With one more thrust, the tension coiled in her stomach exploded and she fell off the edge.
“Ollie!” she cried.
Hearing her name fall from her lips and feeling her spasming around him, Oliver finally found his release as well. Together, they rode out the tidal wave of pleasure.
When it was over, he collapsed on top of her. Chloe reveled in the feel of his body on hers, anchoring her to him. After a moment, he rolled to the side so that he wouldn’t crush her. She felt as if her bones had melted into a puddle of goo. She didn’t have the strength to move.
Still breathing heavily, Oliver drew Chloe close to him. She rested her head against his chest, trying to calm herself. He stroked her back and side gently.
“Are you all right?” he whispered, looking down at her in concern. “I...I know it’s not easy the first time.”
She smiled and kissed his jaw. “I feel amazing.”
“You’ll be sore in the morning,” he said apologetically.
“I really don’t care,” she said truthfully. “It’ll be worth it.” Unconsciously, her fingers began to caress the spot where just hours before there had been a bullet wound that should have claimed his life. “I should have told you sooner that I was ready to be in a relationship again. I just didn’t want to screw everything up. I’d just gotten you back and I didn’t want to lose you again.”
“I know,” he whispered. “I was so worried about driving you away that I convinced myself that I still wasn’t ready, that I still needed time. Even when I began to think that I was ready, that everything was behind me, I still hesitated because the last thing I wanted to do was push you away. I love you, Chloe. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than right here with you. You know that, right?”
Chloe caressed his cheek. “I know.”
Oliver pulled the blankets over them and she snuggled into his side.
“You know,” he said, laying back and looking up at the pattern of light made by the blinds against the ceiling. “I think that we’ve actually technically been in a relationship since we laid everything on the table after I got back and were just too afraid to admit it because of what had happened. It was easier to just be friends than it was to be something more after being apart and then jumping to conclusions about Tess and Jimmy.”
“That sounds about right. It also sounds like us,” she agreed humorously. “Why do we always have to do everything the hard way?”
“I have no idea,” he laughed. “But it seems to work for us.”
“True,” Chloe yawned, burrowing more securely into his side. Before she could close her eyes and drift off to sleep, she heard the sound of her phone ringing from across the hall.
“No,” Oliver said firmly, holding her against his side. “Do not answer it.”
“Ollie,” she giggled tiredly, fighting to extricate herself from his grip. “It might be important and you know it’s probably Lois. If I don’t tell her to leave me alone, she’ll be calling all day and she’ll probably wake us up in the process. Or,” she added, her voice becoming just the slightest bit softer and deeper, her hand trailing up his arm seductively, “she might even interrupt something we don’t want interrupted.”
Feeling himself respond instantly to the promise her words held, Oliver let her go reluctantly. Chloe flashed him an impish smile and slid off the bed. The covers fell away to reveal her gloriously naked body. Oliver’s breath caught in his throat, nearly choking him. The idea that he had the privilege of seeing Chloe naked, to touch every inch of her skin, was absolutely amazing. A small part of him hoped that feeling of wonder would never go away.
Chloe grabbed her phone off the desk where she’d tossed it. She glanced quickly at the screen, rolling her eyes when she saw the name flashing in time to the ringtone.
“Lois,” she confirmed, as she slid back into bed. Pulling the covers up to her chest and leaning against his side, she pressed the phone to her ear.
“Cuz!” Lois shouted before Chloe even had a chance to speak.
“Nice to hear from you,” Chloe said dryly. “Now isn’t a good time, Lo.”
“Why? You and billionaire boy finally decide to stop being idiots and just bang each other’s brains out? Speaking of Oliver, when am I going to get to see him? And don’t feed me that crap about him needing to stay in town for his company. He’s been back for over three months. He can take a week off to come see his friends in Metropolis.”
Chloe rolled her eyes even as her cheeks warmed at her cousin’s uncanny accuracy. Knowing that there was no way she could lie to Lois about her relationship status with Oliver, even over the phone, she decided to just tell the truth.
“Yes, Lois. Oliver and I just had hot and steamy sex and are now trying to enjoy the after effects, which you are currently ruining. We’ll both come back to Metropolis as soon as we can, but no matter how much you bitch and moan, it’s probably going to be a while. Whatever it is you called to talk about is just going to have to wait. I’ll call you later, and I swear to God, if you call me first, I won’t speak to you for a month!” she threatened.
“Fine,” Lois sulked. “You better give me the details when you call me back!”
Chloe rolled her eyes, in no way intending to satisfy her cousin’s voyeuristic curiosity. “Whatever, Lo. I’ll talk to you later.”
Hitting the end button decisively, Chloe silenced and then tossed the phone on the beside table before turning back to Oliver who was staring at her with wide, incredulous eyes.
“What?” she asked, feeling suddenly insecure.
“You told Lois,” he said slowly.
She nodded, a sheepish expression on her face. “I didn’t see any other option. She can tell when I’m hiding something, even over the phone. And ferreting out secrets, especially where I’m concerned, is like her superpower.”
“No, I know that,” he assured her. “But you do realize that it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world knows too.”
“I am well aware of Lois’ inability to keep a secret,” she said, settling back into the pillows. “Is there anything wrong with letting people know about us?”
Oliver shook his head emphatically. “No. It’s just...we were so careful before. Are you sure you’re ready for all the media attention and speculation that comes with dating me?”
An amused smile tugged at her lips and she leaned in, kissing him gently on the lips. “Ollie, I know what I’m getting myself into. It’s not like I’ve been hiding in a cave or living under a rock while I’ve been here. There’s been media speculation about us before and it’s not all been nice. You know that.”
Oliver winced internally, remembering the first time the tabloids had gotten pictures of them together and suggested that Chloe was his latest fling. He’d come back to the penthouse, afraid that the article would send her into a panic and that she’d flee back to Metropolis. He was pleasantly surprised when wasn’t even fazed and they’d both ended up laughing at the absurd claims.
“I know it’s going to get worse now that we’re actually together,” she continued. “I just don’t care. We wasted enough time thinking and waiting and worrying about what other people are going to think of us. I don’t want anything to restrict our relationship because we’re afraid of it. I want to be with you, Ollie, and I want everything that comes with that.”
He felt like his heart was going to burst from his chest. Oliver threaded his fingers through her hair and melded their lips together in a kiss so full of fiery passion it rivaled the sun. Chloe responded readily, pressing herself against him.
“You’re amazing,” he breathed.
“So are you.”
Oliver chuckled and lay back against the pillows. As much as he wanted round two, he knew they were both exhausted. Besides, they had all the time in the world for that kind of thing now that they were no longer ignoring the connection between them.
Too tired to feel frustrated about the fact that Oliver was putting the brakes on their make out session, Chloe curled up against his side. Her head rested just above his heart and she quickly fell fast asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.
Tightening his arm around her waist, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and let his eyes drift closed. For so long, Oliver had been worried that sex with Chloe would be worthless and that in turn, she would become as insignificant as all the other girls in his life had been. It had taken being separated from her for him to truly realize that sleeping together wouldn’t be valueless because it was Chloe. She was someone who actually knew him. She was someone he’d actually taken the time to get to know himself. It wouldn’t be meaningless because she wasn’t meaningless. She meant everything to him. That was the difference, and he wished he’d realized it sooner.
The past three and half months had been hard, but they had been worth it. He’d gotten to know Chloe again. He’d gotten to discover all over again what a wonderful person she was. Eventually, they’d been brought back together. That was what mattered. Not the roundabout route they’d taken or everything that had happened to them, both good and bad. All that mattered was that they were finally together.
That night, or morning, or whatever it was, Oliver fell asleep with a smile on his face, feeling happier and more content than he had in a long time.
***
Lois glared at her phone. She couldn’t believe that Chloe had hung up on her, even if it was for her sexy boyfriend. It was about time those two stopped being idiots about each other. Lois hadn’t even been on the same continent as them for most of the past few months and she’d still felt the sexual tension emanating from Star City. But why did they have to indulge their wanton fancies when she had something to talk to her baby cousin about?
Harrumphing and grumbling under her breath, Lois shoved her phone in her bag and stomped over to the table where Clark was waiting for her.
If someone had told her two years ago that she and the bumbling farm boy would be dating, she’d have slapped them upside the head and kneed them in the groin for good measure. A lot had changed since then, though. It had happened when Lana and Clark broke up for the last time. Usually, Chloe was the person to lend Smallville her shoulder when something like that happened, but since she’d been more or less catatonic, the job had fallen to Lois.
What had resulted was a strange friendship. They’d goaded each other to be better than they were while at the same time listening to each other when they’d needed a friendly ear. They’d banded together to help Chloe in any way they could. Lois couldn’t count the many times Clark had held her when the pressure of looking after Chloe and maintaining an optimistic attitude about Oliver’s fate despite all the crap that was going on got to be too much for her to handle. She’d threatened Clark with bodily harm if he ever told anyone each time, but he’d always kept her confidence and had been there fore her whenever she needed him. In return, she’d kept him from getting too broody when things went bad.
She hadn’t even noticed their friendship becoming something more until Clark randomly planted one on her about nine months ago. They’d both denied that the kiss had ever happened for about three weeks, then Chloe had locked them in a closet. They’d been going strong ever since.
Still grumbling under her breath, Lois dropped her bag unceremoniously on the table and plopped down opposite Clark, folding her arms across her chest. He looked up with one raised eyebrow.
“Something wrong, Lois?”
“Yes,” she snapped. “Chloe just blew me off.”
Clark immediately sat up, anticipating that something had gone wrong. Chloe and Oliver had let him in on the fact that Oliver was Green Arrow soon after he began patrolling Star City, just in case they ever needed back up. Chloe always made time for Lois, if only to avoid the hounding that was sure to come if she didn’t. “Is something wrong?” he asked, wishing that his superhearing extended to Star City.
Lois rolled her eyes, her face softening the slightest bit despite herself. “Apparently, she’s too wrapped up in Oliver to talk to me.”
“Oliver?” Clark frowned.
A genuine grin tugged at her lips. She never could keep herself from being happy whenever things went right for those two. Chloe was practically her sister and Oliver was one of her closest friends. She wished nothing but the best for them and God knew they deserved it. Her happiness for them outweighed her annoyance at Chloe’s brush off.
“Apparently,” she said conspiratorially, leaning closer to Clark, “they finally got their act together and spent the night making sweet love.”
Clark blanched slightly and grimaced. “That doesn’t sound like something you should be broadcasting for them,” he said disapprovingly.
“You are such a prude,” Lois teased, rolling her eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with them going at it like bunnies. They deserve it after all the crap that’s happened to them, don’t you think?”
“I’m not denying that,” he protested. “I’m just saying that we don’t need to know the intimate details and we definitely don’t need to be talking about it in public. It’s their business.”
Knowing that she was never going to win that argument simply because neither of them would back down -- she loved Smallville’s stubborn streak -- and deciding that she had better things to do than throw down with him, Lois let the topic go for the time being. “Well, since my baby cuz is too busy knocking boots with the Survivor reject, who I still haven’t seen in person since his return, by the way, I’ll have to talk to you.”
It was Clark’s turn to roll his eyes. He never got tired of the way Lois managed to pretend that she hadn’t been going to include him from the beginning. “You have seen him, remember? They Skype us every couple of weeks.”
She glared at him and he changed tactics. “What is so important that you’re actually complaining about Oliver and Chloe being happy?”
She leveled a good-natured, but steely glare at him before answering. “I might have been investigating Lex and could hypothetically have found something big.”
“What are you doing looking into Lex?” Clark demanded. “You know how dangerous he is!” He couldn’t help but think about what Lex had done to the countless meteor infected metahumans they’d found in 33.1 facilities, as well as what he had done to their friends Arthur Curry and Victor Stone. Both Chloe and Lois had had their fair share of close calls while snooping around LuthorCorp facilities and Lex had proved himself to be far more twisted than Lionel ever was.
“Finding out what he is up to is worth the risk,” Lois said decisively. “Who knows how many innocent people he has locked up in his twisted labs. It’s up to us to find them.”
“You’re not going to do us any good if you’re in jail or worse because you got on the wrong side of Lex,” he pointed out.
“Stop being such a downer, Smallville. What’s life without a little risk? You should try it sometime.” She eyed him with a smirk. “The action might do you some good.”
He ignored her. Ever since she’d seen him speed out of Chloe’s room after promising to scour the ocean for Oliver, she’d been privy to his secret. She knew exactly how much action he got doing his thing as the Blur.
“Did you actually find anything, seeing as how you risked your life?”
Lois glared at him, even if she secretly thought that the protective streak was a serious turn on. “Yes, Smallville. I did. I managed to get ahold of his bank records and from the looks of things, there’s a steady flow of cash going to a private airstrip just outside of Metropolis. When I cross checked the flight plans filed at the airstrip, the records showed that there hadn’t been any flights out of there except for small, personal aircraft. But when I snuck in and copied the surveillance data, I saw that the LuthorCorp jet has flown in and out of there at least three times a month for the past few months, always in the dead of night.”
A frown creased Clark’s forehead as he processed the information. When he came up with nothing, he asked, “What do you think that means?”
Looking excited, Lois moved her chair closer and leaned into him, lowering her voice. “You and Chloe always said that the people you find in the 33.1 facilities don’t always have connections to Smallville, meaning they can’t all be meteor infected, like AC and Victor. He’s got to be finding metas somewhere else and bringing them to Smallville.”
“And you think that’s what he’s using this airstrip for,” Clark realized. “That sounds like Lex.”
“We have to do something about this,” Lois hissed.
“I know that,” he said, trying to soothe her. “But without more information, there’s nothing we can do.”
“Which was why I called Chloe. I wanted her to work her hacker magic, but she was --”
“We covered this already,” Clark interrupted. “As important as all this business with Lex is, Oliver and Chloe deserve to be happy together. You said that yourself. Give them today and maybe tomorrow and then I’ll go talk to them. They’ll want to hear about this. Just not right now.”
Unwilling to admit that Clark was right, Lois crossed her arms and gave him the Sullivan-Lane death glare that she and her cousin had perfected. “Fine. But the only reason I’m agreeing to this is because Chloe threatened not to talk to me for a month and I know she was serious. If this is as big as I think it is, I kinda need her talking to me.”
Clark chuckled under his breath. He’d always admired how stubborn she could be. “Now do you think we could actually enjoy our coffee, or do you want to keep talking until it goes cold?”
“Just heat it up with your laser vision,” she quipped. “Because I’m not done talking yet, Smallville.”
“You do realize that we have somewhere to be, right?” he reminded her. “You’ve got that interview for the position at the Daily Planet.” Since finding out about Lex, she’d become as passionate as Chloe about reporting. Her spelling was atrocious, which Clark knew from the many times he’d proofread her articles for the Inquisitor, where she was currently working, but she really was an amazing reporter. Her help with the various metahumans Clark had come up against in Smallville and later in Metropolis had helped get Chloe back on her feet while Oliver was gone.
“We’ll get there in plenty of time,” she said dismissively, conveniently forgetting the fact that she was chronically late. “I’ve still got stuff to talk to you about.”
He shook his head and sat back, ready for the nonstop monologue he knew he was coming his way. Strangely enough, he found himself looking forward to it.
Author’s Note: As I said before, that was my first attempt at smut at any kind, and I’m not exactly sure how well I did. I’ve read some pretty great Chlollie smut since I was introduced to this fandom. I hope I did it justice. It took me much longer to write it than I anticipated. From here on out, updates will not be very regular. I’m currently out of town with my sister and when we get back late Friday, it will be only a few days until we get packed up and head across the country for our move. I can’t guarantee that I’ll have much time to write any time soon. I’ll try to speedy with both this and Fading Scars, but I can’t offer any guarantees.
Just a slight warning, from this point on, the fic will no longer focus solely on Oliver and Chloe as it has with their isolation in Star City. Their peaceful little bubble is about to be popped.
Just to make sure I’m clear: Lois knows about Clark. It’s just easier that way. Bart is the only eventual member of the league Oliver has met. The rest all passed through Smallville after his disappearance. Everything leading up to season five happened in my fic, except Chloe obviously is not going to discover her power by saving Lois. I’m not even a hundred percent sure what season that happened in. If you have any questions about the setting, because I know it is a little confusing, please let me know.
As always, thanks so much for reading and please leave me a comment!
Chapter 14
Rating: PG-13 for the most part, however there are sections that are NC-17 (my first attempt, for the record) for sexual content. This fic contains violence and language. Chapters containing sexual content will be preceded by a warning.
Spoilers: The entire series, basically. The basic setting is season six with a twist, but anything is fair game if it works for this fic.
Warning: Again, this is AU and is a continuation of my fic Twist of Fate, which you really need to read first or this isn't going to make any sense. There will sexual content and violence.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I'm just playing around with them.
Beta: jessicaj703 Thanks for all the help!
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12
Banner by geek_or_unique
Author’s Note: NC-17 WARNING!!! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SMUT. NO ONE UNDERAGE IS ALLOWED!! This is my first attempt at smut so it may not be that great, but it is still smut.
Chapter 13
Chloe couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She’d been waiting years for their relationship to reach this point. In high school, Oliver had been worried about the repercussions of having sex given his past history of meaningless flings. Since Chloe was his first serious relationship, he’d wanted to be sure that they were both ready before taking that step. She’d completely understood and she doubted that she would have been ready to have sex back then even if he had. It wasn’t something she had wanted to rush into either. By the time summer had rolled around, they might have been ready to talk about it, but his disappearance had destroyed any plans they might have made.
When he’d finally gotten back, they’d once again had an iron clad reason for taking things slowly. In fact, it had been almost the same reason as before. They were just trying to maintain their relationship. Having sex would change their relationship on a fundamental level. But after being apart for two years and the misunderstandings that had followed, that hadn’t seemed like a good idea. Still...she’d wanted it. She’d longed for the sense of closeness it would bring.
Now that they were finally on the same page, Chloe began to feel nervous. She wasn’t exactly experienced. The only people who’d given her a second look in high school, before Oliver at least, had been psychos hell bent on killing her. While he’d been missing, she hadn’t even been able to bring herself to look at other guys, let alone sleep with them. Oliver on the other hand...saying that he had experience was putting it lightly. He’d definitely lived up to the role of the stereotypical horny teenager. He’d willing admitted as much in some of their late night conversations. Ever self conscious, Chloe couldn’t help but be nervous and worry that she’d do something wrong.
Sensing her hesitation and misinterpreting it, Oliver drew away, putting a good four feet between them. The faint, unfamiliar heat of a blush rose to his cheeks. He’d moved too fast. He should have known that sleeping together less than an hour after finally admitting their feelings for each other wouldn’t be a good idea. It probably hadn’t helped much that they had both had near death experiences within the last twelve hours. He’d let himself get carried away. It was all well and good to follow his impulses and not rely solely on logic when he remembered to balance them. Once again, he’d done a complete one-eighty instead of finding the middle.
He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. Feeling insecure in a relationship was something that he wasn’t used to, so in a weird way it made sense that Chloe would be the one to make him insecure. Considering how much trouble they’d had in their relationship, Oliver decided not to push his luck with her. “I don’t want to push you into anything if you’re not ready,” he said softly. “So I’m going to take a shower. You should get some sleep.”
Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead then turned and walked out of the kitchen before Chloe could process what he’d said and formulate an answer.
Once in his room, Oliver dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his temples. Being in a committed relationship the right way was much more difficult than he thought it would be. He was going to have to keep his hormones in check if he wanted it to work. After so many years of being sexually frustrated, he wasn’t sure how well he was going to be able to do that.
He sighed heavily and dropped his head against the door. As he did, he caught sight of the bloody sheets and realized that he hadn’t been in his bedroom since Chloe’s apparent death. Too tired to deal with it right then, he grabbed a change of clothes, careful not to look at the bed. Locking the door behind him, he walked tiredly into the bathroom down the hall. He slowly stripped out of his uniform, grimacing when he pulled his under-shirt over his head and saw the dried blood still caked to his skin, as if he needed something else to remind him of what had happened. Maybe it was a good thing Chloe had been hesitant to have sex. She probably would have stopped short the moment he took off his shirt and she saw all the dried blood. That wouldn’t have been very romantic.
The searing hot water of the shower rinsed away most of the blood and he scrubbed off the rest. Oliver leaned his head against the tile. He’d never been more confused or lost. He literally had no idea what he was doing with Chloe. He was either thinking too much or not enough and he always seemed to be doing the wrong thing with her. Maybe it was because she was the one person he wanted to do things right with, but whatever the reason was, it was really getting on his nerves.
When the water ran cool, he shut it off and stepped out of the shower. He was beginning to feel numb and he barely felt the towel against his skin as he dried himself off. Oliver mechanically pulled on sweats and a t-shirt. Running a hand through his hair, he padded down the hall to the same guest room that Bart had left the Green Lantern in and stopped short in the doorway.
Chloe was sitting on the edge of the bed. She’d changed too, probably realizing that her shirt had his blood on it. Now she was wearing her pajamas. Oliver had to force himself not to look at the enticing amount of leg her shorts revealed. He’d never realized quite how short those things were. They were almost hidden by her over-sized t-shirt, which he recognized as one of his. She wasn’t looking at him. In fact, her attention seemed to be fixed on a loose string on her shirt. Her nimble fingers were toying with the thread, twirling it around. Her hair, which had been pulled back for work, was loose about her shoulders. She looked comfortable and relaxed. If he hadn’t known any better, he’d have thought that it was any other night. But the strange tingling up and down his spine told him otherwise.
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” he asked softly, when he finally found his voice.
Chloe finally looked up, a small smile on her face. “I wasn’t really tired.”
“You look exhausted,” he pointed out.
She shrugged. “Maybe I’m still running on adrenaline, because I don’t feel like going to sleep.”
He nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. He wanted to ask why she wasn’t in her room, getting some sleep, but a small voice in the back of his head warned him that if he did, he’d just complicate things further. So he just stood there, trying not to look at her.
Chloe arched an eyebrow. “You left the kitchen pretty quickly,” she said with exaggerated nonchalance. “What happened?”
He stiffened at her words. “I didn’t think you were ready.”
“And what gave you that idea?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t know what to say.
Chloe gazed at him for a moment. He looked uncomfortable. If he’d been wearing jeans, his hands would have been stuffed in his pockets, and he was barely making eye contact with her. She’d realized the instant that he walked out of the kitchen that he’d misunderstood her hesitation. What had just been expected anxiety about something that was going to fundamentally change a relationship that was so important to both of them, he had seen as a sign that she wasn’t ready. She could have kicked herself for not realizing what was going through his head sooner, but by the time she’d processed his words and his actions, he’d already been in the shower. So she’d gone into her room, changed, and returned to his bedroom to wait for him. The door had been locked, but then she’d heard sound of the shower from the guest room and had gone to wait for him there.
The silence remained unbroken. Oliver was looking at the floor, his head down. She could see that he was tense and she could guess the reason. He wasn’t sure what to do. From his point of view, she was sending him some seriously mixed signals.
Biting her lip, she rose from the bed and closed the distance between them. Oliver looked up in surprise as she looped her arms around his waist. She smiled up at him. “Ollie, I’m ready for this. I really am. What gave you the idea that I wasn’t?”
He looked down at her in confusion. “You just didn’t seem ready,” he said softly.
“I’m nervous,” she admitted, staring at his chest instead of meeting his eyes. “We’ve both waited so long, I want to do this right and...well...I’ve never done this.”
“Oh,” he whispered. Gritting his teeth, he dared to ask the kind of question a guy rarely asked a girl. “Chloe, are you...are you a virgin?”
Chloe’s face turned bright red, but she looked up to meet his gaze. “Well it’s not like I was going to sleep with the meteor infected psychos who came after me in high school and I was still too hung up on you when you were on that damn island to even look at anyone else. So yes. I’m a virgin. I’m also ready for this.”
In an attempt to prove her point, she slid her arms up his back and pulled him down, planting a slow passionate kiss on his lips. For someone without much experience in lovemaking of any kind, she was incredible. Oliver responded eagerly. Her touch had been slowly driving him crazy ever since she had closed the distance between them. One of her hands slid beneath his shirt, caressing his skin. He let out a reflexive groan, stepping closer to her. Emboldened, Chloe slipped her tongue into his mouth. She arched her body against him, stroking his tongue with hers.
And then she pulled away, leaving both of them panting slightly. She looked up into Oliver’s lust-darkened eyes and whispered, “I’m ready.”
Oliver chuckled and kissed her once, hard and swift. “I believe you.”
“So now what?” she asked, genuinely at a loss for what to do next. She knew what she’d read in books and seen in movies, but she wasn’t sure that was what she was supposed to do. It seemed better to let Oliver take the lead.
In a smooth, easy movement, he swept her into his arms. Chloe giggled, instinctively latching her arms around his neck. He leaned his forehead against hers as he cradled her close. “You want to know the truth?” he whispered. “I’ve been wanting this since before graduation.”
“That’s a long time,” she said, sounding slightly stunned. She’d only ever suspected that they might have started talking about it that summer, not that they would have ended up sleeping together.
Oliver shrugged easily. “I wanted to prove that I trusted you in every way, and I wanted to prove that I cared about you enough to risk everything on you.”
His words and his manner seemed to indicate that what he’d just said was unimportant, but his eyes said differently. They were almost gleaming with intensity. Chloe’s face softened and she kissed him on the cheek. “I already knew that.”
“Yeah, well, I was eighteen and slightly insecure,” he chuckled. “Back then, I felt like I had something to prove.” He paused slightly as he realized that that might have been why he’d felt like he had something to prove this time around too. It was almost like unfinished business. At least he’d finally figured things out.
“You, insecure?” Chloe teased. “Perish the thought.”
He captured her lips again, as gently as he could. “There’s only one person who can do that to me. She’s the only person I care about enough to be worried about what she might think of me.”
“How do you always know the right thing to say?” Chloe whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder.
“I don’t,” he admitted. “I just try to be honest with you.”
Chloe looked up, pressing a kiss to his jaw. “Don’t ever stop.”
“Never.”
Oliver kissed her again. On a whim, he carried her back to her room. There was something about the idea of sleeping with her in the impersonal guest room that rubbed the wrong way. He kicked the door shut behind him. Pulling back the covers with one hand, her lowered her onto the bed. The early morning light streamed in through the window, infusing her skin with color. Knowing that they’d eventually end up asleep, he crossed the room and closed the blinds. Only the slightest amount of light filtered in through the blinds, enough to see by. Chloe’s eyes followed him as he moved. For the first time in years, Oliver found himself nervous about having sex with someone. Chloe meant more to him than everyone else he’d been with combined. He wanted everything to be perfect.
Remembering something, he turned to Chloe and said, “I’ll be right back,” before hurrying out to the living room. There was a chance that Hal would stop by. Oliver had no idea why his friend was in town or when he’d come over. Hal was known for showing up at the oddest times. It had led to Oliver getting caught in some interesting positions with girls before. In the past, Oliver had just shouted at him to leave and they’d have a laugh about it later. He wasn’t about to risk Hal walking in on him having sex with Chloe. So he keyed in the code to lock the elevator on the ground floor. Hal would just have to come back later.
Chloe was propped up on her elbows when he returned, her eyebrow cocked. “What was that about?”
“Just making sure we don’t have any visitors,” he said with a grin, sitting down beside her.
“Oh. Good idea.”
Oliver laughed. “I thought so.”
For a moment, they just looked each other. Silence filled the room as they stared into each other’s eyes. Then, Oliver leaned forward, sliding closer to her, and pressed a kiss to the base of her neck. A shudder ran through her and her head lolled reflexively to one side. Slowly, he trailed kisses up her neck, to her jawline, to the corner of her mouth. Chloe let out a small noise of protest when he stopped short of her mouth. He grinned and pushed her back against the sheets before leaning over her.
“We’re going to do this right,” he whispered, once again kissing the base of her neck.
Chloe had no idea what that meant, but she didn’t complain. The feel of his lips on her skin was driving all rational thought from her mind. Acting on impulse, she threaded one hand through his hair and grasped his shoulder with the other, trying to anchor herself to reality.
After a moment, Oliver propped himself up on his hands, hovering over her. “Are you really sure?” he asked once more.
Groaning in frustration, Chloe surprised him by hooking her leg around his waist and flipping him onto his back so that she was straddling him. “Yes, damn it. How many times do I have to say that? I’m ready!”
“I’m just making sure,” he said soothingly, reaching up to stroke her hair. “Sex is never easy the first time,” he pointed out.
“You think I don’t know that?” she snapped. “Lois made sure I knew that a long time ago. So make up your mind already and either do something or stop getting me all riled up!”
Oliver smirked and flipped them back over. “All right then. And for the record, I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered, her irritation draining away.
“We’ll go slow,” he said firmly, leaving no room for argument. “And I want you to tell me if I hurt you.”
She rolled her eyes, but nodded in agreement. “I will.”
His lips descended on hers again and he kissed her slowly. One arm slid beneath her waist. He pulled her into a sitting position and his hands fell to her sides. He began toying with the hem of her shirt, slipping his fingers beneath the fabric to brush the soft skin of her stomach. She shivered at the feel of his light touches; every hair on her body was standing on end in response to the sensations of his calloused hands on her body.
He deepened the kiss slowly, sucking her bottom lip into his into his mouth and caressing it slightly with his tongue. Chloe moaned in the back of her throat, fire racing through her. She fisted her hand in his hair, clutching at him tightly. He had to suppress a groan of his own. His hand slid up her side, brushing against the underside of her breasts. His palm itched to feel them with no fabric in the way. Her back arched and she shuddered as tension coiled in the pit of her stomach.
Breaking the kiss, Oliver looked deep into her eyes. Slowly, lightly dragging his fingers up her sides, he raised her shirt. He paused slightly before baring her breasts, sucking in his breath in anticipation he’d rarely felt with a woman. She raised her arms, allowing him to pull the fabric over her head. He tossed it over his shoulder to land in a heap on the floor. Chloe suddenly realized that she was sitting, half-naked, in front of Oliver. She’d never been overly comfortable with her body. After years of being overlooked in favor of Lois and Lana, she’d come to the conclusion that there was something wrong with her. Being with Oliver had helped her become more comfortable with who she was, but she was still unsure of herself. Reflexively, she crossed her arms over her chest.
Gently, he took her wrists in his hands and drew them away from her body. He kissed them lightly, then held them against her sides while he stared at her body in amazement. Her skin was flawless and she was as prefect as he had imagined. Blushing under his scrutiny, Chloe dropped her gaze, looking anywhere but at Oliver and waiting for him to find something wrong with her. He slipped a finger under her chin, forcing her eyes back to him.
“Hey,” he whispered. “Don’t be embarrassed. You’re absolutely beautiful. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable with me. There must be something seriously wrong with all the guys in Smallville if only the crazy ones could see what I see.”
She blushed more deeply, still trapped in her insecurities. Even though she wanted to believe him, she’d never turned heads before. No one had ever noticed her. Except Oliver, and he had dated supermodels. How could she measure up to that?
Reading the expression on her face and the apprehension in her eyes, Oliver kissed her fiercely, leaving her breathless before moving down her neck. He sucked lightly at the base of her neck, deliberately leaving a mark. He wanted to make it clear to Chloe, and to everyone else, that she was his and he was hers and nothing was going to change that.
Once more, his hands brushed up her sides, against her breasts. She sucked in a breath and felt heat pool in the pit of her stomach and even lower, tightening her gut in anticipation. Feeling suddenly bold, Chloe slipped her hands beneath his shirt, running her fingers across his abdomen. He caressed her hip gently with his fingers, moving back to her mouth, trying to convey encouragement and reassurance, urging her on. Chloe lifted the hem of his shirt, running her hand further up his chest, nimbly tracing the lines of his muscles. It felt amazing. Eager to urge her on, he broke the kiss and pulled his shirt over his head. As soon as he was free of the material, he leaned over her and gently pushed her back down onto the mattress.
For a moment, he looked down at her in adoration. She chewed her lip, looking both nervous and excited -- and sexy as hell, Oliver added silently -- at the same time. Seeing her lying beneath him like that sent a jolt through him, right down to his groin.
He sank down onto the bed beside her and rested on his elbow above her, gazing down into her face and drawing light patterns over her skin with his fingers. As much as he didn’t want to, Oliver was giving her one last chance to end things if she was uncomfortable with what was going on. Chloe read and immediately rejected his silent offer; she ran her hands over his shoulders, down his chest, and across his abs. She slipped her fingers into the waistband of his sweats, teasing the soft skin. She bit her lip and gave him a questioning look, unsure if she was doing it right. His breath caught and he cocked an eyebrow, fascinated with the girl lying beneath him and the strange combination of boldness and timidity that she was exhibiting.
Moving down her body, he pressed a kiss to her chest, just above her breasts. She closed her eyes, and tossed her head back, clutching at the sheets. Heat pooled between her legs and her blood raced. His free hand traveled down to her hip, sliding beneath the loose pajama shorts she was wearing. She tensed slightly, burying her hand in his hair, but said nothing. He was the only person she wanted to touch her like that.
“Trust me,” he murmured, sliding the shorts down her legs with exaggerated slowness.
Chloe felt her heart clench. “I do,” she whispered. She flushed again, still slightly nervous with the prospect of being completely bare to Oliver, but also yearning for what she knew as soon to come.
Oliver threw Chloe’s shorts and panties aside, taking a deep breath as he did, trying to calm himself. He was desperate to be inside of her, but he was determined to take things slowly. He wanted to savor it and he didn’t want to hurt her any more than necessary. Gently wrapping his hand around the back of one knee, he pulled her legs apart and rested himself between them.
Lowering himself onto her so that they were once more pressed together, Oliver kissed her again, ravaging her mouth with his. He ran his hand down her hip, drawing his fingers along the edge of her panties. Heat pooled between her legs, filling her with need she’d never felt before. She reflexively arched her back, pressing her breasts against his chest and rubbing their bare skin together. With a groan, he shifted his grip on her hip, cupping her butt with one hand and lifting her up, grinding her him.
Desire knifed through Chloe, almost literally setting her on fire. She wound one leg around his, pulling herself closer, craving the feel of him against her. Her breathing was uneven. So was his. He pressed another kiss to her chest, between her breasts, while his hand brushed against the sensitive flesh. She shuddered and arched into him again, forcing her breast more firmly into his hand. It felt like every nerve was awake and screaming for more. She already felt overstimulated, but it was amazing. She was acutely aware of his weight on her, his hand trailing from her breast down to her hip and back, his mouth on hers. The heat that stemmed from his touch was igniting feelings in her that she’d never felt before.
“Still with me?” he whispered, his voice rougher than before.
Chloe nodded, her eyes locking on his. They were dark with desire. “I trust you.”
Without further prompting, he slid his hands down her thighs, caressing the skin lightly. To his surprise, Chloe hooked her fingers into the waistband of his sweats. She was biting her lip, obviously nervous, but running on pure instinct, her eyes shining with determination and desire. Guiding her hand, Oliver helped her push them over his hips, then he kicked him off onto the floor.
For a moment, they stared at each other, relishing the feel of having absolutely nothing between them. Then Oliver slid a hand between her legs, gently caressing her center. Unprepared for the contact, Chloe cried out, her hips bucking automatically as pleasure coursed through her. Eyes closed, she clutched at Oliver’s shoulders, her fingers biting into his skin. Capturing her mouth again, he kissed her deeply, caressing her mouth as he stroked her. She twisted beneath him, pressing against him as she did. Oliver groaned and increased the pressure on the sensitive nub of flesh between her legs. She moaned.
“Ollie. Please.”
She’d started to shiver. Recognizing that she was close, Oliver slipped one long finger inside of her. Eyes shutting tightly, her back arched again, lifting her so high off the mattress it seemed that her spine would snap in half. He began pumping his finger in and out of her slowly. She was so tight and he wanted to be sure that she felt as much pleasure as possible before the inevitable pain of the sex act itself.
Sparks of electricity began shooting through her body, igniting her skin. The pressure on her core and the coiled tension in the pit of her stomach were swiftly becoming unbearable. She mewled in the back of her throat and Oliver leaned over to kiss her. Before he could, she suddenly cried out and grabbed the sheets. He could feel the slight fluttering of her inner walls around his finger, that indicated how close she was to coming. He continued to slide his finger in and out of her until she cried out again, nearly jack-knifing off the bed. At the feel of her coming around his hand, Oliver groaned. Every muscle in his body tightened as he forced himself to remain in control.
After a moment, Chloe fell back against the bed, moaning weakly. Aftershocks from her orgasm were still pulsing through her. She felt more relaxed than she ever had before. More loved and contented, too. She realized vaguely that Oliver was doing everything he could to make things easier and more pleasurable for her, even if it meant that he had to wait longer himself.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and their gazes locked. Oliver gently withdrew his hand and lowered himself onto her. She could feel him pressing against her sex.
“Ready?” he asked.
“When you are,” she whispered.
Her simple words turned him on even more. Oliver ran one hand through her hair. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. He stroked her cheek with his thumb until she opened her eyes and looked at him. Locking his gaze with hers, he positioned himself at her entrance, then froze.
“Damn it,” he hissed. “I don’t have any condoms.”
To his surprise, Chloe flushed bright red. She muttered something unintelligible.
“Can you repeat that?” Oliver asked, curiously.
“I’m on the pill. I have been since right before you left.”
He was stunned. “Really?”
If possible, her blush deepened. “I thought it was possible that things might change over the summer and I wanted to be ready. After you went missing, I just kept up with it because it was kind of a way to keep faith that you’d come back.”
“So you’ve been on the pill for over two years?”
Chloe nodded.
Grinning, Oliver kissed her soundly. “God, I love you.”
“For taking birth control unnecessarily for two years?” she asked incredulously.
“For never giving up on me.”
Her face softened and she whispered, “I will never give up on you.”
Oliver kissed her again, more thoroughly than before. When he drew back, he caught her eye and slid slowly into her. She fisted her hands in the sheets, another moan escaping her lips. Recognizing the undercurrent of pain in her voice, Oliver kissed her and stroked her side soothingly when he reached her natural barrier and her entire body tensed.
“This is going to hurt,” he warned. There was no way around it.
She nodded, her jaw tight, and clutched her hand in his. Her other hand still gripped the sheets. Taking a deep breath, Oliver pushed into her with one smooth, quick stroke.
Crying out, Chloe’s back arched, lifting off the bed as tears pooled in her eyes. Oliver froze, trying not to cause her any more pain. He continued rubbing her side soothingly, tenderly kissing her collarbone, then her neck, and finally reaching her lips.
“Are you all right?” he asked gently, stroking her hair.
She nodded sharply, her eyes still shut tightly. “Just give me a minute.”
“I’m sorry,” he murmured against her shoulder.
Turning her head, she kissed his cheek. “I’m not.”
Before Oliver could reply, Chloe rolled her hips experimentally. The pain was slowly receding to be replaced with something wonderful. Sweat broke out across her forehead. She moaned, rolling her hips again. Pleasure shot through her, washing the rest of the pain away.
“God,” Oliver choked. “That feels amazing.”
She almost stopped at his words, surprised that she’d managed to elicit that kind of response from him. A rush of feminine pleasure, completely different from the carnal feelings she was experiencing, washed through her and she rolled her hips again. Oliver began moving slowly inside her. Sweat started to bead across his body under the strain of keeping himself in check. He hadn’t been with anyone for a long time, not since he’d met Chloe. That, combined with the fact that it was Chloe, had him at the edge of his control, without any other stimulus.
He grit his teeth, forcing himself to move at a snail’s pace, to draw out both of their pleasure for as long as possible. He slid almost all the way out of her before pressing in completely, keeping the pace slow and even. His hands caressed every inch of her skin that he could reach, all while he kissed her with all the passion he’d been holding for years.
Chloe’s heart soared, all of her insecurities and nervousness stripped away by the way Oliver was worshiping her body. She gasped and clutched at his shoulders, arching beneath him. Her hips began rising and falling in time to his thrusts as she found herself instinctively desperate to take him in deeper.
The pleasure she was feeling began to slowly intensify. She felt as though she was about to come undone at the seams. Her body couldn’t contain all the sensations flooding through her. She whimpered, wrapping her legs around Oliver’s waist, pulling him closer still, moaning his name. He dropped his head against her shoulder, giving in slightly to the need burning through him and increasing his pace slightly.
“Oh my God! Oliver!” she whimpered, writhing beneath him.
He paused, looking down at her worriedly. “Are you all right?”
“Not if you stop!” she bit out, bucking her hips against him for good measure.
He managed to smirk before resuming his movement, faster and harder than before. He drove in and out of her mercilessly. Chloe buried her hand in his hair, yanking him down so that she could kiss him. Oliver reached between them, caressing her as he had before. She gasped against his lips as a feeling more intense than anything she had ever felt before began to slowly consume her. She tossed her head back, desperate for breath, and his lips moved to her neck. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, nails biting into his skin.
With one more thrust, the tension coiled in her stomach exploded and she fell off the edge.
“Ollie!” she cried.
Hearing her name fall from her lips and feeling her spasming around him, Oliver finally found his release as well. Together, they rode out the tidal wave of pleasure.
When it was over, he collapsed on top of her. Chloe reveled in the feel of his body on hers, anchoring her to him. After a moment, he rolled to the side so that he wouldn’t crush her. She felt as if her bones had melted into a puddle of goo. She didn’t have the strength to move.
Still breathing heavily, Oliver drew Chloe close to him. She rested her head against his chest, trying to calm herself. He stroked her back and side gently.
“Are you all right?” he whispered, looking down at her in concern. “I...I know it’s not easy the first time.”
She smiled and kissed his jaw. “I feel amazing.”
“You’ll be sore in the morning,” he said apologetically.
“I really don’t care,” she said truthfully. “It’ll be worth it.” Unconsciously, her fingers began to caress the spot where just hours before there had been a bullet wound that should have claimed his life. “I should have told you sooner that I was ready to be in a relationship again. I just didn’t want to screw everything up. I’d just gotten you back and I didn’t want to lose you again.”
“I know,” he whispered. “I was so worried about driving you away that I convinced myself that I still wasn’t ready, that I still needed time. Even when I began to think that I was ready, that everything was behind me, I still hesitated because the last thing I wanted to do was push you away. I love you, Chloe. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than right here with you. You know that, right?”
Chloe caressed his cheek. “I know.”
Oliver pulled the blankets over them and she snuggled into his side.
“You know,” he said, laying back and looking up at the pattern of light made by the blinds against the ceiling. “I think that we’ve actually technically been in a relationship since we laid everything on the table after I got back and were just too afraid to admit it because of what had happened. It was easier to just be friends than it was to be something more after being apart and then jumping to conclusions about Tess and Jimmy.”
“That sounds about right. It also sounds like us,” she agreed humorously. “Why do we always have to do everything the hard way?”
“I have no idea,” he laughed. “But it seems to work for us.”
“True,” Chloe yawned, burrowing more securely into his side. Before she could close her eyes and drift off to sleep, she heard the sound of her phone ringing from across the hall.
“No,” Oliver said firmly, holding her against his side. “Do not answer it.”
“Ollie,” she giggled tiredly, fighting to extricate herself from his grip. “It might be important and you know it’s probably Lois. If I don’t tell her to leave me alone, she’ll be calling all day and she’ll probably wake us up in the process. Or,” she added, her voice becoming just the slightest bit softer and deeper, her hand trailing up his arm seductively, “she might even interrupt something we don’t want interrupted.”
Feeling himself respond instantly to the promise her words held, Oliver let her go reluctantly. Chloe flashed him an impish smile and slid off the bed. The covers fell away to reveal her gloriously naked body. Oliver’s breath caught in his throat, nearly choking him. The idea that he had the privilege of seeing Chloe naked, to touch every inch of her skin, was absolutely amazing. A small part of him hoped that feeling of wonder would never go away.
Chloe grabbed her phone off the desk where she’d tossed it. She glanced quickly at the screen, rolling her eyes when she saw the name flashing in time to the ringtone.
“Lois,” she confirmed, as she slid back into bed. Pulling the covers up to her chest and leaning against his side, she pressed the phone to her ear.
“Cuz!” Lois shouted before Chloe even had a chance to speak.
“Nice to hear from you,” Chloe said dryly. “Now isn’t a good time, Lo.”
“Why? You and billionaire boy finally decide to stop being idiots and just bang each other’s brains out? Speaking of Oliver, when am I going to get to see him? And don’t feed me that crap about him needing to stay in town for his company. He’s been back for over three months. He can take a week off to come see his friends in Metropolis.”
Chloe rolled her eyes even as her cheeks warmed at her cousin’s uncanny accuracy. Knowing that there was no way she could lie to Lois about her relationship status with Oliver, even over the phone, she decided to just tell the truth.
“Yes, Lois. Oliver and I just had hot and steamy sex and are now trying to enjoy the after effects, which you are currently ruining. We’ll both come back to Metropolis as soon as we can, but no matter how much you bitch and moan, it’s probably going to be a while. Whatever it is you called to talk about is just going to have to wait. I’ll call you later, and I swear to God, if you call me first, I won’t speak to you for a month!” she threatened.
“Fine,” Lois sulked. “You better give me the details when you call me back!”
Chloe rolled her eyes, in no way intending to satisfy her cousin’s voyeuristic curiosity. “Whatever, Lo. I’ll talk to you later.”
Hitting the end button decisively, Chloe silenced and then tossed the phone on the beside table before turning back to Oliver who was staring at her with wide, incredulous eyes.
“What?” she asked, feeling suddenly insecure.
“You told Lois,” he said slowly.
She nodded, a sheepish expression on her face. “I didn’t see any other option. She can tell when I’m hiding something, even over the phone. And ferreting out secrets, especially where I’m concerned, is like her superpower.”
“No, I know that,” he assured her. “But you do realize that it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world knows too.”
“I am well aware of Lois’ inability to keep a secret,” she said, settling back into the pillows. “Is there anything wrong with letting people know about us?”
Oliver shook his head emphatically. “No. It’s just...we were so careful before. Are you sure you’re ready for all the media attention and speculation that comes with dating me?”
An amused smile tugged at her lips and she leaned in, kissing him gently on the lips. “Ollie, I know what I’m getting myself into. It’s not like I’ve been hiding in a cave or living under a rock while I’ve been here. There’s been media speculation about us before and it’s not all been nice. You know that.”
Oliver winced internally, remembering the first time the tabloids had gotten pictures of them together and suggested that Chloe was his latest fling. He’d come back to the penthouse, afraid that the article would send her into a panic and that she’d flee back to Metropolis. He was pleasantly surprised when wasn’t even fazed and they’d both ended up laughing at the absurd claims.
“I know it’s going to get worse now that we’re actually together,” she continued. “I just don’t care. We wasted enough time thinking and waiting and worrying about what other people are going to think of us. I don’t want anything to restrict our relationship because we’re afraid of it. I want to be with you, Ollie, and I want everything that comes with that.”
He felt like his heart was going to burst from his chest. Oliver threaded his fingers through her hair and melded their lips together in a kiss so full of fiery passion it rivaled the sun. Chloe responded readily, pressing herself against him.
“You’re amazing,” he breathed.
“So are you.”
Oliver chuckled and lay back against the pillows. As much as he wanted round two, he knew they were both exhausted. Besides, they had all the time in the world for that kind of thing now that they were no longer ignoring the connection between them.
Too tired to feel frustrated about the fact that Oliver was putting the brakes on their make out session, Chloe curled up against his side. Her head rested just above his heart and she quickly fell fast asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.
Tightening his arm around her waist, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and let his eyes drift closed. For so long, Oliver had been worried that sex with Chloe would be worthless and that in turn, she would become as insignificant as all the other girls in his life had been. It had taken being separated from her for him to truly realize that sleeping together wouldn’t be valueless because it was Chloe. She was someone who actually knew him. She was someone he’d actually taken the time to get to know himself. It wouldn’t be meaningless because she wasn’t meaningless. She meant everything to him. That was the difference, and he wished he’d realized it sooner.
The past three and half months had been hard, but they had been worth it. He’d gotten to know Chloe again. He’d gotten to discover all over again what a wonderful person she was. Eventually, they’d been brought back together. That was what mattered. Not the roundabout route they’d taken or everything that had happened to them, both good and bad. All that mattered was that they were finally together.
That night, or morning, or whatever it was, Oliver fell asleep with a smile on his face, feeling happier and more content than he had in a long time.
***
Lois glared at her phone. She couldn’t believe that Chloe had hung up on her, even if it was for her sexy boyfriend. It was about time those two stopped being idiots about each other. Lois hadn’t even been on the same continent as them for most of the past few months and she’d still felt the sexual tension emanating from Star City. But why did they have to indulge their wanton fancies when she had something to talk to her baby cousin about?
Harrumphing and grumbling under her breath, Lois shoved her phone in her bag and stomped over to the table where Clark was waiting for her.
If someone had told her two years ago that she and the bumbling farm boy would be dating, she’d have slapped them upside the head and kneed them in the groin for good measure. A lot had changed since then, though. It had happened when Lana and Clark broke up for the last time. Usually, Chloe was the person to lend Smallville her shoulder when something like that happened, but since she’d been more or less catatonic, the job had fallen to Lois.
What had resulted was a strange friendship. They’d goaded each other to be better than they were while at the same time listening to each other when they’d needed a friendly ear. They’d banded together to help Chloe in any way they could. Lois couldn’t count the many times Clark had held her when the pressure of looking after Chloe and maintaining an optimistic attitude about Oliver’s fate despite all the crap that was going on got to be too much for her to handle. She’d threatened Clark with bodily harm if he ever told anyone each time, but he’d always kept her confidence and had been there fore her whenever she needed him. In return, she’d kept him from getting too broody when things went bad.
She hadn’t even noticed their friendship becoming something more until Clark randomly planted one on her about nine months ago. They’d both denied that the kiss had ever happened for about three weeks, then Chloe had locked them in a closet. They’d been going strong ever since.
Still grumbling under her breath, Lois dropped her bag unceremoniously on the table and plopped down opposite Clark, folding her arms across her chest. He looked up with one raised eyebrow.
“Something wrong, Lois?”
“Yes,” she snapped. “Chloe just blew me off.”
Clark immediately sat up, anticipating that something had gone wrong. Chloe and Oliver had let him in on the fact that Oliver was Green Arrow soon after he began patrolling Star City, just in case they ever needed back up. Chloe always made time for Lois, if only to avoid the hounding that was sure to come if she didn’t. “Is something wrong?” he asked, wishing that his superhearing extended to Star City.
Lois rolled her eyes, her face softening the slightest bit despite herself. “Apparently, she’s too wrapped up in Oliver to talk to me.”
“Oliver?” Clark frowned.
A genuine grin tugged at her lips. She never could keep herself from being happy whenever things went right for those two. Chloe was practically her sister and Oliver was one of her closest friends. She wished nothing but the best for them and God knew they deserved it. Her happiness for them outweighed her annoyance at Chloe’s brush off.
“Apparently,” she said conspiratorially, leaning closer to Clark, “they finally got their act together and spent the night making sweet love.”
Clark blanched slightly and grimaced. “That doesn’t sound like something you should be broadcasting for them,” he said disapprovingly.
“You are such a prude,” Lois teased, rolling her eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with them going at it like bunnies. They deserve it after all the crap that’s happened to them, don’t you think?”
“I’m not denying that,” he protested. “I’m just saying that we don’t need to know the intimate details and we definitely don’t need to be talking about it in public. It’s their business.”
Knowing that she was never going to win that argument simply because neither of them would back down -- she loved Smallville’s stubborn streak -- and deciding that she had better things to do than throw down with him, Lois let the topic go for the time being. “Well, since my baby cuz is too busy knocking boots with the Survivor reject, who I still haven’t seen in person since his return, by the way, I’ll have to talk to you.”
It was Clark’s turn to roll his eyes. He never got tired of the way Lois managed to pretend that she hadn’t been going to include him from the beginning. “You have seen him, remember? They Skype us every couple of weeks.”
She glared at him and he changed tactics. “What is so important that you’re actually complaining about Oliver and Chloe being happy?”
She leveled a good-natured, but steely glare at him before answering. “I might have been investigating Lex and could hypothetically have found something big.”
“What are you doing looking into Lex?” Clark demanded. “You know how dangerous he is!” He couldn’t help but think about what Lex had done to the countless meteor infected metahumans they’d found in 33.1 facilities, as well as what he had done to their friends Arthur Curry and Victor Stone. Both Chloe and Lois had had their fair share of close calls while snooping around LuthorCorp facilities and Lex had proved himself to be far more twisted than Lionel ever was.
“Finding out what he is up to is worth the risk,” Lois said decisively. “Who knows how many innocent people he has locked up in his twisted labs. It’s up to us to find them.”
“You’re not going to do us any good if you’re in jail or worse because you got on the wrong side of Lex,” he pointed out.
“Stop being such a downer, Smallville. What’s life without a little risk? You should try it sometime.” She eyed him with a smirk. “The action might do you some good.”
He ignored her. Ever since she’d seen him speed out of Chloe’s room after promising to scour the ocean for Oliver, she’d been privy to his secret. She knew exactly how much action he got doing his thing as the Blur.
“Did you actually find anything, seeing as how you risked your life?”
Lois glared at him, even if she secretly thought that the protective streak was a serious turn on. “Yes, Smallville. I did. I managed to get ahold of his bank records and from the looks of things, there’s a steady flow of cash going to a private airstrip just outside of Metropolis. When I cross checked the flight plans filed at the airstrip, the records showed that there hadn’t been any flights out of there except for small, personal aircraft. But when I snuck in and copied the surveillance data, I saw that the LuthorCorp jet has flown in and out of there at least three times a month for the past few months, always in the dead of night.”
A frown creased Clark’s forehead as he processed the information. When he came up with nothing, he asked, “What do you think that means?”
Looking excited, Lois moved her chair closer and leaned into him, lowering her voice. “You and Chloe always said that the people you find in the 33.1 facilities don’t always have connections to Smallville, meaning they can’t all be meteor infected, like AC and Victor. He’s got to be finding metas somewhere else and bringing them to Smallville.”
“And you think that’s what he’s using this airstrip for,” Clark realized. “That sounds like Lex.”
“We have to do something about this,” Lois hissed.
“I know that,” he said, trying to soothe her. “But without more information, there’s nothing we can do.”
“Which was why I called Chloe. I wanted her to work her hacker magic, but she was --”
“We covered this already,” Clark interrupted. “As important as all this business with Lex is, Oliver and Chloe deserve to be happy together. You said that yourself. Give them today and maybe tomorrow and then I’ll go talk to them. They’ll want to hear about this. Just not right now.”
Unwilling to admit that Clark was right, Lois crossed her arms and gave him the Sullivan-Lane death glare that she and her cousin had perfected. “Fine. But the only reason I’m agreeing to this is because Chloe threatened not to talk to me for a month and I know she was serious. If this is as big as I think it is, I kinda need her talking to me.”
Clark chuckled under his breath. He’d always admired how stubborn she could be. “Now do you think we could actually enjoy our coffee, or do you want to keep talking until it goes cold?”
“Just heat it up with your laser vision,” she quipped. “Because I’m not done talking yet, Smallville.”
“You do realize that we have somewhere to be, right?” he reminded her. “You’ve got that interview for the position at the Daily Planet.” Since finding out about Lex, she’d become as passionate as Chloe about reporting. Her spelling was atrocious, which Clark knew from the many times he’d proofread her articles for the Inquisitor, where she was currently working, but she really was an amazing reporter. Her help with the various metahumans Clark had come up against in Smallville and later in Metropolis had helped get Chloe back on her feet while Oliver was gone.
“We’ll get there in plenty of time,” she said dismissively, conveniently forgetting the fact that she was chronically late. “I’ve still got stuff to talk to you about.”
He shook his head and sat back, ready for the nonstop monologue he knew he was coming his way. Strangely enough, he found himself looking forward to it.
Author’s Note: As I said before, that was my first attempt at smut at any kind, and I’m not exactly sure how well I did. I’ve read some pretty great Chlollie smut since I was introduced to this fandom. I hope I did it justice. It took me much longer to write it than I anticipated. From here on out, updates will not be very regular. I’m currently out of town with my sister and when we get back late Friday, it will be only a few days until we get packed up and head across the country for our move. I can’t guarantee that I’ll have much time to write any time soon. I’ll try to speedy with both this and Fading Scars, but I can’t offer any guarantees.
Just a slight warning, from this point on, the fic will no longer focus solely on Oliver and Chloe as it has with their isolation in Star City. Their peaceful little bubble is about to be popped.
Just to make sure I’m clear: Lois knows about Clark. It’s just easier that way. Bart is the only eventual member of the league Oliver has met. The rest all passed through Smallville after his disappearance. Everything leading up to season five happened in my fic, except Chloe obviously is not going to discover her power by saving Lois. I’m not even a hundred percent sure what season that happened in. If you have any questions about the setting, because I know it is a little confusing, please let me know.
As always, thanks so much for reading and please leave me a comment!
Chapter 14