For Richer or Poorer - NC17 - Chloe/Oliver - Part Seven
Title: For Richer or Poorer
Category: Smallville
Genre: Romance/Drama/Humor/Action
Ship: Chloe/Oliver
Rating: NC17
Spoiler(s): Season 6 - Arrow
Word Count: 6,024
Summary: (AU) Oliver Queen, former journalist and current computer specialist, has met his match in Chloe Sullivan, billionaire CEO and secret leather-wearing vigilante.
Previous: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six,
dhfreak
VII.
After a long day of arguing with his conscience, Oliver disengaged from his computers and considered the penalty for snagging an extra large cup of coffee from downstairs. Before he could leave the apartment, Clark appeared, looking irritated, hands stuck on his hips.
"You suffering a caffeine dry-spell too, big guy?" he teased, half-smiling.
He huffed. "I just had a little run-in with Metropolis' Green Arrow Bandit."
His brows furrowed. "Is she all right?"
Clark frowned.
"Uh, I… I mean, you do have a tendency to forget how strong you are…" he tried to cover, sighing to himself.
He shook his head. "She got away… We faced off, she took a shot at me; it hit the guard behind me and when I went to check on him…" He sighed. "She got away."
Oliver breathed a sigh of relief, shoulders slumping thankfully. "You, uh, get a look at her?"
"Hm? No…" He shook his head. "No, she had sunglasses on and a voice distorter… The hood basically hid her face and it all happened pretty fast."
He couldn't help a slight smirk. "So how'd you let her slip through your fingers?"
He glared. "She's got a lot of gadgets," he muttered, obviously put-out.
"Gadgets?" he chuckled. "Against the almighty Man of Steel?"
"She's good," he grumbled, holding his hands out irritably. "All right?"
Licking his lips, he tried to hide his smile. "I'm just surprised… Isn't often somebody gets one over on you."
"Yeah, well, this Green Arrow Bandit isn't very average…" His brows furrowed broodingly. "She was quick and not afraid to attack… Surprised to see me, maybe, but…" He sighed. "Look, Oliver, I was hoping you might be able to talk to that girl you like… Mom said she was at the benefit too and maybe she saw something. I was also hoping you might be able to hack into SafeTex, see what leads they might have."
"This girl really got under your skin," he said, eyes narrowed. "Is this about Lois or your mom?"
"What about Lois?" he asked, frowning.
"She's dead-set on hanging Green Arrow and I thought maybe she'd rubbed off on you." He shrugged. "What happened with your mom, it sucks… But I was there, I saw it. And Chloe…" He glanced away. "Chloe was in the bathroom, so she really can't help you out with that."
He nodded. "I didn't want to put you in an awkward position anyway…" He smiled then. "So, what happened with her?"
Uncomfortable, Oliver crossed the room to take a seat on his couch. "With Chloe? Nothing, really… We…" He swallowed tightly. "We made plans to get together, but… Who knows?"
"That's good," Clark encouraged. "I'm glad you're getting out there… Lois is always saying you spend too much time with your computers and not enough out in the real world."
"Yeah, well, my cousin also spends a lot of time sitting in restaurants waiting for her farmboy boyfriend to stop standing her up… So maybe we've all got some screwed up priorities."
He winced. "You're right… I need to start giving our relationship more attention…" He frowned. "It's just hard, you know? When you've got a secret and you can't share it with someone you care about."
"Yeah…" he agreed, face falling. "Yeah, I know what that's like."
Before they could talk much more about it, his phone started ringing. He reached for it, half-expecting Chloe's face to pop up, but seeing his cousin made him smile all the same. Despite the argument earlier, they always made up quick. He imagined he owed her a pint of Ben and Jerry's and probably a chick flick or two to make up for his lack of support, but they would be fine all the same. "Speak of the devil," he muttered to Clark, before snapping open the phone and holding it to his ear. "Should I grovel now or just pick up the necessities and drop by your apartment to beg for forgiveness?" he greeted.
"Aaah!" was his answer. "Ollie! Help! Aaaah!" There was muffled banging echoing in the distance.
His brow furrowed, spine stiffened. "Lois?"
"Please!"
He turned, looking up at a worried Clark across from him. "Something's wrong… Lois is in trouble."
His eyes widened, jaw falling slack before he turned and rushed away, disappearing in a red-blue blur. And even though he knew his best friend would probably have it handled, he called in reinforcements.
"Oliver?"
"Hey, listen… I know you're usually the snatch and grab type and you mostly work with inanimate objects, but I've got a problem," he replied. "My cousin Lois, she was just taken from her apartment. Now usually, I'd start questioning who she managed to piss off this week, but the only person I can think of right now is either you or somebody after you."
Chloe paused before saying, "You mean because of her not so nice article about me in the Inquisitor…"
"Yeah, well, she's not your biggest fan and she happens to be really close to ."
"No, I get it," she told him. "Look, I can help your cousin, or at least try to… But I'll need those hacking abilities of yours."
"Anything."
"Can you track her cell phone; tell me where she's at?"
His jaw ticked thoughtfully as he crossed to his computers. "I'll freely admit I equipped her with Lo-Jack a few years ago… Like I said, Lois has a habit of getting into trouble."
"Must run in the family," she mused.
"Not bad for a first date, huh?" he returned, typing away at his computers.
"Considering we're not even in the same city at the moment, I think we have to work on what we classify as a date."
He chuckled under his breath and then paused, reading his screen. "All right, got it…" He frowned. "She's being held at the…" His brow furrowed in surprise, "The SafeTex facility…"
"Good. I'm on it."
He sighed, relieved.
"Oliver?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you…" she said, softly, "for trusting me with this."
"Whatever happened, whatever this is, I'm not sure it's really your fault…" He shook his head. "We've got a lot to talk about."
"And we will… Over pizza and beer, right?"
He smiled. "Yeah…"
"I'll get her back."
He nodded.
After they hung up, he sat back in his chair and shook his head. It wasn't so long ago that he would have called Clark first.
As if to remind him of the fact, Clark suddenly appeared in his apartment. "It was too late. There was no sign of her." He frowned. "It looks like someone took her."
He nodded. "I assumed."
"It's gotta be the Green Arrow," Clark growled, worried. He started pacing, his shoulders hunched with irritation.
Oliver sat forward, brows furrowed. "What makes you think that she'd have anything to do with this?"
"She's wanted all over town for armed robbery," he reminded, turning to stare at him. "Lois is the one who publicly threatened to unmask the woman. I guess she doesn't live by a code of honor."
"I think we're jumping to conclusions. We don't know anything about her…" He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Look, Clark… I should have told you this earlier, but… Everything she's taken, it was stolen… It was all bought off the black market."
"You're saying Lionel's necklace is-"
"Yeah. That's exactly what I'm saying…" He laughed rather hollowly. "You've been on a hunt to return it to its original thief… How's that for irony?"
"So what," His brows furrowed, "you think Lionel took her?"
He rested his elbows on his knees and shook his head. "I think when I tracked her phone, it came up SafeTex… And there are a lot of people out there that would go to any length to catch the Green Arrow."
They stared at each other a long moment and then Clark shook his head. "Well whoever it was that took her, I'll get her back," he promised, and with that he turned and vanished once more.
Sighing, Oliver sat back and rested his face in his hands. All he wanted was for this to get figured out… But he had a feeling it meant letting a few more people in on a secret that wasn't his to share.
…
Chloe felt like she was late to the party. A very wet and obviously confused but fighting tooth-and-nail Lois Lane was bound and being continuously asked questions and dunked into a large metal tub of water. She was drenched, a pool forming all around her bent form.
An Asian SafeTex thug got up into her face, demanding, "Who's the Green Arrow?"
She sneered back. "Bandit - Green Arrow Bandit." Screwing up her nose, she spat, "And like you don't know. That Lara Croft wannabe put you guys up to this."
He grabbed her arm and angled her back toward the water. She groaned, hunching, but didn't have much fight left in her.
"That's enough," a voice called out. An older man, sharply dressed, stepped into clear view and stared down at Lois Lane with little compassion. "This Bandit… has made a joke of the firm I've worked my life to build."
Lois struggled against the men holding her.
Ignoring her, the man continued, "She's walked off with more than thirty million dollars from my clients."
Lois glared up at him, her lip curled in disdain. "Then why am I the one with the bruises on my knees right now?"
"Because you splashed my humiliation across the front page of the paper," he told her with calm determination. "And now you're going to help me rectify that."
"I don't know who she is!" she told him firmly.
He nodded to the thugs and they grabbed her up, dunking her back into the water and holding her down as she thrashed and fought.
Chloe moved across the beams, looking for a better vantage point to shoot from.
The man in charge hardly batted an eye as Lois slowed in her struggle before finally stopping entirely, floating limply atop the water before they drew her back.
"She's doesn't know anything," he decided. He pursed his lips in irritation before saying, "Kill her."
Just as Chloe found the right spot and took a knee, raising her bow and angling it, one of the thugs held up his gun and squeezed the trigger.
She held her breath as her arrow sliced through the air, intercepting the bullet and knocking it off its course. As the shooter looked up in search of his opponent, she released a second arrow that pierced his shoulder with such force he was thrown back and into a collection of empty crates. Both the ringleader of this little threesome of torture and the other thug took out their guns and started waving them around wildly, eyes moving to and fro in search of her.
She notched a zip-line arrow and let it fly. While they were staring at it stuck in a far wall, she rode the rope down toward the main floor. As the thug turned toward, she released her bow and fell from a few feet above. Barrel-rolling, she came up quick and knocked the man out with the steel bow in her hand. Grabbing an arrow from her back pouch, she turned swiftly toward the older man, who'd raised his gun in her direction, and shot her arrow directly into his shoulder. He slammed back against a wall, pinned, and stared shocked as a green gas filtered out and with one quick inhale, he was knocked out.
Chloe stared a moment and then surveyed the area, listening hard for any signs of back-up. Hearing none, she walked toward the bound and unconscious form of her possible future boyfriend's cousin. What a mouthful. Kneeling next to her, she checked the pulse at her neck and sighed as she caught the pounding beneath her fingers. "You're a tough one, Lane," she muttered. "I'll give you that." Hooking an arm under her shoulders, she pushed her up to a seated position and then hauled her up onto her feet, even if most of her weight hung heavy against her side. "You might wanna cut down on the carbs though." Grabbing out her crossbow, she raised it above and shot another zipline. "If this doesn't get me a better moniker, you and I will have words."
They rose seamlessly into the air and away from harm.
It took some doing, but she eventually got the much taller, statuesque brunette onto the roof of a building a few over, just in case. But trying to get her home was out of the question; it was probably smarter to get away before she woke up anyway, given that while she'd saved her, the woman seemed to think she had a hand in her kidnapping. Not really her slice of pie, but she was starting to see where a curious reporter might see her in the wrong light, especially when one of the 'rich' folk she was stealing from was her boyfriend's mother. Way to get on the bad side of her future-boyfriend's cousin, she thought. And seriously, she needed to downsize that somehow. Although, she got the feeling 'friend' wasn't going to be a label used any time in the near future. At least not Green Arrow. Maybe Chloe Sullivan would make a better first impression.
Just as she was contemplating calling Oliver to come pick up his comatose but otherwise uninjured cousin, Lois blinked her eyes open and reached for her pounding head, glaring up at the dark sky and hissing at the headache she was likely suffering.
Chloe seriously considered just leaving; it would be in the best interest of all if she slunk off into the night without looking for appreciation or offering explanations. Besides, if she laid out the master plan to every reporter who buzzed around, she wouldn't make much of a secret superhero, would she? Chewing her lip with indecision, she couldn't help but say, "I'd offer Tylenol, but there's not a whole lot of places to store that in this suit…" She hopped down from her ledge and walked toward the startled woman slowly, giving her time to figure out what she was feeling.
"It's tighter than I thought…" She shoved up to her feet. "Breathe well?"
She smirked. "Better than you think."
"You know, if I was in the business of robbing people, I don't think leather would be my go-to fabric choice."
"I considered Latex, but…" She shrugged. "It's almost too breezy…"
Lois circled, eyeing her carefully. "I'm more of a denim kind of girl."
"I dunno, you rock the chic reporter look all right…"
"Are we going to share fashion tips all night or are we gonna do this?" She took a deep breath and squeezed her hands into fists hard enough that her knuckles cracked.
"I'm not here to fight you, Lois… I came here to save you." She put a hand on her hip and looked her up and down pointedly. "And since you're breathing and not drowning right now, I think I did my job quite well, don't you?"
"Saved me?" she laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, from goons who were trying to find you!" She cocked her head and glared. "And they're not the only ones with a 'V' for Vendetta on your little leather ass."
"You know," she scoffed. "I'm tired of the short jokes. I think the heels even things out pretty well."
"You're acting pretty cavalier given your situation."
"And what exactly is my situation…?" Chloe took a few sideway steps, smiling as Lois moved carefully to her left, matching her. "For a reporter, you didn't do much of a background check."
"I've got eyewitnesses that put you at the Luthor benefit. You're kind of hard to miss!"
"I was there," she agreed, nodding. "I freely admit that every theft under SafeTex's guard was all me…"
Lois brows' furrowed. "You confess?" She snorted. "You're really not very good at this."
"Should I call my lawyer?" She smirked. "The background you should have done… It's on the artifacts."
"What? That they're already stolen?" She looked accomplished when Chloe quirked her head, surprised. "I have a cousin with quick fingers and Wi-Fi…"
Chloe's lips pursed. "If you know they're stolen, you conveniently left it out of your little head-hunting expedition… That article you wrote was… misspelled, misleading and misguided."
She glared. "I was in a hurry. I worked with what I had. And play the Robin Hood card all you want, but I'm not buying it. You stole, you pay the consequences."
"That cut and dry, huh?" She nodded. "Okay…" She held her arms out. "Citizen's arrest then. I bet that's front page news."
She grinned. "You asked for it."
"Famous last words."
She rushed her, but before she could get close enough, the billboard behind her exploded in an array of glass and sparks.
While Chloe knew she could stay behind and finish what she started - apparently Lois was good at goading people into useless fights - she knew it was time to leave. The last person she needed to be fighting with just then was her… Well, with Lois.
Escaping into the darkness, she made her way off the building top and down the road to her motorcycle, stored away in an alley. Hopping on, she glanced back once at the building and frowned, before revving the engine and taking off.
She moved stealthily threw the streets, bending low and thinning her eyes through her glasses, watching as they digitally recorded everything they saw and stored important facts away. She really had to give Victor props for being a tech genius. Deciding home was a better bet than making a visit to Oliver's place in Smallville, because she was sure he was up, pacing and worried, and there was a part of her that truly wanted to see him in person when she told him Lois was okay, she turned down a dark alley, one of many shortcuts to her penthouse. She was almost halfway through the damp street when she saw a familiar red jacket swathing an imposing figure standing center in her alley, looking as though he was waiting for her.
She slowed down and came to a skidding halt just in front of him. Half-smirking, she quirked a brow. "If it isn't Tall, Dark and Broody…" She sat back against her seat and let her legs fall to balance her. "I didn't think back alleys were really your kind of hang-out, but hey…" She shrugged. "Who am I to judge?"
He glared back at her, his hands falling firmly on his hips. "You owe me one."
Her lips pursed, not a fan of his tone. "I guess you have a few more tricks up your sleeve than just super-speed then…" She nodded. "That was you on the roof?"
His head bobbed compliantly, staring at her with those same suspiciously narrowed eyes.
"And you let me go because…?" she wondered, shaking her head.
"I don't know why you did it… but I know you were saving Lois back there." His shoulders slumped a little. "That doesn't mean that I agree with what you've done, but… I appreciate you helping her."
She revved the engine a little and looked away. "Look, Boyscout…" She licked her lips and sighed. "What they do and what I do are two very different things… Maybe from where you're standing, they look similar, but you're missing a lot of the puzzle pieces…" She peered up at him. "And when you figure out that being a team player suits your little hat tricks, you come find me and I'll let you in on the grand scheme of things."
His jaw ticked as he looked away. "Until then… You need to return what you stole from Lionel Luthor."
His expression was firm and not at all bending.
She stared a moment longer before coming to her conclusion.
…
It was well past midnight when he got the call.
He snatched up the phone, nerves shot to hell, and found himself worried for more than just Lois' safety. She was his cousin and he loved her but he had to admit she had a way of getting out of tough situations. He didn't know Chloe well enough to say the same. And he really didn't like playing the helpless stand-by.
"How'd it go?" he asked in greeting.
"She's fine," Chloe sighed, sounding exhausted. "A little too interested in a brawl and not very appreciative, but in one piece nonetheless."
He chuckled. "Sounds like my cousin."
"Duly noted," she mused, snarkily.
"So it went off without a hitch then?" He circled his computer and took a seat on his couch, relaxing both from the news that things had worked out and from hearing her voice.
"Actually… I've been meaning to talk to you about something…" She paused a moment before charging forward. "Is there anything particularly interesting about a certain Senator's son?"
Oliver sat forward, on alert, his brows raised high. "Why would you ask that?" he wondered slowly.
She snorted. "Because I've not only run into him during a heist, but also had my masked butt saved by him… You might want to let him know that he has a pretty familiar and not at all forgettable face…" she teased. "I appreciate his saving my bacon, especially since he seems to think I'm on the wrong side of the law, but he's gonna get himself recognized sooner or later."
"Listen, Chloe…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "About Clark-"
"Hey, if I know anything about secrets it's how to keep them," she assured. "Whatever Clark Kent is or can do is his business… I'm just sending out the friendly warning that there are eyes everywhere and they never stop watching. I didn't think outing him would help my case earlier and I think it might mean more coming from you than me, so…"
He nodded. "Thanks… I'll pass it on."
"Good."
"So aside from stopping a kidnapping, how's your night going?"
She chuckled lightly. "Well, I was supposed to head back to Star City this morning and I haven't, so my board has been calling all day; I have a teammate currently eating everything my fridge has to offer; I think I broke a nail saving your cousin; and I'm starving…"
He smiled. "I can't say I'm sorry you're still in Metropolis; I have leftover Chinese here if you're hungry; and since my cousin owes you, I'll be sure to ask if she can recommend a good manicurist."
Her laughter was sweet and full bodied. "It was worth it, I think…"
His brows quirked. "Yeah?"
"Well, I don't have any appropriate clothing for a funeral and I assume it'd cause some uproar if I was offering you moral support when most don't think I even know you. And really, how bad would it look on my superhero persona if I left my critics to hang because of one bad article?"
"Well as long as you're doing it for the right reasons," he mused, grinning.
"You know, I think if I'd met her outside of this whole very confusing situation, I might actually like your cousin."
"I'm hoping you'll get that chance," he offered earnestly. "I know things have been really difficult lately and you said yourself that you're needed back inStarCity-"
"Wanted," she corrected. "Anything that needs doing I can do over video conference, and at worst I take my jet down for the day."
He considered her answer. "You… have a lot of faith in… in whatever it is we're doing here," he admitted.
"I do…" she said, her voice softer. She tacked on quickly, "And I really hope this isn't causing any kind of commitment issues for you."
He shook his head, scratching his temple. "No. Uh, no. I'm not…" His brow wrinkled. "I don't date a lot. I mean, that could sound bad, but…" He sighed. "I've had my fair share of meteor freak girlfriends in high school and it just made more sense to quit with the whole… find your soul mate thing… Not… Not that I'm jumping to conclusions here, just… Look, I grew up with a single-dad who worked too much and the ideal relationship from my line of sight was between Clark's parents…" He leaned forward, dragging a hand down his face. "We haven't even had a proper date but how I feel about you and what I see happening for us, that… That is unexpected but not unwanted."
"Okay…" she breathed. "See I grew up with no parents and a lot of baggage and the kind of suspicious nature that either scares men off or turns up exactly what I expected, showing me a whole lot of less than ideal suitors, so…" He could hear her swallow tightly. "But I like you, Ollie… And I'm putting myself out here on a ledge and really hoping that taking this leap isn't going to result in one very painful face-plant."
He nodded. "I don't know if in this metaphor I'm on the ledge with you or waiting to catch you, but wherever you need me to be, I'm there."
She chuckled. "Good… Really good."
"You are so totally cheesy, mamacita," a male voice interrupted.
"Impulse, what have I told you about using plates?"
"Um, that it's polite?"
"Yes! And…" She sighed. "That was a white carpet… Why are you still wearing your sneakers?"
"I was hungry…" he cried.
Grumbling under her breath, she took a deep breath. "Oliver, I'm sorry, I really have to go. I'm not really off the clock, but I wanted to talk to you about Lois and, well… I guess I got caught up."
"No, it's fine. You're not the only one…" He bit his lip and leaned back against his couch. "Call me tomorrow… We've got a date to plan and I feel like it's never going to happen if we don't cement it."
"I promise," she assured. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Okay, night."
"Goodnight."
Just as he was hanging up, he heard her shout again, "Put down the cranberry juice, Impulse. Do you have any idea how badly that will stain-" She cut herself off with a groan.
"Uh… Oops? Heh."
Shaking his head, Oliver dropped his phone into its cradle and couldn't help but grin widely. The Chloe Effect, he called it. And he didn't mind it one bit.
…
The following morning, Oliver raised a brow as Clark came marching into his apartment. "We've decided knocking is outdated then?"
He half-rolled his eyes. "Have you read The Daily Planet today?"
Taking a drink of his coffee, he lifted a shoulder. "I woke up ten minutes ago. Not all of us can get to Metropolis in a minute flat."
He held it up for him. "Seven stolen artifacts were anonymously returned to the Met, the Tate, and the Lourve…" He shook his head. "I don't get it."
Oliver smirked. "I thought it was obvious… She stole previously stolen goods and gave them back to where they belonged." Standing from his couch, he moved toward his kitchen. "She did what she thought was right. What's confusing about that, Clark?"
"So this woman does a couple good things and she goes from villain to hero overnight?" he asked, unconvinced.
He sighed. "I've researched this, heavily. I even tried to get Lois to do a little more digging." He poured a second cup of coffee for his best friend. "Every time she hits a corrupt tycoon, an anonymous donation to some charity mysteriously appears in the same twenty-four hours… I think you've got her wrong."
He crossed his arms over his chest. "And you don't care how many laws were broken to get it there?"
Oliver slid a steaming mug across the table toward him. "I don't think justice is black and white and I think she's taking a different angle on it, one you don't like…" He shrugged. "I know it's been hard on your mom after what happened; the media are vultures. But I think even she could see some good in this situation."
He sighed, taking the coffee and sitting down. "I don't know…" He looked away. "Look, I didn't call last night and I'm sorry, but… Lois is fine." His brows furrowed. "Wait, you didn't even ask about her…"
"I already knew… Found a message on my phone earlier." He offered a charming smile. "And you know Lois; she always gets out of these scrapes."
"Yeah…" His brows furrowed. "She didn't do it on her own this time though."
"No?" He glanced away and took a seat across from him. "So you flexed your super-powers and got there in time?"
He shook his head. "I did, but somebody beat me to it."
He feigned surprise. "There's another one of you hero-types playing savior to your girl?"
He glared at him. "The Green Arrow Bandit was there."
"Can we drop the bandit part?" he muttered.
Clark rolled his eyes. "Fine, the Green Arrow got there in time to save Lois…"
"Really?" He smirked. "What'd Lois have to say about that?"
He stared pensively down into the mug. "She's still not a fan, but…" He shook his head. "This girl, vigilante or not, she saved Lois when she didn't have to… And she didn't do it for a better headline. She just swooped in and got her out of there."
Oliver tapped down his grin.
"Lois… Well, she was herself and they almost got into a fight…" He shifted in his seat. "I might've helped the Green Arrow get away."
His eyes widened, brows lifted in amusement. "You helped a criminal? I'm shocked!"
Clark frowned at him. "It's not that cut and dry…"
"Then what is it?"
He fiddled with the grip of the mug. "She said some things… about how she wasn't on the same team as the others and I… believed her."
He stared at him searchingly. "Even after all the proof that said different? Before you read that she returned the artifacts and donated all that money?"
He sighed thickly. "I don't think what she's doing is right, but… maybe her intentions were…" He shook his head. "I don't know…"
"No, I get it…" He nodded, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the table. "So what does this mean then? You're a Green Arrow supporter, or…?"
He stared away broodingly. "I don't know yet…"
"I guess we'll see." Oliver lifted his mug in cheers.
So it wasn't a shining approval for the masked heroine, but it was progress. He could live with that. For now.
…
Chloe grinned into the camera. "Since he didn't stop back here to refuel, I assume he's in Star City with you?"
Victor nodded. "And the grocery bill this month is going to make even you stutter."
She shook her head. "It's worth it. I'm just glad that everything is back where it belongs."
Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned back against his desk. "Me too." He raised a brow. "How is everything else going?"
"And by everything else, you mean…?" She shook her head wonderingly.
He snorted. "I read the paper, Chloe… According to Lois Lane of the Metropolis Inquisitor, you had a run-in with her the other night when she was kidnapped by SafeTex…" He glanced down at the paper in his hands. "She not so subtly suggests that you were the reason behind it, and possibly even pulling SafeTex's strings like the master puppeteer she thinks you are. But I think we both know your ego isn't that easily bruised."
Sighing, she leaned back in her chair and fiddled with a pen. "I'm afraid even saving her life didn't make her warm up to me…" She raised her brows. "You think she'd like a gift basket? Maybe exotic cheeses…" she mused.
He chuckled. "Look, are you interested in gaining her approval because you don't like the idea of the media painting you as the bad guy? 'Cause we both knew they probably wouldn't like what you were doing, even if we had a good reason…" He stared at her a long moment. "Or is this really because she's Oliver Queen's cousin and you want her to like you?"
She scowled, groaning as she let her head fall back. "Why is this so hard?"
"Have you even gone on a date yet?"
She pursed her lips. "We've made… plans… to make a date…" Her eyes narrowed. "Does that count?"
He blinked back. "What's holding you up?"
"Work?" She sighed. "Look, I had a lot on my plate and until this was all over with, I really wasn't sure when I'd have a break in my schedule."
"Well it's over now…" He stared at her. "So?"
She chewed her lips. "Okay…" She nodded. "I'm going to have a nice, normal date… with Oliver Queen…"
He grinned. "That's the spirit."
She rolled her eyes, smiling. "Thanks for the pick me up, Vic."
He winked. "Any time."
"Hey…" Bart suddenly popped onto the screen, shoving Victor back and mouth full of sandwich. "What's up, beautiful?"
She glared at him. "I have a carpet cleaner coming tomorrow because of you."
He grinned sheepishly. "My bad."
Shaking her head, she reached for the camera. "Tell AC to call me later. And stay out of trouble." She considered her works and then looked past him. "Victor, please keep Bart out of trouble."
He saluted her, frowning at the youngest team member.
With a chuckle, she turned off the feed and sat back.
Victor was right, it was time they cemented their plans for a date. She blamed her sudden show of nerves on anticipation and not the fear that she might mess it up somehow. She sent out a prayer to the universe that it not suddenly explode so she could have just one night of normalcy. She was fairly sure it didn't hear her.
…
When Lois popped up at his apartment later that afternoon, Oliver was quick to hug her. It wasn't rare for her to get into trouble, actually it happened on a regular basis, but getting that call the night before, hearing her sound so terrified, it struck a chord. He squeezed her tight and shook his head. "Is it safe to say I told you so?"
She scoffed, slapping his shoulder. "Shut up."
Laughing, he drew back. "I read your latest write-up on the Green Arrow… and your harrowing kidnapping."
"Not bad for a rookie, huh?"
He raised a brow, shaking his head. "If I wasn't your cousin and just a little worried about your possible mental damage, I'd say it's kind of incredible…" He took a seat on the arm of his couch. "You know, you have every newspaper in the country calling this girl Green Arrow… She's got quite the following."
Lois rolled her eyes, scoffing. "Yeah, well, so did Charles Manson."
Amused, he shook his head. "I know this is a rare moment for you, but maybe you're overreacting…" He stared seriously. "She's not a killer. If anything, she's got a heroic streak."
"So she saves me, once, and I'm supposed to just throw out all the facts against her?" Shaking her head determinedly, she told him, "Ollie... She's a threat to Metropolis, and I'm not gonna stop until I find out who she is…"
Oliver's jaw ticked and he looked away. As much as he wanted to argue, Lois had her 'dog with a bone' look on her face, which meant she wouldn't let the subject go until she was satisfied with the result, and unfortunately, that would ultimately end with the unmasking of Green Arrow.
He decided then and there that he loved his cousin, but he was going to stop her. If it meant feeding her the wrong information or throwing her off Chloe's trail, he would. This was one mystery Lois Lane didn't need to uncover. He'd just have to find something else to distract her until he figured out a game plan.
[Next: Part VIII.]