Look After You 10/20
banner by: kyra_and_co
Title: Look After You
Chapter: 10/20
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Chloe Sullivan and Oliver Queen
Rating: PG-13 (for now, subject to change)
Word Count: 4,592
Summary: Chloe Sullivan agrees to be the sidekick to Oliver Queen's Green Arrow, but neither one of them realizes that's only the beginning of what fate has in store for them.
Previous Chapters: One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine
When I'm losing my control, the city spins around
You're the only one who knows, you slow it down
-The Fray
Oliver stared at the monitor and wondered what the hell Tess was doing in his elevator.
He hadn’t seen or spoken to her since the day he’d stopped by the Luthor mansion to discuss the article and steal her computer files and he couldn’t imagine she was just dropping by out of the blue to shoot the breeze. Tess always had some kind of agenda.
Her arms were folded over her chest and she was tapping her fingers impatiently against her black coat, her lips set in a thin line. Oliver figured she knew he was watching her and was doing her best not to give anything away aside from her obvious annoyance over being kept waiting. He supposed there was only one way to find out what she wanted. He hastily buttoned his shirt and pressed the release to open the elevator doors.
“Mercy,” he greeted her with a tight smile. “What brings you by?”
Tess’s heels clicked against the floor as she made her way into the penthouse. She glanced around, a token look of disinterest on her face as she took in the sparse furniture. Oliver figured she was comparing it to his place in Star City which had a much more lived in feel to it. But he wasn’t expecting her to make a comment on the décor.
She didn’t. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I would stop by for a chat like you did the other day.” Tess’s tone was casual and detached, but her eyes narrowed when she took in his rumpled clothing. “Am I interrupting something?”
He resisted the urge to scowl at her implication. Oliver wasn’t in the mood to play this particular game with Tess. He wanted to find out what she wanted and send her on her way before Chloe arrived.
“I just got home and I was on my way to the shower.” He walked around the desk and leaned back against it, his tight smile still in place. “But I doubt you’re here to talk about my daily routine since you were pretty clear about not being interested in my life.”
“Correction, I have no interest in your life until you start interfering in mine,” Tess replied. She reached into her purse, pulled out a thick legal contract and held it out to him. “Do you know what this is?”
“Well, it looks like some sort of legal document,” Oliver drawled. His eyes widened in mock surprise. “Are you suing me, Mercy? I’m pretty sure that should be the other way around considering that libelous article you ran about me in the Planet.”
Tess rolled her eyes. “Do you ever take anything seriously, Oliver? You haven’t changed at all,” she spat.
“So you keep telling me,” Oliver muttered. He glanced down at the contract in his hand and tried to wade through some of the legalese to see why Tess was showing it to him. It was a Luthor Corp. business contract. He skimmed further through the document and his eyes fell on the other company name mentioned: Reynolds Technology.
He lifted his eyes from the contract to meet Tess’s and his lips curved into a smirk. “I take it this contract has not been signed,” he said.
She glared at him. “You know damn well that it hasn’t been signed.” Tess snatched the contract from his hands and shoved it back in her purse. “I’ve been working on this deal to buy Reynolds Tech for months and I got a phone call today informing me that the deal was off because the owner signed a contract with Queen Industries.”
Oliver’s smirk grew. “That’s right,” he confirmed.
“You son-of-a-bitch,” Tess snapped. Her eyes burned with barely contained fury. “You gave me that whole song and dance about revenge and then you pull this little stunt. Maybe you’re the one who can’t let go of the past.”
“I let go of the past a long time ago and it certainly has nothing to do with any business decisions I make,” Oliver said. “You’re jumping to conclusions and I should warn you, that’s a bad business practice.” He shook his head like he was disappointed with her.
His condescending tone made her jaw twitch, but Tess wasn’t ready to back down. “Are you actually going to stand here and tell me that you didn’t sabotage my deal to get back at me for the article?”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” Oliver replied. He barely contained the urge to laugh at the doubtful look she shot him. He knew she wasn’t going to believe him no matter what he told her at this point.
He really was telling the truth; he’d known other companies were vying for the contract, but one of his VPs had handled most of the negotiating. He’d asked Oliver to get involved when it was coming down to the wire and it seemed like the CEO was leaning toward another offer. Oliver had sealed the deal while he’d been in Star City, but he hadn’t realized Tess was the other bidder. Of course the new knowledge made the deal that much sweeter as far as he was concerned, even if he had ended up tacking on an additional million to the offer.
“You really should work on this paranoia thing you’ve got going on, Tess.” He lowered his voice dramatically. “It’s not a good look for you.”
“Arrogant and smug is not a good look either,” Tess snapped. She smiled coldly. “Too bad it’s the one you seem to favor.”
Oliver returned her cold smile with one of his own. “Tell me, Tess. What look did your mentor Lex Luthor favor? Before his untimely death of course,” he added.
“Lex was a good man,” Tess replied. Her eyes narrowed again and he could see that she was carefully slipping back into her control mode. “The world was a better place when he was in it and I’m going to do everything in my power to maintain his legacy.”
That’s what Oliver was afraid of.
“I don’t think you have any idea what kind of man Lex was,” Oliver said. He folded his arms over his chest and watched her face closely for a reaction as he continued. “He wasn’t some noble businessman who wanted to save the world, Mercy. He wanted to run it and he didn’t care who he had to hurt or kill to get his way.”
Her eyes flashed, but she kept her voice neutral when she spoke. “The man is dead, Oliver. You really should let go of this schoolboy grudge you have against him. I won’t let you slander his good name.”
Oliver snorted. “Schoolboy grudge?” he muttered, staring at her in disbelief. “Is that what Lex told you? Come on, Mercy. I know you’re smarter than that. How could you fall for all of his lies?” he asked.
“You mean the way I fell for yours?” Tess countered.
He bristled internally, but Oliver kept himself from taking the bait. “He killed his own father, Tess. What does that tell you about the kind of man Lex Luthor was?”
“Lionel’s death was ruled an accident,” Tess reminded him. She raised an eyebrow. “If I remember correctly, you didn’t exactly have nice things to say about him either. What is it with you and the Luthors, Oliver?” she asked.
“What can I say, Tess?” Oliver shrugged. He hadn’t shed any tears when he found out that Lionel had taken a header out of his office window. Nor did he doubt for one second that Lex had been the one to give him a push. It was too much of a coincidence to believe the younger man rushed in seconds after his father fell. But he wasn’t about to get into any of that with Tess.
“I guess evil masterminds who conspire to take over the world just don’t sit right with me. I call that being normal,” he added.
Tess didn’t respond. Instead, she walked forward, closing the distance between them until she was standing right in front of him. His eyes widened in surprise and he waited for her to speak. Without warning, she reached around him and picked up the picture of Oliver and his parents.
Confused, he watched her as she stared at the picture in her hands. He knew she’d seen it before since he had a copy at his penthouse in Star City. “What are you doing?” he asked.
Tess ignored his question for a moment and continued studying the picture. “You’re pretty quick to throw stones, Oliver, but what about your parents and their connection to the Luthor family?” she asked.
Oliver reached out to take the picture from her, the familiar lump forming in his throat as he looked down at his parents’ faces. “They were business associates. Nothing more,” he said.
Tess’s hand closed over his wrist and he lifted his gaze to hers. If it were anyone else, he would assume it was a gesture of comfort, but that wasn’t really Tess’s thing. Her eyes held his. “Are you sure there wasn’t more to their connection?” she asked quietly.
He stared at her, wondered what she was hinting at. Oliver knew Tess well enough to know that she didn’t just make idle comments. She was obviously referring to something specific. If she knew something about his parents and was keeping it from him…Oliver swallowed hard and tried to hold onto his own control. It wouldn’t do him any good to start yelling at Tess.
“Do you know something about my parents?” he asked finally. His eyes searched hers for some clue as to what she was talking about, but she gave nothing away. “This isn’t something I take lightly, Mercy. You know that,” he reminded her.
He saw the hesitation on her face and the briefest flash of sympathy in her eyes before she chased it away and her eyes hardened once again. Tess opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of the elevator distracted her. She turned her head as the doors opened and watched Chloe walk out carrying a large takeout bag.
“Ollie, how much food did you order?” Chloe called. She had run into the delivery guy outside and the bag was way too heavy to just be the standard two dishes they usually ordered. She shifted the bag and her smile disappeared instantly as her eyes fell on Oliver and Tess.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you had company,” she said. Chloe glanced at Oliver uncertainly. He looked like he was a million miles away and she couldn’t quite read the look on his face. She didn’t like how close Tess was standing to him and her feeling of dread grew when she saw Tess’s hand wrapped around his wrist. Oliver wasn’t exactly shoving her away. Before she could find an excuse to turn and flee, Chloe saw Oliver’s rumpled shirt.
It wasn’t buttoned correctly.
Chloe suddenly felt sick to her stomach and the aroma coming from the bag in her hands wasn’t helping. How could she have been so stupid? She wanted nothing more than to turn and run back the way she came, but that would only make the situation that much worse.
“Chloe,” Tess said. A slow, knowing smile spread over her face when she saw the hurt look in Chloe’s eyes. “I certainly didn’t expect to see you here. I didn’t even realize the two of you knew each other.”
“It’s a small world, Ms. Mercer,” Chloe replied. She wanted nothing more than to slap that look right off the bitch’s face, but she wasn’t really in the position to do so. Tess was the one holding Oliver’s hand and she was just standing there with the food in hers. She might as well have been the delivery person.
Chloe felt like such an idiot. She’d actually started to let herself believe that Oliver had feelings for her.
Oliver seemed to snap out of his trance and quickly pulled his hand away from Tess. He walked over to Chloe, still holding onto the picture of his parents. “Let me take that,” he offered. He reached for the bag and his fingers brushed over hers as he willed her to look at him.
“I’ve got it,” Chloe insisted. She tried to ignore the pain that shot through her when he touched her. She took a step back from him and clutched the bag tighter. She kept her gaze focused on his chest, trying to ignore the way his shirt was buttoned as she spoke. “I’ll just put this in the kitchen and let you two get back to whatever it is you were doing.”
“Chloe,” Oliver started. He knew exactly what this looked like and the smile on Tess’s face was not helping the situation. If Chloe would just look at him, he knew he could make her understand that there was nothing going on.
“It’s fine, Oliver,” Chloe replied sharply. She forced herself to smile like she didn’t have a care in the world. The last thing she wanted was to give Tess Mercer any more satisfaction than she already had. “Just let me know when you’re finished and we can go over that thing we talked about.”
Tess smirked as she watched the small blonde practically run for the kitchen. She turned back to Oliver and saw him staring off in the direction Chloe had disappeared. “Chloe Sullivan,” she said. “Really, Oliver?”
Oliver pinned her with a cold stare. His patience with Tess was long gone. “My relationship with Chloe is none of your business.” His tone held more than a hint of warning.
“Relationship?” Tess laughed. “Is that the term you’re going with these days?” She shook her head. “Oliver, do you really think sleeping with every reporter in town is going to keep them from writing articles about you?”
His jaw tightened with tension as he moved closer to her. “I mean it, Tess. I am not discussing Chloe with you. What do you know about my parents and the Luthors?” he demanded.
Tess ignored his warning. “She’s a cub reporter who is too nosy for her own good. She’s not exactly the type of woman who would fall on your radar,” she commented.
Oliver glared at her. “Are you going to answer my question or should I just show you the door now? I have better things to do than play this game with you.”
“Like Chloe Sullivan?” Tess sneered.
His remaining control snapped. To keep himself from strangling her, Oliver walked to the elevator and pressed the button to open the door. He pulled the gate back and looked at Tess. His eyes were dark. “Get out.”
Tess stared at him in disbelief before her bored expression snapped back into place. “Fine, I’ll leave you to play house with your little…friend. But think about what I said, Oliver.” She gestured to the picture in his hands. “You should take your own advice about jumping to conclusions.”
He pulled the gate closed and Tess pressed the button in the elevator to shut the doors. Oliver’s eyes shifted to the photo in his hands and he tried to figure out what Tess was getting at. He knew his father had done business with Lionel Luthor and his parents had probably associated with the family at social gatherings just like he and Lex had done in the past. But he had a hard time believing there was more to it than that.
Oliver sighed and placed the picture back on his desk before heading down the hall to see how much damage control he was going to have to do to salvage his evening with Chloe. He figured the hardest part was going to be getting her to look at him.
***
In the kitchen, Chloe had been pacing back and forth as she cursed herself for being stupid enough to think that there was a chance she and Oliver could be more than friends. She had run through every minute they had spent together since she officially started her Watchtower job in her mind and tried to figure out if she’d been imagining the way he looked at her or the way he touched her when he didn’t have to or the flirty comments he made.
Or the way he’d pressed her up against the island, Chloe thought. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the spot like it had personally offended her. She’d written it off at the time as a joke, but she hadn’t stopped thinking about that moment and wondering if just maybe he was being serious and he had just let her think he was joking.
“That doesn’t even make sense,” Chloe muttered. Why would he let her think he was joking if he’d been serious? Oliver was just a flirt by nature.
She turned away from the island and looked at the table Oliver had set. She’d dropped the bag of food in the middle next to the bottle of wine he’d left there. Chloe scowled. The crazy part of her brain probably thought having wine with dinner was part of the ambiance of the fake romantic evening she’d been imagining. Too bad she recalled their phone conversation where Oliver had said he needed wine after the rough days he’d been having.
“That makes two of us,” Chloe said. She started to pace the kitchen again and wondered if Tess was having a good laugh at her expense. Bitch. She really wished Lois had managed to find something to bring her down a peg or two.
Lois.
Chloe’s eyes narrowed. This was all her fault! Her cousin was the one who had been insisting that there was something going on between them and that they had to be more than just friends who worked together. She’d even managed to convince Clark and the two of them had gotten into her head and made her crazy. She was going to murder both of them.
“Chloe.”
The sound of Oliver’s voice halted her pacing and she slowly turned around to face him. He stood in the doorway watching her with a concerned look in his brown eyes. At least she assumed it was a concerned look, Chloe thought. If tonight had taught her anything, it was that she didn’t know Oliver as well as she thought she did. Really, she didn’t know him at all because the Oliver she thought she knew wouldn’t want anything to do with Tess.
How could he want to be with Tess? The woman was clearly a psychopath who was hell bent on picking up exactly where Lex Luthor left off. She knew he felt guilty for the way he ended their relationship, but Chloe couldn’t believe he was still carrying a torch for her after everything that had happened.
“Do you think you can save her? Is that what this is about?” Chloe asked.
Oliver blinked in surprise and Chloe realized she had actually said that last part out loud. “Chloe,” he started again.
“Don’t,” Chloe warned. She held up her hand when he began to move toward her. She needed him to keep his distance. “You might want to fix your shirt,” she suggested coolly.
“What?” Oliver looked down and realized he had skipped a button in his haste. He rolled his eyes and started undoing the buttons. “I was on my way to take a shower when Tess got here and I just buttoned it wrong because I was in a hurry,” he explained.
“You don’t owe me any explanations,” Chloe said. She turned away from him as more of his smooth skin became visible. The last thing she needed was to get distracted by how gorgeous he was.
Ugh, stop thinking that way, she ordered herself.
“Chloe, will you please look at me? I’d rather not have this conversation with the back of your head,” Oliver said.
She whirled around and was irritated to see that he’d simply left his shirt unbuttoned. How shallow did he think she was? “We don’t need to have any conversation, Oliver.” Chloe gestured to the table. “You should eat before it gets cold. It’s already late and you should patrol tonight. I’m not that hungry, so I’m going to do some research on this Lionel angle. I don’t really have any information yet.”
Chloe tried to slip past him, but Oliver slung an arm around her waist to stop her. He effortlessly lifted her onto the island and held her hips in place as she struggled against his grip. He leaned down so his eyes were level with hers.
“Are you done calling me names in your head because I want to be sure you’re paying attention,” Oliver said. He looked at her expectantly.
She opened her mouth to protest, but the look on his face told her it was pointless. “Fine,” she said simply.
Oliver nodded. “Pay attention,” he repeated.
He crushed his mouth to hers before she could blink. The kiss wasn’t soft, there was no finesse. His lips moved hungrily over hers and when she gasped in surprise, Oliver’s tongue moved into her mouth to stroke hers.
Chloe’s brain stopped functioning the second his lips touched hers.
Oliver pulled back abruptly and watched her eyes fly open in shock. “I’m not sure I made my point,” he said.
He lowered his lips to hers again. He ravished her mouth, shifting from gentle warmth to raging heat. She let out a small noise from the back of her throat and her hands reached out, gripping the sides of his shirt and tugging him closer. His hands were still on her hips and his fingers gently kneaded her flesh as his tongue explored the depths of her mouth.
The kiss broke when they were both gasping for air. Oliver lightly rubbed his nose against hers. “Clear enough for you, Sidekick?” he asked.
“I…” Chloe wasn’t sure she was capable of intelligent speech at that moment. She wasn’t sure if she would ever be again. She swallowed hard and tried to get her breathing under control. “Ollie.”
“My name on your lips is a good start,” Oliver teased. He skimmed his mouth along her neck, pressing kisses against her skin until he caught her earlobe between his teeth and her entire body trembled.
“Stop,” Chloe said. If he kept touching her, she was going to melt into a puddle of goo and become completely useless. She went to push him back and realized her hands were still fisted around the halves of his shirt. She dropped the material and placed a hand on his chest. “We should talk about this,” she said.
“That was my original plan,” Oliver replied. He couldn’t resist dropping another kiss to her lips. “But then Lois said something about hitting you over the head and I decided that was the better option.”
“Lois?” Chloe tried to clear her fuzzy brain. “You talked to Lois about this?” she asked.
“Actually, she came to talk to me,” Oliver corrected. “She wanted to know what my intentions were with her cousin.”
“Your intentions?” Chloe rolled her eyes. She wasn’t sure what movie Lois thought they were living in, but she was going to have a long talk with her cousin about boundaries. She smiled at the obvious amusement in Oliver’s eyes. “What was your answer?” she asked.
“Well, I left off the part about tossing you on my kitchen counter and kissing you senseless,” Oliver said. “But I did enjoy that.” He kissed her again.
She smiled against his lips. “Ollie, this isn’t talking,” she pointed out.
“Oh, are we still on that?” Oliver’s lips moved down the column of her neck.
Chloe tilted her head to give him better access and her fingertips threaded through his hair. “Ollie.” She was trying for a warning, but his name came out of her mouth in a breathy moan. “Stop distracting me.”
Oliver ignored her, brushing his lips over hers again. He gently lifted her off the counter and set her back on her feet. “If you really want to talk, why don’t we sit down and eat?” he suggested.
“Good idea,” Chloe agreed. She needed space between his lips and her skin if she was going to concentrate. “Maybe you should tell me why Tess was here.”
Oliver shook his head and pulled out her chair. “We’ll talk about Tess later. It was a business matter that veered into our other business.” He waited for her to sit down and pushed her chair closer to the table before he started unpacking the food.
Chloe frowned. She assumed “our other business” meant their hero and sidekick line of work. “Ollie…”
He held up a hand and placed some Bruschetta on her plate before adding some to his own. He opened the next container which held stuffed artichokes and divided them between their plates as well. “No work talk at the dinner table,” he said.
Chloe’s mouth was already watering as she watched him open the remaining containers. There was chicken parmesan, baked gnocchi and tiramisu for dessert. “Is Bart joining us?” she asked.
Oliver laughed as he poured the wine before he settled into his chair across from her. “No, but I thought it would be nice to have a selection. We can always eat the leftovers tomorrow.”
“Everything looks great,” Chloe said. She smiled and her heart thudded against her ribs when she saw the intense way he was looking at her across the table. She bit her lip, turning her attention to her food and wondered why she was suddenly so nervous.
Oliver had kissed her. He had kissed her a lot. She felt herself blushing at the memory.
“Chloe.” Oliver reached over and took her hand in his and waited for her to look at him. “I want to be with you. I’ve wanted this for awhile,” he admitted.
She smiled, his words warming her heart. “I want this too, Ollie.” She hesitated.
“But?” he prompted.
Chloe paused, not sure how to say what was on her mind without offending him.
Oliver brought her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. “Chloe, you know you can say anything to me.”
She bit her lip and shifted her gaze to their joined hands. “I don’t want to lose you and I’m not exactly good at being in relationships.”
“Neither am I,” Oliver admitted. He squeezed her hand until she looked into his eyes again. “But things are already different with us, Chloe. There are no secrets,” he pointed out.
Chloe nodded. “It’s still a risk,” she said.
“Everything we do is a risk,” Oliver countered. He stood up, not letting go of her hand as he walked around the table and crouched down beside her chair. “Chloe, I’m asking you to give us a chance.”
“Ollie.”
He kissed her knuckles lightly. “Before you answer, I should warn you that if you say no, I’m going to harass you night and day until you change your mind.”
Chloe laughed and felt some of the tension leave her body. The familiar gleam in his eyes told her that he wasn’t kidding about the harassment. She sighed dramatically. “Well, since I know how busy you are with your two jobs, I suppose I can save you the trouble.” She reached out with her free hand and stroked his cheek. “I’m in,” she said softly.
“Good,” Oliver replied. He captured her lips with his.
Eleven.