Fanfic: In Our Hands - Chlollie
Title: In Our Hands
Authors: slytherinpunk and sxymami0909
Rating: M for Mature (eventually NC-17)
Summary: “The palms’ don’t lie, Oliver.” Zatanna acclaimed as he snatched his hand away from her grip, “You have a son."
Spoilers: Canon til Season 10 episode 3... And goes AU from there (Oliver never revealed himself as Green Arrow, and Tess never ran Watchtower) runs with the timeline of the five years of Superman Returns.
Pairings: Chlollie
Status: 7/?
Previous Chapters: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six
Disclaimer: We do not own Smallville, nor do we claim to own any other characters therefore owned by DC Comics or CW network.
Fic Banner by: dhfreak
Chapter Banners by: sanaazzy
Special Thanks to: dhfreak and sanaazzy for contributing their art skills to this story.
Dedicated to: The wonderful sanaazzy who fell in love with this fic when I shared the first few chapters, and for never letting me give up on this story, even after brainstorming and failing for a year. Thank you so much for everything. ♥
Chapter Seven
Oliver had been unusually quiet when they had returned to the watchtower after Victor’s call. He had only had a few questions, but mostly just let Victor explain what he had found while they were out, with answering the occasional question from Hal. Apparently, during watchtowers main computer scanning through all international aliases, it found one with a facial recognition match to Chloe’s. The only reason the computer had even started a facial recognition test, was because the documents used by the aliases, including a false University teaching degree from the United States, Victor had explained, had been flagged by watchtower’s database.
The female teacher was instructing a Computer Tech and software class at a University in Frankfurt am Main, the largest city in the Hesse state of Germany. And not only did the facial recognition match nearly one-hundred percent to the bone structure and facial similarities to the teacher’s work identification card, but when Victor ran a background check, he found her history completely polished, and that she had a son, non too coincidentally around the same age that they believed Oliver’s son to be.
Through all the technical words, and explanations, Oliver had barely heard anything over the pounding of his heart through his ears. He could barely grasp anything other than Victor had found them. Eventually, when Hal and Victor shook him from the haze and ran through the details again, Victor had asked if Oliver had wanted to see the school picture of his son that Vic had found while going through Chloe’s alias’s known files. Hal had gripped his shoulder, letting Oliver know he was there for him, but Oliver had politely declined. The first time he laid eyes on his son, he wanted it to be in person.
So he called Bruce Wayne, extruding a personal favor from him and acquired Bruce’s personal, non-company labeled jet. Oliver didn’t want to alert Chloe to his presence by having the media make a circus of Oliver Queen’s jet landing in the airport. He needed to have the upper hand and make sure nothing he did spooked her, or their trail could go cold again. Once the flight had been organized, he thanked Victor and Hal repeatedly before rushing home to pack before Bruce Wayne’s jet arrived at the airport.
The flight had been long, but he couldn’t find the ability to will himself to sleep. He was half afraid by the time the jet landed and he tracked her down to the address Victor had given him, he would be too late only to find the place empty. Instead of focusing on the negative, he had tried to figure out what he would say to Chloe after all these years... After finally seeing, in person, the biggest secret she had kept from him. Suddenly the millions of dollars she had stolen for Kryptonian weapons seemed like nothing.
He was beyond angry with her, and knew he had a right to be. But he didn’t want that side of him to be the first thing he displayed in front of their child. During the jet ride, and the town car drive to the address Victor had supplied him with, he had spent his time going over every possible scenario in his head. And as he stood across the street now, looking at the door to the address he was given, he finally made his decision for what he believed was the best course of action.
Taking a deep breath, he looked both ways before crossing the street and stopped just at the end of the bottom of the stairs before the townhouse. He took another encouraging breath, taking the steps up slowly as he prepared himself, unsure who he should be expecting to answer the door. His heart felt heavy, almost as if it had dropped into his stomach at the fear of some unknown male answering instead of Chloe or a small boy, and Oliver squared his shoulders as he inhaled again.
His hand balled into a fist as he lifted it, and hesitated as he brought it in front of the door, a last wave of panic running through him, having him wonder if he was sure he had the right place. Before he could tap his fist against the wood, the door opened suddenly, a dark haired boy with freckles about to charge out when he paused, taking notice of Oliver as he lifted his head and stared up at him with wide dark eyes.
Oliver froze, not only was he caught off guard but the boy was not quite how he had imagined him. And he briefly wondered again if the address was correct before the fear settled in that he had been wrong to guess Chloe as the mother of his child.
He noticed the boy staring up at him cautiously, as if he was afraid to move and Oliver swallowed nervously, “Uh, hallo...” He greeted the child in German, unsure if he spoke English. He tried to glance around the door to see into the house, but the hallway was dark compared to the bright day outside and he couldn’t really see anything else.
The boy blinked, before turning slightly to holler into the house, and Oliver flinched, wondering who he should be expecting when another boy came running over. He stepped closer to the door, looking at the brunette haired boy before turning to regard Oliver, and Oliver could now see the boy was around the same height, clearly the same age as the darker haired boy, but those were the only similarities. The new boy to emerge had sandy blond hair and deep green eyes, and Oliver found his mouth going dry as he stared down at him, immediately noticing the likeness he held to a younger version of himself.
The blond boy nodded toward the other, who ran past Oliver’s side and took off down the steps and down the street, shouting goodbye and Oliver turned back to see the blond young man raising an eyebrow at him.
“Mom!” The boy called in perfect English, “Nickolaus went home and there’s a man on our doorstep!”
Chloe chuckled from inside the house at her son's bellowing as she moved out of the kitchen and towards the front door while speaking, her tone teasing, "A man you say... Well, do we know him?" She caught sight of Connor and moved forward a smile on her face until she caught sight of the man on her porch.
The color drained from Chloe's face, her heartbeat frantically slamming against her chest as she met a pair of deep brown eyes she hadn't seen in seven years. She sucked in a deep breath, her hand gripping the door, knuckles white as she stood there at a complete loss for words.
Oliver... How in Gods name had he found her?--She'd been so careful... She swallowed hard, trying to moisten her throat so she could say something... Anything, but nothing happened as a mixture of fear and anxiety shot through her.
Oliver felt his jaw clamp shut as Chloe came into view, successfully knocking the air from his lungs. She still looked beautiful to him, her blond hair still kept in short waves that framed her heart shaped face, and his heart clenched painfully beneath his chest, the sight of her forcing his body to remember the pain she had inflicted to him. And only when he remembered the circumstances, did he allow himself the inner satisfaction when Chloe visibly froze at the sight of him.
“Long time no see, Chloe,” Oliver greeted dryly.
Connor’s brows furrowed as he glimpsed up at his mother, “You know him?”
Chloe opened and shut her mouth quickly before glancing down at her son and giving him a small smile, attempting to keep the strain from her voice. She had known something strange was going on for the past few days, but she'd become slightly complacent over the years. When a notification popped up on her computer a few days ago, she assumed it was someone from work looking into her background. She had no idea it was Oliver.
"Yes... He's--” Chloe paused as her eyes drifted back to Oliver, her words soft, but her posture still tense as she spoke, "An old friend... From when I used to live in America... I've told you about living there before remember?"
“Yeah.” Connor nodded, but turned his eyes back to Oliver, throwing him a suspicious glance, “So you’re my mom’s old friend?”
A corner of Oliver’s mouth twitched as he dropped Chloe’s gaze and stared down at the young boy, “Yeah, we have a long, long history.” His eyes lifted back up to meet Chloe’s, “Isn’t that right, Chloe?”
She glared at Oliver for a minute before it was gone in favor of a neutral look when she caught Connor's eyes on her. "That's right... Oliver..." Her voice faltering when his name left her lips. It was a name she hadn't said in so long that she'd almost forgotten what it sounded like.
"Was a friend of a friend... We worked together for a bit." She turned her head toward Connor with a smile, "Why don't you go finish cleaning up the other room? I know there was still a bunch of stuff on the floor when I made my way in here."
Connor started to shake his head, opening his mouth about to protest when Oliver stepped closer, “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
Chloe's hand didn't move from the side of the door, her grip only tightened. She knew what he was doing and she wanted to say no, to tell him to leave, but that would lead to way too many questions from Connor. She met Oliver's eyes, the angry expression in hers clear as day to him.
Her jaw was tense, but she offered him a fake smile, "Of course. Connor, go clean up your mess please... Now. And then you can meet us in the kitchen, alright?" She glanced at her son, eyebrows raised.
“Alright,” Connor agreed, glancing one more time up at Oliver before ducking behind his mom and back into the house.
Oliver waited till he couldn’t see the boy anymore, and then he nodded past Chloe with a clenched jaw, “Cute kid.” He tilted his head at her, “Looks a little too tall to be five... Would you say he’s about six or seven years old?”
Chloe skipped the pleasantries, still not moving away from the door, her tone clipped, eyes hardening at his words as she glanced briefly in the direction Connor had gone before looking back at Oliver, "How'd you find me?"
Oliver lifted an eyebrow, “Really? Seven years and a son I didn’t know I had and thats all you have to say for yourself?” He shook his head, “You’re some piece of work, Chloe.”
She glared at him fury in her eyes, "I'm a piece of work? What about you? Just showing up here after seven years... You could have called, oh but wait let me guess, you thought I'd pick up my son and leave right?"
She shook her head, arms crossing over her chest, "Maybe it's what I would have done in the past, but it's been six years, Oliver... I've changed... And I wouldn't just rip Connor's life out from under him because of a phone call."
Chloe swallowed hard, her voice ten times more sure then she actually was. All these years and she had always planned to tell him about Connor, but she could never bring herself to do it. Not after everything she saw... She couldn't put herself or Connor out there to get hurt.
She might have loved Oliver, but Connor was her son... The most important thing in her life and she couldn't do that to him. She couldn't attempt to bring a father into his life who was just eventually going to leave them. But she could see the hurt in his eyes buried behind the anger and her stomach clenched with guilt, her pulse frantically erratic as she stared at the one man she never thought she'd see again.
Oliver glowered at her as he took a step closer to her, his words barely above a whisper, “Our son, and you better get used to saying it, because I’m not going anywhere.” He towered over her, his stomach tensing at their proximity, “Now invite me in before I call Lois and Clark and tell them where you are and what you’ve been hiding all these years.”
Chloe straightened up, her entire body tensing, but her eyes held his, never wavering from his face, voice completely calm as she spoke quietly, "Listen to me closely Oliver, because this is the only time I'll say it. Do not come to my home and threaten me. I'm sure you're angry and... You have a right to be. If you showed up here because you found out about Connor and you want to be a part of his life... I can understand that... But I don't respond well to provocation. If you expect to get within ten feet of our son, your attitude better change drastically. You might have found me, but you are not the one calling the shots here. Do you hear me?" She made sure he was looking directly at her when the last words fell from her lips.
Though you wouldn't be able to tell from her voice, Chloe felt awkward, her angry words out of place. Even when they were together they'd never really fought and traded harsh words with each other. She felt horrible for saying it because in reality she most likely would never do that to him, but for him to come there, barge in on her life, and threaten her... It was too much for her to handle all at once, and being unprepared for the first time in a long time made her feel terrified.
Oliver’s gaze hardened, “Don’t make me regret not just coming in here and pulling him out of here.” It wasn’t his intention to be mean, he had been determined to be civilized but something he had learned about Chloe, was while she used to bring out the best in him, for the past six years she had only brought out the worst in him.
“I’m not here to disrupt the life you two have, we’ll take things slow, and be civilized.” He bit the inside of his cheek, “But you’re not calling the shots anymore, Chloe. And yeah, I kind of think you owe me that much.”
She shook her head, the calm completely gone from her tone, "Oh and that comment is supposed to make me invite you in? Don't threaten me, Oliver and act like you’re doing me some kind of favor by not ripping Connor from his home. He wouldn't go with you even if you tried to take him from me. But thanks for the civility... You're doing real great with that,” she shook her head and glanced behind her briefly when she heard a noise.
She lowered her voice as she turned back towards Oliver, "I'm his mother... I'm the only person he knows and before you throw in my face how that is my own fault, let me point out that does mean I'm calling the shots."
Chloe hadn't been this frustrated in seven years. She didn't fight with people, she barely had contact with people outside of her job and Connor's school and friends. But less than a half hour in Oliver's presence and all the anger and pain she'd been holding in for the past six years came rushing back.
She took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose before eyeing him wearily, voice holding less venom then a moment ago, "Now that you know about him... I wouldn't... Tell you that you can't get to know him... I'm not that heartless of a person though right now you obviously think differently. But throwing around things like making you regret not coming here and pulling him away from me isn't going to get you very far. It's been a long time... But let me give you some advise... Threatening to take a son away from his Mother, it's not something you want to play at Oliver, even if it is just something to say because you're angry. I guarantee you. Do not make this into a fight because it's one you won't win."
He frowned down at her, “Not heartless? Yeah, I’d say the past seven years are evidence against that statement.” Oliver took a step back from her, too angry to be too close to her, “And I assure you, Chloe... I’m not threatening. And I wouldn’t run off and disappear with him--Thats your signature move.”
Before Oliver could open his mouth again Connor was walking up behind Chloe, giving him and his mother a questioning look, “Mom, I’m done... Why are you still talking on the porch?”
The glare on Chloe's face completely dissipated before she turned to face Connor. "It's a beautiful day out sweetheart we were just enjoying the weather," she ruffled his hair lightly and smiled. "We're about to come inside now though," she moved aside slowly, leaving the door open for Oliver, but didn’t face him.
She spoke over her shoulder, her voice not friendly, but not angry as she addressed Oliver, "Shut the door behind you," before guiding Connor into the kitchen.
Oliver didn’t say anything, instead he closed the door and followed them into their home. His eyes scanning the rooms, frequently catching glimpses of photographs of both Connor, and Connor with Chloe over the years hanging on the walls as he headed into the kitchen.
Connor moved to sit down at the table, casting a curious look up at Oliver who remained standing under the archway. He widened his green eyes and nodded toward the table, “Are you going to sit?”
Oliver stole a glance at Chloe out of the corner of his eyes, silently asking her for permission.
She pursed her lips, but nodded before turning her eyes back on Connor and moving towards the fridge, "You hungry Con? How about a snack?" She kept her back to the kitchen table trying to keep her breathing calm and not focus on the fact that Oliver was sitting less than ten feet away from her at her table in her home.
Chloe pulled out two glasses and filled them with ice water before walking back to the table and placing one in front of Oliver without looking at him. She raised an eyebrow at Connor who was watching her closely as she took a sip from her water, "Sweetie... Snack?"
Connor’s eyes moved away from her, to Oliver and then back again, “Yes please...”
She nodded glad to have something to do, "What do you want?"
He tilted his head in consideration as he tapped his fingers on the table, “Um... Cheese sticks?”
She smiled and moved to the fridge, pulling open the door and reached into one of the drawers to grab two cheese sticks. Chloe was moving out of the fridge when she paused and swallowed, "Do you want one?" Her voice was quiet as she addressed Oliver, but her eyes still refused to meet his as she spoke.
Oliver couldn’t stop staring at the small boy beside him, “What?” He was confused slightly, and Connor frowned up at him.
“Cheese stick.” Connor said simply, “Do you want one?” He seemed to spell out in a tone that sounded more like an annoyed teenager.
“Oh,” Oliver replied in a daze before shaking his head, “No thank you.”
Chloe moved back over to the table, handing Connor his cheese stick as she sat down next to him before taking another long sip of her water. She cleared her throat as she started to pull the plastic off the cheese, "Did you have fun with Nickolaus?"
Connor nodded, “Yeah, we were practicing.”
Oliver licked his lips, nervous to speak but eager to know... Everything. “What were you practicing?”
“Football,” Connor replied as he started to pull back the string cheese. “Also known as soccer in the States.”
Oliver looked to Chloe, an eyebrow arched before he glimpsed back at Connor, “How long have you been playing?”
A sigh escaped Connor before he looked up at the stranger in his kitchen, “Since I was five.”
Oliver gave a short nod, “And how old are you now?”
The child gave him a look of disbelief, “I’ll be seven December seventeenth.”
Oliver fought to hide his smirk, but it was futile. He was too amused that he and Chloe had unintentionally made an archer.
Chloe glanced between the two of them sitting at the table and her breath hitched slightly. How many times had she pictured this? Pictured them together as a family? It had been silly and she never expected to see the day where they'd actually all be in a room together. And now... Here they were, even if the circumstances were far from good.
Her voice was soft as her heartbeat pounded in her ears, "Connor's very active in sports."
They both turned to face her, but she kept her eyes on the cheese stick in front of her as she pulled another piece off. It was a random comment, but Chloe had to say something. The tension in the room was thick and she was doing her best to make it go away because Connor was already starting to look suspicious.
Oliver’s eyes fell on the boy, extreme pride welling in his chest, replacing the anger he had felt infesting him moments ago.
“Why are you here?”
Oliver blinked, “What do you mean? Your mom explained how we knew each other.” He glanced at Chloe and laughed nervously before looking back at Connor, “I’m just visiting an old friend...”
Connor narrowed his eyes and Oliver got the first real glimpse of the bit of Chloe so obviously present in their son, “Germany is a long way from the States just to come over to visit.” A small blond eyebrow arched above green eyes, “Wouldn’t a phone call have been easier?”
Chloe swallowed hard and glanced at their son, "Conner... Don't be rude." He met his Mother's eyes and she gave him a stern look, her tone light, "We haven't seen each other in a while. I'm sure Oliver felt a visit was more appropriate than a phone call." She was obviously going to have to try harder not to seem so out of place with Oliver there because apparently she wasn't fooling their six year old son.
Connor wasn’t entirely convinced, but decided to let the issue go for now and mumbled an apology and Oliver rested his arms on the table, “It’s okay, you’re just as curious as your mother.”
Chloe wasn't exactly sure what to do. It wasn't everyday that her ex and father of her son showed up on her door step. She glanced at the clock and bit her bottom lips before addressing Connor, "It's getting late Con, I'm going to start getting dinner ready..." She paused, standing slowly as she took a deep breath and turned towards the sink.
She pushed the handle up letting the water flow over the glass as her heart clenched at the next words that left her mouth, "Why don't you show Oliver your room while I'm doing that?”
Connor finished the last of his cheese and stared at his mother for a moment before nodding and moving out of his chair, “Okay.” He looked back at Oliver with a bored expression on his face as he waited for him to get up and follow him.
Oliver stood from his chair and looked at Chloe, a bit of doubt in his eyes, “Are you sure?”
She didn't turn to face him, because the truth was, no she wasn't sure, but Oliver deserved to know his son, so before she could second guess herself she wiped her hands on the towel and shifted to the fridge passing Oliver on the way, her tone was clipped, but not mean as she spoke quietly so Connor didn't over hear her words while pulling the door open.
"Well you've made it more than clear I'm the last person you want to see so wasting your time in the kitchen with me wouldn't really be productive would it?" Chloe hoped her tone hadn't been as shaky as it sounded to her own ears as she pulled out a tray of lasagna and headed toward the stove attempting to keep her distance from Oliver.
Oliver sighed, already feeling exhausted from only being there for a half hour, “Chloe...”
She closed her eyes at the tired tone of his voice. She took a deep breath and schooled her features carefully before finally turning around to face him, their eyes meeting briefly before she averted them to focus on something that wasn't him.
She gave him a forced smile that nowhere near reached her eyes, "It's the truth, and it's fine. Go ahead... I think you'll be surprised with what you find there."
Oliver didn’t move right away. His first instinct being to wrap his arms around her and try to sooth the tension between them. It took all his strength, and the cold and bitter reminder that she had kept their child a secret, to remind him why he couldn’t go to her and ease her the way he used to. And he wasn’t sure if that left him or her more hurt.
Taking a deep breath, he decided it was better to put some distance between them, and let them try to relax for a moment from the tense circumstances they were in. Nodding once, he turned and followed their son, letting the boy lead them out of the kitchen, down the hallway and to a stair case they started to climb.
Now that they were alone without the Chloe’s presence and their long history acting as a large barrier between them, Oliver allowed himself to look over every detail that encompassed their son. His blond hair was cropped short, the top styled up in a manner Oliver still wore himself.
Connor seemed tall for his age, Oliver estimated around forty-nine, maybe fifty-one inches. Their son’s hair was flaxen, lighter than his and Chloe’s, but Oliver also remembered his hair being about the same tone when he was around the same age.
His skin was tan, darker than Chloe’s, something Oliver assumed meant Connor had been sun-kissed from hours of playing outside in the sun all day, kicking around a ball and enjoying being a kid. Their six year old’s eyes were all Chloe, just a shade slightly darker, and Oliver imagined Chloe’s had probably been the same when she was younger.
And Oliver couldn’t help thinking they had made the most beautiful child ever.
When they reached the top of the stairs, Connor tilted his head for a moment, more than likely noticing Oliver’s staring. He trudged down the the hallway, stopping in front of the last door at the end and turned to Oliver with the same skeptical eyes that he had witnessed Chloe dawn when in work-mode at watchtower, “So… How do you know my mom?”
“Well,” Oliver rubbed the back of his head anxiously. “Like we said, we’re old friends... Used to work together,” he repeated the same answer Chloe had supplied earlier.
“Really?”
For an almost seven year old, he seemed to be a little too suspicious and Oliver tried to remain calm, trying to remind himself that the Green Arrow didn’t get frightened when standing in the way of a powerful corrupt politician, or a low-life criminal with a gun; so naturally, it wasn’t logical to be afraid of a child.
“Yeah, I’ve known her for years.” It was a little bit of a stretch, after all, he couldn’t quite figure out how he ‘knew her for years’ when he had no idea she could keep a secret like this. But he figured it held some truth.
“Funny, she never mentioned you.” Connor’s eyes hardened, and for a moment Oliver paused, wondering if the kid could see through their lies.
He tried not to gulp as he reached for an answer, “Well, from what I can tell, she hasn’t mentioned much about her life from the States.”
Connor raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest, “Who doesn’t mention they know the Oliver Queen?”
Oliver swallowed, and was definitely positive their son received his observation skills from Chloe’s side of the gene-pool.
Refusing to be intimidated by a child, he gave him a small, half-smile, “I think that’s a better question for your mother.” And Oliver doubted Connor would get the truth from Chloe anytime soon on that question.
Connor stared at him a moment, obviously not pleased with the answer, but decided to let it go after a minute. He reached for his doorknob, twisting it to the right and swinging the door open, leaving Oliver to follow behind him as he walked into the room.
Oliver’s eyes widened as he entered the room, completely marveled at the hunter green painted walls with posters of the Green Arrow, surrounded by news paper clippings of headline articles and photographs featuring his alter-ego, mounted on every wall.
He felt his heart stop, tears stinging his eyes as they moved over every article and snapshot, his throat dry and brain at a total and complete loss for words.
He wasn’t naive, nor did he put on a costume to be some icon or idol to children... He knew Superman was a world known household name, and role model for children. And he knew Batman was legendary, and little girls looked up to Wonder Woman.
But never, in all the weeks he had been searching for his son, did he expect to find a Green Arrow fan. And without a doubt he knew this was all Chloe’s doing. She had kept their child a secret from him, but she hadn’t completely removed him from their son’s life.
Oliver drew in a shaky breath, “So, you’re a Green Arrow fan?”
Connor’s eyes followed Oliver’s to the newspaper clippings and photographs featuring the modern day Robin Hood, “Yeah… Something like that.”
“Something like that?” Oliver said in a slight daze as he stared in the wonderment of it all, “It looks like you’re the president of his fan-club.”
Connor shrugged his shoulder, “He’s my number one hero-Right above Batman.”
Oliver tried to ignore the way his heart felt like it was swelling, as if any moment now it was going to bust from his ribcage with irreparable damage.
“What about the others?” Oliver asked, nodding to a picture of Green Arrow from a group photo with the Justice League taken a few years ago, back when the JLA first went public.
Connor lifted a shoulder, almost uninterested, “They’re cool and all… But to be out there saving the world when you have no abilities, doesn’t that make you more than just super?”
Oliver nodded, his heart beating frantically with pride, “I can see why you admire him.”
Connor was silent, as if he was considering his next words carefully before he replied softly, “He’s my father.”
Next Chapter