Chlollie Fanfic: Beauty in the Breakdown VI - Private Chats

[babydee1]

New Chlollie story in the House, people! 

 This one’s for birthday girl laurelnola, who got me into Chlollie long before the show got a freaking clue.  Happy Birthday, Dawnie!  You were way ahead of the game, hun.  *huggles* :-)

 Enjoy.  Oh, and it's a oneshot, so no evil cliffies! :-P

 Inspired by sxymami0909’s Watchtower Playlist.  Thanks, Cori! :-)

 

Title:              Beauty in the Breakdown VI - Private Chats
Author:          BabyDee
Pairing:          Chlollie; 6th Book in the Beauty in the Breakdown Series
Rating:           PG-13 – Soft R
Warnings:     Oliver Queen does not appear in this story - not physically, anyway.  But he is the subject of the conversation and, as always, has a lasting impact and makes a great impression. :-)
Timeline:      Six months after BITB V: Feeling Good
Summary:     Snooping ears overhear a private conversation, and get the (very) wrong end of the stick.
Disclaimer:   All characters belong to DC comics and the CW network.
Feedback:      Hit me wit' it!!! 
 

 Author's Cheeky Note: Like Dawnie's wee Bun in the Oven, This story wasn't planned AT ALL (busted!!!)  But like any new baby, it's a lovely surprise and a very welcome addition to the BITB Family. :-)

 The series will now consist of 8 stories rather than 7.  That can only be a good thing. ;-)

 ***

 You’re the reason I smile on my own
You’re the reason I can carry on
You’re the reason I feel happiness inside…yes
You’re the reason I sleep peacefully at night
You’re the reason I carry on…yes, I carry on

 -         Sonique, You’re the Reason  

 

Private Chats 

 

"Thanks for coming over, Chloe," said Lois as Chloe walked into the Talon and shut the door behind her.  "I know it's very short notice, but we really need to talk to you."  
 
Chloe returned her cousin's warm hug, wondering vaguely what all the fuss was about.  Oliver was away on a business trip all week, and initially she thought maybe Lois was taking advantage of his absence to schedule some much-neglected Girly Time.  However, when her cousin had mentioned that Clark also wanted to speak with her, the alarm bells had gone off in her head. 

 Clark wanting to talk was never a good thing.  And true to form, he was standing on the other side of the room, observing her with a grave expression.  
 
"I got the distinct impression I was being summoned," Chloe replied with a wry smile.  "What have I done?"  
 
Lois shook her head.  "It's not something you've done, it's..."  she glanced at Clark and sighed.  "You'd better sit down, hun.  Can I get you a glass of water?"  

 Chloe stubbornly folded her arms.  "Water would be nice, but I'd actually rather stand."  
 
A look of alarm crept into Lois's eyes.  "Chloe, you should really sit down for this…" 
 
"Is Dad alright?" she interrupted, fear seeping into her heart.  
 
"He's fine, Chloe - everyone's fine.  It's nothing like that."  
 
Chloe sighed in relief.  " Then what is it?" 
 
Lois swallowed.  "This is kind of hard to say...and I really wish I didn't have to break it to you like this, but-" 
 
"Oliver's cheating on you," Clark supplied bluntly. 
 
Chloe smiled and shook her head.  "Oliver would never do that."  
 
"I'm afraid it's true," Lois said softly.  "You know I'd never say something like that if it wasn't true, Chloe." 
 
Chloe shook her head again.  "Oliver isn't cheating on me," she insisted serenely. 
 
"He is," Clark said again with conviction.  "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but-" 
 
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Clark," Chloe said evenly.  "I know Oliver.  He's not a cheat."  
 
Clark sighed and shook his head sadly.  "I'm afraid we have proof, Chloe," he replied.  “Definitive proof.”
 
Chloe shrugged and sat down on the sofa casually crossing her legs.  "Okay.  Let's hear it."  
 
Lois brought a glass of water over to Chloe's side, which she set beside her before clearing her throat.  "I was at Luthorcorp with Clark the other day, and just as Oliver was leaving the building, we overheard him talking on the phone.”  She paused, her face glum.  “He was having a very...intimate...conversation with someone, someone who unfortunately…wasn't you."  
 
Chloe cocked her head.  "How intimate?" she asked.  Clark glanced at Lois, probably wondering why on earth she was still as cool as a cucumber considering the bombshell they'd just dropped. 
 
Lois took a deep breath.  "Well...he was talking about kissing this girl in a very...personal place," she finished, her face reddening. 
 
"I see," Chloe said calmly, lifting the glass to her lips.  "And who was he speaking to?"  
 
Lois scowled.  "Some tart named Bella," she spat. 
 
Chloe giggled and sputtered, spraying cold water all over the place.  "Bella?" she echoed. 
 
"Wait a minute - you know her?"  Clark exclaimed, his jaw hardening.  "Oh, my God, he's an even bigger jerk than I thought!  How could he do this to you, and with someone you even know?  He's a bastard, a filthy, rotten-” he stopped mid-tirade and stared at her strangely.  “Chloe, are...are you laughing?"  
 
"I told you," she said between chuckles, "he's not cheating on me." 

 "Chloe, you need to be realistic," Lois pleaded.  "I know you don't want to believe it, but-"

 You've got it all wrong, guys," she said reassuringly.  Trust me, there's nothing to worry about." 

 Clark clenched his fists. "It doesn't bother you that Oliver's sleeping with someone else?" he asked, his expression thunderous. 

 

"He's not sleeping with anyone but me," she insisted.   “Seriously.”
 
Clark ran a hand through his hair and sighed in frustration.  "I know this is hard, but open your eyes, Chloe.  Oliver and this...this Bella person, they clearly have a sexual relationship-" 
 
"I'm Bella."  
 
They stared at her in disbelief.  "You're Bella?" they echoed.  
 
She nodded.  "Mmm-hmm." 
 
Clark shook his head.  "Chloe, we both know that's not your name."  
 
"It's what he calls me,” she explained patiently.  “Like a…a term of endearment."
 
Clark scowled.  "How the hell is calling you by another woman's name a 'term of endearment'?"  he asked angrily. 
 
"Not Bella; bella," she said, emphasising the correct pronunciation, and a shy smile crossed her face.  "It means beautiful in Italian." 
 
"Awwwww!" Lois exclaimed, clutching her heart with a dreamy smile.  "That is so sweet!" 

 Chloe grinned, the same dreamy expression in her eyes.  "I know, right?"

 Clark, on the other hand, stared hard at her through narrowed eyes.  "Are you sure you're not just covering for him?" he asked suspiciously. 
 
Chloe rolled her eyes and sighed.  "Gee, thanks Clark.  I know you don't think I'm beautiful, but that was a tad harsh, don't you think?" 
 
"No!  I mean yes!  I mean...that's a trick question!" he yelled as she burst out laughing.  "Of course you're beautiful.  What I meant was that I know how far you'd go to protect the ones you love, but this time, Oliver's gone too far.  We all know he has a history of-"
 
"Let me see, now," she drawled, stroking her chin thoughtfully.  "It was something like...'Bella, the next time I see you, I'm going to bury my head between your legs, and-" 
 
"STOP!" yelled Clark, covering his ears.  Lois giggled uncontrollably, fanning herself with her hand.

 Chloe folded her arms and smiled triumphantly. "...or something along those lines," she finished.  

 “Yep, that was it,” confirmed Lois.   “Wow!”
 
Clark stared at her with wide eyes.  "Chloe, how did you know?"  
 
She stared at him in disbelief.  "What, are you deaf?" she replied incredulously.  "That's what I've been trying to tell you - he was talking to me!" 
 
Still Clark regarded her with a dubious expression.  Sighing and muttering a prayer for strength, she pulled her cellphone out of her purse and scrolled through the audio files until she got to the one she needed.

 "This is the conversation we had two days ago," she said as the message began to play, and her voice was heard in crisp tones.

 "Hello?"

 "Ciaou, bella," they heard in Oliver's distinctive drawl.

 "Ey, buon journo, caro mio," Chloe replied sultrily.  “Come va?”

 "Oh, you know what it does to me when you talk like that," he groaned.

 "Hey, look at that; I’m gettin’ you all fired up, and all I said was good morning," she said with a laugh.  “I would pepper you with some naughty phrases, but alas, you won’t teach me any of them.”

 “Yeah, that’s because I’d rather show them to you,” he replied with a leer.  “Tempted?”

 “Oh, definitely.  But you need to catch a plane in just over an hour, and you’ve demonstrated time and time again that you’re incapable of sticking to the Rules of the Quickie.”

 Lois giggled behind her hand, while Clark looked distinctly uncomfortable.  He folded his arms and shuffled his feet as the recording played on. 

 "You know, if I weren’t going away, I'd take my time and give you a really good morning," Oliver was saying in a low, gravelly voice. 

 Clark turned as red as a beetroot and waved his hand dismissively.  "Okay, fine - we believe you," he said in a hurry.  “You can turn that thing off now.”

 Chloe smiled and shook her head.

 "No, no...let's continue," she said innocently, even though her own face was heating up dangerously.  Lois, also red-faced, had her hands on her cheeks and a huge grin on her face.

 The recording continued.  "So how will you make it up to me, lover?" Chloe said in a not-so-innocent voice. 

 Oliver chuckled.  "Bella, the next time I have you in my arms, I'm going to bury my head between your thighs, and-"

 "ALRIGHT!!!" Clark yelled, lunging forward and grabbing the phone out of Chloe's hands.  After three frantic attempts he finally managed to switch the recording off, by which time Lois was literally on the floor, heaving with laughter. 

 Chloe folded her arms and smiled, her calm and composed exterior hiding the furious blush that was warming her cheeks.  Good thing Clark had shut off the recording before it got to the full-blown phone sex part.  No doubt she’d have switched the phone off herself before the conversation had gotten too racy, but still…she really didn’t to subject either Clark or her cousin to the sounds of her and Oliver in the throes of passion. 

 “Do you believe me now?” she asked calmly.  Clark’s only response was a narrow-eyed glare.  Prude, she thought with amusement. 

 She shrugged.  “You can glower at me all you want, Clark, but I had to prove Ollie’s innocence somehow.”

 “Well, I for one am totally convinced,” Lois said when she was finally able to speak.  "Damn, Chloe, is that the freaky business you two get up to?  No fair!  I mean, where was all that when I was dating him?"  She fanned herself again and wiped her brow dramatically. 

 A ruddy-faced Clark took a cautious step towards her.  "I, um...guess we made a mistake," he admitted grudgingly as he handed back her cellphone with averted eyes. 

 "So...where's he gone this time?" Lois asked . 

 Chloe smiled as she slipped her phone back into her purse.  "Orlando."

 "Florida, huh?" she drawled with a wink.  That's only a couple of hours away, you know.  Just sayin'." 

 Chloe's eyes brightened immediately.  "Huh.  Orlando is pretty nice this time of year, now that you mention it.”

 Lois held out her hands.  “So, what are you waiting for?  Get packing!”

 Chloe grinned and hastily rummaged through her wardrobe.  She selected a few items, stuffed them into a carry-on bag and sat on it to flatten it as she zipped it up.  

 “Clark?" she called.  His head snapped up and he stared at her, still clearly traumatised. 

 She smiled sweetly.  "I have a plane to catch.  Think you can get me to the airport in the next twenty minutes?" 

 He nodded soberly.

 “Fantastic.” She rose, picked up her carry on and headed for the exit.

 "Hey, Cuz!" Lois called as she opened the door. 

 Chloe turned back.  "Yes, Lo?"

 Lois grinned.  "Freak."    

 She grinned back.  "You betcha." 

 "My God," Clark muttered as he followed her with a stricken look.  "Secret names, foreign languages, x-rated phone calls...what has he turned my sweet little friend into?"

 Chloe paused with her hand on the door, and smiled as the answer came to her. 

 "A woman."

 ***

 The End.

 Coming Soon: Beauty in the Breakdown VII - Sacred Words 

 ***

Comments

[serafina19]

*sigh* So glad I decided to check my DW account. LJ's been spazzy for everyone it seems (honestly thought it was just me too when I was receiving comments yet I couldn't even access the site for 3 days), and I have some work to do in order to make my DW usable (stupid stupid links).

I know you probably would have put this on your LJ (of course when it cooperates) but I'm happy I caught this early because this was fab Dee!

I knew it was coming, having been to Italy (although Italian guys creep me out), but having her play the entire convo in front of Clark (and Lois)... I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt. And the whole 'just because you don't find me beautiful thing' was priceless.

And that final line... perfection, there's no other word for it.

*sighs again* This is just what I needed before I go out and pick raspberries. Planning on making a pie today (yum)

Fingers crossed for easier days ahead in the fic land!

[babydee1]

"I know you probably would have put this on your LJ (of course when it cooperates) but I'm happy I caught this early because this was fab Dee!"

So glad you like it, Sera! I've had it ready for days, and it's been so frustrating just waiting for LJ to come back online.

"I knew it was coming, having been to Italy (although Italian guys creep me out), but having her play the entire convo in front of Clark (and Lois)... I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt."

Oliver's totally liberated her. She didn't think twice about playing their conversation, LOL!!! :-D

"And the whole 'just because you don't find me beautiful thing' was priceless."

*giggles* I like punking Clark in my Chlollie fic. He was such a douchebag to Chloe and Oliver (I'm talking canon, here!), so I like to make him suffer and squirm every now and then. :-)

"And that final line... perfection, there's no other word for it."

One of my personal favourites, that line. :-)

"*sighs again* This is just what I needed before I go out and pick raspberries. Planning on making a pie today (yum)"

Oh, that sounds delicious!!! *slurp* :-P

"Fingers crossed for easier days ahead in the fic land!"

I'm crossing fingers, toes and EYES with you on that one! Thanks so much for your lovely comments, Sarah! :-)

*hugs*