Chlollie Fanfic: Misdirection, Chapter 8

[babydee1]

New update in the house!

...just me throwing in another roadblock.  Let's hear it for the angst!!!

What can I say; the path of true lurve never runs smooth. ;-)

Enjoy.  Feedback is very appreciated. :-)

Banner by the awesome kc_2009.  Thanks so much, babes!

Title:              Misdirection

Author:          BabyDee
Pairing:          Chlollie

Rating:           R (this chapter PG13)

Warnings:     None

Timeline:      Season 7 (Siren) with references to Season 6’s Justice

Disclaimer:   All characters belong to the CW & DC comics. 

Summary:     Sparks begin to fly between our high-achieving couple.  Sequel to Trajectory.

Feedback:      …is sweet like chocolate. J

 

Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.

 

 

Chapter 8

 

Chloe Sullivan had never been a clock‑watcher.  She believed in staying till the job was done, no matter how long it took or how many extra hours (without pay) she had to put in. 

 

But for the first time in her life, she had a reason to want to knock off early.  She kept replaying in her head the moment that Oliver had kissed her in the elevator.  It had been a kiss full of promise, full of hope.  She really wanted to kiss him again, run her fingers through his spiky blond hair (and if he had an orgasm or two going spare, she could really do with more of those as well). 

 

She chuckled to herself as she finished off her shrimp salad sandwich, and was still grinning like a red-faced loon when Lois walked into the room, her face as hard as flint.

 

“You okay, Lois?” Chloe asked as her cousin swept into the bullpen, clearly upset.

 

“I don’t believe this,” she muttered, seething, swiping Chloe’s coffee out of her hands and taking a long sip.

 

Chloe raised a brow and snagged her coffee back.  “What’s the problem?”

 

Lois turned to face her with a glare.  “The problem, Chloe,” she said in clipped tones, “is Oliver Queen.” 

 

Chloe’s smile disappeared and felt the blood drain from her face.  “What…what have you heard?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

 

“He only waltzed back into town and didn’t think to call me, that’s what!” she snarled.  “And I had to hear it from that right-winged harpy, Dinah Lance!”

 

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief.  “Lois, I’m sure Oliver has a perfectly good reason for why he didn’t call you…” she began evenly.

 

“Yeah, but the most likely one?  I’m last season’s accessory!” she bitched. 

 

“Of course that’s not true, Lo,” she said feeling a guilty flush creep up her cheeks.

 

“Not true? ‘Oh, I have things I need to take care of,’” she mimicked in a deep voice.  “Yeah, I bet he did – and they all come with bikinis, St Tropez tan lines and bleached blonde hair – no offence, cuz!”

 

"None taken," she murmured, biting her lower lip.  A frown worried her brow as she quietly set her cooling coffee down on the desk.  As it turned out, Lois was 33% correct in this instance.

 

“I mean, do you know what it’s like to think about someone everyday and wonder whether they’re thinking of you back?” she ranted on.

 

If she only knew.  There was certainly an excellent explanation for Oliver’s radio silence to Lois, and it happened to be standing right in front of her.  But Chloe didn’t want to be the one to tell her; at least, not until she’d seen Oliver herself and they’d decided what to do about their budding attraction.

 

She started to open her mouth, but couldn’t think of a single thing to say.  Her face reddened further, and she hoped Lois didn’t notice her guilty demeanour.

 

“I’m gonna call him,” Lois said suddenly, striding off determinedly.  “In fact, I’m gonna go over there right now, and -”

 

“No!” Chloe screeched and dashed after her, grabbing her hand in mid-flight.  Lois looked down at Chloe’s hand on her arm, and then up at her face questioningly.

 

She swallowed.  “Um…do you really think that’s a good idea?” she said gently.  He might have someone over there, she added silently to herself.  Or have someone coming over later…

 

Fortunately, the planets seemed to be aligning in her favour.  “You know, you’re right,” Lois said at last.  “He’s the one who jumped overboard.  If anyone’s going to do the calling, it’s him.” 

 

Actually, Lois was the one who had called it off, but Chloe wasn’t about to split hairs over semantics.  “Now that sounds more like the cousin I know,” Chloe drawled. 

 

Lois nodded.  “Exactly!  No way I’m gonna show up on that guy’s doorstep.  Let him come grovelling back to me!  Ha!”

 

With those words, she turned on her heel and flounced off. 

 

Chloe let out a sigh of relief and sank into her chair.  She hoped she could depend on Lois to keep her word and not charge over to the Clocktower; the last thing Lois needed to see was her former flame locked in a passionate embrace with her own cousin, which is what would likely happen if she decided to pay Oliver a visit this evening.

 

But for the first time since Oliver had asked her to stop by after work, she was beginning to have doubts about her intended decision to start up a relationship with him.

 

Because it was clear that her cousin, Lois Lane, was still head over heels in love with Oliver Queen.

 

*** 

 

Oliver lit the candles himself and checked the silverware for the umpteenth time before deciding that the set-up was perfect.  It was half past seven o’clock, and Chloe had texted him to say that she had one last article to turn in, and she would be on her way over.  So he’d showered and picked out a smart but casual outfit, and given his staff the rest of the evening off.  He’d also cunningly shoved a handful of condoms in the nightstand, just in case things went well at dinner and they happened to pick up where they left off yesterday.

 

Chloe’s favourite cuisine was Italian, so he’d spent an hour and a half on the phone with nonna, who was on vacation in Tuscany, while she’d talked him through preparing creamy chicken fettucini alfredo.  To nonna’s credit it turned out perfect, far better than anything he’d been served in even the fanciest Italian restaurants in Metropolis.  He smiled to himself.  Nonna definitely deserved another raise. 

 

So the food was hot, and the wine was chilled, and he checked the time and surmised that she’d be arriving any moment now.  Quickly he brushed his teeth and changed into the outfit he’d selected, but on second thought decided that the green silk shirt made him look a little ‘wannabe pimp’‑like.  Cursing, he yanked it off and pulled on a white polo neck, which unfortunately gave him a distinctly priestly appearance.  He grimaced.  A saint he was not, and he definitely didn’t want Chloe getting that impression…not when he had sin on the brain. 

 

Frustrated, he tugged off the polo neck and was trying to decide between a black shirt and a steel gray one when he heard the elevator ascending.  Quickly he tossed the gray shirt back in the wardrobe and, holding the black one, made his way to the living room. 

 

Just as he rounded the corner he heard the grate stop, and grinned, feeling giddy as a schoolboy.  He lifted his warm gaze and came face to face with –

 

“Lois!” he exclaimed in stupified shock.

 

***

 

Oliver’s heart plummeted like a stone.  Wrong cousin.

 

What was Lois doing here?  Had she somehow found out about him and Chloe?  Somehow he didn’t think Chloe would have told her cousin he was back in town, not with what they had brewing between them.

 

Warily he stood his ground as Lois advanced on him, then wished he hadn’t as she delivered a stinging roundhouse punch to his jaw. 

 

“Ow!” he grunted, tenderly cradling his face.  “What was that for?”

 

“For breaking my heart!” she growled.  “Oliver, how could you?”

 

So she did know.  “I’m sorry, Lois.  I never meant to hurt you,” he said softly.

 

“Yeah, well you did,” she snapped.  “How could you get back into town and not tell me?  I had to find out from the office grapevine!  And – damn it, would you put a shirt on, or something?”

 

Relieved, he slipped his hands into the sleeves of his black shirt.  Chloe’s name hadn’t come up in conversation yet, so it was more than likely that Lois had no clue that they had gotten intimate.

 

“Oh…well, at least now I know why I got canned from your speed-dial,” she said glumly.  He looked up and saw her gaze fixed on the intimate dinner setting.

 

Oliver thought fast.  He could either lie and stall until he had a proper opportunity to explain all, or he tell her the truth now and risk a horrible showdown between Lois and Chloe, who was due to arrive any second now.  Somehow, he didn’t think Chloe would be happy with him if he blurted out the truth without her approval; the last thing she would want to do is hurt her cousin.

 

He swallowed.  “The dinner’s for you,” he lied smoothly.

 

Lois shot him a disbelieving look.

 

“I knew you’d be on my doorstep, and if you hadn’t been, I’d have been on yours,” he continued glibly, wondering if his nose was growing.  He sincerely hoped she wouldn’t question the logistics of him conveying a home‑cooked meal complete with furnishings and lighted candles all the way to Smallville.  Or notice that the wine was white instead of red, and just happened to be Chloe’s favourite.

 

He seemed to have convinced her, though, because she visibly relaxed and approached him, wrapping her hands around his neck.

 

“If you think the whole ‘glistening muscle, answering-the-door-in-your-bare-chest’ thing was gonna work,” she said with a coy smile, “you were dead on.”  And she pulled his head down to hers for a kiss. 

 

Almost instinctively he pulled back, but then allowed her lips to glide over his.  Stiffly he lifted his arms and placed them at her waist, trying to get into the kiss for her sake, but failing miserably. 

 

Lois tried to deepen the kiss, but thoughts of Chloe pervaded his conscious mind and he kept his mouth firmly shut.  Eventually Lois detected the subtle hints dropped by his body language and pulled back, fixing him with a searching look. 

 

Okay, maybe this was the time for honesty.  He swallowed and was about to speak when her gaze shifted and she focused on a spot over his shoulder. 

 

“Nice try,” she spat, pushing him away.  “Does that work on all the blondes you have stashed in your apartment?”

 

His heat beat in double time.  Chloe was here?  Quickly he spun round and came face to face with a blonde – but not the one he was expecting. 

 

The fishnet-clad would-be assassin from the night before was standing on his balcony, leaning forwards in a threatening pose. 

 

His eyes widened.  He’d seen that look just before she shattered his arrows to toothpicks.  And if her sonic scream had worked on wood…

 

“Get down!” he barked, pushing Lois to the ground as the fishnet chick opened her mouth.  The resonant tinkle of breaking glass assailed his eardrums, and in twisting to avoid Lois he fell awkwardly, slamming his head on the edge of a table. 

 

A white-hot flash of pain lanced through his head and he felt himself begin to slip into unconsciousness. 

 

“Ollie!” Lois yelled, shaking his shoulder.  “Ollie…!” 

 

A blessed peace stole over him, and then everything went dark.

 

***

 

Chapter 9...