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Chapter Text

The drive back to Watchtower had been silent, and a little tense. His fingers gripped onto the steering wheel tightly, his expression neutral. He sneaked a glance at her from the corner of his eyes, then looked back at the road once more. When they'd agreed to this arrangement a few weeks ago, he hadn't realized it would mean she'd shut him out in every other way but from her bed. He wasn't angry--not now that he knew what she'd been doing. But he couldn't help but feel hurt that she still didn't trust him the way he'd been sure he could trust her.

None of it sat well with him at all.

Oliver parked his car on the street and shut off the engine. "Think anyone else is here?"

"Who would be here?" She asked, frowning and grabbing her keys from her purse, the team hadn't been to Metropolis in a while and then there was Clark who only stopped by if he needed something. That and Chloe couldn't help but be annoyed that Oliver had not only turned her down the previous day, then accused her of stealing from him and now had hidden all her kryptonite weapons.

Sure, he had his reasons, but still, he should know better, she was doing it for their safety after all.

He shrugged with one shoulder. "Clark? Emil?" He glanced at her, falling silent for a moment. "You tell me. It's your place."

"Like that gives me any control over who comes and goes?" She raised an eyebrow at him before getting out of the car.

Oliver sighed as she shut the door, remaining in the driver's seat and staring straight out the windshield.

Chloe stilled when silenced followed the noise of her shutting the car door, she fully expected him to follow her, not that she should have, he was Oliver Queen, he didn't have to run after anyone.

With an annoyed sigh and a roll of her eyes, she opened the door again and leaned down to look inside the car, "aren't you coming?"

"I wasn't sure I still had an invitation," he responded, turning his head and meeting her gaze, his eyes intense.

Sighing again, she gave him a look, "you're welcome to come upstairs if you want to." Of course the look on his face told her that this was less about coming upstairs and more about their agreement, but if he thought she was gonna initiate anything this time, he could think again.

He held her gaze for a long moment, then pulled the keys from the ignition and got out of the car, shutting and locking the door. He pocketed his keys and followed her up the sidewalk to Watchtower, then followed her inside. He shrugged out of his leather jacket once they were in the main room, and laid it on the couch. "I think we should do something," he said bluntly.

She did the same with her coat and was about to turn towards one of the computer stations when he spoke, there was one thing that she thought they should do, she had no idea if that was what he meant, though, "do what?"

Oliver kept his eyes on her, gaze intent. "I think we need a break." He shrugged a little.

Her eyes widened, then she blinked, confused for a second then doing her best not to look disappointed. That was the exact opposite of what she was hoping for, "a break?" Was all she could ask.

"Yes. A break. Away from all this." He motioned around. "Away from the stress, away from the interruptions. Just you and me." Oliver watched her closely for a reaction.

"Oh," that kind of break. Not that this was really a... relationship to begin with but he had to work on his wording. Something she would let him know as soon as she was more eloquent, "where do you wanna go?"

"I'll figure something out." He shrugged. "Next weekend work for you?"

"Okay," she raised her eyebrows, still shocked by the turn of the conversation, was that his way of apologizing for accusing her? Because she was pretty sure she could live with it if it was.

"All right. Good." He gazed at her a moment longer, his eyes dropping to her mouth for a moment, then back to her eyes.

She saw the change in his posture and unconsciously licked her lips, raising an eyebrow, the look in his eyes helping her relax, "I assume our agreement still stands, then?"

Oliver stepped closer to her, invading her personal space even though he was fairly certain she was all for it. Wordlessly he lifted a hand to her face, dipping his head and kissing her.

Chloe kissed him back instantly, lifting her hands to his arms and welcoming the invasion of her personal space some more, that was a good enough answer for her.

He backed her up against the wall, like he had that first night, after the impromptu archery lesson he'd given her. "We need to work on some things," he informed her, dropping his mouth against her throat.

The second her back hit the wall, she reached down, pulling his t-shirt up, "such as?" She asked distractedly, her hands sliding up his stomach.

He lifted his arms and let her strip him of the shirt, then reached out and tugged her own off, letting it join his on the floor. Then he returned his mouth to her neck, kissing his way up to her ear. "Balance," he murmured, nibbling on her earlobe even as his hands were sliding her slacks off her hips.

"What kind of balance?" She said with a shiver as she pushed his jeans off of him too.

"Work." Oliver smirked at the shiver, tugging her underwear down without hesitation and sliding one long finger inside her. "Play," he whispered against her ear, stroking her slowly. "And everything in between."

Chloe moaned, automatically lifting a leg to wrap around him, "you know I will agree with everything you suggest now, we'll have to review this conversation later."

"No," he responded, sliding a second finger inside of her. "This one's not open for discussion, Watchtower." He smirked, watching her face.

"You're not the boss, Arrow," she returned his smirk as well as she could, reaching down between them and taking him in her hand, "everything is open for discussion."

He leaned closer to her, pressing his mouth to her ear. "Thirty-five million dollars, Chloe," he murmured, stroking her with his thumb. "I'd say that nullifies that everything by a great deal."

She stroked him slowly, shivering again at his touch and turning her face slightly so her mouth was to his ear too, forcing herself to focus on his words and not on his touch, "I didn't ask you to do anything, hardly the same situation."

"And I'm not asking," Oliver answered, pressing a kiss against her throat.

"So you're demanding?" She bit down on his earlobe.

"Got it in one," he answered, gritting his teeth a little at the light sting from her teeth.

Chloe tightened her grip on him and stroked him slowly, base to tip as she pulled her head back to look at him, "what exactly are you demanding?"

Oliver gazed at her with dark eyes. "Equality is a good starting point," he answered, easing a third finger inside her.

She groaned, hips thrusting against his hand, "equality?"

"Equality," he repeated, stilling his fingers inside her.

Blinking her eyes once, she focused on his face, "equality in what? To what?"

"All of it," he said intently, staring into her eyes. "You and me. On the same level."

Chloe held his gaze and pulled her hand from around him, pushing his boxers down, "I can work on it."

Oliver shifted, sliding his fingers out of her and lifting her up so her feet were off the ground and they were at eye level. Equal. "Good."

Her legs went around him and she held his gaze, taking a deep breath and wrapping her fingers around him once more to guide him inside of her, "you got what you wanted, now it's my turn."

Holding onto her tightly he thrust into her without further hesitation, kissing her urgently at the same time. No, he hadn't gotten what he wanted. But they'd work on it.

Chloe returned the kiss hungrily, shifting her legs higher around him and wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as she felt him moving inside of her. The more they did this, the more she wanted him. She had never had this kind of mind-blowing sex before and Oliver was amazing every second of it.

"One more thing," he murmured against her ear, his fingers gripping tightly onto her hips as he moved within her, not pausing even as he spoke.

"What?" She asked breathlessly, opening her eyes.

"No more secrets," Oliver told her, thrusting into her harder. "You're gonna have to start trusting me."

Her jaw tightened and she grabbed his hair, tugging his head back so he would look at her, "we wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"I don't just mean with your body," he said, his gaze intense as he searched her eyes. He slid a hand between them and stroked her as he thrust into her again. "I know you trust me with that."

Her back arched and she moaned, closing her eyes for a second before looking at him again, "I'll do my best."

Oliver smiled just a bit at the promise, stroking her faster, enjoying the pleasure that flickered over her face. He always enjoyed it. Enjoyed watching her. A lot more than he'd ever expected to.

Chloe raised an eyebrow at the look on his face, smirking as she grabbed his hair again and kissed him hard, her hips slamming against him, her back arching as her muscles clung to him.

He smirked as he felt her inner walls tightening around him, then he shifted his hand back to her hip, pulling her away from the wall and laying her down on the couch, sliding his body over hers as he thrust into her again. He broke the kiss to look down at her for a moment before leaning down and capturing a nipple with his mouth, twirling his tongue around it and then scraping his teeth over it lightly.

She shifted to the new position, bringing her legs even higher up around his back, "Ollie," she gasped at the feel of his teeth on her breast, shivering hard as she kept moving her hips against his, her nails scratching her way up his back and she closed her eyes tightly, so close.

He'd been with a lot of women. In fact, a lot was an understatement. But he'd never been with one that was anything like Chloe Sullivan. She seemed to need it, need him more than anyone had before. And the sound of her voice when she cried out his name like that always sent a chill down his spine. He thrust into her a little harder, reaching down and tilting her hips just a little to change the angle of their position. He knew her body incredibly well given they'd only been doing this for a few weeks. And he paid attention to detail. He noticed when her tone changed, the way she dug her nails into his back just a little more when she was close. He knew what she liked and how she liked it. So when he gripped her hips a little tighter and thrust into her this time, he knew exactly the effect it would have on her.

Chloe cried out and pressed her head back against the couch, her back arching as much as it could as with the new angle, he could hit all the right places. Her body responded immediately and her climax rolled over her hard as she clung to him breathlessly as hard as she could.

Oliver groaned softly as he watched her come undone, then he slid his arms beneath her shoulders, pressing his lips against her collarbone as he thrust into her a few more times, faster, the feel of her body quivering around him making his own orgasm hit just as hard moments later. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, lifting his head to look down at her, a faint, satisfied smile touching his lips before he kissed her.

With a deep breath, she relaxed against the couch, looking up at him with wide eyes. Every time, he managed to do this to her and she felt like it became more and more powerful the more they did this. It almost scared her that he knew her body so well, that he knew exactly what to do to send her over the edge and she couldn't help but wonder if it was because she was exactly like so many of the women he had been with before her.

But that moment, it didn't matter. Whatever their issues were the past couple of days, he seemed to have forgiven her and they could go back to normal, and back to this.

His arms still beneath her shoulders, he shifted slightly, lifting her up against him and turning them over so he was laying flat on the sofa and she was on top of him so he didn't crush her. He slid his hands up and down her back slowly. "Hope you slept last night," he murmured, a smirk in his tone.

Chloe adjusted, a leg wrapped around him and raised her eyebrows slowly, smirking, "who needs sleep?" She moved higher up so her face was over his, noses touching, "show me what you got, Arrow."

Oliver's smirk widened at her words. "I plan to spend the rest of the day doing just that, Watchtower."

"I just might have a few things to show you myself," she grinned and leaned down, kissing him firmly.
"Oh, I have no doubt," he murmured against her lips, returning the kiss without hesitation.

Chapter Text

The vacation they were supposed to take the following weekend didn't actually happen for a whole month later. Oliver had found some Bed & Breakfast away from civilization in a town so small, it made Smallville look like a big town. The population was in the low hundreds and normally, Chloe would have protested on going to a place so isolated, but considering she had no plans to leave the bed, this sounded perfect.

They were shown to their room and although it had been only a four hour drive, she felt like it had been a sixteen hour one. She didn't normally get car sick, but the fact that pretty much the only thing she had in her stomach was coffee probably didn't help at all.

Once they were inside the room, however, she was easily distracted from her lack of food, the room looked incredibly comfortable and welcoming, with a balcony that faced away from the facilities and towards an amazing garden with trees and a small lake. She placed her purse over the small table and walked over, pushing the glass door open and sighing deeply, the fresh air immediately helping the queasiness and she realized that the trees were actually surrounding the small lake and the only path to it came straight from their balcony door.

Raising her eyebrows, Chloe turned to Oliver, "we have our own lake?"

He couldn't help but grin at the slight hint of disbelief in her voice. "Best room in the place," he informed her, moving up to stand behind her and winding his arms around her stomach. He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck and then rested his chin on her shoulder, looking out at the view. It was even prettier than it had been in the pictures on the place's website.

Chloe grinned, turning to look at him and raising her eyebrows, "impressive, Queen." Things had been a lot better between them for the past month, they hadn't labeled things or told anyone, but it felt much more like a relationship now.

"I try," he responded with amusement, though he kind of doubted she was really that impressed with him for spending a couple thousand dollars for the weekend on a room with a view.

She wrapped her arms over the ones he had around her and smiled, looking back out the window, she was impressed that he had suggested this at all, some kind of 'romantic getaway' for them when they weren't really in a relationship at all. Their agreement was simple: they both needed to relax, relieve the stress, have fun. And that was all she ever expected from him. Their friendship helped, sure and they had grown even closer and true to her promise, it had improved their trust in each other. But she still didn't expect him to want to go out of his way like this to spend time alone with her, even if she sincerely appreciated the effort.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, closing his eyes for a moment. "Feeling better?" he asked, opening his eyes and glancing down at her. He'd known something wasn't quite right on the drive there because for one, she'd been too quiet, and two, her face was a little more pale than usual. He hadn't realized she had a problem with car sickness on longer drives. But every day that passed that he spent time with her, he discovered new things about her, and she no doubt noticed more things about him, as well.

"Yeah," she turned to look at him again, "I probably just need to eat something and I'll be fine."

He nodded slightly, kissing her temple and reluctantly releasing her. "Well, according to the meal schedule, dinner is in fifteen minutes, so we'll take care of that soon." He smiled.

She dropped her arms and kicked her shoes off, sitting down on the edge of the bed, amused, "they have a meal schedule?" She had never been to a B&B before, "at least I'm sure we'll get a lot of great home-cooked style food."

Oliver grinned and sat down beside her. "I think it's so they don't have to cook a bunch of different times a day," he said with a shrug. "Although if you'd rather go out someplace, that's fine too. I'm easy." He smirked.

"Oh, I know you are," she smirked back at him and leaned closer, pressing a kiss to his lips before pulling back, "but here sounds fine, they don't seem to be busy anyway."

He smiled, nodding a little. "Which was the point."

"We can just find a cabin on top of an isolated mountain next time, Mr. hermit." She teased, cocking her head, "just how loud are you expecting to get?"

"Me?" He chuckled with amusement. "I'm not the loud one of this pair, Watchtower." He smirked, reaching out and tucking some hair behind her ear before stealing a kiss.

"Can't help if I have more lung capacity than you do," she pointed out with the Sullivan smartass look on her face, "besides, that sounded like a challenge."

"Hey, if you want to take it as a challenge, I'm not about to stop you." He pressed a kiss against her ear.

Chloe shivered and smirked, turning her head and brushing her nose against his, "I guess I'll have to figure out what makes you scream."

Oliver grinned and kissed her again, gently pushing her back onto the bed and sliding over her. He gazed down at her with dark eyes. "Ladies first."

She raised her eyebrows and smirked, sliding her hands over his sides and looking up at him, "that's about the only time you won't hear arguments from me about that sexist sentence."

He smirked. "I'll keep that in mind," he murmured, dipping his head and kissing her.

Yeah. They were going to be late for dinner.

* * *

And they were very late for dinner, because there was no way either one of them could go anywhere without a shower and a shower was never just a shower when Oliver Queen was involved, not that Chloe was complaining, at all. Despite her hunger, she took her time changing and making sure her hair looked at least decent. She didn't bother drying it because she had every intention of exploring that lake in a few hours.

With her hand in his, Chloe looked around the place as they tried to find the restaurant. She hoped they still had plenty of food left because now she wasn't hungry, she was starving, "probably down here," she pointed at the hallway to their right, she thought she could smell food.

He nodded a little, leading the way and keeping his fingers laced through hers, smiling a bit as they walked down the hallway. Things between them definitely felt different to him than they had a few weeks before. More like they'd somehow struck a balance between being good friends and being...whatever it was they were to each other now. He grinned as he spotted the tables set up in the dining room. "Guess you were right," he told her, looking down at her.

"Of course I was," she grinned, squeezing his hand and leaning closer to him as they walked towards a table.

Oliver squeezed her hand back, not paying attention to where he was going and running directly into someone. Blinking, he glanced up, his eyes widening involuntarily at the sight of Clark Kent standing right in front of them.

Holding her breath, Chloe stilled. Looking at Clark, sitting by himself on one of the tables, "Clark?"

His eyes were just as wide as he looked between Chloe and Oliver, then at their hands, and back at them, "what... are you doing here?"

Oliver stared back at him for a long moment. "What are you doing here?" he responded.

"Lois..." he glanced towards the bathroom, then back at them, "Lois and I came here for the weekend."

He glanced at Chloe sideways, then back at Clark, reluctantly releasing her hand. "We needed a break from work stuff."

Chloe glanced back at him and pursed her lips, holding her hands together in front of herself, "where is my cousin?"

"In the bathroom," Clark shifted awkwardly on his chair.

Oliver shifted awkwardly as well, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "You should go say hi," he suggested, glancing at Chloe again.

She raised an eyebrow carefully at Ollie, was he really willingly offering himself up to a very awkward conversation with Clark? But she figured it was better if she and Lois also had their awkward conversation in private, "I'll be right back."

He nodded and watched her head away before looking back at Clark, not quite meeting the other man's eyes. "So. Weekend getaway huh?"

"Yeah..." Clark rubbed a hand against the back of his head, "and you and Chloe..." he frowned, glancing at Oliver sideways.

"Like I said. Needed a break from work." He shrugged a little.

That wasn't what Clark was asking, but he didn't push the subject, he was just hoping Lois would come out of the bathroom soon so they could go since they already finished dinner.

Oliver was well aware it wasn't what the other man was really asking, but frankly he didn't see where it was really Clark's business one way or another.

"Did you, guys eat?" He looked down at his empty plate.

"No, not yet. That's what we were coming down here for," he admitted. "How's the food?"

"It's good," Clark nodded, glancing at the bathroom again.

"Good. That's good." He looked around.

* * *

Chloe held her breath before pushing the door open, raising her eyebrows when she found her cousin looking at herself in the mirror above the sink, "your teeth look clean to me," she couldn't help herself and smirked.

Lois whipped around, staring at her cousin with wide eyes. "Chloe? What are you doing here?" There was more than a little surprise in her voice.

"Needed a break?" She said awkwardly, trying for a smile, "I saw Clark outside. He mentioned you were in here."

Her surprise quickly turned into concern. "You drove four hours from Metropolis by yourself for a break? Why didn't you call me? We could've done a girl's weekend or something."

"Oh," Chloe shook her head, "Oliver is here too."

Lois paused at that. "Oh." She studied Chloe for a moment, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not like that," not really, "he needed a break too."

Her other eyebrow rose and the corners of her mouth twitched as she tried to suppress a smirk. "So the two of you decided to come to a nice, cozy bed and breakfast hours away from Metropolis--together--for a break?"

Chloe did her best to suppress a wince, "what? Sounds perfectly reasonable to me..." She tried, even though she knew it was way too late.

A knowing smile settled on her face. "Glad that you decided to take my advice."

At that, she paused, raising her eyebrows, sincerely curious, "your advice?"

"You know, a few weeks ago at that lame convention. To have some fun." She smirked.

"Oh," Chloe paused then smirked slowly, nodding, "yeah, that's exactly what it is."

"I approve. For the record." Lois's own smirk brightened. "And obviously Oliver agrees with you."

At that, Chloe paused and let out a breath, relaxing, "I'm glad, I wouldn't want this to upset you, especially since it's just something completely casual." She assured her cousin.

Lois cocked her head to the side. "If it wasn't, I'd be okay with that too. Ollie's a good guy." She reached out and gave her cousin's shoulder a squeeze. "Why don't we all do breakfast in the morning?"

"I know he is," Chloe smiled softly then raised her eyebrows, "breakfast sounds good, I'm guessing you guys already had dinner?"

"Yeah, we did," she said with a nod. "I'm guessing you guys are just now getting around to it?" Lois smirked again.

Pursing her lips together, Chloe grinned a little, but shrugged quickly, "so, did you get anything out of Clark yet?"

She groaned. "No. But I will, so help me God."

"If anyone can do it, it's you, Lo." Chloe rubbed a comforting hand over her cousin's arm, "whose idea was this whole thing anyway?"

"Believe it or not? Clark's."

"Really? That sounds like a good start to me." She grinned then linked her arm with Lois' "c'mon, I'm starving and you and Clark should get back to your room," which, hopefully, was very far away from theirs.

Lois grinned back at her and together they headed out of the bathroom and toward the table where Clark was still sitting and Ollie was standing beside, neither of them looking at each other. Her grin widened a bit more, amused by their awkwardness. Maybe it was just because she and Chloe were cousins that very little ever felt awkward between them, or maybe it was just a man thing that made the guys so uncomfortable. "Well, you two have a great time," she said, giving Oliver a knowing smile and then looking at Clark. "You ready to try out the hottub, Smallville?"

Clark looked relieved as soon as he saw Lois and started getting up, but he stilled, his eyes widening when she spoke, clearing his throat, he nodded at Oliver then at Lois, "goodnight."

Chloe grinned and kissed her cousin's cheek, "have fun."

"Here's hoping," she responded with a wink, giving her hand a squeeze before heading away with Clark.

Oliver arched an eyebrow as they headed away, a bemused expression on his face.

With a deep breath, Chloe turned to look at Oliver, "I'll ask you how bad your conversation with Clark was once we sit down and I have food in front of me." She promised, turning and looking around for a second before picking a table.

He smiled a bit and followed her to the table, sitting down beside her rather than across from her. "Well, I've heard the food is good."

She smiled up at him and turned slightly towards him, "really? What else did you hear?" Chloe picked up the short menu with the choices they had that night and glanced at it before looking at Oliver again.

He arched an eyebrow. "Honestly? That was about it." He leaned a little closer. "It was very awkward."

Chloe glanced at the door for a second then looked back at him, leaning in and kissing him quickly, "I'm sorry you had to deal with him."

Oliver reached up and tangled his hand in her hair, kissing her again, this time more deeply. "I'm still in one piece."

She grinned softly, raising her eyebrows and lowering her voice, "good, or I would have to go find some kryptonite."

That made him raise an eyebrow. "Is that right?"

Cocking her head, she gave him a look, "unless he had good reason for it, yeah."

A grin tugged at his lips. "There's a good reason for breaking me in half?" His voice was light and teasing.

"I would hope not," she grinned, reaching out and squeezing his leg gently, smiling as someone came by to take their orders, she ordered quickly and was relieved to find a basket of fresh bread and butter in front of them.

Oliver picked up a piece of the bread, buttered it and handed it to her before grabbing another slice. "Lois seemed okay."

"Thank you," she took the piece of bread and shifted on her chair to look at him better, pursing her lips together, "she knows, obviously."

"I kinda figured that out from the 'have a great night,'" he said wryly, taking a bite of the bread.

She sat up at the expression on his face and frowned a little, "kinda obvious considering there is nothing else to do here," she paused, "does that... bother you?" She knew Oliver had had feelings for her cousin until recently and although she did her best to ignore that, she had to ask.

He cocked his head to the side, looking back at her and realizing even as he spoke that it was true. "No."

Chloe considered him for a moment then nodded, finally taking a bite of the bread.

Oliver wondered if she believed him. Over the last several weeks, he'd spent so much time with Chloe both in a working capacity and very much in a non-working capacity, that he'd rarely even thought about Lois.

She shifted a little on her seat and rubbed a hand over her stomach, sipping on her water, "I think I went far too long without food." Which wasn't unusual for her, but add the car ride and all the extra exercise...

He rested a hand on her back. "I think I helped you work up at appetite," he responded with a smirk.

"Oh, you did," she raised an eyebrow and took another bite tentatively, "but now my stomach is hating me because it's been so long."

Oliver frowned a little, a hint of concern flickering through his eyes. "Sorry." He rubbed her back a little, watching her carefully.

Chloe shrugged at him and smiled a little, "I'll be fine after we eat."

"All right." He leaned over and kissed her temple softly.

"Lois suggested we all have breakfast tomorrow morning," she told him, raising an eyebrow and turning to look at him, "probably because she wants to torture Clark."

He smirked. "And me, apparently."

"You don't fall for it as easily." She pointed out.

Oliver shrugged. "Years of practicing a board room poker face."

"Is that your secret, then?" She shifted on her seat again, leaning back a little to see if it would help settle her stomach until they got their food.

He glanced at her curiously. "My secret?"

"Board room poker face gets you through Lois' teasing?" She explained.

"Board room poker face gets me through a lot of uncomfortable things," he answered with amusement.

"Ever use it on me?" She grinned, curious.

"What makes you think I'm uncomfortable around you?" He smirked.

"Lois and I are related," she said simply, raising her eyebrows.

Oliver shrugged a little. "Yeah, but it's different."

Pursing her lips together, she cocked her head at him, wanting him to explain but not really expecting him to.

He studied her, reading the uncertainty and the questions in her eyes. "You know me a lot better."

"Well, Lo also knows your deep, emerald secret," she pointed out.

"That's hardly my only secret," he said quietly, holding her gaze.

Chloe nodded, watching him closely for a long moment, there was a lot about their lives that no one but the two of them knew, even the rest of the team and Clark had no idea about it. It was weird that the person who knew the most about her at that moment was someone she only started really getting close to a few months prior.

Oliver reached out and covered her hand with his own wordlessly.

She turned her hand in his and squeezed it, looking at him for a moment before leaning closer and kissing him gently. It was good to have him around. Especially in the last month, he had really helped her get back into the real world some more.

He smiled, returning the light kiss. "So in short, you don't make me uncomfortable," he told her.

"Goes both ways," she told him with a soft smile and gave his hand a light squeeze.

"Good." He laced his fingers through hers and glanced up as the waiter brought them their dinners. He glanced at her sideways. "Hopefully this will make you feel better."

"I'm sure it will," she assured him, squeezed his hand before letting go, "so do you know what time breakfast is supposed to be tomorrow?"

"No, but there's a schedule on the wall in our room," he told her, reaching down and picking up his silverware, unfolding it carefully from the napkin and then laying the napkin in his lap.

"I refuse to have a specific time to get up, maybe I'll leave them a message and let them know we should have lunch instead," she grinned a little at him and took a bite of her food.

"Hm. I think I like this plan." He smirked, winking at her. "And if they refuse, we'll just venture out for a little while whenever we feel like it."

"I'm sure we'll manage just fine." She told him, taking another bite of her food.

Oliver watched her for a moment, then smiled faintly and looked down at his plate. "We always do."

Chapter Text

Oliver yawned and opened his eyes slowly, his arm wound around Chloe's naked body as he lay behind her the next morning. He pressed a kiss against the back of her hair, listening to the sound of her breathing as she slept. They'd spent the night alternately making love and dozing off in each other's arms until they were both too exhausted to do anything more but sleep. Even now his body was tired, his eyes drifting shut once more despite the fact he stomach growled hungrily at the smell of bacon and eggs somewhere in the distance.

Chloe shifted slightly on her sleep when she felt him kissing the back of her head and only half-awake, she smiled slightly, "already?"

He chuckled softly, keeping his eyes shut. "No. The light woke me up," he told her. "Go back to sleep."

She sighed deeply, smiling for a second then stilling completely, her eyes opening wide as she shifted quickly, getting out from under his arm and leg and standing up before running to the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

He blinked in surprise and sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes and opening them. Then he frowned when he heard the sound of her throwing up. Clearly not just car sickness. Worried, he climbed out of bed and headed toward the door, pausing long enough to pull on a pair of boxers. He didn't bother knocking, just opened the door carefully and stepped inside.

Chloe flushed after a second and took a deep breath, rubbing her hands over her face, she heard him coming in and she was more than a little embarrassed that he was seeing her like that.

Oliver, on the other hand, didn't appear to be bothered by it at all. He grabbed a washcloth from the closet and slid it under the cool water before kneeling down beside her and gently pressing it to her head. "You all right?"

She sighed softly at the feel of the cool cloth against her face and nodded a little, closing her eyes, "yeah..."

He watched her for a moment. "I think you may have picked up some kind of a stomach bug." He frowned a little.

"Probably," she agreed quietly, sighing and sitting back on her heels, "seems to have helped," she told him tiredly.

"Usually does." He grimaced a little, gently wiping her face with the cool cloth. "You want to go back to bed?"

"Yeah..." Chloe nodded glancing at him before pushing herself up, "let me just brush my teeth, go lay down."

Oliver rose to his feet, as well, resting a hand against the small of her back. "All right."

With a glance at him, she turned around and stepped to the sink, waiting for him to leave before brushing her teeth and using mouthwash a couple times more than necessary. She didn't want to risk kissing him and having her mouth taste gross. But on the bright side, her stomach seemed to have settled and the smell of bacon was suddenly making her hungry too.

She walked back into the bedroom and made her way to her side of the bed, sighing deeply as she laid back down, her muscles were sore from the previous night but it was definitely the good kind of sore.

When she laid down again, he rested a hand on her stomach, fingers splayed out over her skin. "Still better?" he asked with concern.

Nodding, she turned to look at her and lifted a hand to brush against his arm, "yeah, I'm even kinda hungry."

Oliver gazed at her, propping himself up on one elbow and gazing down at her. "Want me to see if I can wrangle some soup from the kitchen?"

Chloe considered for a moment then shook her head, "toast, toast sounds good."

"Toast it is," he agreed, leaning down and kissing her softly on the lips.

She kissed him back, lifting a hand to cup his face and relaxing against the bed. She was really tired still. Sleeping more was definitely going to be necessary.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Oliver was making his way back into their room, a plate of toast in his hands. One piece was plain, one had butter, another had peanut butter, and the fourth had jam. He frowned a little, hoping one of them would be something she liked. He moved over to the bed, yawning slightly.

Chloe sat up when he walked back in, she didn't really want to tell him she had gotten sick again while he was gone, even if she was feeling better. Maybe the food would actually settle her stomach. She had found her underwear and was wearing the t-shirt he had on the previous night, mostly because it was the first thing she could find, "did you see Lois and Clark?"

The sight of her in his shirt surprised him and his gaze trailed down her body. He swallowed hard. "Huh?"

She raised her eyebrows slightly at his reaction and made a mental note for later, "Lois and Clark, were they at breakfast?"

He blinked a couple of times. "I didn't see them."

"You're tired." She pointed out, holding her hand out to the plate, "go back to bed."

"You're pale," he told her, searching her eyes. "Maybe we should find a doctor nearby."

"I'm okay," she insisted, holding his gaze, "if I don't get better by tomorrow, you can have your way."

A faint smile tugged at his lips. "You realize you're about the only person on the planet who doesn't let me have my way immediately, right?" He sat down on the edge of the bed.

"The only reason I'm agreeing to this at all right now is because you brought me food." She picked up the toast with peanut butter, knowing that he was allergic to peanuts and that one was definitely not for him then held the plate out to him, "I'm not gonna eat all that."

"I wasn't sure what kind you liked." His voice was quiet.

"Just butter or cream cheese would have been fine, but peanut butter sounds good right now." She informed him, raising her eyebrows, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he promised, setting the plate on the nightstand and laying down in the bed beside her.

"You should eat something too," she told him, "then we can go back to bed for a while longer."

"Any of these you don't like?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the plate of toast.

"Not really, you can have whatever you want," she told him, taking another bite and watching him closely.

Oliver picked up the piece of jam-covered toast and took a bite. Feeling her eyes on him, he glanced at her again curiously. "What's up?"

"You sure you're okay?" She asked again, watching him still and adding a second mental note, that he liked jam on his toast, just in case "you're kind of staring, not getting sick too, right?"

A smile tugged at his lips. "I can't help it. I don't think I've ever seen you wearing any of my clothes before."

"Oh," she looked down at herself, at least her first impression of his reaction had been right, "I suppose that's a good surprise? This is pretty comfortable."

"Looks a lot better on you than it does me," he told her, leaning over and kissing the corner of her mouth.

Grinning softly, she raised her eyebrows, "I'd kiss you, but I would rather not kill you."

"I'll take my chances," he informed her, kissing her softly.

Chloe blinked and pulled away from him, eyes a little wide, "I'm serious, there's peanuts in this," she told him, raising her toast.

"Oh. I thought you meant by passing on your germs." He smiled a bit, then kissed her forehead.

She sighed a little and shook her head at him, leaning back against the pillows, "what would you do without me?" She teased.

"Die of peanut poisoning, clearly," he teased back, watching her.

"Clearly," she smirked, taking another bite of her toast, feeling a lot more awake than she had before she started eating.

Oliver rested his head on the pillow after he finished his own toast. He hoped the toast would help settle her stomach.

She finished her own a few seconds later and laid back down too, turning to look at him, "thanks."

He smiled, nodding a little. "No problem." He studied her for a long moment. "So how do you feel about Clark and Lois knowing about this?" he asked, gesturing between them.

Raising her eyebrows a little, she shrugged a shoulder, "I'm okay with it?" She said carefully, "Lois is okay with it, and I told her it was just casual," even if it felt like a lot more than that, "how do you feel?"

Just casual. Right. He nodded a little. "I'm fine with it. Although I do have a feeling that our resident Kryptonian will have a few things to say when Lois lets it slip that it's just casual."

Chloe shrugged a shoulder and raised her eyebrows, "he's dating my cousin and I never said a word to him about it, despite his track record of completely breaking the heart of everyone he was ever in a relationship with, he better not think he has the right to say anything about this."

Oliver studied her a moment. "He does have a bad track record," he agreed. "And not just romantically." Not that he had much room to talk in that area, for that matter.

Shaking her head, she raised her eyebrows, "personally, I think he should stay far away from her until he's ready to be honest with her, you were and she completely accepted your secret identity thing."

He held her gaze. "She also turned me down flat when I suggested we start again," he pointed out. He was quiet for a moment. "I understand that fear of rejection. Especially when it's someone you really care about. But...that's not exactly what I meant."

"What did you mean?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Because the last thing she wanted to do while half naked in bed with Ollie was discuss what went wrong with his relationship with her cousin.

"I'm talking about how he's been treating you." He held her gaze.

She frowned a little at that and shrugged her shoulders, sighing deeply and laying on her back, "eventually, we'll figure things out."

Oliver was quiet for a moment and he shifted closer to her, resting his head against hers and draping an arm around her waist. "I hope so. I know it's a two-way street and I'm not gonna pretend like I want to be stuck in the middle, but he hasn't been treating you very well for a long time now."

"I have my share of fault in this whole thing," she told him, turning her head towards his and pressing her forehead to his.

"We all do," he responded, frowning a little. "But he acts like it's all your fault."

"The way he sees it, it probably is," she said flatly, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, maybe he needs to pull his head out of his ass on occasion and get a reality check." There was more than a slight hint of annoyance in his tone.

Chloe paused at that and smirked a little, shrugging, "I agree, but it's Clark and that will never happen. For all he talks about being different and his fear of not being accepted, Clark is pretty narrow minded."

A faint smile quirked his lips and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees it."

She smiled a little at him then pulled back, sitting up, "let me brush my teeth so I don't kill you."

Oliver grinned. "Appreciated."

Chloe brushed her teeth quickly once more and made her way back to bed, laying on her side to face him, "there, now we won't have to make a hole in your throat with a pen." She told him brightly.

He raised his eyebrows, amusement clear in his eyes. "Let's always plan not to do that. Deal?" He smirked.

"What, no exciting medical procedures? Could be fun..." she raised her eyebrows and shifted closer to him on the bed.

"Medical procedures are fun to you?" He smirk widened. "Did you like to play doctor when you were younger?"

"No, I played detective," she told him, smirking right back, "but I like playing doctor now..." it was bad, and she knew it, but she couldn't help herself.

Oliver grinned, sitting up and leaning down over her. "So do I. And since you're the one who's not feeling well, I guess that means I get to be the doctor."

She turned to lay on her back and look up at him, grinning, "please, you just wanna be the doctor because you have a thing about being in control."

"Says the pot to the kettle." His eyes twinkled with mischief.

Chloe laughed and rolled her eyes, "we're not talking about me."

"I like talking about you." He pulled the blankets back down off her and gazed down at her wearing his green shirt. "And looking at you." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her jaw. "And kissing you..."

"We can stick to the looking and the kissing," she told him, raising a hand to cup his face.

"Just looking and kissing?" He smirked. "I had other things in mind."

Grinning, she turned her fact towards his, pressing a kiss to his lips, "well, out of what you suggested."

He kissed her back without hesitation. "You feeling well enough for more than that?"

"I feel fine," she told him, rubbing her other hand over his back and pulling him closer.

"You're gonna feel a lot better than fine very quickly," he informed her with a smirk, leaning down and kissing her once more.

With a grin, she returned the kiss hungrily, wrapping her arms around him, maybe they should have dinner with Lois and Clark instead, she didn't think she would want to leave the bed in time for lunch.

Oliver slid his body down and over hers, settling on top of her. Frankly he didn't care if he heard the names Lois and Clark for the rest of the weekend.

She spread her legs to either side of him and rubbed her hands over his back, pulling up the t-shirt he had put on to pick up food for her. Too many clothes.

He grinned a little, shifting just enough so he could pull the shirt off him and discard it to the floor. Then he slid up the shirt she was wearing but didn't take it off her, simply leaned down and captured a nipple in his mouth, teasing it with his tongue and teeth and then moving to the other to show it the same treatment.

Chloe made no motion to pull the shirt off, she figured that wasn't part of the plan. With a shiver, she wrapped her legs around the back of his, trying to pull him closer.

He smiled against her skin, then slowly kissed a trail down her stomach, reaching behind him and loosening her legs. "Relax," he murmured, glancing up at her with knowing eyes.

She paused and raised her eyebrows, dropping her feet to the bed and looking down at him and smiling slightly.

They'd done a lot together in the time since they'd come up with their 'no strings attached but lots of fun times' agreement, but they hadn't done what he was planning at the moment. He wasn't sure why that was, maybe it was too intimate of an act. But things felt different now and he slid further down her body, resting his hands on her inner thighs and spreading them a little more to make room for his body.

Her eyes widened a little and she cocked her head to watch him, holding her breath in anticipation. Chloe had only been with one person before Ollie and it didn't take a genius to figure out that the two men were on completely different levels. And although Jimmy had tried his best to do that to her, he just didn't have the experience. Oliver, though, she had no doubt knew exactly what he was doing.

He looked up and met her eyes, a faint smile tugging at his lips at the surprise on her face. He parted her folds with his thumbs gently and slid his tongue down her slit before thrusting it inside her.

Chloe's eyes widened even more and she moaned loudly, lifting her hips towards him as her hands went to either side of her, grabbing the sheets tightly.

Oliver nearly groaned at the sound she made, sliding his hands beneath her hips and tilting them upwards, repeating his actions and then swirling his tongue around her clitoris.

She pressed her feet down on the bed to support herself, shuddering hard as she tugged on the sheets, her eyes rolling back, her entire body already screaming for release and he had barely even touched her.

He kept his eyes on her even as he continued what he was doing, fascinated by her responses, by the look of ecstasy on her face. He slid a finger inside her, then a second, stroking her insides even as his tongue explored her outside.

"Ollie!" She cried between moans and groans, her hips buckling as she tried to get as much contact as she could, her brain was completely blank, everything she was doing was purely on instinct.

The desperation in her tone caused him to tighten his hold on her hip just a little and without further hesitation, he wrapped his lips around the little nub and suckled gently, scraping his teeth over it very lightly.

Chloe shuddered hard, her body arching as her orgasm hit her hard, all she could do was cry out, her hands pulling on the sheets as her feet pressed against the bed.

Oliver watched her with dark eyes, enjoying the way her skin flushed from her climax. He slowly slid up her body once more, kissing his way up her stomach and to her breasts once more until their faces were inches apart. "I loved that," he informed her with a smirk.

She looked up at him as her body collapsed on the bed, trying to catch her breath. She wanted a smartass reply to him, but her brain was nowhere to be found, so she just stared.

"Glad you did, too," he said, flashing her a grin. "You ready for round two?"

With a deep breath, she reached up and slid her hand into his hair, pulling him down to her and kissing him hard. That should be enough of an answer for him.

Oliver decided to take that as a definite yes, kissing her back just as urgently even as he slid his fingers inside her once more.

Her body was incredibly sensitive all of the sudden so she shivered at the touch, but it didn't stop her from what she wanted to do. She shifted under him and pushed him on his back, moving with him so she was on top of him now, her legs on either side of his hips.

"Like I said, you like the control as much as I do." He grinned up at her. Not that he was complaining. He had no problems sharing the control with her as long as it was on equal terms.

"And I never denied it," she took a deep breath and rocked her hips against his hand.

"Good thing. Denial doesn't suit you," he informed her, taking her movements as a sign to continue. He pressed his thumb in slow circles in time with the slow stroking motion of the fingers inside her.

Chloe smirked at him and lowered her head as another shudder ran through her body, "I would love to return the favor," she told him, running her tongue slowly over his bottom lip and holding his gaze to let him know she meant it, "but I don't think right now is the best time to do so," considering how upset her stomach had been earlier, she didn't think it'd be smart to test her gag-reflexes.

He cupped her cheek with his free hand, stroking her face lightly. "This is just one day of many. Don't worry about it. Just feel," he murmured watching her as he continued to slide his fingers in and out of her.

She rested her forehead against his, looking at him as well as she could as she moved her hips against his fingers. She was feeling, she felt his touch, his body under her, his warm breath against her mouth like her body was suddenly over-sensitive to everything he was doing to her.

Oliver pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth as she rode his hand. "I'll let you in on a little secret," he murmured.

Chloe caught his bottom lip in her mouth for a second then released it, "what is it?"

"I really enjoy watching you come undone," he told her, his eyes dark. And he did. He enjoyed knowing he was the one that made the normally controlled, carefully put-together Watchtower lose control. It was addictive. She was addictive.

She paused for a second, grinning slowly, hips still moving against his fingers with no hurry, "I enjoy every second of it," she told him, leaning down and pressing a lingering kiss to his lips before pulling back, "and watching you is just as good."

He grinned back at her, watching her face. "Good to know." He let his hand trail up her arm to her shoulder, then slowly down her back.

Chloe shifted and reached down between them, cupping him through his pants, "are you ready for me?"

Oliver groaned at the light touch and he pressed his thumb a little more firmly against her, teasing and pushing her a little farther. "Are you?"

She shuddered and with a thrust of her hips, she pulled back to look better at him, "you have to ask?"

He grinned up at her. "Just making sure."

Chloe sat up and pulled her hips away from his touch, reaching down and pulling his pants and boxers down his legs, her nails scratching his skin slowly as she did.

Oliver shut his eyes, shuddering a little at the feel of her nails. When she'd freed him from the rest of his clothes, he reached out and grabbed her hips in his hands, opening his eyes once more, intensity in his gaze.

She bit down on her bottom lip and looked over at him, guiding him into her and holding his gaze as she lowered herself over him.

He watched her intently, gritting his teeth against the urge to move as soon as she'd settled atop him. His hands tightened ever-so-slightly on her hips as he willed himself to stay still and allow her time to adjust.

Chloe moaned quietly at the feel of him in her and shivered, taking a deep breath and moving her hips slowly as she shifted back slightly so he could slide in deeper, she still had his green shirt on and she smirked down at him as she started picking up the pace.

Oliver wrapped his arms around her, thrusting his hips to meet her halfway, not about to let her do all the work. He pulled her a little closer, keeping his eyes on hers.

She leaned closer, holding his gaze as she took his bottom lip between her teeth and nibbled on it.

He lifted a hand to her face, tucking some hair behind her ear and watching her, groaning softly as he felt her tongue slide over his lip. He tangled his hand in her hair, pulling her closer and kissing her urgently.

Chloe returned the kiss with just as much hunger, her hips moving faster and harder against him. It was always that way with them, no matter how much they tried to take things slow, there was just this overwhelming need and urgency attached to them, it always ended up intense. It was just who they were, they weren't the kind of people who did anything halfheartedly, they were in all the way.

Without warning, Oliver sat up abruptly, not breaking the kiss even as he slid deeper inside her with the new position. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, moving together faster.

She moaned against his mouth when they shifted, her arms tight around him as she clung to him, sucking in a breath and kissing him hard as she slammed her hips into his.

Moaning was good. He liked hearing it from her, but he wanted a little more than that this time. He raised her all the way off him and slammed back into her without hesitation.

Pulling her mouth away from his, she cried out, her back arching at the sensation he had caused. Her nails dug against his back.

That was more like it, he thought, repeating the action, supporting her back with one large hand splayed against it. He moved again, laying her back on the bed as he rested on his knees, pulling her legs up and over his shoulders before thrusting into her again. He lowered his mouth to her breasts, one hand covering one of them while his lips and tongue ministered to the other.

Her feet locked behind his neck automatically and she lifted a hand to grab his hair, "fuck, Ollie," she reached down with her free hand and held on to his thigh, nails digging his skin as she slammed as hard as she could into him, her head pressing against the mattress as her back arched, her muscles clinging to him, she was close.

"That's the idea," he said with a faint chuckle, sweat trickling down between his shoulder blades as he shifted, tugging free of her grip on his hair and holding onto her hips once more, thrusting into her hard and fast, his thumb reaching out and stroking her with skilled expertise in time with his movements.

This time, when she cried out, it was so loud, it made her throat burn, but she didn't care, she felt like her entire body had just been hit by lightning, everything felt still for a second then exploded the tension that had been building below her stomach spread quickly all over and she shuddered so hard, her back came up off of the mattress completely, her muscles clinging to him with everything they could and she wasn't sure she was ever going to be able to breath or think again. And she was completely okay with that.

Oliver kept his eyes on her even as he teetered on the edge of his own climax, her muscles squeezing him tightly. Deciding to see how much more he could push her, he rubbed his thumb over her a little faster as he buried himself into her once more. As much time as they'd spent together like this, it wasn't usually for such long periods of uninterrupted time as it was quick, fast, hard sex between the rest of their busy lives. But now they had time. And he was going for the gold. "Ever had multiples?" he murmured, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

Chloe's eyes shot open to look at him, gasping for air and shuddering still, her muscled trembling around him, she couldn't feel her legs anymore, but her hips were moving on their own against him, both her hands holding on to his thighs as she tried to catch her breath.

He gave her a wicked grin as he thrust into her again, a little deeper at the same time he pressed the pad of his thumb against her clit a little harder.

Shutting her eyes tightly, she screamed his name, as a second orgasm hit her just as hard, her chest was hurting because she had no air and this time, her arms just fell on the bed, she had no energy left.

Oliver thrust into her once more, burying his face against her chest as his own orgasm hit and he shuddered against her, closing his eyes tightly for a moment and then gently reaching up and pulling her knees off his shoulders. They were both soaked in sweat and he rolled off her and onto his back, taking her with him and letting his head drop back onto the pillow.

Chloe didn't notice he had moved them for a long moment, keeping her eyes closed as she breathed heavily, laying limbless half on him, half on the bed. She wasn't sure how long it was, but when she finally opened her eyes, it felt like a long time had gone by and she wasn't sure if she had dozed off or not, "wow..." she whispered.

A smile spread across his face as he lifted a hand to rub her back. "I agree."

She pressed a kiss to his jaw and rubbed a hand lazily over his sweaty chest, "you're amazing."

Oliver kissed the top of her head. "I happen to think we're both amazing." He paused. "Especially together." He wondered if saying that was somehow crossing a line he was pretty sure that had been dissipating over the last month.

"I agree," she smiled at him then laid her head over his shoulder, kissing his neck softly then nibbling gently, affectionately.

He smiled back, his eyes remaining shut even as he slid his hand up her back and into her hair, massaging her scalp tenderly. "We should shower," he murmured, though he made no move to get up.

"We really should," she smiled against his skin, kissing his jaw, she had never felt so comfortable with anyone before. Not even with the man she married or her supposed best friend. There was no pretending with Oliver. No lies. They knew what they were, they knew each others' secrets, no matter how odd or unusual their life might seem to people who didn't fully understand what they did, they knew why they did it, they understood each other and their motives and more importantly, they accepted the other, flaws, mistakes, imperfections and all.

And having their relationship go from merely acquaintances to the person Chloe trusted the most so unexpectedly should sound odd, but since she brought him back from his self-inflicted hell, she and Oliver had grown progressively closer. Nothing was forced upon the other, there were no expectations, it just happened, it was natural, like it was supposed to be exactly like this all along. And Chloe didn't even believe in destiny.

That was why she didn't think about what would happen to them eventually, if they would end up in a relationship, or if this would go on for years or even if they would just find their separate paths. Even though she would certainly like one of these options better than the others, she didn't worry about it because with them, things just happened, as unexpectedly as they may be, it was just right.

"A thousand dollars for your thoughts," he teased, tracing lazy circles on her back as he pressed another kiss to the top of her head. "What's going on in that brilliant brain of yours?" He stroked the fingers of his other hand gently through her blond hair, letting his fingertips skim along the back of her neck before starting the motions all over again.

"Not much thought," she told him quietly, lifting her head to look at him and rubbing her hand over his arm, her face soft, "just thinking how comfortable this is," she didn't know if she was telling him that because he had just given her the best orgasms of her life, but she felt like sharing.

A soft smile touched his lips at her admission and he kissed her forehead lightly. "Me too."

Chloe closed her eyes for a second then leaned closer, kissing him softly.

"I don't know about you, but now I'm really hungry. You feel up to eating something more than toast?"

"Yeah," she took a deep breath and shifted slightly, not really making an effort to get up, her body was still completely rested, "shower first, though."

"Mmhmm." He slid his arms around her, picking her up as he reluctantly got up himself.

Chloe grinned and wrapped her arms around him, "I would complain, but I don't think I can stand up yet."

Oliver smirked, kissing her mouth as he carried her toward the bathroom. "I wonder why that is..."

She sighed and grinned, running her fingers over the back of his neck, "your ego deserves to be inflated right now, I'll give you that." She paused and clear her throat, "listen closely, because you may never hear this again."

He arched an eyebrow. "May never hear that my ego deserves inflating?"

Rolling her eyes, she smirked, "what I'm about to tell you, smartass."
He grinned. "All right. Lay it on me."

"Those were the best orgasms I ever had in my life." She raised her eyebrows and smirked slowly, "and I'm not even lying because you're rich."

A laugh escaped him involuntarily. "Good to know." He smirked back at her. "But for the record, that was just the first of many."

"Good," she grinned a little, pulling on the back of his hair, "I don't think I could live knowing it would never happen again."

"Hm, I am good," he teased, stepping into the shower with her and turning on the hot water, putting his back to the stream so she didn't get blasted with cold water before it got warm.

"You can put me down," she leaned in and kissed him. It really should bother her how comfortable this was.

"You sure you're capable of standing now?" Oliver grinned against her mouth.

"No, but that's what you're here for, right? I can lean on you."

He met her eyes, his expression growing serious. More serious than he even realized. "Yes. You can," he said quietly.

Chloe paused at the look on his face, she didn't mean it like that, but she knew he meant it like that too. Her face softened again and she smiled softly, nodding, "I know..."

"Good." He kissed her forehead softly and reached for the bar of soap.

She grinned up at him and brushed her fingers over his hair, letting the water soak it, they had done this many times before and she was always amused by how attentive he was when he helped her wash her hair.

He kissed her softly, lathering up his hands and running them through her hair, massaging her scalp gently.

Chloe smiled against his mouth, blindly reaching for the soap and rubbing it over his back.

Oliver leaned his forehead against hers for a moment, then maneuvered them around so she was beneath the spray of water as he began to rinse her hair from the soap suds. "You are an amazing woman," he murmured.

She sighed deeply, leaning her head back then looked up at him, smiling a little, "I didn't even do anything yet."

"You're always doing something," he told her with amusement.

Chloe laughed softly, shampooing his hair carefully not to get anything in his eyes, considering her height, it wasn't as easy a task as it could be, "how come I feel like I'm being accused of something?"

"I don't know. But you're not," he assured her with a smile.

"Rinse," she told him, shifting to switch places with him, "glad to hear it."

He grinned at her. "I figured you would be."

Once they were both acceptably clean, Chloe reached down and shut down the water, "food," she told him.

"Definitely food," he agreed, leaning in and kissing her softly.

Chapter Text

Chloe was pretty sure she had never moved so fast in her life. The walk from the Watchtower to the Planet usually took between fifteen and twenty minutes but that day, it took less than seven. She was wearing flats, that definitely helped. And she was also desperate.

Sure, she could have just called her cousin and demanded her to meet her halfway, but she wasn't thinking. She was desperate.

She had never been so relieved to see her cousin. Better yet, her cousin sans Clark. With a deep breath, wide eyes and an extremely pale face, she planted her palms on her cousin's desk, eyes wide and breathless, she managed, "we need to talk."

Lois started, looking up at her with wide eyes. "Geez, Cuz, are you trying to give me an actual heart attack? Because I've been told that 25 isn't too young to have one."

Chloe grabbed her cousin's hand and tugged on it, despite her size, she was strong enough to get Lois to stand up.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she followed Chloe away from her desk, frowning at how pale she was. "Are you all right? What the hell's going on?"

Once she managed to get Lois into the copy room, she closed the door and started closing the blinds one by one, her former co-workers were completely capable of reading lips and she wasn't willing to take a chance. Once she was satisfied, she turned to her cousin, her heart beating fast, "according to ten pregnancy tests of seven different brands. I'm pregnant." She breathed, her eyes wide.

"What!?" The word came out as a high-pitched shriek. "You're what!?"

Chloe's eyes widened ever more as she stepped closer and covered her cousin's mouth with one of her hands, "I didn't drag you in here to tell you because I wanted to announce it to the entire newsroom." She snapped. Like she wasn't freaked out enough as it was.

Lois forced herself to take a deep breath. "Right. Right. Okay." She nodded a little and stared at her cousin for a long moment. "You're pregnant. Chloe, how did this happen?" She shook her head. Then she made a disgusted noise. "Forget about that. I know how it happened. Obviously." She rolled her eyes. "You guys haven't been using protection?"

With a deep breath, Chloe rubbed her hands over her face, "I'm on the pill," she told her, "but clearly that's not enough when it comes to Oliver Queen."

"That's not enough when it comes to any guy." She groaned a little. "Pill, condom, shot, patch. All of the above."

"Spare me the lecture, it's not gonna do me any good now."

Lois sighed softly. "Right. I know." She moved closer and wrapped her arms around her tightly. "All right. So how far along are you? Any idea?"

"Can't be more than two months," she sighed, that was about how long she and Oliver had been sleeping together, wrapping her arms around Lois, Chloe pursed her lips together, "I need to go see a doctor. I don't know."

"Two months. Wow," she murmured. "Have you told Oliver?"

"Of course not!" She looked up at Lois, terrified, then paused, taking a deep breath, "I just found out." She explained, sighing softly.

They had only been back from their trip for two days and she had had what she knew now was morning sickness for both of those days. When she realized that she hadn't really had her period the week prior, she started freaking out. Glad that Oliver wasn't in Watchtower for the day, she ran out to the drugstore and picked up one of every pregnancy test she could find. A couple of some of them. And every single one had either the double lines, the positive sign or the word 'pregnant' staring back at her once the waiting period was over.

That was when she grabbed her purse and ran.

Lois drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Right. Okay." She gazed at Chloe intently. "Then we need to figure out how you're gonna break the news to him."

"Guess what? I'm having your kid, you get to pay for it?" Chloe sighed, pulling back and shaking her head as she leaned against one of the desks, "I don't know if I can do this."

She frowned. "You kinda don't have a choice unless...you don't want to have this baby, Chlo."

Swallowing hard, Chloe shook her head, staring blankly at the floor, "I couldn't do that."

Lois exhaled, relief washing over her. "Good. I mean, it's your choice and you know I'd stand by you no matter what you decided, but..."

"But I was stupid enough to get myself into this, I get to deal with the consequences." Chloe said quietly.

"That's not what I was going to say." She frowned deeply. "I just meant...we don't have much in the way of family and if I'm waiting on Lucy to give me a niece or nephew, I have a feeling I'll be waiting a long time. Which is good, because, really? Can you imagine Lucy with a kid?"

"How am I even supposed to be a mom," Chloe whispered, her voice choking up slightly, "I barely remember having one."

Lois's face fell. "Oh, baby, it's okay. It's gonna be all right." She hugged her again. "Hey, we'll figure it out, all right?"

She wiped her face and leaned into her cousin, taking a deep breath but keeping her eyes on the floor, "I have no idea how to tell him..."

She rubbed Chloe's back gently. "Well, pretend I'm Oliver and tell me."

Chloe glanced at Lois for a second, "I can't think of anything other than 'I'm pregnant'," she admitted.

"Probably the best way anyway. Short and to the point."

Nodding slightly, Chloe sighed deeply, looking down again, "what do you think he will say?"

Lois was quiet for a moment. "I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." And if she wasn't? Lois would kick Oliver's leather-wearing ass all the way back to California.

Chloe nodded slightly, taking a deep breath. She didn't think Oliver would react badly. Maybe freak out, but she didn't think he would do more than be nervous about it. They had grown closer during the weekend and while she didn't expect a commitment because of this, she didn't see him running away either.

"You want me to come with you when you tell him?" Her voice was quiet.

"No," she told her quietly, glancing at her, "thank you."

Lois gazed at her and nodded a little. "All right. Chloe, is there anything I can do? Do you need anything?"

Sniffing a little, Chloe shook her head, "I just needed to tell you," she looked at her cousin and took a deep breath, "I need to tell him."

"You're going to be okay," she said quietly, resting her hands on Chloe's shoulders.

"Thank you, Lo," she whispered quietly, wrapping her arms around her cousin and hugging her tightly.

Lois shut her eyes and hugged her back. "Let me know how it goes?"

"I will," she said quietly, pressing a kiss to Lois' cheek then pulling back, "don't tell Clark, okay? I don't want him going to Oliver, demanding answers."

"Hey, what you and Oliver do isn't really any of Smallville's business anyway. But don't worry. My lips are sealed," Lois promised.

"Thank you," Chloe took a deep breath and adjusted her purse over her shoulder before straightening her back, "I'll talk to you later."

"You'd better." She smiled and watched her cousin head for the door.

With one deep breath, Chloe opened the door and stepped out, making her way to the stairs with her head down as quickly as she could.

* * *

Oliver aimed the arrow at the target, lining it up with the bullseye and then waiting. Releasing the arrow a second later, he smiled in satisfaction as it hit dead-center. He'd been teaching Mia how to handle a bow and arrow. She was a fast learner and was doing better than he'd expected. But the training had served to hone his own archery skills even more. He heard footsteps approaching as he put another arrow against the string. "No more training today, Kid. Everybody has to take a break once in awhile," he said without looking up, letting this arrow fly, as well.

Chloe walked in in silence, not surprised to see Mia there with Oliver, they had been spending a lot of time practicing lately, if he wasn't with her and if he wasn't at QI or patrolling, he was with Mia. She didn't want to interrupt even though Oliver had dismissed his student, so she crossed her arms over her chest and watched.

"Ugh, fine." Mia rolled her eyes and headed toward the locker room. She smirked at Chloe then glanced back at Oliver. "Your girlfriend's here." Without waiting for a response, she ducked into the bathroom.

Oliver glanced up at her words and grinned at Chloe. "Hey. Didn't expect to see you here."

Chloe managed a half smile at Mia then took a deep breath before turning to Oliver, "hey," she said in reply, because any variation of 'can we talk?' or 'we need to talk' sounded like an awful way to start this conversation.

He smiled and began to put his things away. "What's up?"

"I was hoping we could talk..." Great. That was definitely a much better alternative, Chloe. She held her breath a little.

"Yeah, sure." Oliver glanced at her, frowning a little at how pale she was. "You feeling all right? You're kinda pale. You're not still sick with that bug, are you?"

"No, I'm not sick," she assured him, but didn't answer any of his other questions.

He paused, taking note of her avoidance of the other question he'd asked. "That's good." His eyebrows furrowed.

Chloe heard the shower running and took a deep breath, hopefully Mia would be a good teenage girl and be in there for a while, "I've been trying to think of a way to ease you into this but I don't think there is one."

Oliver stared at her for a long moment, not liking the way this sounded at all. "Don't keep me in suspense. Whatever it is, just tell me."

She swallowed, her mouth suddenly very dry and looked him in the eye, she didn't want to miss his reaction, "I'm pregnant."

He blinked. Once. Then again. "Run that by me again?"

Chloe sighed deeply and shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself instinctively, forcing herself not to take a step back and get away from him like she wanted to, "I don't expect you to do anything about it."

Oliver stared at her, his expression blank at her words. "Right. So this is what, just a courtesy call?"

Her jaw tightened a little, "you can call it whatever you want." Now that she was there, facing him, she wasn't so sure about his reaction.

The tension in her voice was so thick, he honestly didn't know what to make of it. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, not even close to actually processing the information. "What do you want?" he asked quietly.

"I'm not getting rid of it," she managed to make her voice sound firm. Much more resolved and secure than she actually felt.

He felt like she'd actually slapped him. "Chloe, I'd never ask you to."

"I just wanted to make it clear," she told him, her voice tight, "it's the only thing I know right now." She couldn't remember being that scared in a long time. She knew she didn't want to ask anything of him. But she didn't know if she could do it on her own either.

Oliver opened his mouth to respond, then shut it again. He forced himself to take another breath. "All right." His voice was quiet.

Chloe looked at him for a moment longer then took a deep breath, adjusting her purse over her shoulder, "I'll give you time to process this," she said quietly, taking a step back.

He took a couple steps toward her. "Do you need anything? Have you seen a doctor yet?"

"I just found out an hour ago," she admitted.

Oliver rubbed the back of his neck. "We should set up an appointment. Do you know how...uh, how pregnant?"

She raised her eyebrows a little then shook her head, wrapping her arm tightly around herself, "can't be more than two months," since that was when they started their incredibly stupid and irresponsible agreement, "but I don't think you're supposed to be able to tell until a month or so."

He swallowed hard, nodding a little. "Right. Okay."

Sighing deeply, she rubbed her hands over her face, "I need to go, I should call my doctor and... figure things out."

"What's to figure out?" His eyebrows furrowed. "I mean, we're having a baby."

Chloe stilled and swallowed hard at the 'we', holding her breath for a second, she raised a hand to stop him and shook her head, "don't jump into this," she warned him, she didn't want him to make promises he couldn't keep, "think about it, process the information and then we'll talk."

Oliver stared at her, more than a hint of disbelief on his face. "Chloe, there's nothing to jump into. We're having a baby together, whether you like it or not."

"This isn't about me and this isn't about you, Oliver," she did her best to keep her voice from breaking, "this is about this kid and how whatever decisions we make are going to affect it." Despite her best efforts, she couldn't help the tears that were starting to form, the thought that every little thing she did could completely ruin this child's life was terrifying, "so I don't think stopping and digesting what I'm telling you before you make any decisions is a bad idea."

His stomach clenched, both at her words and at her tears. He didn't know what to say, or how to react to what she was saying.

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath to calm herself down, "I'll let you know when my appointment is," she told him before turning around and walking to the door.

Oliver wanted to stop her, to call out and tell her to wait for a minute, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out. He watched her go, then sat down heavily on the floor, a dazed expression on his face, which is where Mia found him moments later.

Mia fully expected for either Chloe to be there still or for Oliver to have gone with her to... wherever, as she came out of her shower, changed and dried her hair in a towel, "who died?" She asked with a frown.

He didn't look up at her. "She's pregnant."

She stilled and stared at Oliver, raising her eyebrows, "I assume that's not a good thing?"

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face. "I don't know. I don't..." He shook his head a little, staring at the door with a blank expression.

"If she needs the drugs to take care of it, I know people..." Mia offered with a frown, not sure what else to say.

"No, she's not...we're not getting rid of it, Mia." He blew out a breath, raking a hand through his hair. He finally looked up at her. "It's complicated." His voice was almost inaudible.

Mia didn't really think he would, Oliver wasn't like the people she used to know. With a shrug, she sat down next to him, "how?"

"It was a...no strings attached kind of thing," he admitted, guilt in his voice. "It made sense at the time. But then things started to change. Or I thought they had anyway."

"Still your kid, though, right?"

Oliver glanced at her sideways, nodding a little, then looking down at his hands. "I'm not sure she wants me involved." His voice was barely audible. "She said she didn't expect anything from me."

Mia rolled her eyes and gave him a look, "she's freaked out."

"That's not the point, Mia." He frowned. "I'm a little freaked out, too, but I sure as hell expect more than nothing from myself. This is my baby. And I thought..."

"Thought what?"

"I thought we were starting to be more than just..." He motioned vaguely with his hand toward nothing in particular. "It was starting to be a lot more than casual for me."

"Right..." she looked at him for a long moment then shrugged, "just talk to her and if she says she doesn't want you involved, just tell her you have as much right to this kid as she does, you made it too."

Oliver gazed at her for a moment, falling silent. "She said I should think about it. There's nothing to think about, you know? This baby's mine, too. I mean, I get why she'd think I might not want to be involved, but I thought after everything that's happened she'd know that I'm not the same guy I used to be." He paused. "You're right. I need to talk to her."

"Yeah, but not now," Mia warned him, "you're way more than 'a little' freaked out, by the way and if she's freaked out too, that's not gonna help. Wait until tomorrow or something and then go see her."

He shut his eyes. "I don't want her to think I'm going to turn my back on her." His jaw tightened a little. "She's had too many people do that already."

After hesitating for a second, Mia placed a hand on his shoulder, she wasn't good with this kind of stuff but Oliver had helped her a whole lot, so she could give it a try, even if it sucked, "that's probably why she's freaking out and expecting you to do that in the first place, then," she told him, "don't think it has anything to do with you or how you were before you talk to her."

Oliver paused at that, considering her words. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "You're right. I'm taking this too personally." A faint smile touched his lips and he wrapped his arm around her in a sideways hug. "You know, you're a smart kid. And speaking of...how's school going?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Boring," she told him, shrugging, "but hey, they teach you how to wear a condom, maybe you should stop by."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "We're really going to have to work more on that whole 'tact' thing." Rolling his eyes, he rose to his feet and held his hand out to help her up. "Pizza or Chinese?"

Mia smirked a little at him and stood up, going back to drying her hair in the towel, "pizza."

"You do, on occasion, eat something besides pizza, right?" He smirked back at her. "Cause you know it's not the healthiest food in the world." He headed for the door.

"Sometimes I have Chinese," she told him, who needed tact? That had worked out just fine.

Oliver's smirk widened as something occurred to him. "So, how are you with babies?" Not waiting for her response, he ducked outside.

Chapter Text

Oliver had reluctantly taken Mia's advice and waited until the next day to show up at the Watchtower. He felt a lot calmer than he had the day before, less freaked out, and he even had an idea of what he was going to say to Chloe. In one hand, he carried a bouquet of orange tulips (and made a mental note to thank Bart for that tidbit of information later), and in the other he had a medium-sized gift bag. He drew in a breath as he stepped off the elevator and into the main room, spotting Chloe at her computer terminal.

"Hi." His voice was quiet.

Chloe knew he was coming, she had seen the elevator camera as soon as he stepped in it. So she had managed to prepare herself. The previous night, she hadn't gone back to the Watchtower, she had driven straight to Smallville and spent the night with Lois. Which had helped her calm down a lot too. She knew she had been too harsh on him the previous day, even if she was as scared as she'd been, he probably didn't feel much different.

With a deep breath, she turned to face him, looking at the flowers and the gift bag in his hands then at him, "hey."

He offered her a soft smile, moving over to where she was sitting. He held the flowers out to her. "I heard a rumor they were your favorite," he said softly.

She stood up and took the flowers, nodding, "thank you. But you really didn't have to."

Oliver gazed at her. "I know. I wanted to." He hesitated a moment and then pressed a kiss to her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," she hesitated too, looking down at the flowers, "my appointment is at five."

He nodded a little. "Would you...can I come with you?"

Chloe paused for a moment then looked up at him, nodding, "if you want to."

"I do," he said quietly. "Can we talk? Is this a good time for you?"

"Yeah," she said just as quietly, laying the flowers on the desk then motioning to the couch.

Oliver drew in a breath and followed her to the sofa, sitting down beside her. "I want to be a part of this," he said quietly. "All of it." He reached out and slid his fingers through hers.

Holding her breath for a second, she nodded, looking at their hands for a moment then at him, "I want you to be."

He relaxed a little, and smiled faintly. "I know this wasn't expected," he told her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "But I don't think it's a bad thing."

"You don't?" She raised her eyebrow curiously.

Oliver shook his head a little. "The timing isn't the best, but with the lives we live, it never would have been," he said gently. "And...I don't know, I guess I want this baby to be a positive thing. I want him or her to know that we love them." He paused, meeting her eyes. "And I will love them, Chloe."

Her eyes teared up as he spoke and she looked down, nodding, "of course, I'll love them too," she whispered, "but it's not a choice I would have made and I-" she stopped herself, "what if we don't know how to take care of it?"

"Ah, I've got you covered." He let go of her hand and reached into the gift bag he'd carried inside. He grinned as he handed her three books: What to Expect When You're Expecting, What to Eat When You're Expecting, and What to Expect When Your Wife is Expecting.

Chloe raised her eyebrows a little and took the books, looking at them for a second then glancing at Oliver with a tearful, faint smile, "I guess it's a start."

"And also." His grin brightened a little more as he reached into the bag again and pulled out two more things. "This is for you. Well, for us. It's a Baby Book." He handed it to her. Then he held up a tiny onesie--something Mia had suggested over dinner the night before. Although she hadn't suggested one with the words 'If you think I'm cute, you should see my dad' on it.

Chloe couldn't help but smile at the onesie, taking it from him and sniffing a little, "figures..."

He chuckled, then shifted closer to her, winding an arm around her shoulders. "We'll be okay." He kissed her temple.

She wiped her face and looked up at him, serious, "I'm sorry about yesterday."

"Me too," he said quietly.

"For the record," she took a deep breath, "I never thought you would not want to be a part of this."

Oliver paused, searching her eyes. "You were freaked out and scared, Chloe. I get that."

She nodded and held his gaze, she was still pretty scared, but slightly less freaked out, "you were too."

"I'd be more scared and freaked out if this was happening with anyone but you," he told her seriously.

Chloe paused for a second, a little surprised by the admission. She hadn't really thought about it that way before and now that she was, she found herself agreeing with him. For all the insane things they did and how messed up they both were, they trusted each other and she meant it when she told him she knew he was going to want to be a part of that baby's life. She would never question the trust he had in her and the fact that they had been giving the other strength to keep going for months now. "Me too," she told him sincerely.

He smiled softly, reaching up to touch her face and gently smoothing his thumb over her cheek. "And I want you to know that if you need anything day or night...I don't care what it is. If you're craving something gross like ice cream and jalapenos...I'll be there, Chloe. And not just because this baby's half of me," he murmured. "Because it's not just about that."

She swallowed, pursing her lips together and nodding slightly. She didn't want to ask him what it was about, considering the previous weekend and how things were progressing between them, she knew he cared about her as much as she cared about him. Even if she didn't know what that meant, she didn't want to ask him then because she didn't want him to think she was demanding an answer. Just because they were having this baby together, it didn't mean things between them were changing too.

Oliver searched her eyes, looking for some sign that she knew what he meant. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth, closing his eyes. Chloe closed her eyes too and kissed the corner of his mouth in return, laying the onesie that was still in her hand over her lap and wrapping an arm around him.

He pulled her closer, wrapping both of his arms around her and maneuvering her so she was half-laying in his lap. "Hungry? I could cook something."

She curled up against him and shook her head a little, holding him quietly for a second then looking up at him, "you seem really... comfortable with the whole thing," she was mostly wondering how he managed.

Oliver was quiet for a moment, rubbing her arm absently as he considered her words. "Don't get me wrong, I'm scared. And I know you know I'm gonna do things and screw up. But..."

"But?" She asked, cocking her head slightly so she could look at him.

"But you also know me better than anyone else ever has." He met her eyes. "And I know you know how to pull me back if I screw up too bad, and...if you need pulled back, then I'll be returning the favor. No questions asked."

Pursing her lips, she took a deep breath and nodded, "we make a good team."

Oliver smiled. "Yes, we do. Work wise and otherwise." He studied her for a moment. "And you're stuck with me."

She paused for a moment and nodded slightly, getting loud and clear what he was trying to tell her, "I guess.. we should talk about it?"

"Probably," he agreed softly.

"You first," she told him quietly, sitting up slightly.

He swallowed hard, suddenly feeling nervous. It was one thing to admit that he wanted to be involved in the baby's life in every way he could, but being honest about his feelings had never been his strong suit. Regardless of what the papers said about him, he feared rejection as much as the next person. "I'm terrible with relationships." He finally met her eyes. "I screw things up. I did it with Tess, and I did it with Lois. And frankly those are the only two long-term relationships I've ever had." He swallowed hard. "So when we made our little agreement, I thought that would be easier. But it hasn't been."

Chloe considered him for a second and nodded slightly, "my track record when it comes to relationships isn't any better," she admitted, "the only long-term one I ever had was with Jimmy and even before we got divorced, we argued constantly and we broke up quite a few times," she sighed a little, "I thought this would be easier too and I was trying to stay as far from the r-word as I could but..." she watched him, "last weekend, things changed, didn't they?"

"It definitely feels like it," he admitted with a slight nod. "And in retrospect, I should have realized that the entire plan was doomed from the beginning." A wry smile touched his mouth.

"What do you mean?" She asked with a slight frown.

His eyes were filled with warm affection. "Because I should have known there was no way any guy with any amount of sanity could be just casual sex buddies with Chloe Sullivan."

Chloe blinked a couple of times and watched him silently for a second, pursing her lips together and relaxing slightly, "who says you have any sanity left?"

Oliver chuckled. "I do. It took me awhile to catch on, but I did catch on."

She smiled softly and shook her head, growing a little more serious, "I wasn't planning on anything else either."

"I know. But apparently life had other ideas for us." Without really thinking about it, he slid one hand down to rest lightly over her stomach.

Chloe held her breath and looked down at his hand, covering it with her own and nodding slightly, "apparently."

He stroked her belly lightly with his thumb. "Good thing we both adapt well to change." His mouth quirked up in a smile.

She glanced over at him and squeezed his hand, "I guess it's too late to say we should take things slowly?"

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I don't think either of us is really the kind of person who does that anyway. Are we?"

"We're really not," she told him quietly, leaning into him.

Oliver rested his head against hers. "Yeah, well. Normal's overrated."

Chloe sighed deeply and squeezed his hand again, "clearly, normal is not for us."

He was quiet for a long moment. "So what would you say if I asked you out to dinner after the appointment?"

She paused, sitting up a little and cocking her head to look at him, "like a date?"

"Yeah. Like a date." He met her eyes and smiled.

Chloe rolled her eyes a little and smiled softly, shaking her head, "sure, after you find out I'm having your kid you ask," she teased.

"Hey, I did arrange for that romantic getaway before I found out." He smirked.

"Okay, I'll give you that," she pursed her lips together, "the weekend was pretty amazing."

"Naturally." He grinned at her.

She leaned in and kissed him softly for a moment before pulling back, "dinner sounds good."

He lifted a hand up to her hair, sliding his fingers against her neck. "Good," he murmured, leaning in and kissing her again.

Chloe kissed him back, shifting and wrapping her arm around him as she shifted closer.

Oliver shifted, too, sliding a hand against her back and lowering her down on the sofa, deepening the kiss slowly.

She reached behind herself blindly and picked up the books then did her best to place them on the coffee table without opening her eyes, but when there was a loud thud, she stilled a little and paused to look over towards the pile of books now on the floor.

He grinned down at her, amusement in his eyes. "Good thing books don't break?"

"Good thing they are hardcover," she told him, picking up the onesie and setting it on the coffee table too before laying down on the couch once she made sure the books were still in perfect condition.

Oliver watched her for a moment, then pressed a kiss to her mouth. "All your books are kept in perfect condition, aren't they?" There was a hint of teasing to his tone.

Chloe waved a hand around and grinned at him, "what is this 'book' you speak of? Surely you mean a .pdf file."

He laughed. "My mistake, clearly."

She took a deep breath and reached up to touch his cheek, smiling softly at him, she was definitely feeling a lot better about things. It seemed to be a power Oliver had. To calm her down, manage to get her to relax, make her comfortable.

She would need that a lot in the near future.