Unexpected Feelings

Banner By: Andrea
Title: Unexpected Feelings
Rating: PG-13
Author: Sxymami0909
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Oliver/Chloe
Word Count: 2,220
Previous Story: Unexpected Fights



Chloe waved to the doorman in Oliver’s building and he smiled as she stepped into the elevator. It had been a long day. Lois and Clark had been fired from the Daily Planet, she’d run into Tess, and she had found out Zod was the one who’d been calling Lois posing as the blur.

Things were getting complicated, as if they weren’t already. She sighed as the elevator dinged signaling she’d reached the penthouse. She stepped over the threshold and took a deep breath. She couldn’t believe that Clark had actually considered bringing Lois into things now with everything that was going on.

Sometimes he didn’t realize how selfish he sounded. She undid her jacket and moved into the apartment with the intention of sleeping for the next hundred years, but the luggage on the couch stopped her. She glanced quickly around the room and frowned.

That was definitely Oliver’s luggage, but he wasn’t due back for another two days. It had been a chore to get him to leave in the first place. He claimed the last time he left all hell broke loose and therefore he wouldn’t be leaving again anytime soon.

It took several days and a bit of compromising, but she finally got him to go, but not without certain stipulations. She had to agree to stay at his apartment while he was gone, check in with Emil daily and him at least twice a day.

His exact words were to call him at the first sign of trouble, he had also said if she missed a check in he’d be back. She groaned and reached into her back pocket pulling out her phone. Four missed calls, seven messages and two voicemails.

She winced. She’d been so busy running searches and helping Clark she completely forgot to check in with him. Oliver clearing his throat got her attention. She looked up, his body leaning against the wall hands resting against his chest, eyebrows raised.

“Forget something Sidekick?”

Her shoulders sagged and she let out a heavy breath.

“I’m so sorry Ollie. I completely forgot about checking in. It’s been a really long day.”

He frowned and walked toward her pulling her toward him by the hip as the other hand caressed her cheek lightly. Concern was clear on his face.

“Chloe just because Emil cleared you to be up and about it doesn’t mean you should be running all over. Have you eaten?”

She opened her mouth and then slammed it shut giving him a sheepish look. He sighed shaking his head as he placed his hands on her shoulders and guided her to the kitchen. He motioned to the bar stool, which she plopped down on as he peered inside the fridge.

“How about some eggs?”

Her stomach grumbled at the suggestion and she rubbed it lightly at the realization that she was starving.

“Sounds yummy and bacon too oh and toast, maybe some sausage? No wait…scrambled eggs with cheese bacon and toast. That sounds good.”

He glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at her in amusement.

“Anything else?”

Her brows furrowed as she contemplated his question. He smiled as he waited for her answer. Truth was sure he had been worried when she didn’t check in or respond to him. But when he logged into the Watchtower mainframe from his office in Star City he saw that she was just immersed in work and nothing catastrophic had happened.

He just needed an excuse to come home. Oliver had missed her. With the Kandorians, Tess and Clark, and Lois’s hovering they hadn’t had much time alone together to discuss things that weren’t world ending and it was something that they needed to do.

Ignoring the elephant in the room didn’t make it go away. She was pregnant and they were going to have to actually sit down and talk about it.

“Oliver…”

He shook his head and gave her a questioning look. She titled her head to the side and laughed.

“Where’d you go?”

“Sorry I was thinking.”

“Ah, that’s what that smell was.”

She smirked and he rolled his eyes good naturedly as he pulled out the eggs, butter and cheese. He got out a pan and a few other things as he turned on the stove.

“Real nice Chloe, you know you shouldn’t mock the people making your food.”

“Mmm I’ll bet. So how was Star City?”

“Boring. I hate board meetings. Tell me about this long day you’ve had where you conveniently forgot to answer my calls and messages. You know if you wanted me to come home all you had to do was ask.”

He threw a cocky smirk over his shoulder and it was her turn to roll her eyes. She had honestly forgotten, but the truth was she was glad he was back. He’d only been gone a few days, but she’d missed him.

They hadn’t really had a chance to discuss how they were going to handle everything since she told him about the baby and as much as she wanted to put off the conversation she knew they couldn’t anymore. She shook her head, voice amused.

“Cute. It turns out someone has been pretending to be the Blur and calling Lois asking her to do things for him.”

Oliver frowned as he placed a plate of eggs in front of her before grabbing two glasses and pouring orange juice in them. He came back over as she lifted the first forkful to her mouth.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“It wasn’t. After tracing a million and one different dead ends I found out it was Zod all along, which honestly doesn’t surprise me.”

Oliver smiled as he grabbed a plate for himself and placed two pieces of toast on her plate before pulling a stool around and sitting across from her.

“Things rarely do.”

She nodded, grin on her face.

“It’s true.”

He chuckled.

“Okay Professor let’s not toot your own horn too loud. Did Clark take care of the issue?”

She raised an eyebrow as she chewed on a piece of toast and swallowed.

“Does he ever?”

“That would be a negative.”

“I think he’s going to break off ties with the Blur and Lois though, which will hopefully keep Lois out of trouble, though somehow I doubt it.”

Oliver snorted.

“You’re one to talk. I swear you and Lois find your way into more trouble than anyone I’ve ever know. And I’ve known some…colorful people in my life.”

Chloe gave him a playful glare as she pointed at him with her fork.

“Moving on, I also ran into Tess today.”

He stopped eating and his features shifted, his lips pulled into a tight line.

“Where?”

“Your office. I was transferring the funds you asked me to switch out when she walked in and before you ask no she had no clue what I was doing.”

Oliver poked at his food and sighed.

“I’m working on getting her ousted, but it’s taking longer than I expected. That’s what the meetings were about today. If I can get the board to approve it then I can buy her out and own the whole company.”

Chloe pursed her lips, nodded, and hesitated before speaking.

“Is that a good idea Ollie? Going behind her back and essentially taking everything from her? I don’t exactly think that would put us in her good graces and though she’s not a threat at the moment, with everything going on we really don’t need something else to worry about.”

He shrugged.

“Nothing’s final, but I want her out of our lives. She knows too much Chloe. I don’t need her to find out about anything else. She’s getting too close.”

Chloe watched him focusing on his food, but she could see the tension in his shoulders. She reached across the island and rested a hand over his. Oliver glanced up and his eyes met sympathetic ones.

“You’re worried…”

He swallowed hard.

“I am.”

“About her finding out about the team? About me…us?”

She placed her other hand over her stomach and she could see the conflict in his eyes as he leaned back slightly.

“There’s a lot that I’m worried about, and she knows we’re close, but she doesn’t know you are Watchtower and I’m not willing to risk you or the baby. It’s better if she’s just gone. She isn’t the same person I used to know, I’m not sure if there are any redeeming qualities left. She could use you against me and right now that isn’t something that we can afford.”

At his quiet admission tears pooled in her eyes, voice soft as she spoke.

“That’s why you have me installing the new security system.”

He gave her half a smile.

“Guilty.”

“Ollie…there’s always going to be someone or something out there that’s trying to get to one of us. It’s the life we chose, but we can’t hide out and stop living. You can’t just lock me away it doesn’t work like that.”

“I know, I just…Chloe we’re having a baby. A baby. A whole other life to take care of and protect…”

He paused and she watched him swallow hard and gather his thoughts.

“My parents died when I was so young…I basically raised myself and you, you’ve been fending for yourself since you were a kid too. You had your dad, but I know how much not having your mom around affected you. I don’t want our kid to have to deal with that. I’m scared out of my mind that something is going to happen to me or worse you and then what?”

She didn’t know what to say. She’d been having some of the same concerns lately and talking about emotions and emotional situations was hard for her. She took a deep breath and shrugged.

“I don’t know. I don’t have the answers anymore than you do. I’m confused and tired and terrified. Things with us they were supposed to be simple…uncomplicated, but now…”

Oliver sat up a little straighter as her voice trailed off and he urged her on.

“But now what?”

This was it. The moment she’d been dreading and fighting since they started this arrangement. She took a deep breath and caught his eyes.

“But now…there are strings. Oliver when we started this I did everything in my power to keep you out, but god you’re such a pain in the ass! You bulldozed right through me.”

She paused and she could see the hope in his eyes, the quirk at the corner of his mouth and her heart skipped a beat. What was she doing? She couldn’t do this, couldn’t tell him how she felt.

It would make everything hurt that much more if this didn’t work out and she wasn’t ready for that. She let out a short breath and continued.

“You are my best friend…I care about you and…a baby…it’s a string. I think what we need to do is focus on getting rid of the Kandorians and Zod and once things are safe again for the team, us…our baby then we can focus on how we should handle everything else.”

The disappointment was clear on his face as he looked back down at his eggs. She felt horrible, but she just couldn’t do it. She wasn’t ready. Oliver poked at his eggs and nodded.

“You’re right. I should probably talk to Clark at some point then. Is he still angry at me?”

She noticed his change of topic and started picking at her food again.

“Slightly, but no more angry than you are with him.”

Oliver grunted.

“I am still angry at him. He’s lucky to be let within twenty-five feet of you without kryptonite hiding somewhere in your vicinity.”

She chuckled.

“I thought we were moving on from this. I’m fine the baby’s fine. We need to work together and that means making up with Clark.”

He grumbled.

“Fine. I’ll give him a call and play nice.”

“Thank you.”

“Mmm.”

He stood up and tossed his plate in the sink before walking over to her.

“You good? I still have a few things to take care of for work.”

She waved him off.

“Yeah, go I’m gonna finish up and collapse in that amazingly comfortable bed of yours. Have I mentioned I love those sheets?”

Oliver grinned before placing a kiss on the side of her head.

“I thought you might.”

She watched him walk down the hall to his home office grabbing his laptop on the way. She sighed. Chloe knew how Oliver felt he didn’t need to say it. It was in everything that he did. She had been right all those weeks ago. He’d fallen for her.

And as she sat there glancing around the apartment she’d been practically living in lately shock filled her at the realization that she’d fallen for him too. It was something she fought tooth and nail, something she purposely avoided, something completely unexpected.

But there she was with feelings that overwhelmed her to her very core. Feelings she hadn’t wanted to feel, but now couldn’t possibly get rid of. Chloe Sullivan was in love with Oliver Queen and it scared the living daylights out of her, but worse the thought of losing that love scared her more.

Part Seven: Unexpected Confessions