Bewitching Thoughts (2/5)

Banner By: Franica

Previous Chapter

Chapter 2
‘As You Wish’



Oliver shot up in bed, sheets pooling haphazardly at his waist, his breathing heavy as sweat beaded on his forehead while he glanced around his bedroom with a frown. He blinked several times and looked toward the window, a few slivers of light falling across the bed, signaling that it was morning.

When had he left the club and Zatanna? He pushed the covers off his legs and dropped his feet to the ground before stretching and standing up. He walked over to the dresser, rubbing a hand over his face and glancing at his reflection, trying to remember how much he’d had to drink last night.

His phone beeping startled him out of his thoughts and he turned quickly toward his dresser, catching sight of his clock on the way. He swore softly at the time. It was already after eight and he hadn’t even showered yet. He gripped the phone in his hand and answered it without bothering to check the caller ID.

“Hello?”

Bart grinned on the other end of the phone and plopped down on the couch with his bag of potato chips. “Hey, Bossman.”

Oliver was startled at the voice on the other end of the phone. He hadn’t spoken to Bart since everything that had gone down with Doomsday. He knew Chloe had been in contact with him and that he’d helped her with the whole ‘smack Oliver with a three-ton truck’ thing, but personally, they hadn’t spoke in several months. “Bart…how are you…is everything okay?”

The younger man tossed a chip into his mouth as his eyes drifted to the clock on the TV. It was only six-twenty-five in the morning and he knew Oliver was probably wondering why he was calling. He’d woken up early and had the strangest urge to call and check on the older man. It had been a few weeks since he and the team had helped Chloe get him back on track and he had just wanted to make sure firsthand that his friend was back on the up and up.

“Yeah…everything’s copasetic…I was just checking in. Chloelicious sent out an email telling us you were back to doing your thing…just wanted to see what was up and if there was anything new on the snatch and grab front.”

Oliver’s heart warmed slightly at the younger man’s words. He’d called to check up on him. He licked his lips and spoke quickly, keeping the flow of conversation going. “You know, I’m actually not sure. I was just about to hop in the shower and head over to Watchtower. I figured I’d check in with Chloe and make sure she’s had some breakfast before I head into my meeting this morning. But while I’m there, I’ll see what information she’s been able to dig up on things. We’ve been pretty bogged down with Kandorian-shaped problems here.”

Bart nodded even though Oliver couldn’t see him. “Yeah, I heard about that. Still can’t believe Stretch’s cousins from another planet decided to grace Kansas with their presence. So much for last alien on earth…oh and I know Vic sent a whole bunch of files to Chloelicious the other day, so maybe there will be some info in there.”

Oliver chuckled. “Maybe. How about I give you a call back when I get to Watchtower and you can ask Chloe yourself? I’m sure she’d like to hear from you.”

Bart grinned as he popped another chip in his mouth, a light crunching hitting Oliver’s ear before the other man spoke. “Sounds good to me…I never turn down talking to a beautiful woman…” His voice grew slightly serious as he continued speaking. “And hey, I just wanted to let you know…we’re glad you’re back and we’re around…you know, whenever you want to start running missions again. The team’s ready and waiting.”

Oliver swallowed heavily, Bart’s words hitting him hard, but in a good way. They let him know that even though he’d abandoned his friends for several months, they were still there in his corner, willing to be a part of his life. “Thanks Bart…you don’t know how much that means to me.”

The younger man grinned, his head turning when he heard a noise down the hall, figuring it was probably either Victor or AC getting up. “No problem, Bossman…well I think my early morning phone call woke up the guys…you should shower and I should go back to bed. Call me when you’re with Chloelicious.”

Oliver laughed and nodded. “I will…I’ll talk to you later Bart.” He pressed the end button after he heard Bart’s goodbye and tossed his phone on the bed, a large grin on his face as he made his way toward the bathroom. With one phone call, his entire morning suddenly seemed to be looking up and for the first time in a long time, Oliver couldn’t wait to start his day.




______

Chloe stood in front of the monitors, her fingers hitting the keys with more force than necessary. She couldn’t believe Clark had just burst into Watchtower, accusing her like that. It just went to show how little he really knew her. She sighed, trying to focus on the task at hand and forget about her supposed best friend.

There was a light rapping on the open double doors and she spun around, startled by the noise. When she caught sight of Oliver leaned against the doorframe, grin on his face and coffee in his hand, she couldn’t help the smile that lit up her face. After the morning she’d been having, it was nice to see a friendly face. “Hey there, Hero…”

If it was possible, his smile widened as he pushed away from the door and made his way into the room. She looked genuinely happy to see him. He stopped in front of her and held out the cup of coffee for her to take.

She took it and shot him a grateful look as she lifted it to her mouth and took a long sip. Chloe let out a small moan of approval at the warm beverage making its way down her throat, the sharp flavor of cinnamon hitting her taste buds.

“How’s it going, Sidekick?” Her eyes fluttered open and he could see the tension ease out of her shoulders as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Mm better now. Thank you…for the coffee. It’s much appreciated.” She moved back over to the console, placed the coffee next to her and started typing again.

He followed her, leaning against it and tilting his head to the side, watching her movements. “Everything okay?”

Her hands paused for a second before she glanced at him briefly and spoke, going back to her typing. “Oh you know, just another day at the office. Power up Watchtower, make coffee, read emails, have my supposed best friend zoom in and accuse me of kidnapping my own cousin…the usual…” Her voice trailed off and though she had tried to keep her tone light, Oliver could sense the hint of hurt in it.

He frowned and reached out, his hand brushing her arm, drawing her attention to him. “Hey…do you want to talk about it?”

She hesitated for a second, not really wanting to open up about the way she had been feeling lately, but one look at the honesty and concern on his face had her changing her mind. Oliver had been spending a lot of town around Watchtower and her for the last couple of weeks. Would it really be so bad to confide in the man who had been by her side lately?

“I’m hurt. Out of all the people we know who are currently messing with the Blur and the team…when he thinks someone has betrayed him his first thought is to come to me?”

She swallowed heavily and looked away from the computer toward Oliver. “I’ve known Clark since I was thirteen…seeing the way he looks at me now, like I’m the enemy just because I don’t go around telling him my secrets anymore, has definitely been eye-opening. It’s nice to know where I fall on his list of people to trust.”

He pursed his lips and took a step closer to her, his hand reaching out and rubbing her arm lightly before moving up and chucking her under the chin until her eyes met his. “Hey, no offense to Clark, but lately he’s been, for lack of a better word, a dick. I know I’ve been out of the loop recently, but it seems to me that I’m not the only one who has lost sight of the mission.” He paused, shrugging. “Maybe it’s time we organize an intervention for Boyscout too…then we can both be on the rehabilitated list.”

He gave her a small smile and she only half-returned it. He was right, of course. Instead of spending all the time and energy she had used on putting together a way to bring Oliver back from his downward spiral, she should have been concentrating on Clark…but why hadn’t she?

For some reason, it had been more important for her to get Oliver back on the right track than it had been to get Clark out of his black-wearing, angst filled, ‘I’m no longer a human’ phase. “Chloe?” She blinked at the sound of his voice and realized she’d let her thoughts carry her off again.

He stood there, one hand on her arm and the other just falling from her chin. She swallowed hard when she noticed their proximity. He was wearing a button down stripped shirt with hints of green and a pair of jeans. Chloe didn’t know how he managed to pull off looking professional and comfortable all rolled into one but it definitely worked for him. He arched an eyebrow at her when she didn’t say anything right away and she shook her head, giving him a sheepish smile as her hand reached out and touched his chest gently, almost unconsciously, as if it had a mind of its own. “Sorry…I think I zoned out there for a minute.”

Her hand against his chest sent a shockwave through his body and he could feel the heat of her palm through his shirt. He licked his lips as his hand tightened on her arm. He heard her sharp intake of breath and when their eyes met, she spoke, voice hitching slightly in her throat.

“I’ve…I’ve been meaning to ask you… I mean, you’ve been spending quite a lot of time here lately, not that I mind…it’s actually nice to have the company. I was just sort of wondering why…is there a reason you’ve been spending your free time here or has your social calendar finally hit rockbottom?”

Oliver watched her tilt her head to the side, making the last part of her statement into a joke, but he knew by the way she nibbled on her lip that she was slightly nervous about the question she was asking. He took a deep breath and reached out, brushing her hair behind her ear gently as he shrugged.

“Honestly…I’m not sure. I enjoy spending time with you…being around you it makes me feel…different. When I’m with you, I don’t feel like Oliver Queen, billionaire CEO or Green Arrow, vigilante hero. I don’t need to pick one person and be that because you know all of me. So…I can just be me. It’s refreshing.”

Chloe smiled and that time it reached her eyes. “Well, I, for one am glad. I think maybe having you around sort of does the same thing for me. These past few weeks, they haven’t been as lonely as the last few months and I’m pretty sure I owe that to you.”

Oliver grinned. “I’m happy I could be of service…now about your cousin kidnapping issue…is this something you need the team on? I talked to Bart this morning and it seems like he’s getting antsy to get back in gear on the whole saving the world thing.” He saw the surprise in her face when he mentioned Bart as she pulled away and moved back toward the computer.

“You talked to Bart this morning? That’s great, Oliver…Victor actually sent me a couple dozen files the other day. I was going to go through them this morning, but then everything with Lois happened, which thanks for the offer, but I already know who has her.”

He raised an eyebrow and she scrunched her nose. “Tess. I’m sending the information to Clark and Emil is going to meet me here soon to help me with a few things. But I’ll make sure I look through all the files tonight, that way we can get the team up and running again, in Bart’s case, literally.”

Oliver knew how to take an opening when he saw one. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head as he spoke. “Maybe we could go through the files together…I can grab dinner when I leave the office and bring it here…you, me…some food and a mess of files.”

Chloe bit her bottom lip slightly as she studied the man in front of her, not sure what exactly dinner meant. Sure, they’d eaten together on a few occasions, but it had never been planned and he’d never actually asked her, more like he had just shown up baring food.

She could see a hopeful smile on his face and she pursed her lips, attempting to give him a serious look. “On one condition…”

He nodded, hands sliding into his pockets. “You name it.”

Amusement danced in her eyes as she spoke. “You pick up Thai food.”

Oliver hadn’t realized he was holding his breath until he chuckled loudly and nodded. “I think that can be arranged. Oh…Bart wanted us to call him when I got here…I think he mostly wanted to talk to you.”

Chloe smiled and turned back toward the computer. “I’ll send him an email and let him know we’ll give him a call tonight when we’re working on the files. I really need to focus on getting the info on Lois. Good thing I’ve got an inside man.”

Oliver shook his head as he squeezed her arm lightly and shifted away from her. “I don’t doubt you do, Sidekick…you’ve got your hand in everything, and that’s a compliment, not a judgment.”

She glanced at him briefly and nodded. “I know.”

He nodded and motioned to the door. “I’ve got a meeting to head to, but I’ll be back around five-thirty, six.”

She gave him a light wave and he smiled one more time before heading through the open doors and making his way out of Watchtower. She watched him go out of her corner of her eye and when he disappeared, her stomach did somersaults.

It was strange, but for some reason when Oliver had been near her today, she had been more aware of his presence than she’d ever been. His smell, his touch…it was a mixture of comfort and something distinctly manly. She wasn’t blind, Oliver had always been attractive, but today he’d looked especially good.

Chloe shook her head, frowning as thoughts of Oliver invaded her mind. She was supposed to be focusing and he didn’t look at her that way. She wasn’t his type and the last thing she needed was to partake in yet another unrequited relationship with a crime-fighting hero; been there, done that.

It wasn’t something she wanted to relive, and yet, a part of her felt like the situation with Oliver was completely different from anything she’d ever had with Clark. Either way, she couldn’t let it distract her. She had a ton of things to do and finding Lois was taking point on her priority list.

As she typed away at her keyboard though, she couldn’t help the grin that slipped onto her face at the thought that Oliver would be back with dinner in a few hours. Finally, something she could look forward to. It looked like her day was definitely looking up.




______

Oliver glanced up from his perch at Chloe’s desk at the gust of wind that had scattered a few of his papers aside. Their alien friend had finally left and he couldn’t be happier. Clark was one of his closest friends, but sometimes he was just too self-righteous for his own good.

Oliver had finished up his meetings earlier than he’d expected to and had decided to bring some paperwork with him to Watchtower to finish up there. Not even twenty minutes after he had walked in and set up his little corner at Chloe’s desk, Clark had come speeding through the room.

He went on and on about befriending Zod and making him feel like earth was his home and a bunch of other crap that Oliver didn’t particularly agree with. He watched as Chloe did her best to reason with him, but of course the only person allowed to have an opinion on the matter was their resident man of steel.

He didn’t take into consideration that he was talking to two people whose lives were directly affected by this alternate future where Zod and his group of followers had taken over. Chloe had told him the whole story and if he was honest, he wasn’t surprised that he and Chloe had teamed up against Clark.

The man clearly wasn’t seeing things rationally lately and Oliver was getting increasingly tired of his attitude. He glanced to his left at the sound of Chloe’s sigh and gave her a sympathetic look. “How are you holding up there, Sidekick? Should I bring out the little green rock? Knock some sense into everybody’s favorite alien?”

She chuckled and gave him a small smile. “As much as Clark needs a sharp hit to the head, I think that would only bring us more trouble…but thanks…you know, for the offer.”

He smirked and sent a wink her way. “Anything for my sidekick.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and gave him a playful glare. “Your sidekick? Cause the way things seemed in that alternate future…it sort of seemed like you were my sidekick…”

Oliver snorted as he leaned back in her chair. “Then I guess it’s a good thing we don’t live there…”

He let his voice trail off, but she could see the humor in his eyes. She pointed to the computers and spoke. “You ready to start going over the files?” He nodded and pushed himself out of the chair. “Yeah, I’ll go heat up the food. It’s probably cold by now.”

She tilted her head to the side. “You’re probably right…I’m going to start bringing up the files.” He motioned for her to go ahead as he moved into the kitchen and pulled out two plates, doling out a little bit of everything for each of them.

By the time he finished heating everything up, grabbed two bottles of water and moved into the main room where the couch was, she was already set up, papers scattered around her and several monitors moved so they were facing her.

He chuckled lightly and she glanced up at the noise, eyebrow raised. “What?”

He grinned and placed both plates on the table before tossing her a water bottle. “Nothing, you just…dive right in. It’s cute that’s all. It looks like a file cabinet exploded around the table, but if I had to guess, I’d say there’s an order to your chaos.”

She smiled at him. “Of course there is…ooh that smells good.” She put down the printout she had in her hand and lifted the plate, taking a whiff of the food. The scent invaded her nostrils and she let out a soft sigh as she lifted her utensil and pulled a forkful of noodles into her mouth.

Oliver watched her, taking in her enjoyment of the simple dish and he couldn’t help how his smile widened. It wasn’t often he got a chance to witness Chloe in her own environment without the weight of the world on her shoulders. It was nice to see her so relaxed for once.

She must have felt his eyes on her because she glanced up and gave him a questioning look. He shrugged. “Sorry...it’s just I think you’re….” he hesitated, not sure if telling her she was gorgeous or beautiful would make her uncomfortable so he opted for a different approach. “I think you’re one of a kind. Thanks for letting me help out tonight…”

She gave him a strange look, but nodded. “Of course…I mean it’s your team and I’m glad you want to get things rolling again. It’s nice to have you back…we missed you.”

She frowned slightly at her admission, wondering where in the world it had come from. She didn't say things like she missed Oliver Queen…what had gotten into her lately? She needed to come up with some kind of explanation and quick. But before she could, she felt his hand grip hers lightly and squeeze.

Green eyes met warm brown ones and the smile he gave her was simply breathtaking. “I missed you too…all of you. Now come on…let’s get this taken care of and if we finish in a decent amount of time, I might just take you to the best coffee stand in all of Metropolis…”

Chloe grinned and started pushing papers in his direction as they went over the information Victor had dug up on 33.1 labs that were still running even though Lex wasn’t around. Her hand brushed his several times as they sat there, thighs touching casually, going through information, talking about their likes and dislikes, and sharing a meal.

It wasn’t anything fancy and yet it was special in its own way, at least for her. It should be awkward sitting there with Oliver, doing things that normally she’d be doing alone, but it wasn’t. It was almost like they’d done it a million times.

Chloe watched as Oliver made a face at her while slurping one of his noodles into his mouth, before poking her lightly with his fork and sharing some of his leftover dumpling that he wasn’t eating and she grinned. She’d never thought spending late nights with Oliver would be like this, then again, she hadn’t really ever thought about what it would be like in general…until now.

Chapter Three