Talking in Your Sleep-17/21

[bluesuedeshoes]

Author:  BlueSuede
Title:  Talking in Your Sleep
Rating: NC17
Genre: Friendship/Romance
Pairings:  Chloe/Oliver, Chloe/Green Arrow, Lois/Bruce, Lois/Clark
Summary:  Intrepid reporter for the Daily Planet, Chloe Sullivan, has her heart stolen by the masked hero, Green Arrow, but can she be satisfied with not knowing his real identity?
Warnings: There will probably be some minor spoilers, particularly for Season 6.  There will also be a ridiculously unnecessary amount of smut.  You've been warned.



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Chapter 1

Previous (Chapter 16)
Next (Chapter 18)

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Author's Note: Dear A.A., I would have replied to your last review in person, but it wasn't signed, unfortunately, so I'm replying this way: Sorry, there's not much sexual tension in this chapter. Unfortunate, but true. However, I'm working on 18 & 19 and...well, good things to those who wait. ;)

Love&Stuff,

Blue



Tell me how many flowers have to die
Before you give this love another try.
I've asked you to forgive me at least 9 dozen times.
Tell me how many flowers have to die.

Flowers
Brad Paisley

–17–

"Yeah, Lo, I'm fine. I promise," Chloe repeated the next morning. She had called Lois first thing the night before when she got back, but her cousin still needed some reassurances, apparently. After calling Lois the night before Chloe had responded to the voice mail waiting from the police to confirm Kate and David's story. After that she sent an apologetic e-mail to Oliver for standing him up, not explaining the reason, only that she'd been "tied up," but adding that she'd like to reschedule.

Today she was taking off from work. She'd been unable to sleep the night before, so in addition to sending in her piece on the air show, she'd managed to conjure up a full piece on her ordeal, though she conveniently listed herself in the article as "a reporter," leaving out her name and the fact that she worked for the Daily Planet. She wrote headlines; she didn't make them.

As a result (coupled with the knowledge that she'd been through an ordeal), Perry had been more than happy to give her the day off.

"Get some rest, Sullivan. Cooperate with the police on whatever they need you for, and don't let me see you again until Monday."

"Perry, I don't need the whole weekend!"

"You got me my Green Arrow piece and nearly got yourself killed in the process. You can afford to take a short vacation. You're no good to me dead."

With which he'd hung up on her, leaving Chloe to brew herself an exceptionally large pot of coffee.

Mug in hand, she went to her computer to see if there was a response from Oliver. Instead there was an e-mail from the Green Arrow. She swallowed tightly at the sight of it.

from: emeraldarch...    subject: (none)

I'm sorry.

Glad you're safe.

–Archer

She sighed when she read it. She wasn't sure what to say to him. She wanted to be sure that he was okay, but she didn't know where to begin. Somehow she had the vaguest suspicion that e-mailing him to ask whether he were all right would somehow result in a confession of her undying love.

Which would be bad, she reminded herself.

"Oh, why can't he just tell me who he is?" she whined in frustration.

As soon as she said it, there was a buzz from downstairs. She walked over to the intercom to answer it. "Hello?"

"I've got a delivery for Miss Sullivan?"

"I'll be right down for it."

"I can come up, Miss."

"No, I'd rather come down."

The last thing she felt like doing was having some strange delivery man coming up to her apartment. She was still a bit nerve-wracked from the other day.

Taser in her back pocket, she trotted downstairs, and opened the door, surprised when she found a man standing on her doorstep with a large vase of flowers, and not just any vase of flowers, a vase of multi-colored tulips with a large green bow wrapped around it.

She signed for them and he handed them over. She searched the foliage and called after the man.

"Wait! There's no card. Who sent them?"

He shrugged. "Got me. You must have a secret admirer," he told her before climbing in his truck.

Chloe stared at the green bow. "Secret admirer my ass," she mumbled. Bit much, don't you think, Arrow?

She sighed, shaking her head as she carried the arrangement back up the stairs, trying not to enjoy the flowers too much.

"Dude...what's your damage?"

Oliver looked up to see Hal standing in the doorway of the elevator. He laughed weakly. "One of these days, you're going to tell me how you get up here without my being notified."

Hal didn't look amused. "Are you all right?" he asked, concern on his face.

Oliver truly did look ill. His face was pale, and there was a light sheen of cold sweat over his body. He put on a brave smile. "Just...stomach virus."

Hal walked over to his friend and in spite of Oliver's protest, he grabbed his head and examined his bloodshot eyes. "Like hell," he said, releasing him roughly. "I'm basically an intergalactic police officer, Oliver. I know from strung-out, and you are strung out." He glared at his friend in disgust, heading to the kitchen to get him some water. "You idiot," he scolded, "What did you take and how much?"

Oliver sighed, rubbing his face. "Experimental medicine. I didn't know it was...well, no Dr. Black tried to warn me. It was developmental and she said the side-effects were still too risky. I didn't listen. I was already on the stuff."

Hal frowned. "What was it, though?"

Dragging his hand over his face again Oliver looked at his best friend, accepting the glass of water he was offering with a slightly shaky hand. He stared into it for a moment before setting it on the coffee table. "Hal," he said, "Two nights ago I was shot in the chest–"

"What?"

"The chest, Hal. I was shot in the chest. I've been funding research on a healing drug and I had a few samples. I managed by some miracle to haul myself back to my apartment and inject myself with a dose."

"But..." Hal frowned, not quite comprehending.

"Look," Oliver said, pulling his shirt up to show the spot where he'd been shot.

"I can't see anything. And you say you were shot?"

"Right here," he pointed.

Hal whistled. "Two days ago? Well...shit, there's not even a scar." He stared in amazement until Oliver lowered his shirt again. Finally he walked over to one of the armchairs and sat down, massaging his temple. "So, side-effects, huh?"

Oliver nodded. "Yeah, well, other than what I'd call an 'addictive quality,'" Oliver joked humorlessly, "I believe the terms the good doctor used were 'aggression' and 'violent tendencies.'"

Hal looked up sharply. "What happened?"

Oliver leaned his forearms on his knees, dropping his head in shame.

"You didn't–"

"No, I didn't kill anyone. I just tried to."

There was a long, dense silence. "I understand Chloe Sullivan was kidnapped last night."

Oliver nodded.

"I see."

They didn't say anything else for a long while.

"So we gonna talk about this?" Hal asked.

"No idea what you're talking about."

"Uh huh. So it's an absolute coincidence that when I come into town and meet the infamous Miss Sullivan, I discover that she's completely gorgeous. And it's a coincidence that when I planted a few e-mails about how I might–"

"Planted?"

"–Don't interrupt–how I might be interested in her, all of a sudden you're flying out of Russia so fast there's a trail of fire in your wake. And it's further just a coincidence that in her articles she sounds almost like she knows the Green Arrow."

Oliver stared blankly and Hal rolled his eyes.

"Okay, enough with the impotent act. Now, I wouldn't say I was faking interest in Chloe, because that's not true. I really like her. She's a great girl that I would very much like to be friends with. And if I weren't under the impression that my best friend is secretly in love with her, I would probably be interested in her as more than a friend. That being said, I may have led you to believe that I was romantically interested for your own benefit. So let's talk about how you didn't even tell me to back off, you pansy-ass idiot!"

Oliver's mouth fell open slightly.

Hal nodded. "Great. That's excellent. Man, you are lucky it was me and not some other guy." He raised his eyebrow at his friend. "She's hot. You're aware of that, right?"

Oliver was still trying to catch up. "Wait. You..."

"Played with your emotions? Yep," Hal answered matter-of-factly, leaning back in his seat, his face smug. "And I'd do it again. You're no fun when you're emo." He noted Oliver's strung-out state and his eyes narrowed. "Obviously."

"But–"

"How did I know?" Hal smirked. "Okay, let's reiterate the part where I'm your best friend," he said, forming the last words slowly like Oliver was going to be quizzed on their spelling. "I know stuff. For example, I know when you stop dating altogether. I know when your name shows up in the paper, particularly your alter-ego's name. I know when some female reporter is writing with so much insight it's like she knows you. I also know when I meet a woman who's hung up on you. You do realize if I was a chick, I would be the best friend that you need to marry, right?"

Oliver made a face. "Dude."

"Too much?"

"Kinda."

Hal shrugged. "The point stays. Anyway, what the hell are you doing?" he demanded. "Why haven't you...I don't know, what do guys do now? Give them our class rings? Get his and hers T-shirts? If you were five you could give her your pudding cup at lunch–"

"She doesn't know."

Hal raised an eyebrow. "What, that you're Green Arrow? Yeah, well that's generally a better topic for if you're settled into the relationship and she's not a reporter. I don't see–"

"She doesn't know I'm Oliver Queen."

"What?" Hal deadpanned.

"She doesn't know–" Oliver spoke slowly, "–that I'm Oliver Queen."

Hal stared at him for a full minute, then put his hand over his mouth. He snorted.

"It's not funny."

A mix between a cough and a laugh sputtered out and Hal spoke through his hand, "No, absolutely not funny. Not at all."

"Shut up."

But the silent giggling eventually turned into full-on guffaws, Hal no longer able to hold it back. "You mean Chloe Sullivan's relationship is with Green Arrow." His face turned pale. "Oh, dude, it's not leap year is it? You know that Carol tried to propose to Lantern on Leap Year once?"

"Can we not compare Chloe to your psychopath ex-girlfriend-gone-supervillainess? Yeah? Thanks, that'd be great."

That sobered Hal fairly well. "Right."

"Yeah," Oliver sighed, dropping his head back on the couch, exhausted. "Man I feel like shit," he said.

"Drink more of that water. It's good for you."

"So," Oliver said, leaning forward to reach for the glass, "any advice on the stupidity of my situation?"

"Yeah. Tell her."

Oliver chuckled ruefully. "Uh huh."

"Dead serious."

"I can't. She barely likes me as myself. I'll scare her off if I don't give her a chance to get to know me."

"And what exactly are you doing about letting her get to know you?" Hal asked, unconvinced.

Oliver looked sheepish. "I sent her flowers today?"

Hal smacked his hand to his face. "Aw...jeez..."

"Look, I'm strung out, like you said!" Oliver exclaimed defensively. "I can't exactly see her when I'm like this." He took a deep, steadying breath. "But I'm feeling better. And I'm going to call her tonight and...something."

"Something?"

"Yeah, I haven't really worked out a plan past calling her, yet."

Hal dropped his head. "You're hopeless."

"So, I saw you talking to Oliver Queen yesterday," Lois slipped in casually.

Chloe sighed. It was impressive. Lois had successfully managed to wait until she was painting Chloe's toenails to drop that bomb, meaning that Chloe had no means of escape.

"And I further saw," Lois continued, "that there is a very large vase of your favorite flowers on the counter by your computer."

"Yep," was all Chloe said, and Lois looked up.

"Oh come on," she whined. "Are they from him? What's going on there? Pink, green, or orange?" she added, holding up the various colors now that she'd done the base coat.

"Orange," Chloe said.

"Not green?" Lois wiggled her eyebrows.

Chloe snorted. "Orange," she repeated.

"If you insist," Lois shrugged, setting down the other colors and unscrewing the cap for the orange bottle. "Now go on. What are the flowers about?"

Chloe glanced at the vibrant bouquet and chewed her lip. How much to tell? She decided that the story of a Green Arrow hopped up on steroids was one best kept to herself. So far she'd only mentioned to Lois that the archer had rescued her, but nothing about the nature of the rescue. "Actually," she said, "there wasn't a card, but I think they're from the Green Arrow."

"What? Why?"

"Well, he knows my favorite flower, and the bow is green, so I feel like it's kind of obvious."

"No, I mean why's he sending you flowers? Oh God," Lois narrowed her eyes, "you're not–"

"No, Lo, I'm not sleeping with him anymore." However much I wish I were. Ugh.

"Good. Because we established that that was bad." She frowned. "I think. Wait, why did we establish that was bad again?"

"Because it couldn't last," Chloe grumbled.

"Right." Lois paused thoughtfully before switching feet. "That sucks."

"Yeah, well, so does my life," Chloe joked.

"Well back to Oliver–" Chloe's cell phone started going off "–what's going on there? I didn't even know he was back in Metropolis."

"Neither did I," Chloe said, picking her way from the sofa through the magazines and mani/pedi supplies over to her counter where her phone was buzzing. "He just got back. Hang on, Lo. Sorry, I'll be quick," she promised before answering her cell. "Hello?"

"Chloe? It's Oliver."

Chloe's cheeks tinged. "Oh, hi. How are you?"

"Who is it?" Lois hissed, scrambling over to stand next to Chloe and try to overhear.

"I'm good. I was a bit concerned about you. The article in the paper this morning didn't mention you by name, but I had my suspicions..."

"Oh, that," Chloe felt embarrassed. "No, I'm fine. Wasn't the first time, probably won't be the last," she joked.

"Let's hope not," he said dubiously.

"First time what?" Lois asked, and Chloe silently tried to push her away.

"Did you get the flowers I sent?"

"Those were from you?" she asked in surprise.

"The flowers? Wait, who is that?" Lois demanded.

Chloe quickly covered the mouthpiece of the phone and whispered Oliver's name, causing Lois's eyes to widen.

"Yeah, they were from me. Guess I should have added a card," he chuckled thoughtfully.

"How did you know tulips are my favorite?"

"Lucky guess," he answered slyly.

"He knew they're your favorite?" Lois whispered, and Chloe shook her head in response, mouthing 'guess.'

"So, I guess we're both even as far as canceling on one another goes," Oliver continued. "So I was wondering if you're free tomorrow?"

Chloe covered the phone again. "He wants to reschedule." Then, speaking to Oliver, "I'm sure that would be fine. When tomorrow?"

"Seven?"

"Where's he taking you?"

"Seven's probably fine, but where are we going?" she asked, grinning.

"Come on, you've held out this long. Don't get too excited. It's nothing big. I'm just really enjoying knowing something you don't."

"So we're not going anywhere crazy, right?" Chloe confirmed warily. "Because seriously, I'm more of a hotdogs and baseball kind of girl." She paused. "Well, I don't really follow baseball, so that might be a lie, but you get the idea?"

Lois made a face at her.

"Stop it," Chloe hissed to her.

"Baseball?" Lois mouthed, looking at her like she was crazy.

Chloe just shrugged helplessly as Oliver chuckled on the other end.

"No, I got that," he agreed. "We're not doing anything all that special, I promise."

"So why can't you tell me?" Chloe whined.

"Because you're too much fun to torture," he teased.

"I'm hanging up now," Chloe warned.

"Goodbye, Chloe Sullivan. I'll see you tomorrow."

Chloe hung up, and Lois leaned back and folded her arms. "Well," she said amusedly, "that went well."

Previous (Chapter 16)
Next (Chapter 18)
 

Comments

[flyswithnowings.livejournal.com]

Yay! I've been dying for an update and desperately hoping you hadn't decided to put this story on hiatus.
Hal's commwnt about how if he was a woman Ollie would have to marry him had me laughing until my stomach ached. Oh Hal, you're too much; trucking your best friend into gear to get the snarky blonde.
Can't wait to see the date and more Ollie and Hal intersection as they try to figure out how to make Chloe dahl in love with Oliver instead of just GA.
You're doing a fantastic job with this story!