Doubting Heart 1/1
Title: Doubting Heart 1/1
Rating: PG
Summary: Although confident in almost all things, Chloe's heart was always doubtful.
Notes: Long time no post. Unfortunately the muse is still on leave. This isn't a great one shot, but something is better then nothing. Thanks Gen for the edit!
Oliver glanced over at Chloe, noting her current position curled onto her side, cheek resting on her hand. The TV was on, lighting up her face, reflections flickering in her eyes, but he could tell she wasn’t watching, staring off into the distance. She’d arrived at the penthouse, slightly distracted, but before he could question her about it, she was her old self again, and instead of making something out of nothing, he dropped it. But Oliver could see the wheels turning again. “Hey.” She tilted her head, but not lifting it, eyes meeting his own. “What going on in that head of yours?”
Smiling softly Chloe shook her head gently. “Nothing.”
“Oh come on,” Oliver shut his laptop and leaned over the side of the bed, dropping it to the floor and sliding it under, then turned back to her, resting on his side, head propped on his arm, “I know better than that. You were distracted earlier this afternoon. And now in bed I’m the one doing work, not little miss workaholic herself. Should we gather the team? It must be the apocalypse.”
With a crooked smile Chloe rolled her eyes. “Oliver...”
“So what’s got your mind so wrapped up that your laptop remains next to the sofa were you dropped it?”
“Maybe I’m just tired.”
“Nope,” Oliver shook his head, “Not buying it.”
“Ollie...” Chloe began, frustration already evident in her voice. With a sigh she flipped onto her stomach turning her face away from him.
“Oh no you don’t.” If there was one thing that he was sure of in his relationship with Chloe, he never gave up on the first try. Rolling towards her he propped one hand on the mattress on the other side of her body, his chest pressed into her back, but supporting his own weight. “Chloe...” He pressed a kiss to her neck, bared by her short hair. She sighed and he nudged behind her ear with his nose. When she didn’t respond he placed kisses against her neck, behind her, grinning against her skin as she tried to nudge him away. “You know I’ll bug you until you tell me.”
“Ollie...” Chloe pleaded, turning her face slightly into the pillow, trying to ward off his attempts.
Realizing a different course of action was in order Oliver pressed his forehead against her hair. “What’s wrong baby?”
“I hate it when you get all softy on me.”
Smiling to himself Oliver pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You deal with things that bother you by working. So what gives?”
“Just thinking.”
Resisting the urge to shake her for being so vague Oliver pressed on. “Whatever it is I can tell it’s bothering you.”
“It’s stupid.”
“Why would it be stupid?”
Chloe sighed, growing silent, staring strait ahead at the wall, unmoving.
“This is going to bother the hell out of me if I don’t know what is wrong Chloe.” Because the fact that she felt she couldn’t share something with him wasn’t cool.
“You know,” she began slowly, “except in the very beginning, when I was scared keeping you at arms length would push you away, I never questioned our relationship.”
At her words, he grew tense. The whole night had been fine. He’d come home from a short trip, strictly LuthorCorp related, and she was quick to show up at his penthouse, a smile on her face and greeting him with a kiss. Although distracted in the beginning, Chloe easily slipped back into her old self. Dinner was short, clean up was interrupted when she came up to him in the kitchen, sliding her hands over his chest and pressing her hips against his. From there they made their way to the bedroom for a couple of rounds, then to the shower for another until they finally fell into bed. Everything seemed fine lately, in fact everything was perfect. No lives in immediate danger, the world hadn’t been on the verge of ending, and things with Chloe had been progressing smoothly. Although their relationship still remained relatively private, they were open with each other, and there was no questioning anymore if he loved her or she loved him. “Why would you?”
“When you called me from Star City, warning me about the tabloids...”
His heart beat slightly harder as she began. At the time he’d made the phone call he’d been in a panic. Stomach in knots, pacing his office, cell clutched in his hand. Oliver found himself sitting next to a prospective client’s daughter at dinner and chatting with her at a charity event and then the next thing he knew he was engaged, at least according to the tabloids. So Oliver called Chloe, ready to jump on the jet and fly home, scared that the papers had rocked the boat that he had gotten to settle, given her reason to doubt him, doubt them. But when he did explain and apologized she hadn’t doubted his story and thanked him for letting her know. That had been three days ago. “You said it was okay.” Pulling back his arm slightly Oliver rolled onto his side, still pressed against her, waiting.
“Yes.” She said softly and reached out a hand, fiddling with the dark green Egyptian cotton sheets. “It is. I never did doubt you.”
But even at her words Oliver still worried. Because it hadn’t always been in Oliver’s nature to be committed to one woman, be truthful to them, remain faithful. Chloe knew his past, she knew more about him than anyone, and that was before they even began considering something more then friendship. She knew how horribly he had treated some woman, even those he claimed to care for. “I feel a but coming on.” Silence followed his comment and fear clenched his stomach.
“She was very pretty.”
So she did see the pictures. Oliver had assumed from how clueless she seemed when he had called her that she must have not known. So that only left him to assume that she had seen them after the fact and never once mentioned it. “Chloe, I don’t understand,” he said, slightly lost and a bit fearful.
“I don’t know,” she said with a sigh, finding a thread in the thick comforter and picking at it. Nervously, she shifted her legs, brushing Oliver’s. “I guess for the first time I’m wondering, why me? I understand how things came about with you and I, and now that I look at it, I guess it was sort of inevitable, but sometimes I guess I just wonder...I mean when I saw those pictures; she just looked like a woman you should be with. And I'm not that person, I can't be that person. I suppose that’s part of the reason I wanted to keep things quiet between us. I guess I just feel like I don’t measure up.”
Without thinking he grasped her shoulder, rolling her onto her back and hovered over her body. “Are you insane?”
“Ollie...”
“You have me sick with worry, thinking it’s me, that I did something wrong to push you away. I saw those pictures and I wanted the earth to swallow me, I wanted to crawl into a hole. Do you know how scared I was that you wouldn’t want me?”
“Wha-?” She began, confusion evident. “Why would you think that?”
“Chloe, my exploits speak loud enough. Some have been truer then others.” The confusion quickly disappeared and her green eyes softened. When her palm touched his cheek his chest clenched with the realization that once again she was doing for him, not the other way around. It hadn’t been his intent to seek her comfort, have her reaffirm that she trusted him and his love for her.
“I may have been scared at times, but I never doubted you.”
“But you doubt yourself.” He said to her in realization as much as he said to himself. Her eyes blinked swiftly, and he would have missed the way her green orbs moved away from his nervously and looked back again. “Why?”
“We’re different.”
“We’re the same Chloe.” He brought a hand to her cheek and brushed his thumb over it. “We always have been.”
“Behind closed doors.”
“The facade isn’t what matters Chloe.”
“Your an attractive billionaire, don’t men like you usually become attracted to the heiress of some large fortune that has been sought after by Playboy?” This time her eyes were wide and waiting, patient, but hurt.
Feeling slightly lost, Oliver dropped his forehead to hers. “You’re beautiful. From head to toe. inside and out. I’ve never loved anyone but you. I can’t imagine loving anyone else and the thought of not having you in my life scares the shit out of me. Whatever you do, don’t doubt that. The last thing I want to believe is that I’ve somehow failed in making you understand how important you are to me and how much I love you. When it comes to everyone and everything in my life, you are what matters most to me.”
Her chest tightened at his heartfelt words, the pleading his eyes, the desperation. Guilt nudged at her, reprimanding her for her doubts and causing him pain through them. But most of all she felt his love. She wanted to return his words, tell him how much he meant to her, make him understand that without him in her life she was nothing, but speaking was impossible with the lump in her throat forming with her tears.
“Chloe...” Oliver sighed, brushing the tears away with his thumb.
Quickly, Chloe shook her head, not wanting him to feel bad for the sudden water works. “No, I’m okay. You’re just to sweet for your own good.”
Relaxing, he pressed a kiss to her lips. “I try.”
“Thank you,” she whispered softly, “for being there, and loving me.”
Oliver chuckled softly. “Silly woman, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Rating: PG
Summary: Although confident in almost all things, Chloe's heart was always doubtful.
Notes: Long time no post. Unfortunately the muse is still on leave. This isn't a great one shot, but something is better then nothing. Thanks Gen for the edit!
Oliver glanced over at Chloe, noting her current position curled onto her side, cheek resting on her hand. The TV was on, lighting up her face, reflections flickering in her eyes, but he could tell she wasn’t watching, staring off into the distance. She’d arrived at the penthouse, slightly distracted, but before he could question her about it, she was her old self again, and instead of making something out of nothing, he dropped it. But Oliver could see the wheels turning again. “Hey.” She tilted her head, but not lifting it, eyes meeting his own. “What going on in that head of yours?”
Smiling softly Chloe shook her head gently. “Nothing.”
“Oh come on,” Oliver shut his laptop and leaned over the side of the bed, dropping it to the floor and sliding it under, then turned back to her, resting on his side, head propped on his arm, “I know better than that. You were distracted earlier this afternoon. And now in bed I’m the one doing work, not little miss workaholic herself. Should we gather the team? It must be the apocalypse.”
With a crooked smile Chloe rolled her eyes. “Oliver...”
“So what’s got your mind so wrapped up that your laptop remains next to the sofa were you dropped it?”
“Maybe I’m just tired.”
“Nope,” Oliver shook his head, “Not buying it.”
“Ollie...” Chloe began, frustration already evident in her voice. With a sigh she flipped onto her stomach turning her face away from him.
“Oh no you don’t.” If there was one thing that he was sure of in his relationship with Chloe, he never gave up on the first try. Rolling towards her he propped one hand on the mattress on the other side of her body, his chest pressed into her back, but supporting his own weight. “Chloe...” He pressed a kiss to her neck, bared by her short hair. She sighed and he nudged behind her ear with his nose. When she didn’t respond he placed kisses against her neck, behind her, grinning against her skin as she tried to nudge him away. “You know I’ll bug you until you tell me.”
“Ollie...” Chloe pleaded, turning her face slightly into the pillow, trying to ward off his attempts.
Realizing a different course of action was in order Oliver pressed his forehead against her hair. “What’s wrong baby?”
“I hate it when you get all softy on me.”
Smiling to himself Oliver pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You deal with things that bother you by working. So what gives?”
“Just thinking.”
Resisting the urge to shake her for being so vague Oliver pressed on. “Whatever it is I can tell it’s bothering you.”
“It’s stupid.”
“Why would it be stupid?”
Chloe sighed, growing silent, staring strait ahead at the wall, unmoving.
“This is going to bother the hell out of me if I don’t know what is wrong Chloe.” Because the fact that she felt she couldn’t share something with him wasn’t cool.
“You know,” she began slowly, “except in the very beginning, when I was scared keeping you at arms length would push you away, I never questioned our relationship.”
At her words, he grew tense. The whole night had been fine. He’d come home from a short trip, strictly LuthorCorp related, and she was quick to show up at his penthouse, a smile on her face and greeting him with a kiss. Although distracted in the beginning, Chloe easily slipped back into her old self. Dinner was short, clean up was interrupted when she came up to him in the kitchen, sliding her hands over his chest and pressing her hips against his. From there they made their way to the bedroom for a couple of rounds, then to the shower for another until they finally fell into bed. Everything seemed fine lately, in fact everything was perfect. No lives in immediate danger, the world hadn’t been on the verge of ending, and things with Chloe had been progressing smoothly. Although their relationship still remained relatively private, they were open with each other, and there was no questioning anymore if he loved her or she loved him. “Why would you?”
“When you called me from Star City, warning me about the tabloids...”
His heart beat slightly harder as she began. At the time he’d made the phone call he’d been in a panic. Stomach in knots, pacing his office, cell clutched in his hand. Oliver found himself sitting next to a prospective client’s daughter at dinner and chatting with her at a charity event and then the next thing he knew he was engaged, at least according to the tabloids. So Oliver called Chloe, ready to jump on the jet and fly home, scared that the papers had rocked the boat that he had gotten to settle, given her reason to doubt him, doubt them. But when he did explain and apologized she hadn’t doubted his story and thanked him for letting her know. That had been three days ago. “You said it was okay.” Pulling back his arm slightly Oliver rolled onto his side, still pressed against her, waiting.
“Yes.” She said softly and reached out a hand, fiddling with the dark green Egyptian cotton sheets. “It is. I never did doubt you.”
But even at her words Oliver still worried. Because it hadn’t always been in Oliver’s nature to be committed to one woman, be truthful to them, remain faithful. Chloe knew his past, she knew more about him than anyone, and that was before they even began considering something more then friendship. She knew how horribly he had treated some woman, even those he claimed to care for. “I feel a but coming on.” Silence followed his comment and fear clenched his stomach.
“She was very pretty.”
So she did see the pictures. Oliver had assumed from how clueless she seemed when he had called her that she must have not known. So that only left him to assume that she had seen them after the fact and never once mentioned it. “Chloe, I don’t understand,” he said, slightly lost and a bit fearful.
“I don’t know,” she said with a sigh, finding a thread in the thick comforter and picking at it. Nervously, she shifted her legs, brushing Oliver’s. “I guess for the first time I’m wondering, why me? I understand how things came about with you and I, and now that I look at it, I guess it was sort of inevitable, but sometimes I guess I just wonder...I mean when I saw those pictures; she just looked like a woman you should be with. And I'm not that person, I can't be that person. I suppose that’s part of the reason I wanted to keep things quiet between us. I guess I just feel like I don’t measure up.”
Without thinking he grasped her shoulder, rolling her onto her back and hovered over her body. “Are you insane?”
“Ollie...”
“You have me sick with worry, thinking it’s me, that I did something wrong to push you away. I saw those pictures and I wanted the earth to swallow me, I wanted to crawl into a hole. Do you know how scared I was that you wouldn’t want me?”
“Wha-?” She began, confusion evident. “Why would you think that?”
“Chloe, my exploits speak loud enough. Some have been truer then others.” The confusion quickly disappeared and her green eyes softened. When her palm touched his cheek his chest clenched with the realization that once again she was doing for him, not the other way around. It hadn’t been his intent to seek her comfort, have her reaffirm that she trusted him and his love for her.
“I may have been scared at times, but I never doubted you.”
“But you doubt yourself.” He said to her in realization as much as he said to himself. Her eyes blinked swiftly, and he would have missed the way her green orbs moved away from his nervously and looked back again. “Why?”
“We’re different.”
“We’re the same Chloe.” He brought a hand to her cheek and brushed his thumb over it. “We always have been.”
“Behind closed doors.”
“The facade isn’t what matters Chloe.”
“Your an attractive billionaire, don’t men like you usually become attracted to the heiress of some large fortune that has been sought after by Playboy?” This time her eyes were wide and waiting, patient, but hurt.
Feeling slightly lost, Oliver dropped his forehead to hers. “You’re beautiful. From head to toe. inside and out. I’ve never loved anyone but you. I can’t imagine loving anyone else and the thought of not having you in my life scares the shit out of me. Whatever you do, don’t doubt that. The last thing I want to believe is that I’ve somehow failed in making you understand how important you are to me and how much I love you. When it comes to everyone and everything in my life, you are what matters most to me.”
Her chest tightened at his heartfelt words, the pleading his eyes, the desperation. Guilt nudged at her, reprimanding her for her doubts and causing him pain through them. But most of all she felt his love. She wanted to return his words, tell him how much he meant to her, make him understand that without him in her life she was nothing, but speaking was impossible with the lump in her throat forming with her tears.
“Chloe...” Oliver sighed, brushing the tears away with his thumb.
Quickly, Chloe shook her head, not wanting him to feel bad for the sudden water works. “No, I’m okay. You’re just to sweet for your own good.”
Relaxing, he pressed a kiss to her lips. “I try.”
“Thank you,” she whispered softly, “for being there, and loving me.”
Oliver chuckled softly. “Silly woman, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”