(no subject)

[xtremeroswellia]

Snow, Pie, and an Open Fire
Authors: X_tremeroswellian and Shadow_One
Rated: PG
Pairing: Chloe/Dean
Genre: Supernatural/Smallville crossover



Chloe was awakened shortly before Midnight by the doorbell. Her eyebrows furrowing, she thought about pulling the covers over her head until she remembered her dad was out of the country on business for LuthorCorp.

Groaning softly, she climbed out of bed, glad she'd chosen flannel pajamas that night rather than something less appropriate for answering the door.

Yawning, she raked a hand through her hair and padded out of her bedroom, down the hall and cautiously opened the door a crack, leaving the chain lock on. She peeked out.

"Boo." A deep voice whispered from behind the door.

Her eyes widened a little and she shut the door, quickly unlocked the chain and opening it once more. "Dean! Sam!"

Both brothers smiled and Dean answered, "Hey Chloe."

She stepped forward and hugged him, shivering as the cold air wrapped its icy tendrils around her. "Hey, come on in. What are you guys doing here?" she asked with a grin.

Stepping in behind his brother Sam smiled, "We just figured we'd drop in."

"Well, Merry Christmas." She hugged Sam, as well. "Long time no see, guys."

They nodded and Dean spoke, "Thought you might be a little lonely during this...uh...nice season..."

Chloe arched an eyebrow and pinned him with a knowing look. "And I'm sure your being in Kansas has nothing to do with that Bigfoot sighting in Topeka."

Dean laughed, "Actually, no."

"No? What were you hunting then?"

"Nothing! Really, we just came to see you." Dean smiled as he watched Chloe's face.

"Really?" She looked between them, unable to hide her surprise.

Sam nodded, "For once, he's telling the truth."

Chloe smiled, her eyes bright. "You guys hungry? There's all kinds of food in the fridge. And I can make hot chocolate."

"Nah, we're good." Sam said quickly before Dean could open his mouth.

"You sure?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at Dean. "We have pie."

Dean looked at his brother, "Come on Sammy...Pie!"

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Seriously. There's plenty. And it's just me. I don't need it all." She grinned.

Dean put his head right up by his brother's ear, "Piiiieeeee Sammy...Piiieee."

He laughed and shoved Dean away from him, "Fine...we'll have pie."

Chloe smiled and headed into the kitchen. "We have pumpkin and Mrs. Kent's apple pie," she called.

Sitting down, Dean put a thoughtful finger to his chin, "Um...both?"

"Good to know some things don't change," she teased, placing a hand on his shoulder after setting both pie tins on the table in front of him, along with a knife, two forks and two plates.

The brothers made a dive for the same pie, soon fighting over who got the first piece.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Other things could stand to change," she said fondly, sitting down in a chair between them.

"I'm older, gimme the pie Sammy."

"Forget that Dean, this is mine."

"You wanna go dude?"

"Bring it."

Smirking, she watched, her chin propped up on one hand. "Hate to see the two of you fight over a woman." Her voice was light.

The two stopped, half way up in their chairs.

Chloe laughed out loud.

After Chloe's outburst, they abandoned the pie and moved toward the door, determined look on both faces.

"Uh, guys...what are you doing?"

"Taking this...outside." Dean said, not looking away from Sam.

"Oh come on! You're kidding me, right?" Chloe stood up.

He opened the door, "'Fraid not. Ladies first Sammy."

Sam glared at him, "You're going down."

"Guys! There's enough pie for both of you!"

Both walked out onto the snowy ground, each facing the other, "Same rules apply!" Dean warned.

Sam waved a hand, "Yeah yeah!"

Chloe followed quickly, groaning and thinking how stupid men could be. Grabbing her jacket on the way out the door, she shrugged into it. "Guys, what--"

All at once, the brothers began throwing snowballs at each other. And it wasn't long before they were full on wrestling in the snow.

"You guys are crazy!" she said with amusement, shaking her head.

Dean finally forced Sam's face into the snow and held it there as he struggled to get out, "Yeah...well..."

Chloe shook her head, a wicked grin spreading across her lips as packed a large snowball in her bare hands, hurling at Dean's head while he was too distracted to notice what she was doing. She laughed as he fell back a little, staring up at her in disbelief.

He scooped up a snowball, "Oh, it's on."

"Hey now! I'm only in pajamas!" she pointed out, backing away.

"You fired the first shot!"

"You were smothering Sam over pie!"

"Hey, he-" Dean didn't get to finish his sentence as his brother tackled him to the ground.

Grinning, Chloe moved closer to the door and out of the way.

A few minutes later found the brothers sitting in the snow, panting and red-faced.

Smirking, her arms wound around herself as she shivered against the cold wind, she raised an eyebrow. "*Now* who wants hot chocolate?"

Exchanging a look, they picked up snowballs and stood, then slowly began advancing toward her.

"Hey now," she protested, backing away quickly. "Sam, I helped you," she pointed out.

"You did..." He shrugged, "But...He IS my brother..."

"Yeah and it's MY pie," she said, shooting them both a warning look.

Dean looked at Sam, "She's right." he lowered the snowball, and Sam did the same thing.

Chloe didn't buy it for a second. Luckily she was smart and fast on her feet, quickly ducking into the house just as both snowballs exploded against the door. She laughed at them.

Dean quickly recovered and picked up another snowball and aiming.

She locked the door with a smirk, placing her hands on her hips. "I win."

"Hey!" Sam went up to the door and pounded on it, "Let me in! Don't leave me out here with this freak!"

She shrugged, continuing to smirk.

Dean came to the door next, "Okay...Okay, we'll be good!'

"Show me your hands," she said the glass, her eyebrows raised.

Two sets of hands appeared in the window, empty.

"You throw snow in this house and you're both dead meat," she warned.

"Yes m'am." Came the reply.

She unlocked the door, eyeing them both warily.

They stepped in, smiles on their faces.

She shivered, her teeth chattering from having been outside in only one thin layer of clothes. "All right, who's building a fire?" she asked, looking between them.

Dean reached in his pocket, smile still on his face, "Who knows..."

"I'm serious, Dean." She gave him a warning look.

He slipped his hand out of his pocket, snowball now resting in his hand.

Chloe simply raised her eyebrows. "Fine, go ahead. You can clean up the mess. And then sleep on the floor." She smirked.

His shoulders dropped and he went over to the door and threw it out, "You're no fun."

"I'm also freezing."

"Sam. Go build the fire."

Sam grumbled at him, but left the kitchen to go start it.

"You look kinda cold yourself." Her eyes were full of warmth as she gazed at him.

He pounded his chest, "I'm a Winchester. I never get cold."

She shook her head lightly. "Guess you don't any hot chocolate then."

"Though...I always need hot chocolate." He said, smiling.

"I thought so." She returned the smile and moved to the counter to make some, still shivering. "Marshmallows?"

He took his coat off and put it around her as he walked up behind her. "Sure."

Surprised by his action, she turned her head to look up at him, a familiar surge of emotion tingling her spine.

"Feel better?" He asked quietly.

She nodded wordlessly, gazing into his eyes, unable to look away.

"Good."

"How've you been?" she asked very softly.

"Can't complain."

Chloe nodded slightly once more, still gazing at him. It had been months since she'd last seen either of them and she'd almost forgotten how intensely beautiful his eyes were. Almost. Except that she dreamed about them on a near nightly basis.

"You been okay?" He asked.

She paused for a moment. "Mostly."

"And what about...the not mostly part?" His voice became quiet.

"Well, there was that couple of days I was possessed by the spirit of a crazy girl who'd been murdered."

He winced, "That couldn't have been fun."

"Considering I almost got killed...again? Not so much," she said wryly, her voice soft though there was a faint smile on her face.

"Sorry I wasn't there." He whispered.

"It's okay. It turned out all right. And the bad guy's gone, so...I did my civil duty."

"Still..."

Chloe gazed up at him. "You can only do so much, Dean."

"Most of the time it's not enough."

"Says you," she said softly. "The people you help would disagree."

"Maybe the would." He looked down.

"You're too hard on yourself."

He shrugged, keeping his yes down.

"I've missed you," Chloe admitted softly, her own eyes downcast. "I mean, you know, both of you." She bit her lower lip.

"Ditto."

She looked up at him to find him gazing at her. "Dean..."

"I'll...uh...go see how Sam's doing." He said quickly.

"Oh," she whispered. "Okay."

He turned around and began to walk toward the front room, thoughts jumbled.

Chloe watched him go, sighing softly. Apparently she was just imagining things. Why did she always have to fall for hero types who didn't return her feelings? Shaking her head a little, she focused on making the hot chocolate.
She was just cursed.

Dean walked in on Sam just as he'd gotten the fire going.

When Sam turned around, he was surprised to see Dean standing there, "I thought you'd still be with Chloe..."

He put his hands in his pockets, "Yeah...Well..."

"Dude. Just tell her how you feel, Man. "

"I can't." He said firmly.

"Why not?" Sam shook his head.

"Because I don't know if she feels the same way, dude."

"When has that *ever* stopped you before, Dean?" he asked in disbelief.

Moving over to the couch, Dean sat down, "Chloe's different."

It took him a moment, but Sam's eyes filled with realization. "Oh. Ohhh."

"You finally get it and all you say is 'Oh'?" He joked.

"Well, I kinda suspected because...you talk about her a lot." He moved to sit down beside his brother on the sofa, gazing into the fire.

"Yeah..." He shrugged and stared into the flames with his brother.

"I think she feels the same way."

"We'll just have to wait and see."

He gave his brother a look. "Dean, it's Christmas Eve."

Dean mimicked the look, "...So?"

"Apparently I have to spell it out." He pointed to the sprig of mistletoe hanging above the kitchen doorway.

He rolled his eyes, "Oh god dude, you're lame."

"Say what you want, but Chloe seems like a girl who follows tradition." He shrugged, standing up. "See you in the morning."

He waved him off, "Whatever dude."

"Night." He gave his brother a knowing look and waved at Chloe, telling her goodnight as he headed up the stairs toward the guest room.

Dean sighed and leaned back on the couch, enjoying the heat of the fire.
A moment later, Chloe stepped into the room, carrying two mugs of hot chocolate and hesitantly sitting down beside him.

He looked over at her as she sat down, then glanced down at the cups, "One of those for me?"

"No, I was just really thirsty," she said lightly as she handed one of them to him.

He chuckled, "Oh you're very funny."

She grinned. "I like to think so." She cradled her mug in her hands and gazed at the fire.

"So...ah...I really...missed you..."

Chloe glanced at him sideways. "Yeah?" Her voice was soft.

He nodded, still looking at the fire.

"I missed you too," she whispered. "More than I missed Sam. But...don't tell him I said that."

He chuckled, "Wouldn't want him to get all jealous."

That made her laugh out loud. "Right."

"So, you have any plans for tomorrow?"

Chloe paused. "No, not really."

He turned his head, eyebrow raised, "Not seeing any friends or anything?"

"You mean Clark," she said, turning her head to look at him.

"Well...and other people..."

"My dad's out of the country on business," she said softly, gazing into the fire once more. "Lois is with her dad looking for her sister...the Kent's are heading to Metropolis to see Mrs. Kent's father."

"So...they're just leaving you here?" He laughed a little, "Guess it's good we came."

"I'm glad you did," she murmured.

He took a drink then set his cup down, and settled into the couch. "Wanna...do something?"

"Like what?"

He shrugged, "I dunno, just something?"

Chloe glanced at him, a faint smile forming on her lips. "Sure."

He glanced up the stairs, then toward the door. Making a decision, he stood up and offered her his hand.

She was slightly surprised by the gesture, but didn't hesitate to slide her hand into his and let him help her up.

"We...are gonna go for a ride." He said, leading her towards the door.

Another smile tugged at her lips. "You realize I'm still in pajamas, right?" she teased.

"I have blankets...and a jacket you can wear." He teased back.

Chloe grinned. "Like I'm gonna turn down wearing your leather jacket."

He straightened, "Well...no woman ever has...."

She blanched a little, reminding herself that they're just friends and that Dean could have any girl he wanted. Her certainly didn't see *her* that way. "Right," she murmured.

He nudged her a little, "I'm joking Chloe."

"I'm sure lots of girls have worn your jacket," she said with a faint, forced smile.

"If you count Sam stealing my jacket...wearing it..." He stopped, "Then yes, a lot of girls have worn it."

A chuckle escaped her involuntarily. "Oh, I'm sure Sam would love to hear that."

"I think he knows..." He put a pondering finger to his chin, smiling.

"That you think he's a girl?"

"Um, yes."

"You should be nicer to him." She elbowed him lightly as she slipped her shoes on.

"Well, tell him to do the same." He smiled.

"Don't tell me your little brother picks on *you*," she said with a chuckle.

"Oh, but he does..."

"Well, I'll be sure and tell him to stop," Chloe said lightly.

He opened the door, "Thanks ma."

She punched him in the arm.

He rubbed it, "Heyyy."

"I'm not your mother," she said with a smile on her face, her eyes twinkling.

He sighed, "Fine...fine..."

"That's better."

He motioned toward the door, "Shall we?"

"Absolutely. Where are we going?" she asked as she headed out toward the Impala.

"Nooo idea." He said, closing the door and walking behind her.

"That's helpful." She turned and flashed him another grin.

"Well, why don't we just drive and see what happens?"

Chloe raised an eyebrow.

He unlocked the door and opened it for her, "What? Doesn't sound fun?"

"Oh, I think it has potential." Her eyes twinkled mischeviously.

Closing the door, he got in on his side and started the car up, "Well, I like potential..."

Chloe smiled. "Somehow I figured you did."

"Of course." He pulled away from the house and out onto the open road.

She spent more time sneaking looks at him than she did gazing out the windshield as he drove, the snow falling lightly around the car.

Dean snuck his own glances at Chloe, smiling to himself as he watched her.

"So how'd that vampire thing turn out anyway?" she asked, glancing at him again curiously. She occasionally helped them with research online and over the phone and about a month back they'd called about possible vampires in some small town in California.

"We beat their asses, thanks to you." He said, smiling.

"Oh, like I did that much." She blushed at the compliment.

"Well, you helped find out where they were..."

"Wasn't hard. There was a trail of bodies with holes in their necks."

He snorted, "You callin' me stupid?"

"Of course not."

"Uh huh."

"I'm not. I'm just saying maybe...you wanted me to feel useful."

"Nah, we really did come to you for help." He said, reassuring her.

Chloe smiled faintly and looked out the passenger window.

He dropped one of his hands to the side, near Chloe's.

She felt the movement and glanced down at his hand silently. Had he meant to do that? she wondered. Did he want her to take his hand? Or was it just a coincidence?

Yawning slightly, he turned the car down another street.

"You have any idea where we're going yet?" she teased.

"Nope."

She gazed at him silently for a moment. "Did you guys really drive all this way just to see me?" Her voice was soft, vulnerable.

"We did." He whispered.

"Why?" she whispered back.

"Because I really wanted to see you."

Chloe turned her head to look at him once more. "You did?"

"I really did." He said.

She wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"I..." He took a breath. Okay Dean. Tell her. You can do it. "I really...like you Chloe."

Chloe felt her heart skip a beat. "When you say like...you mean...as a good friend or... "

He bit his lip. Looking around, he pulled the car over and turned it off. Turning to her, he started again, "I like you...as more than a friend."

"Oh," she whispered, her eyes wide. That wasn't the answer she'd expected.

Dean ran a hand through his hair, "Ah...yeah. Awkward."

She caught his hand gently in her own, gazing at him. "No, I just..."

"Just what?"

She ducked her head. "I didn't think...that you did," she whispered.

"Oh."

Chloe smiled faintly.

He looked down, focusing on the seat suddenly, "So..."

She hesitantly shifted closer to him, touching his cheek.

He looked up at her, silent.

"Kiss me," she whispered.

He hesitated for a moment, then moved forward, their lips meeting.

Chloe's eyes drifted shut as his lips captured hers in a gentle but intense kiss. "Merry Christmas," she whispered.

"Merry Christmas." He whispered back, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for another kiss.