Reunion with loistheintrepid.

[chloesullivan]

Since the news about Lex Luthor being alive broke, Chloe hadn't slept. It took her about thirty-six hours to pack up everything she needed and drove to Metropolis, under the circumstances, it was as fast as she could make it.

Her employer had managed to set up an hotel room for her until she could find a permament place is she decided to stay, and once she made sure all the cameras and security were as desired, she called Lois and set up to meet her during work hours at her cousin's apartment. She was nervous about seeing her again, but with Lex back and obviously being interested in the other woman, she had no choice but to keep an eye on her and make sure she was safe.

It was just a little after two when Chloe made her way up to Lois' floor, her heart was beating fast but her expression didn't betray her emotions, she knew that when it came between her and her cousin, she had to be the collected one.

With just one more deep breath as she stood by the door, she willed herself to relax and knocked, then waited.

Comments

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

He was back. Lex Luthor was back, and apparently with him came the rest of the world. Chloe, Ollie, Clark, hell, even Lana had materialized from nowhere to find out what she could about the surprise resurrection. Four years of solitude, and a little cameo from an old nemesis is all it takes for her old friends to show their faces again.

She had hurriedly cleaned her apartment the best she could when Chloe had confirmed her visit. She still found it strange that Chloe hadn't wanted to meet at the airport or even stay with her while she was there, but she supposed she'd find the reason sooner or later.

She was just stuffing the rest of her laundry into her drawers when she heard the knock at the door. Grinning, she nearly threw herself towards the front door. Opening it, she took one look at her cousin and attempted to resist the urge to squeal, settling for throwing her arms around the blonde instead.

"CHLOE!"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe hugged her cousin back after just a second of surprise, she hadn't seen Lois in four years and it felt like an eternity. Sure, they talked to each other every other week at least to make sure the other was okay, but the conversations were superficial, mostly because Chloe couldn't really tell her the truth about, well, anything and she hated lying to Lois, even if it was for her own protection.

Still, that didn't mean Chloe hadn't been almost as lonely as her cousin and seeing a familiar face, even under the circumstances was incredibly comforting.

"Hey," she greeted, hugging Lois tightly for a second longer before pulling back to look at her, "it's good to see you, Lo." And before she started having to lie, at least that sentence was completely sincere.

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

It had been years since she'd been face to face with any of the old gang. She wrapped her arms around her cousin tightly, grinning with excitement. True, they called each other every now and then, but she hadn't really talked to her cousin in a very long time.

Pulling back to give the blonde some air, she grinned down at her before ushering her inside the apartment. "You too, Cuz. It's been a long time."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe did need a deep breath before walking with Lois inside, it was weird enough to be back in Metropolis, even weirder to be with her cousin again, "the place is great," she commented, "and a pretty convenient location for you too."

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, it's only about two blocks from the Planet," she shrugged, shutting the door behind them. She turned back to her cousin and lead them into the living room. "Can't believe I couldn't talk you into staying with me while you were here, though."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"I don't know how long I'll stay," Chloe said, pursing her lips together, "besides, you have your own life, Lo. I don't want to get in the way of it."

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

"My own life," she chuckles, raising her eyebrows at her cousin. "Hate to break it to you, Chlo, but my own life is pretty much the Daily Planet at this point. You wouldn't be in the way of much."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Still," Chloe said, shrugging a little, "I have some things I need to while I'm in town anyway."

She took a deep breath and looked over at her cousin once more, "I can't actually stay here too long."

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

Lois attempted not to look too disappointed. She was hoping to get in some long-overdue quality time with her cousin, but... apparently Chloe didn't feel the same way.

"Oh. Yeah, of course."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Sorry," she said sincerely, looking down, "I'm just not completely settled yet and there are some things I need to take care of, but I know that the Lex issue can't wait so I wanted to get started on that as soon as possible."

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. No, you're right." She put on a small smile, reaching out to pick up a file on the coffee table. "A few days ago Lex contacted me through a live video feed. This is a transcript of the conversation. His IP was blocked, but my laptop is there if you want to try and work your hacking skills on it."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe looked around for a clock and when she found it, she nodded a little, "I will copy the files and take them back with me," she told Lois, "like I said, I can't be here much longer and we should probably do this from a protected network anyway."

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

She watched her cousin a moment, thoughtful, then nodded once.

"Okay."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

After taking the files her cousin had offered, Chloe walked over to Lois' laptop and booted it up, pulling out a flashdrive and a moment later, starting to transfer files.

She could feel Lois' eyes on her, though and she could tell her cousin was less than happy about her making this business-only, "as soon as I figure this out and things are more... settled, maybe we can have lunch?"

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

She chewed on her lip as she watched Chloe work on her laptop. Attempting a small smile at the lunch offer, she shrugged her shoulders and got to her feet.

"That sounds good."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe returned the small smile and nodded a little, turning back to the laptop. She wanted to ask Lois how she's been and learn more about what has been going on in her life, but forced herself not to for the same reason she hadn't before, over the phone and over emails; if she couldn't tell Lois anything about her life, she didn't feel like she had the right to ask her anything about hers.

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

Lois rubbed the back of her neck, frowning at how unexpectedly awkward this situation had become.

"So... have you kept in touch with anyone else lately?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"No," Chloe breathed, keeping her eyes on the computer, "have you?"

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

"No," she said quietly. "But Clark said he was coming in."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Clark?" Chloe echoed, glancing at her cousin, "he's been around?" Because she had been looking for clues of his whereabouts all over the world but there had been no news of him rescuing anyone and she could have recognized it if there was.

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

"No. But he said he'd be here in a few days."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Oh..." Chloe took a deep breath and nodded a little, "good, he will need to be safe, I'm sure Lex will be after him."

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Yeah. I'll tell him you're in town, I guess."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," she whispered quietly, "you can give him my number, in case he doesn't have it anymore."

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

"I will." She glanced at the laptop to see if Chloe was done. This interaction hadn't been quite as fun-filled as she'd hoped.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe is quiet for a moment longer then nods, pulling her flashdrive from Lois' laptop and turning to look at her cousin, "I'll let you know as soon as I have something."

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

She nods, offering her cousin a slight smile.

"Lunch, too. Let me know when you're free."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," Chloe told her, smiling slightly and standing up, dropping the flashdrive in her purse then looking at her cousin again, "I'll see you soon, probably in a couple of days," she promised.

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

She stood, too, offering her cousin a small smile. "Okay. Stay safe, Chlo."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Nodding, she hesitated just for a second then stepped forward, wrapping her arms around her cousin tightly again, she didn't know how long she'd be around but that didn't mean she hadn't missed Lois terribly.

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

Her smile widened a bit when she felt Chloe's arms around her, and she leaned into the embrace and hugged her cousin tightly.

"Missed you," she murmured.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Missed you too," Chloe said quietly, not letting go of her cousin.

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

She rubbed her cousin's back softly, holding onto her.

"You okay, Chlo?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

With a deep breath, Chloe nodded a little, not letting go of her cousin still, "yeah," she whispered, "I'm sorry I'm making this about business, but I need to right now."

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

"Why?" she asked, pulling back to look down at her. "It's been four years, Chlo. I miss having a cousin, you know?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Because I can't tell you the truth, and I don't want to like to you." Chloe said, looking up at her.

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

She furrowed her eyebrows at her cousin, suddenly concerned.

"The t.. the truth about what?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Lo," Chloe breathed and shook her head, "I can't. I'm okay, I promise, but I can't tell you anything, not right now."



*lie, it's late ><.

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

"Wh... Then when? Chlo, you can't just say something like that and then walk away."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"I know," Chloe told her, taking a deep breath, "which is why I stayed away these past four years, Lo. But you have to trust me, I'm okay."

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

"Chloe, I..." She sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. "Please just talk to me. Please?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"I can't, not now," she breathed, looking away from Lois, "I will when it's safe to, I promise you, but right now it's too dangerous."

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck and taking a step back.

"Okay. Okay, I trust you. Just be safe, okay?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"You too," Chloe said, taking a deep breath and looking up at Lois, "especially with Lex being back, take care of yourself."

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

She nodded, offering her cousin another small smile. "I will. Keep in touch, okay?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"I will," Chloe promised, smiling slightly at Lois, "I'll see you soon," she told her before heading for the door.

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

"Bye," she said, a little defeatedly. She sent Chloe a half-hearted wave and shut the door behind her.