chloesullivan | Coming home to dl_greenarrow and <lj site="livejournal.com" user=

Chloe got home a little later than she'd been expecting to, she had expected to be there nearly two hours ago and she was relieved Oliver was living with them now and felt comfortable enough to stay with Maddie, but she didn't want to abuse him or even for Maddie to get too attached to him only for them to have to go their separate ways again.

She had missed dinner time and she was glad she had bathed Maddie before she left for her work meeting and the to go see Lois, which had turned into her seeing Clark instead, but it was almost Maddie's bedtime and she couldn't help but wonder how behind on her schedule her daughter would be.

With a deep breath, Chloe unlocked the door and stepped inside, stilling when she saw her daughter leaning sleepily against Oliver even as she colored whatever drawing that was in front of her. Chloe took a deep breath and pursed her lips together, for someone who had never had a father figure in her life, Maddie seemed to like having him around a lot.

"Hey," she said quietly, "sorry I'm late."

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Oliver considered that, watching her for a moment. "Actually, I have another idea," he murmured, raising his eyebrows.

She cocked her head and arched her eyebrows a little, facing him, "okay?"

He smiled a little bit. "If we can narrow down where the files are, I have an old friend who could be in and out of wherever in the blink of an eye."

"You're still in contact with Bart?" She asked, surprised.

He paused at that. "No. I was thinking of someone else actually," he admitted quietly. "Someone who owes me a no-questions asked favor and who has no ties to the whole Doomsday situation."

Her eyes narrowed a little and Chloe stared at him, not liking this as much all of the sudden, bringing more people in was not ideal, especially someone who wasn't a part of the team, "who?"

"Zatanna," he admitted softly, watching her. "She doesn't even have to know why we want Lionel's files."

Chloe frowned at that and looked at him for a moment, "are you sure she'll keep her word, Oliver? How well do you know her?"

"She's helped me out a time or two over the years," he admitted quietly. "I trust her."

She stared at him for a long moment, "I'll think about it, but even if she gets involved, we still need a better idea of where it would be."

Oliver nodded a little, watching her intently. "It's your decision, Chloe. I'm not trying to over-step any bounds." His voice was quiet and he looked down.

Chloe frowned at the look on his face and sighed, shaking her head, the last thing she wanted was to make him feel bad, especially after how helpful he'd been since he got here, "I know you're not, Oliver. I trust you. I wouldn't have let you anywhere near her if I didn't."

"Why?" His voice was nearly inaudible. He looked up at her, his expression pensive.

"Why I trust you?" She asked, frowning.

"Yes," he murmured, shaking his head a little. "Why do you trust me?"

"Why wouldn't I, Oliver?" She asked, taking a step closer and watching him, "you have done nothing but offer me your help when I needed you in the past, even when I didn't want it, you were still there to help me." She told him.

"And now, all it took was a phonecall and you came back, even though you didn't want to, even though, after everything I put everyone though last time, you shouldn't even want to talk to me."

Edited 2011-02-22 19:57 (UTC)

His eyes widened a little at that, and he shook his head. "Chloe." His voice was hushed. He reached out and put a hand on her arm, gazing at her with sad eyes. "We all made bad decisions back then," he whispered. "You can't hold yourself as solely responsible."

"Yes, I can. Because it was my decision to run off with him and it was just me, going against what everyone else wanted because I thought I could help him," She told him, her jaw clenching as she held his gaze, "but it doesn't matter anymore, it's done."

Oliver shook his head a little, dropping his hand from her arm. "You were doing what you thought was best. What you thought you had to do." It had taken him a long time for him to come to terms with that. But once he had, he realized it was true. They'd all just been trying to do what they thought was right at the time.

Chloe sighed deeply and shook her head, "we can have this conversation a thousand times and it won't change what happened," she told him quietly, looking down then back at him, "we should focus on what we have to deal with now."

She paused and looked at him again, holding his gaze, "but I just want you to know I do trust you and I've never had reason not to."

He hesitated a moment and then stepped forward, hugging her tightly and shutting his eyes.

She stilled for a moment, surprised by the hug but mostly by the intensity of it. It took her a moment but she wrapped her arms around him, letting out her breath slowly and closing her eyes too.

They had never been close, but with everything they've been through together and with the way they understood each other, it was good to have him around again, especially now.

He exhaled slowly, as well, as she returned the hug. "I'm sorry," he whispered against her ear. "I need you to know that. I'm sorry."

Chloe swallowed hard and shook her head slowly but didn't pull away, "I know you are, but you have nothing to be sorry about."

He leaned his head against hers, not pulling away either. "I missed you," he admitted very quietly.

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