Time away with dl_greenarrow.

[chloesullivan]

The very next morning, they made their way to Maine. Chloe had spent most of the previous day finding them a place to stay and they had ended up deciding on a bed and breakfast that luckily was dog-friendly so the three of them could stay there without a problem.

Their luggage had already been brought in and Chloe had Nellie in her arms as they walked into the room. It was... incredibly cozy. In a way, it made her feel like she was back in Smallville, most of the furniture was made out of wood and the room had blankets draped over the back of the small couch, lots of pillows and blankets on the bed and a large fireplace. It looked like a good place to help Oliver heal and of course the fact that the double glass doors of the room faced the ocean wouldn't hurt either.

What also had helped was the fact that Chloe had spent the other part of the previous day researching the girl he had helped and it looked like she was doing well. She was only fourteen years old but now that her worst nightmare was dead, the girl seemed to have moved on quickly. She had left her dad's house and moved in with an Aunt who lived in San Francisco and it looked like her grades and attendance had improved by a hundred percent.

Chloe had been incredibly relieved to find out that the girl was doing well, but she had also been able to feel Oliver relaxing, even if slightly, when he heard the news.

Comments

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

Oliver set their suitcases down in the room, looking around for a moment and relaxing a little. "It's cozy," he commented quietly.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe nodded a little and set the dog down too once the door to the room had been closed, "I know," she said quietly, smiling softly at him, "it looks nice."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He nodded, turning to look at her as he exhaled slowly. "Thanks for..coming with me."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Thank you for letting me come," she said quietly, stepping closer to him and reaching for his hand.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He hesitated only a second before sliding his hand into hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Should we unpack our things or..." He scratched his head uncertainly.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"We can if you want to," she told him, squeezing his hand back and taking a deep breath, "I need to unpack Nellie's bowls and get her some water and food anyway."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He nodded a little. "I'll start on the suitcases then." He picked up the bags and set them on the bed, realizing then that there was only one bed in the room.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He smirked at that. "I never said I wouldn't share her," he called after her.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe grinned, shaking her head, this was... definitely a change, a good change, sooner than she'd expected, but then, maybe the combination of hearing the girl was okay and getting out of Star City has helped things improve faster.

"Aren't you just incredibly thoughtful?" She asked, not wanting to tease him too much and risk upsetting him, "I think I need to start making you carry the doggie bag when we go walk her," she smirked as she walked back into the room.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

"...no, that's okay. I think that's definitely a job for you." He smirked again before flopping down on the bed with a yawn.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Tired?" She asked, arching her eyebrows as she picked her suitcase up and set it on the floor of the closet, she'd unpack things as she needed them.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

"A little. Long flight." He turned his head to look at her. "Are you tired?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"A little," she lied, she wasn't really tired at all, but she didn't want him to feel bad for being tired, they had woken up early after all.

She walked around the bed and sat down on it, "do you wanna rest for a while then go find something to eat?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe gave him a couple of hours to rest before her stomach started growling and she decided it was time to wake him up.

Nellie had, unsurprisingly joined them on the bed and was laying over Ollie's foot and Chloe had spent the last couple of hours reading emails and articles on her phone, trying not to move too much and disturb him.

"Ollie?" She called quietly after setting her phone down on the bed and reaching to touch his arm gently.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He opened his eyes slowly when she said his name, blinking a few times to clear his vision. "Hmm?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Hey," she said quietly, smiling softly at him, he had been sleeping peacefully and actually seemed a lot more relaxed than he had been recently, but it was in the middle of the afternoon and she didn't want him to have a screwed up schedule again.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He smiled back sleepily, then rubbed a hand over his face. "What time is it?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Well, around one in California," she told him, "around four here."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He smirked at that. "What about in London?"

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. Letting people get close means taking a risk with your heart." He let out a breath. "It's scary. Especially when it doesn't tend to last and you end up getting hurt in the end."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Her chest tightened at his words and her eyes for warm. She nodded slightly and took a deep breath, "what I didn't realize at the time was that I was afraid of the exact same thing I was doing to you."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

Oliver chewed the inside of his cheek and then turned over to lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling even as Nellie rested her head on his chest. Petting her absently, he considered Chloe's words. "I was pushing you too much."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe swallowed hard and shook her head a little, her stomach turning when he pulled away, even if he hadn't meant it that way, "I was too hard on you, on us," she said quietly, "I was afraid that if I gave in, you'd get bored and not want this anymore."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He glanced over at her, his chest tightening at the admission. "We went about things wrong." His voice was quiet.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Her eyes teared up a little more and she nodded a little, looking at him again, "do you think it's too late to fix it?" She asked in a whisper.