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.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe glanced over at him and nodded, picking up a separate bag that had all of Nellie's things in it and taking it by the glass doors, pausing when she realized he was kind of staring at the bed, "is something wrong?"

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He blinked a couple of times, then shook his head. "No. Everything's fine," he said softly, glancing over at her and offering her a small smile. It wasn't like they hadn't been sharing a bed for the last couple of weeks anyway.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

She smiled softly back at him and nodded a little, kneeling on the floor and setting a bowl down, filling it with food then petting Nellie as she rushed to her side then laid down on the floor.

"I think flying has exhausted her." She commented.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

"It was a long flight," he said softly, nodding a little and looking down at the dog.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Nodding, Chloe leaned down and kissed the dog's head before standing up and walking over to the bathroom to get her some water then setting the bowl down in front of her, "there you go, have some water and I'll set up your bed so you can rest." She told the dog.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

A smile tugged at Oliver's mouth as he watched her. He was glad he wasn't the only one who talked to the dog like she was a person.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe picked up the folded blanket that used to be hers but had become Nellie's the same week she brought her to live with her and set it down by the foot of the bed along with a stuffed bear that was Nellie's too and watched as the dog drank some water then went to her blanket, curling up on it almost instantly.

"Well," she said, standing up, "she's comfortable." She told Ollie, smiling.

Nellie being around had made it easier for her to get him to talk, even if it was small talk, he absolutely adored the dog and talking about her helped Chloe ease him into conversations and even got him to relax more often than not.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He smiled, nodding a little at that. "It might get too cold for her to sleep on the floor," he said, raising his eyebrows a little.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Chloe paused and arched her eyebrows at him, walking up to her suitcase and smirking, "uh huh, you just got used to having her on the bed." She teased, "don't worry, she'll get up on it when we go to sleep."

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

He grinned a little, shrugging, ducking his head as he unzipped his suitcase and started to hang things up in the closet. "She does a great job at keeping my feet warm," he responded.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

She couldn't help but grin too when she saw the look on his face, "I know, clearly she likes you better than she likes me, my feet are constantly cold now," she teased. If she had to guess, Nellie probably could tell Ollie wasn't doing well, people just didn't give dogs enough credit.

[dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com]

"Well, you could sleep with socks on," he teased, his voice a little lighter than it had been in weeks.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Oh so you're just going to steal my dog and pretend nothing happened?" She asked, picking up the bag with her toiletries and starting to the bathroom, "I see how it works, Queen."

[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?"