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Authors: and
Title: Blue Christmas (1/1)
Rating: PG-13
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Part of the Twelve Days of Chlolliesmas, a series of twelve Christmas themed one-shots.
Summary: Oliver isn't exactly feeling the spirit of Christmas because of a mission gone wrong so he gets some help from Chloe and the team.
He stood on the roof of Watchtower, staring out over the city and looking down at the blood that stained his uniform. He shuddered involuntarily, closing his eyes and exhaling slowly. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he shut his eyes as he heard footsteps approaching him from behind.
Chloe took a deep breath, blinking as she snow hit her face, she had no idea how long he must have been standing there, but he must be freezing, the second she saw the window open, she knew he was there, though, so, she brought a blanket up with her. Without a word, she unfolded it and placed it over his shoulders.
Oliver held his breath for a moment, not looking back at her. "You're gonna freeze."
"So are you," she whispered, lifting a hand to his cheek, "you're already freezing."
"How is he?" he murmured, not opening his eyes.
"Already healing," she told him, stepping to his side and looking up at him, "he will be okay, his metabolism helps him heal faster than the rest of us."
He nodded a little and opened his eyes once more, looking out over the city again. "He shouldn't have been hurt at all."
"We're not like Clark, Ollie," she whispered quietly, "the rest of us are bound to get hurt every now and then."
"Bart wasn't the target, Chloe," he said softly.
Her face fell at that and she nodded, "I know," she whispered, pulling the blanket closed over his chest as she moved to stand in front of him.
Oliver dropped his chin to his chest, closing his eyes. "What the hell was he thinking?"
"The same any of us would be," she whispered to him, running her fingers over his cheek, "protect the others. He probably thought he could move you out of the way before either one of you could get hurt."
"You're sure he's going to be all right?" He finally opened his eyes to look at her, anxiousness in his expression.
"Yes," she told him quietly, "Emil thinks he will be awake before morning."
He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, nodding and swallowing hard. "Think there are any cars for sale at this hour?"
Her face softened at that, "you want to buy him a car?"
"He took a bullet for me. I'd say buying him a car is the least I can do." He tried to smile.
"If we can't find one tonight, we will find something tomorrow," she assured him, "but I think he could appreciate it even more if you didn't catch pneumonia."
He pressed a kiss against her forehead. "Right," he said softly. "Let's go inside."
She relaxed a little and nodded, kissing his cheek, "you need a warm shower," she told him, placing a hand on his back and turning him toward the stairs.
Oliver let her lead him back inside Watchtower without argument. Then he let out a breath, shrugging the blanket off his shoulders and wrapping it around hers instead.
Chloe blinked and raised her eyebrows a little then took a deep breath, "what do you need?" She asked quietly, glancing at his uniform and doing her best not to wince at all the dry blood stains.
"Like you said. A shower. And then I need to go back to the hospital," he said softly.
She watched him for a moment and took a deep breath, "mind if I come with you?" she asked quietly. She didn't want to worry him anymore than he already was, but it had been a really close call on his life. If Bart hadn't taken that bullet for Oliver, he might not be standing there right now, or ever again and it had really shaken her up to think about that.
"Of course I don't mind," he whispered, reaching out and taking her hand.
Chloe pulled the blanket from over her shoulders and dropped it on the couch then took his hand and a deep breath, relieved that he and Bart were both okay.
"I love you," he whispered.
She stilled at that and looked up at him, swallowing hard, "I love you," she whispered to him, her grip tightening around his hand.
Oliver met her eyes for a moment, then kissed her softly.
Chloe kissed him back and lifted her free hand to cup his cheek, her chest tight as she stepped closer to him.
He shuddered a little, threading a hand through her hair and kissing her a little more urgently. She squeezed his hand tightly in hers and returned the kiss with just as much urgency, shifting even closer.
Ollie pulled her closer, unzipping his vest and shrugging out of it.
Chloe slid her hands inside and pushed it off of him the rest of the way, taking a deep breath as she broke the kiss.
He drew in a breath, too, swallowing hard as he gazed intently at her. Then he reached out and cupped her face in one hand, searching her eyes.
She held his gaze and brushed her hands over his bare chest then lifted her hands to his shoulders, watching him closely.
He shut his eyes, shifting closer to her and kissing her again softly, brushing his nose against hers.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered, not being able to keep it to herself any longer.
Oliver's chest tightened at her words and he kissed her jaw lightly before pulling her into his arms. "I know."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and took a deep breath, "we need to get you warm, Ollie," she whispered to him, kissing his temple.
He nodded a little, hugging her tightly and then picking her up.
Chloe smiled a little and ran her fingers through his hair, watching him as he carried her to the bathroom.
He set her down on the sink before turning the hot water on in the shower, shutting the door behind him and locking it before facing her once more.
She shrugged off her coat and pulled her scarf from around her neck, then reached up to touch his face, "it's Christmas already," she whispered to him.
Oliver paused at that, then shut his eyes. "Some Christmas, huh?"
Chloe shook her head a little and pressed a kiss to his forehead, "you're both okay, everyone came out alive, I'd say it's a miracle considering how many guys were in there and we weren't counting on having to take them down."
He blew out a breath, sliding his hands up to rest against her hips. "Still not exactly what I had in mind."
"No, me neither," she told him quietly, placing her hands on his arms, "how about this, we will wait until Bart is out of the hospital and we can celebrate Christmas how it should be?"
"I like that plan," he whispered.
"Assuming he won't be out sometime tomorrow anyway," she said, smiling softly, "he heals pretty fast."
"Thankfully." He swallowed hard. "Seriously--think a car is enough?"
"I think the fact that you are okay will be enough," she said sincerely, running her fingers through his hair and smiling a little, "and maybe a couple of turkeys, he will need a lot of food to fuel himself up again."
"I'll get him as many turkeys as he wants. And Mexican food. And pizza." He leaned his forehead against hers.
"Then I have no doubt he will be very happy," she whispered to him, brushing her nose against his.
Oliver was quiet for a moment. "I feel like he's a little brother," he admitted.
Her expression softened at that and she cupped his cheek, "I think he would like to hear that."
"Yeah?" He gazed at her.
"Bart thinks of you kind of like a big brother too, Ollie," she whispered, "he never told me that, but I know he does, he cares a lot about you and you're the one person who took him in and helped him when he really needed, you mean a lot to him."
His chest tightened a little and he nodded. "He's a good kid."
"He is," she smiled softly and kissed his cheek, "and we're all very lucky to have him around. Thanks to you."
Oliver wrapped his arms around her, kissing her cheek in return. "Come on. Let's shower and go back up there."
Chloe nodded and shifted toward the edge of the sink, pulling off her shirt, "we can call before we leave, see if they need anything."
"Maybe he'll even be awake already," he said hopefully.
"It's likely," she agreed, then nodded, "go ahead, get in, we'll make sure you're warm enough before we leave too."
"Okay." He finished undressing and stepped into the shower, holding his hand out to her.
She did the same then took his hand, squeezing it lightly as she stepped in with him, looking up and holding his gaze then offering him a soft smile.
Oliver kissed her softly and pulled the shower curtain closed behind them.
* * *
Unsurprisingly, when Chloe and Oliver were about to leave the Watchtower and called AC to check in on Bart and see if anyone needed anything, they were told that Bart had just woken up a couple of minutes ago and was complaining he was hungry. There weren't many places open around Metropolis on Christmas Eve, at three in the morning, but luckily, they managed to find a place that was twenty-four/seven. It was mostly fast food, but the high calorie content was usually the best for Bart anyway, it kept him full for longer, so they picked up pretty much all the food available and brought it to the hospital with them.
The guys had been staying in the room next to Bart's as they waited for news on him, so they went back to it to eat and Chloe snuck out too, leaving Bart with a huge pile of hot dogs and hamburgers on his lap, and Oliver behind.
"What? Don't tell me you're not gonna eat, man," Bart said, "it's not a salad or like vegetables, but it's good too, you should try it sometime." He teased, "food without green in it."
A smile touched Oliver's mouth and he shook his head a little. "Pass. But thanks. You eat it. You need it." He watched the younger man carefully. "How are you feeling?"
"Other than starving, I'm good, man." He told him.
"You sure? No pain or anything?" He leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Yeah, just hungry, I'm all healed already," Bart assured him then shrugged, smirking, "wasn't that bad anyway."
"Yeah, I'm sure taking a bullet to the gut's just like a walk in the park," Oliver said wryly.
"It is if you're as awesome as I am," he grinned and finished a hot dog.
He was silent for a moment. "You are awesome," he said quietly.
Bart blinked a couple of times and smirked, "no one ever agrees with me, thanks dude, but you gotta be careful or 'licious will get jealous."
Oliver shook his head a little. "Seriously, Bart. You probably saved my life tonight."
"That's what the team is for, right?" He shrugged, "we help each other out."
"Yeah," he said softly, nodding a little and looking up at him once more. "Just...thank you." He watched Bart for a moment, remembering what Chloe had said to him earlier. "Truthfully, you've always kinda been like the younger brother I never had. Don't scare me like that again, okay?"
Bart paused at that and grinned a little then shrugged, "I'll try," he agreed, "I do need my big brother around though, so, you know." He added awkwardly.
He smiled at that, nodding. "We'll all be more careful. And you've got one hell of an awesome Christmas present waiting when you get out of here. Just so you know." He smirked.
"Yeah?" Bart asked, raising his eyebrows, "better than food?"
"Way better."
"What is it?" He asked, finishing up another burger.
"A surprise." He grinned, raising his eyebrows.
"Man, that's mean," he pouted then brightened, "when do I get out? You're still cooking, right?"
"As soon as Emil gives the all-clear," he told him. "And yeah. All your favorites."
"Awesome, we should ask him to discharge me now because this is only gonna keep me for so long and it's gonna take you a while to make all the food," he said, lifting another hot dog and taking a bite.
Oliver chuckled lightly at that. "I'll see what I can do." He rose to his feet.
Bart grinned at that and nodded, "cool, I'll finish these up."
"All right." He headed for the door, feeling more relaxed than he had before he'd gotten there. He blew out a breath as he stepped into the hallway and headed down it, searching for Emil.
* * *
Hours later, Chloe and Oliver were standing outside the Watchtower, freezing as they watched as Bart, Victor and AC got into Bart's new red car.
"Now we can race, bossman," Bart called out to Oliver from the driver's seat and smirked, "and it won't be completely unfair to you."
Oliver smirked back and shook his head, lifting his hand in a wave as the car peeled away for its first real time on the streets.
Chloe winced a little at the noise and shook her head, "let's hope the next snow storm doesn't come in until they get bored," she said.
He glanced at her sideways. "Not supposed to come in till next weekend. You know, New Year's..." A smile tugged at his mouth.
She raised her eyebrows a little and shrugged, linking her arm with his, "well, good to know, we should make plans to stay inside, then."
"Well, plans have been made," he assured her with a mysterious grin, leading her back inside Watchtower.
"They have?" She asked, cocking her head a little, curiously.
"About ten months ago," he informed her, grinning a little more.
"What?" She frowned, "what is it?"
"It's a surprise," he told her with a wink, leading her to the elevator.
"You and your surprises," she told him, hugging his arm a little, "feeling better about Bart?" She asked after a moment.
Oliver glanced down at her. "Yeah." His voice grew a little more quiet. "He's gonna be all right. And we talked about all of us being more careful from now on."
"Good," she told him, "and I'm thinking we need to make sure all of your clothes are bulletproof, for all of you."
He considered that for a moment. "Might not be a bad idea," he agreed. "If we can find something besides kevlar. Stuff's too heavy to move in."
"I'm sure we can find something," Chloe said quietly then raised her eyebrows, "or you will have to start practicing on moving around with kevlar."
He smiled faintly and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We'll figure it out."
"Don't we always?" She smiled and leaned against his side as they stepped into the elevator.
"Yeah. We do. We're a good team." His eyes were bright as he gazed down at her, pausing, then pointing above his head with an innocent grin.
Chloe paused and raised her eyebrows then her head, cocking it to the side when she saw the mistletoe hanging from the elevator ceiling, "I wonder who put that there," she smirked.
"I have no idea," he answered, shaking his head. "But you know, it is a holiday rule."
"Is it?" She asked, her smirk widening, "I guess we can't break those..."
He grinned and dipped his head, kissing her without further hesitation, resting his hands on her hips.
Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, hugging him closer to her as she did.
Oliver didn't break the kiss as the elevator ascended. He was just glad that things had turned out all right for all of them after such a close call. And now he just wanted to spend the night with his beautiful girlfriend and look forward to New Year's.
He just hoped she would say yes.