Oliver Queen

He stood on the roof of The Lucky Star, holding onto his crossbow. Normally he'd rather use an old-fashioned bow, but normally he wasn't going up against eight guys, either. Even Green Arrow had limitations. Which was why he'd called in a favor from a friend that he knew would be happy to help out.

"Are you in position?" he asked, his voice quiet and distorted as he spoke into the comm device.

Oliver Queen was not a happy man as he stood in the middle of the crowd in the penthouse of one of the city's wealthiest politicians. His fingers were curled tightly around the glass of champagne in his hand, but he wasn't interested in drinking it. Not tonight. No, tonight, he was on duty, whether anyone else in the room was aware of it or not.

He'd been hearing disturbing rumors about the old man who was celebrating his sixtieth birthday that day. And not just about him, but about several of the other party-goers, as well. Several of whom happened to be employees at the Metropolis branch of Queen Industries.

So he'd come to find out for himself. Rumors weren't good enough, he needed to learn the truth, no matter how ugly it might be, firsthand. Which was the only reason he was there and not out patrolling the streets.

Chloe was having a girl's evening with Lana, which he knew both women were in need of considering how little Lex let Lana out of his sight. The thought of Lex Luthor only made him tense more.

He forced himself to take a deep breath and he nodded at a couple of familiar individuals as they wove through the crowd.

And that's when he spotted them.

A large, muscular man leading a young woman into the penthouse, his hand gripping firmly onto her upper arm. He could see even from where he stood that the girl wasn't happy to be there. He watched the way her eyes darted around the crowded room as though searching for an escape, as though the man holding onto her was going to let her out of his grip.

Oliver's jaw tightened as he glanced around, taking note of the fact that the birthday boy was nowhere to be found, and the beefy man was tugging the young woman down the hallway and out of sight.

Son of a bitch.

He hated when rumors turned out to be true.

This jacket is wrapped neatly in a box and placed on Chloe's desk at the Daily Planet that morning.

Chloe~

I couldn't not get this one. Admittedly, it's as much for me as it is for you. I'll make it up to you, though.

Love,
Ollie

These three items are wrapped separately and set on Chloe's desk at the Daily Planet, along with this note:

Chloe~

Just in case.

Love,
Ollie

These are wrapped in small box with shiny silver paper and a tiny green bow and sitting on Chloe's desk at the Planet.

Hope you like them.

Love,
Ollie

This is delivered to Chloe's desk at the Daily Planet in a small gift-wrapped box.

The note attached reads:

A new watch for Watchtower. Cheesy, I know. Couldn't resist.

Love,
Ollie

Oliver had already completed the majority of his Christmas shopping for the season. But there was one item--the most important one on his list--that he really wanted a second opinion on. Lois was out of town for the week, visiting the General, and the other woman whose name came to mind just happened to be nearby on business.

Anytime Bela was in or even near Kansas, they made an effort to visit and catch up, so the timing had been perfect. Chloe was at work for the day, so he knew he'd have plenty of time to visit with Bela and get her thoughts on the particular gift in question.

Now he was just waiting for her to arrive at the clocktower.

Oliver set about making a pot of coffee as he listened to the sound of the shower running down the hall, a smile on his lips. He glanced at the package on the counter, grabbed two coffee mugs from the cabinet and placed them by the coffee pot. Then, still smiling, he headed out to the living room, dropping onto the sofa with the morning's paper, opening it and beginning to read, even though he was also paying attention to the sound of the water being shut off, of doors being opened and closed, and finally, of footsteps making their way down the hallway and toward the kitchen.