So, a little bit longer than usual. Just because you all had to wait a little longer. i'm sorry about that, but inspiration is a fickle lover, and she was hiding from me this week. I also just had a lot of stuff to do :).

So, happy reading!

Richard knew there would be hell to pay, the moment his fist made contact with Oliver Queen's face. Oh, he wasn't worried about Queen Security, because please… He wasn't scared of repercussions, because he liked an old-fashioned fistfight. But, there was one thing he was very afraid of. Felicity's wrath.

He'd been on the receiving end of her wrath a few times in the past. The first time was when he'd 'accidentally' told his teammate she was in to him when she was 15. She'd torpedoed his grade point average when she found out.

In their final year of high school he had nominated her for student body president. She was not happy with that. As revenge, she had sent him an e-mail bomb full of porn ads during his computer class, and the sound was on. He'd spent 3 weeks in detention for that.

The last time was in college. There had been a misunderstanding regarding the time and place of a date, and Richard may or may not have been the cause of the misunderstanding. Either way, she got her revenge good. She'd messed with his class schedule, and he'd spent the rest of the semester in 'Intro to woman's & gender studies', 'politics of sexuality' and 'Womanism'.

After that they had a nice talk, meaning she did a lot of talking in her Loud Voice, and he spaced out but nodded a lot. But she got her point across, Felicity does not take kindly to 'ask forgiveness instead of permission'.

So when his fist met Oliver's face, he was already thinking about all the things she could do to him to make him pay for it. But when she walked in, and saw them standing there, the evidence of a fight clear around them, the first thing that flashed on her face was hurt. She used anger to mask her disappointment, but he knew her to well. This was not going to be fixed by her doing something computer related and him groveling and begging for a week.

There were only a few people who could comfort Felicity when she was in a 'mood'. And when two of those people were the cause of the mood, it seriously limited her options. Luckily, she didn't need to make a trip to Gotham, to find somebody else to talk her down.

Her grandfather was always understanding, and kind. After all, he knew Richard as well as she did, and he knew how Richard could get himself into trouble very easily. But Alfred also knew that almost everything Richard did was out of love for Felicity, and he could hardly fault the man for that.

Alfred knew that Richard had been looking out for Felicity since the moment they met. He'd discouraged certain boys from getting to close, even beat up her prom date because he'd booked a hotel room to take her to. He stood by her in high school when she was shunned by her classmates because she was too young. And he loved her always.

This punching of Oliver Queen was only the last in a long line of stupid things he did. In his mind to protect her no doubt, but really just the latest way of getting her to notice him. Because, event with an IQ of 168, Felicity could be really dense sometimes. And maybe, it was about time somebody pointed that out to her.

"Darling, why do you think Richard punched Oliver?" he asked her, when she was finished telling her story. "I don't know granddad. I don't know why he does half the things he does. It's like he can't stand that I have a life outside of Wayne Manor. You do remember the time he beat up my prom date right? And that guy I was seeing in college... "

She hadn't known about the hotel room. Richard never told her why he punched her date. He just took her anger and the subsequent silent treatment without so much as blinking and waited for her to forgive him. That time she'd taken about 3 weeks.

"It's like he doesn't care. Doesn't care enough to at least try to get along with Oliver. He's my boss and my friend, and I really wish Richard would at the very least be civil to him." She continued, with a sob. "I really don't get it."

Alfred observed his granddaughter while she was sobbing. He knew that she didn't allow herself to see why Richard did what he did, what he does best. When Richard came to live at Wayne Manor, the only one that could get through to him was Felicity. And she had grown very attached to Richard. She'd fallen in love with him. But Richard was a 16 year old boy back then, and while he probably loved Felicity, he wasn't old enough to know how to handle that. So he did what teenage boys do best, date everybody but Felicity.

And Alfred was grateful for that. Because neither Felicity nor Richard were emotionally stable enough, not to mention old enough at that time to really know what a relationship entailed. So Felicity had locked her feelings away so deep that by the time Richard was ready for her, she'd forgotten about it.

"Felicity, it's not that Richard doesn't care about you. Have you ever considered he does what he does because he cares to much?"

After she left the hotel where her grandfather and Bruce were staying, she walked around the city for a while rehashing what her grandfather told her. Until her stomach told her it might be lunchtime. She was just walking to her favorite little café when Bruce caught up with her.

"So, I hear Oliver met Richard's best side this morning." He said while putting an arm around her shoulder. "I can't pretend I don't take a little joy in that, because of your nightly activities, but I do believe punching him wasn't the best way to start a healthy business relationship." Felicity glared at him for that, because not everything was about business, daytime or nighttime.

Bruce followed her into the café ordering them both salad and a drink. "I know you've been talking to your grandfather about this, but if you don't mind me putting in my two cents." He looked at her and waited for her to nod her consent before continuing. "I know you've been repressing your feelings, it's what you usually do when they aren't rational enough for your liking. But, how about you open that little can of worms, just this once. And allow yourself to see Richard like you used to, when the dynamic duo wasn't about crime-fighting."

She was just about to answer her uncle, when the waitress brought her their lunch, and Bruce quickly and efficiently changed the subject. They talked about her life in Starling, and what was going on with Wayne Enterprises in Gotham. Just like they used to, when their lunch 'dates' were spent in his office while playing card games and laughing.

When they were finished, they said their goodbyes as Bruce needed to go back to work. It seemed he was actually in town for legitimate WE business as well as other ones. He kissed her on the cheek and hugged her very tightly before hopping into a cab, and leaving her alone again with too much to think about.

Thinking about emotional stuff, always called for retail therapy. And, since she effectively gave herself the day off, she decided to make good use of it.

Richard had received word from both Alfred and Bruce, that Felicity was okay and that she needed some time to figure things out. If he just left her alone for a little while, she'd forgive him.

It was hard for him, leaving her alone. The past few years he'd tried very much to forget her, at least in a romantic way. But with every Skype call or e-mail or visit back home, he fell again. She was even more amazing now then she was back in high school. Back when she tried to make him coconut cookies before a big game.

He'd always told her that's why he named her 'Cookie'. Because she couldn't bake if her life depended on it. And while that was true, it wasn't the only reason. It wasn't even the most important reason. He called her 'cookie' because that's what she was to him. Sweet and delicious and addictive. And he knew that if he took one bite, he'd be hooked for life. He never was one to just eat one cookie after all.

She dropped her bags in her hallway when she came home later that day. She'd put a serious dent in her savings, but she was feeling better anyway. Even though she had a trust fund (she would never admit to being a trust fund kid), she never used the money unless she absolutely had to. In all the time she lived in Starling, she'd only used the platinum Amex Bruce gave her 2 times. One time to buy some furniture for her apartment and once to buy some computer equipment she may or may not use for Arrow business.

She kicked off her shoes, because while she loved shopping and she loved those shoes, the two of them didn't mix very well. She snorted at that though, like some other things I love that don't mix.

She turned on her television and flipped through the channels, waiting for Richard to come home so they could chat. She stopped flipping and turned up the sound when she saw a picture of herself and Bruce holding her hand while at lunch that day. When she heard the comments that accompanied the picture, she all but fainted.

"Gotham billionaire Bruce Wayne was caught flirting with mysterious blonde at lunch today. They appeared very familiar with each other, holding hands and whispering. A source in the café tells us that they seemed oblivious to the world around them, and even though the goodbye was quite chaste, there was tension in the air and a definite promise for more. TMZ will keep you updated as to where this Starling-Gotham romance might go."

She didn't even hear the door closing, or feel Richard moving to sit beside her. Because all Felicity could think about in that moment was: Oh no, this really is the end of 'just' Felicity!

So? what do you guys think? Even though the gossip-scene is not as big in Belgium as it is in the UK or the US, i think i can safely assume that usually gossip channels/sites/pages might just air something like this without actual comfirmation. Feel free to disagree, but please do it in the comments!

You know I live for them!

- Ellen