Still Waters and Quiet Men A Starling Mystery

by LaDemonessa

Felicity finds herself embroiled in a mystery that brings together her past and present, leading her into an unknown future. The past that she thought she'd left behind in Gotham in the form of Bruce Wayne comes to Starling leading to love, adventure, danger, and hopefully more. Batlicity/Olicity triangle but Felicity-centric. In other words, it's about her, not the guys.

36. Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-Six

After Felicity dropped Sara off at the airport and stopped by the grocery store for some supplies she had the driver take her back to the penthouse, otherwise known as the 'scene of the crime'.

She sighed as she slung her purse, laptop bag, and overnight bag over her shoulders then loaded her arms with the three full bags of groceries she picked up before exiting the cab and heading inside the building. She told her dad that she wanted to get a head start on Bruce's 'special project' and, given that she had to be at the penthouse first thing anyway, she decided to spend a few nights there. Peggy hadn't been happy about it but, luckily, her dad understood. Since she told Tam not to mess with the office or the master bedroom she was hoping that she could just live in the mess of the remodel until it was all sorted; if not then she'd find a hotel or something. As long as she was dealing with all of this, she wanted to at least put a little space between her and her dad's place.

Of course, it's not like they couldn't find them if things did go pear shaped but, chances are, she'd be the target, not Lucius or Peggy Ann. Not that she was really worried about that. If the OO wanted to kill her she'd already be dead. No, it was simply being done as a precaution so she could focus on her mission and not them while having the freedom to come and go as she needed without having to juggle the truth. Another reason she wanted to be there wasn't just the access to Watchtower, but because the Wayne Foundation penthouse was practically a fortress. Bruce had made sure to build all his buildings to withstand earthquakes of at least 8.5 on the Richter magnitude scale with top of the line security measures especially when it came to the top floor.

The Wayne Foundation Building was a Gotham landmark, noted for its unique design with a large open atrium in the center representing life, growth, and renewal, a revolving restaurant called The Carousel that was fully encased in glass to provide the best views of Gotham to its patrons (while hiding a secret elevator shaft to the alternate Batcave in the center turning mechanism) and, of course, the penthouse which was located on the very top. Bruce designed it himself and it had a definite Frank Lloyd Wright vibe with a modern design, a waterfall pool, and a roofline garden with dwarf fruit and flowering trees and shrubbery that enhanced, rather than obscured, the sweeping views of the city skyline and the river.

Even though it was located in a part of the city known more for its rundown factories and warehouses, the Wayne Foundation rose above it all like a beacon of hope with three towering sculptures of the gods Hermes, Nike, and Asclepius in the center of The Thomas Wayne Memorial Fountain keeping vigil out front and surrounded by the lush bounty of Martha Wayne's favorite roses. In addition to headquartering the many executive offices of the various Wayne Charitable Foundations it also had a well-equipped gym, a museum, a shopping mall, various other rented and leased offices, daycares, educational centers, clinics, and an underground parking garage.

While all the other floors were accessible to the public, the penthouse had its own private elevator requiring a numerical code and a key card to enter. In addition to that, the windows of the penthouse were all made of bullet-proof earthquake glass and there were hidden 'panic buttons' throughout completely locking everything down just in case the building's security was breached. Knowing that she was in a secured location made it easier to think and plan and she had a pretty good idea that she'd need that extra little confidence boost in the days to come.

The minute she stepped through the doors, security informed her that the clothes and boxes they'd retrieved from Tam's storage units that morning had arrived then issued her a security key for the elevator as per Bruce's instructions. The guard also offered to help her with her bags and, since it saved her from having to go through the trouble of dealing with the elevator panel and swiping her card while juggling groceries and her overnight bag, she accepted his help gratefully.

After she thanked him for his help and put everything away in the kitchen, she dragged herself into the master bedroom and tossed her overnight bag on the dresser, stripping off her clothes as she went. She was tired, bone tired, and as nice a day as it had been, she was far too exhausted to worry about being neat. Security had left all the clothing racks in the foyer and, even though she knew she should probably start putting them away before taking her bath, she just wasn't in the mood.

She dug out her cosmetics case along with her favorite shampoo, conditioner, and soap before heading into the large en suite to draw a bath. More like a swimming pool, Felicity thought, looking at the huge whirlpool tub with a covetous sigh as she put her things away while she waited for it to fill. Luckily, even though the custom sized tub was far larger than the old claw-footed one she'd left behind in Starling, the high flow taps filled it in half the time. As soon as the water level had risen high enough, Felicity turned on the heater and the jets before easing into the bath, humming with pleasure as the water pulsated all around her. She took a moment to look around the richly appointed master bath before ducking her head under the water, pouring some of her favorite shampoo in her hands, and scrubbing the dust and sweat from her hair as she lost herself in the clean summery notes of honey, melon, citrus, and sharply scented green herbs.

Her stomach rumbled and she grimaced. You know you're hungry when the smell of your shampoo makes your stomach growl.

Between the lack of sleep and her appetite that was either on or off, she was a mess. She hadn't been sleeping well at all and she'd racked up almost as much sleep debt as she would have working both her jobs back in Starling if not more. Plus, the stress was messing with her blood sugar. She really needed to get it together and start maintaining a regular eating and sleeping schedule because she was beginning to lose weight. She wasn't exactly wasting away or anything, it couldn't have been a loss of more than five pounds or so, but it was enough that her clothes were getting a bit loose. This morning she skipped breakfast because she'd been too depressed to eat, skipped lunch because of Tam, and now she was seriously contemplating skipping dinner because she was exhausted and, as hungry as she was, even the thought of walking to the kitchen seemed like too much trouble.

She blinked blearily. Screw it; she could go one day without eating.

Her stomach churned again in protest.

Or not.

Luckily, Tim and an entire day of fasting had inspired her to buy a ton of deli meats and cheeses along with a crudités tray, the ingredients for a hearty soup she intended to toss into the slow cooker she'd uncovered in the kitchen tomorrow, and lots of nibbles and necessities like coffee, Diet Coke, and tea.

Caffeine was not optional if she was going to make it through the night.

Cleaning out Tam's storage units turned into a bigger workout than she'd imagined it would be. Not to mention the fact that, once again, she'd gotten almost no sleep the night before because of her fight with Bruce. All she wanted to do was get clean, make a sandwich, and hit the sheets before she had to man Watchtower that night. Hopefully Bruce would keep it professional and call it a day early enough so that she could get in a couple of hours' worth of sleep before she had to head to the OO facility in the morning.

Not that he knew that's what she was planning; as far as he knew she was just meeting with the decorators. Tam was planning on being there first thing in the morning which meant that she needed to be out and about before dawn in order to avoid Bruce. Hopefully he wasn't planning on being there, but she wasn't taking any chances.

She did her best to make it hard on him though. She chose to go to Orbital a day earlier than planned for a lot of reasons, not least of which was the fact that he and Lucius usually scheduled their meetings with the various department heads on Tuesdays. His schedule was bound to be packed tomorrow until late afternoon but that didn't mean he wouldn't blow it off just so he could try to catch her off guard. If she was lucky (and she so very rarely was these days) he'd still be in the middle of his sulk and choose to remain at the office all day, never knowing she sent Tam to meet the decorators in her place. If his Bat-Butt did show up then all hell was going to break loose but, hopefully, she'd have the information she needed by this time tomorrow and that made putting up with the ubiquitous hissy fit he was bound to pull all worth it.

She rinsed out her hair and applied the conditioner, enjoying the unique combination of scents as they teased her senses. Where the shampoo was fruity and green, the conditioner was a light floral scent that made her think of summer picnics surrounded by wildflowers at her family's lake house.

God, she missed summer; warm weather, cool breezes off the lake, and definitely no dirty gray snow and ice. She was so over freezing her ass off it wasn't even funny. When all this was over she was definitely taking a vacation; a very warm vacation. Piling her golden locks on top of her head, she began scrubbing her body with the delicately scented goat's milk herbal soap she got from Tam for Hanukah.

At least the tub was nice, she thought as steam rose from the water. Rinsing off her arms and torso, she looked around the bathroom again. It definitely wasn't her quaint little bungalow though, that's for sure. Not to say it wasn't wonderful; it was just overwhelmingly Bruce.

It was a beautiful room, but definitely a masculine one. The shower and tub were both the height of luxury and built for a man of Bruce's size in mind. The shower alone was nearly the size of her old bedroom. Okay, that was an exaggeration, she thought, but you could easily fit a queen sized bed and a couple of nightstands in there. The steam shower was completely done in a deep gray and white marble with a long stone bench and multiple taps. Floor to ceiling clear glass separated it from the rest of the room but the same gray marble made up the steps and surrounding frame of the custom built whirlpool tub. It was wide enough for two people to sit side by side and long enough to easily accommodate Bruce's 6'2" frame even if he was fully extended.

After a few minutes she rinsed the conditioner out of her hair and settled back to enjoy a well-deserved soak after her long and exhausting day chasing after her sister and her obsession with clothes.

"Sara was right," she muttered out loud to herself. "Tam could totally star in a reality show called 'Celebrity Hoarders'." They were there for hours and they still barely made a dent in it. "Guess I know what I'm doing next weekend." Fun.

Felicity leaned back against the contoured headrest and closed her eyes as the heat of the tub seeped into her bones, chasing away the Gotham winter as the pulsing water jets soothed her tired muscles. She must have drifted off because the next thing she knew the jets abruptly shut off and there was a splash of water as someone pulled the plug. She inhaled sharply in an aborted yawn as she blinked her eyes open to see Bruce's perturbed countenance glaring down at her.

"You do know that falling asleep in the tub is dangerous, right? Unless, of course, you want to drown?" He asked her with a scowl, his jacket tossed on the countertop near the sink and his shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbows.

"You have to die of something, right?" She said wearily as she yawned and sat upright, exposing her breasts to his gaze.

"Not funny," he told her sharply even though his eyes immediately locked onto her naked form which was still pink from the bath.

"Have you ever noticed that nothing is ever funny to you?" She said testily. It's just as well, she thought, the water, despite the built in heater, had started to cool and her fingers were beyond prune-y. "Can you at least pass me a towel while you loom above me with that sour look on your face?" He reached over to the towel warmer and held it out as she stood up and wrapped it around her, humming in pleasure despite her irritation and exhaustion as warm and fuzzy rocked her world. "What time is it anyway? And why the hell are you here?"

His eyes were still wandering up and down her form, darkening slightly as she wrapped the towel around her breasts. He extended his hand to help her out of the tub, his eyes locking on her upper thighs where the towel parted as she stepped onto the floor, "Nearly 7:30," he told her. "And I'm here because I had no idea where you were."

She let go of his hand and stretched, arching her back and causing his eyes to leap from her legs back to her chest. "That late? Wow, I was in the tub for a while, huh?" She mused. "Guess I was past due for a nap after all."

He ignored her comment, his jaw firming as he forced his eyes upwards, "I've been calling and texting you all afternoon. Where were you?"

"Helping Tam go through her storage units; why, what business is it of yours?" She asked tiredly as she walked into the bedroom and rummaged through the large dresser for a nightgown.

"Damn it," he muttered, walking over to her and spinning her around to face him. "Everything you do is my business, Felicity. I was worried about you and I wanted to talk about what happened yesterday."

"Whatever." She disengaged her arms from his grip and reached for a long jersey cotton peignoir set then marched past him to the bathroom without saying a word.

"Where are you-?" She shut the door in his face and locked it, causing him to utter a filthy curse as he tried the knob. "Damn it, Felicity! You don't get to shut me out just because you're having a little snit, do you hear me?"

"'Little snit' my ass," she muttered as she slipped the simple and plainly styled floor length cotton jersey chemise over her head and shimmied it into place until it floated around her ankles before slipping the matching robe over her shoulders. It wasn't her warm and fuzzies but the penthouse was a lot warmer than her bungalow and, despite her sister's cutting remarks about Donna Karan, the woman knew her way around a nightgown. Soft and silky with a modest V-neck, when paired with the matching robe it, like most of the designer's lounge wear, felt like a soft warm hug against her skin. She walked over to the sink and grabbed the toothbrush she had used the night before to brush her teeth as she drowned out Bruce's bitch and whine session from the other side of the door. When she was done, she wiped her mouth with the towel, tossed it into the hamper, before brushing her nearly dry hair into something that didn't look like a rat's nest, then made her way back to the bedroom.

Might as well get it over with, she thought to herself with a grimace.

"Goddamn it!" He cursed at the closed door, "I'm trying to have an adult-!" She opened the door and he stopped mid-sentence to stare at her.

"Do you mind?" She asked, indicating she'd like to move past him.

"Actually I do," he scowled, finding his voice again but still stepping aside as she made her way back to the dresser. "We need to talk."

Felicity grabbed a pair of thick black and gray boot socks from the drawer, "I'd really rather not," she said as she walked over to sit on the bed so she could tug them on.

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

"Putting on socks."

"Why?"

She let out an exasperated breath and glared up at him, "Because you apparently destroyed my favorite slippers when you trashed my house, my feet are cold, and I didn't buy any to replace them, that's why. So, unless you want to run out and buy me some, I'm stealing your socks; deal with it," she said sarcastically. "Seriously, how the hell do you kill a pair of bunny slippers? Who breaks slippers?" She muttered. "Did you guys actually pull out the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, or was it just pure dumb luck on your part?"

"The holy what?" Bruce asked in confusion.

"Oh come on!" She said in outrage. "You went to Oxford—in England! Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Bruce; get some pop culture already!"

"I mean, why are you dressed like that?" He asked, indicating her nightgown.

"Because I'm tired and I intend to take a nap if I'm going to be manning your coms tonight," she told him with an edge of acerbity. "But first, I'm going to go into the kitchen to make a sandwich because I'm hungry; any more questions?" She rolled on the other sock, "The man has an Ivy League education, runs a multi-billion dollar corporation, hunts bad guys under the cover of darkness, and yet he can't figure out why a person is wearing pajamas at night," she muttered under her breath. "Oh, and he killed the Killer Bunnies and didn't get the joke. I'm not getting over that shit anytime soon. Those were collectables, thank you very much."

"There's no food here," he reminded her, ignoring her mumbled rant.

"I bought groceries," she said testily as she wiggled her now toasty toes in her socks. His socks, she corrected herself mentally. Doesn't matter, they were hers now. She decided to lay claim to them and anything else comfy looking in the drawers and closet including, but not limited to, his undershirts, boxers, thick wool boot socks, and dress shirts. "I figured I needed coffee and snacks if I'm going to have to deal with having you snarling in my ear all night long."

"You're still manning Watchtower tonight?" He asked in surprise.

"I just told you I was; why wouldn't I?" She asked him with a frown.

He ignored the question. "If you're hungry we can go out," he offered, his expression softening slightly. "If you're in the mood for French we can go downstairs to The Carousel; they always save me a table just in case."

"I don't want to go out and I'm not a big fan of eating and spinning at the same time even if I did want to go. I just want to eat something here and catch a few hours of sleep before I have to head down to the cave," she told him.

"We can order in then. What do you want?" He asked her, pulling out his phone. "I'll order for us both."

"I already have a ton of stuff in the fridge; I bought enough groceries to last for a few days at least. Besides, don't you have to go home to the manor and get some sleep before you go on patrol?" She asked him irritably.

"I have a spare suit of armor downstairs," he told her, his eyes narrowing. "Why? Did you want me to leave?"

"Yes, actually I do."

"You said you were helping me on coms tonight," he said with a scowl as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"That doesn't mean that I intend to have dinner with you or invite you to sleep with me," she shot back.

"Who said I intended to sleep with you?" Bruce asked innocently.

"Please," she snorted.

"Fine," he said with a smirk. "And I suppose you put on that nightgown because it was the least sexiest piece of lingerie you could find."

She looked down at her plain pink nightgown incredulously. She had tee-shirts that showed more skin. "Actually, yes," she told him in a deadpan. "Everything else I bought is either crotchless or see-through."

"If you feel like modeling some of it, I have time," he said with an amused grin.

She ignored him, "It's a nightgown, Bruce; not an invitation, and a pretty plain one at that. I bought it because it was comfortable and long enough to keep my legs covered, not because it was sexy."

"It's not not sexy," he said with a heated look as he stepped closer.

"You'd think an old flannel granny gown was sexy," she said with an eye roll.

"True, especially if you were the one wearing it." His gaze warmed up considerably as it roamed over her figure once again, "Or not wearing it; whatever the case may be. Doesn't matter to me though, I'm easy; sexy or not, it all winds up on the floor eventually."

"Not tonight it won't," she muttered as she tried to move past him towards the kitchen but he stopped her by taking her wrist and pulling her towards him. She glared at him, "I believe we've already had the manhandling discussion, have we not?"

"We have," he tugged her until she was leaning against his chest, his hands moving to clasp her waist firmly as he looked down at her. "Unfortunately, I'm not a very good listener." His hands slid from her waist to cup her backside through the thin robe, "I'm more of an actions speak louder than words kind of guy."

"Well, until you improve in that particular area I suggest you let go of my ass and toddle along your merry way," she told him crossly.

He smirked again, completely unaffected by her growing irritation with him. He brought his lips to her ear, the slight scruff of his five o'clock shadow causing her to shiver as it rubbed against her cheek, "Have I ever told you that there is nothing I find sexier than a woman, all warm and pink from the tub?" He breathed her in and growled, "By the way, you smell very nice, Baby." He kissed the tender skin under her ear and nuzzled against her, his teeth grazing her neck and causing her to shiver again, "Practically edible in fact. What do you say we skip the sandwiches and just…" He nipped at her earlobe causing her to gasp involuntarily.

Despite her annoyance with him she found herself beginning to respond so she decided to fight fire with fire. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her own lips so close to his that there was barely a hairsbreadth between them. She allowed her eyelids to drop half-mast and lowered her voice to a sexy purr, "And have I ever told you…" her hands slid down and she gripped his loosened tie with her right hand as her left eased down his other arm to grip his elbow, her eyes traveling down his broad chest as she slowly licked her lips, "how very, very…good…" He inhaled sharply and she could feel his interest stir as his eyes darkened. She stepped even closer to him until their bodies were plastered against each other, her left leg moving between his as her right hooked behind his knee, "I've gotten at jujitsu?" And with that she thrust and spun his upper body away as her leg hit him at the back of the knee using his own body weight against him and forcing him to the ground.

Only two things prevented it from being a picture perfect takedown:

1. He still had his hands firmly on her ass.

And 2. He was, after all, Batman.

He went down hard but he took her down with him. She landed sprawled against his chest, her thighs straddling his as he hit the bedroom floor. He immediately rolled them over until he was on top cradled between her thighs as the hem of her gown rode up her legs, his hands pinning hers above her head. He grinned, grinding his now very firm erection against her center and causing her to gasp despite herself, "I was actually planning on talking a bit but if you want to skip that part it's fine by me."

"Not everything can be solved by sex, Bruce," she told him despite the fact that she could feel her body responding to him.

"No, it can't," he said, releasing her wrists, one hand tugging open her robe so he could slide his other one down her arm cup her breast. His eyes locked onto her hardened nipples that were obvious through the thin material and his thumb teased the stiffened peak as he bent his head to brush his lips against hers, "but it is good at releasing tension."

She whimpered as his lips slanted against hers, his tongue tasting her deeply. The hand not occupied with her breast reached down to grasp her nightgown and haul it further upwards leaving her thighs bare. His lips left hers and trailed kisses along her cheekbone until he captured her earlobe between his teeth and teased her with his tongue and mouth. She cried out and arched against him causing him to chuckle darkly.

His lips blazed a fiery trail downwards to lick and suck at her neck, causing her to gasp. He lifted his head to gaze down at her face now flushed with passion, "The bed's right there but if you're good with the floor then so am I," he said in a low rumble.

"I'm still mad at you," she told him with a huff of frustration.

"I'm still pretty pissed at you myself; doesn't mean we can't have—what did your sister call it?" He quirked a smile, "Oh yes, angry revenge sex."

"No condoms, remember?" She pointed out.

"Depo shot," he threw back, his lips tasting hers again before pulling back slightly, "Besides, we're getting married anyway and I thought we agreed that kids were a sooner rather than later thing?"

She snorted, "So you are trying to knock me up just so I'll marry you."

"Is that what it would take to get us to that point?" He asked her lightly but there was a hint of uneasiness in his gaze as he looked at her.

"Bruce…" she exhaled.

"I love you," he told her, the humor fading from his expression and he cupped her cheek, his other hand brushing the mess of curls from her face. "I'm in love with you. I want to marry you but I also want to keep you safe. Why can't you see that?"

"If you love me then you have to start believing that I can take care of myself," she told him with a grimace. "That I not only know what I'm doing, but that this is something I have to do, with or without your help."

His jaw squared stubbornly, "I'm not going to apologize for wanting to keep you safe,"

"And I'm not going to apologize for doing what needs to be done," she shot back.

He scowled, "Fine."

"Fine," she agreed.

"Good!"

"Good."

He looked down at her, his jaw set, "Angry revenge sex it is then." His mouth crashed down on hers as he sank his fingers into her hair. His tongue swept through her mouth as he tasted her before pulling away to get to his feet and hauling her upright. Before she could protest he swept her up in a bridal carry then tossed her onto the bed causing her to bounce with an undignified squeak. He chuckled as he began to tug off his clothes, allowing them to fall to the floor.

"Damn it!" She scowled as she watched him quickly shed his clothing. "First off, I am not having sex with you; angry or otherwise! Secondly, I'm starving. I haven't eaten all day."

"If you're hungry I have something you can put in your mouth," he said with a filthy grin.

She looked at him, her jaw dropping in shock. "Um…huh?"

His smile broadened, "Unless, of course, you aren't up to the challenge?" He teased as he tugged off his pants and underwear before stripping off his socks and climbing into the bed beside her.

"I've never…um," she looked down at his very happy soldier and swallowed nervously.

He looked at her, amusement dancing in his eyes, "Like I said, if you're not up to the challenge, that's fine."

"Challenge my ass," she scoffed huffily while eyeing his erection apprehensively.

"Scared?" He asked with a smirk as he cupped her cheek in his palm and began kissing her deeply. "That's okay, Baby; I'm sure we can make do."

"I'm not scared," she said weakly as he lowered her head onto the pillow, licking and sucking his way down her neck while reaching down to tug his socks off her feet and toss them on the floor.

"Sure you aren't," he teased as he moved on top of her to grind himself into her center.

"You think you know everything but you don't, you know; you're not nearly as impressive as you think you are," she complained, biting her bottom lip as he palmed her breast and began to tug at her nipple. "Plus, now my feet are cold again!"

"Hmm, I'll keep you warm," he promised as he sucked and nibbled his way down her neck. "As for me being impressive, I don't know about that, but I always was a bit precocious. Case in point," he said, grinding his hips into hers again and causing her to gasp.

"I can see that," she said breathlessly. "You know, most men need a pill for that sort of thing at your age."

He stopped and pulled away slightly so he could look at her, his eyebrow raised, "Is that so?"

She glanced around the room, "Of course, since we're not soaking in a couple of tubs in the middle of a field watching the sunset I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

"I may not be some fresh-faced boy but I'm sure you'll find me more than adequate," he told her as he removed her robe, slipping it off her shoulders, then hauled her gown over her head to toss it away carelessly. "See, like I said; it all winds up on the floor eventually." His hand moved between her thighs to cup her sex. She gasped and his mouth covered hers, swallowing her moan as his fingers dipped inside of her center. His thumb rubbed at the sensitive bundle of nerves as his fingers curled inside her. He pulled away from the kiss and watched as her eyes fluttered closed, her cheeks now flushed with passion rather than anger. "You're wet for me, Felicity." His fingers moved deeper inside of her causing her to bite her lip and squirm in pleasure, "Last chance to prove me wrong; are you up for the challenge or not?"

Goddamn it! Her eyes opened at that and she pushed him off of her and onto his back, "You want angry revenge sex; I'll show you angry revenge sex!"

"Do your worst, Baby," he invited with a chuckle. He lay back, getting himself comfortable against the pillows, as he waited to see what she'd do.

Giving him one last defiant look she gathered her robe and tossed it onto the end of the bed then brought her mouth to his chest and ran her tongue over his nipple before tugging it gently with her teeth, one hand curling around his shoulder and the other wrapping around his rock hard erection. He inhaled sharply and thrust up in her hand, his eyes closing as her mouth wandered down his chest. Determined to regain the upper hand, she worked her way down to his abs, her tongue running over his stomach before going even lower, enjoying the sounds he made as she stroked her fingers up and down his shaft. Her body slid down his until she was face to face with his erection and then she stopped.

He glanced down to see her pausing at his erection uncertainly. "Well," he prompted.

"I'm thinking," she muttered, looking at it a bit askance.

"What's the problem exactly; maybe I can offer a few helpful hints?" he said, his voice a mixture of husky arousal and laughter.

He was kidding but…"I read a book about this once—well, twice; two books. Tam gave me one and I bought the other one on Amazon. Anyway," she swallowed, staring at his twitching cock, "reading is one thing and actually putting it into practice is another," she said ruefully. "Up until this point it's all been academic and, it's not that I'm scared or anything, it's just a…logistics thing…" She took another second's pause.

"Logistics?" He repeated, his dark blue eyes twinkling with merriment.

She looked up at him, "You'd be surprised. There's this whole coordinated hand to mouth…" His lips twitched upwards in amusement and she grimaced, "Okay, fine; I realize you've probably done this lots of times but being the person on the receiving end of things is a lot different than being the person on this end!"

"I think you might be overthinking it," he told her with a poorly concealed smirk.

"Hey, this stuff is pretty complicated, okay? There's lots of…things going on and-" She scowled. "Look, have you ever given one of these before?"

"Can't say that I have," he said honestly.

"Right, then just give me a minute to come up with a game plan here," she told him gruffly.

"Baby, if you don't want to do it, that's fine," he told her with another sexy chuckle. "I was just teasing you. It's not really that important to me. We can just skip it and move on to other things," he said with another devilish look.

"No, I can do it," she said determinately. At this point it really was a challenge; there's no way she was going to wuss out now. She took another centering breath and began to mutter, "Okay, hands, mouth, tongue, and watch the teeth…"

"Please; especially the last part," Bruce told her, folding his hands behind his head and laughing quietly as he looked down at her antics.

"I've got this; I can do it," she told herself ignoring him. She squared her shoulders, dug deep and, taking him firmly in hand, gently pulled down his foreskin and placed her tongue on the underside of his glans, licking hesitantly before taking him into her mouth.

Bruce's hands left the pillow and clutched the sheets beside him as he let out a low moan, a look of intense pleasure filling his expression as the heat of her mouth surrounded him and pulled him inside. She licked and sucked at him, her tongue playing with the various textures and slipping around his glans and between his shaft and foreskin, her small hands running up and down his shaft in varying rhythms, squeezing and pulling as her mouth bobbed up and down.

She pulled away with a gasp, catching her breath, "That's a lot harder than I thought it would be." He began to snicker again despite his highly aroused state and she muttered, "Oh, shut up," before taking him in her mouth again and redoubling her efforts.

A not unpleasant but wholly unexpected salty taste hit her tongue as he began to grow even larger in her mouth. She pulled away, watching in fascination as a pearly drop of pre-ejaculate appeared at the tip of his erection. She tentatively tasted it then hummed in pleasure before going down on him again with renewed vigor, her own excitement growing as she heard him groan and pant due to her efforts. As she worked on him, her hands began pulling at his shaft in a slightly twisting motion that had him clenching his jaw within minutes as he fisted the sheets violently to stop himself from grabbing her head and pulling her against him. "Felicity," he gasped.

"Hmm?" She hummed and he moaned at the vibration of her tongue against his shaft.

"Baby, you need to stop," he told her with a gasp. She could taste the musk of pheromones against her tongue and felt his muscles tighten in impending orgasm.

"Why?" She garbled against his erection before pulling away, "Am I doing it wrong?"

"No," he said, catching his breath, "you're doing it right; very, very right. Those were some excellent reference materials you managed to find, but if you don't stop I'm going to come."

"Isn't that the point?" She asked dubiously before running her tongue up and down his length, pausing to pull back his foreskin once more so she could flick her tongue against his frenulum repeatedly while tonguing the ridged band of sensitive tissue just under the head.

His breath caught as waves of pleasure flowed over him and he nearly lost his already tenuous control. He felt her take him in her mouth again and knew if she kept it up it would all be over.

"Oh no, you don't," he said. "My turn," he hauled her up his body and kissed her deeply before flipping her onto her back and moved downwards, taking a moment to suck one of her nipples into his mouth, then further down until he was between her thighs. He buried his face in her lap, his mouth finding her center and began licking and sucking at the sensitive nub of her clit as his fingers entered and stretched her.

She cried out as he flicked his tongue against her, feeling her flesh grow hot and fragrant as a result of his ministrations. She panted and wiggled against him as his fingers began to saw in and out of her rapidly. She felt herself grow wet and slick as he took the tiny ball of flesh in his mouth and sucked gently, keeping up a gentle friction with his fingers and tongue. She began to babble incoherently with words of passion and pleasure, her body taut, then shuddered and cried out, her entire body flushing pink. He wiped his mouth on the bunched up sheets that surrounded them then moved up her body until he was between her thighs, thrusting inside of her as he took her mouth again in a kiss.

She gasped sharply at his sudden intrusion and began to whimper as his hips drove into her faster and faster. "God," he whispered in a prayer as he felt her tighten around him. He pulled her thighs up around his hips and pushed as deep inside her as he could go. Over and over he surged inside of her, his belly tightening as he desperately held off his orgasm even though he was more than halfway there before entering her. He felt his desire mount and build and he dug his toes into the mattress. She shifted her hips unexpectedly, changing the angle slightly, and causing them both to moan in sensual gratification. Her back arched off the bed, driving him further inside her, as she began to quiver through her second orgasm, her nails digging into his back as warm wet heat surrounded him. She cried out again and began to sob in pleasure as he finally allowed himself to let go, spilling his seed inside of her with another call to the heavens. His eyes shut tight, the exaltation of their union causing his head to swim as he finally gave in to his own body's demands for release.

He shuddered in the aftermath, warm lethargy seeping into his muscles as he leaned heavily against her. He lifted his head to pull her into a tender kiss when he heard her mutter against his lips, "I'm still hungry."

He laughed breathlessly against the soft skin of her neck and shoulder, his lungs still struggling slightly for breath, "Baby, whatever happens; never change."

"I wasn't planning on it," she told him as she ran her hands down his back. "Now are you going to let me eat something or what?"

He rolled off of her and fell against the mattress bonelessly, "I could say so many things right now." He tugged her into his arms and kissed her tenderly before settling her into his side.

She gave him a disgruntled look as she tugged on his chest hair, "Three words, Bruce: low blood sugar."

He covered her hand with his own and gave her a crooked smile, "We could go into the kitchen and see what you bought or…"

"Or?" She asked. "And, by the way, 'or' better have something to do with food."

"I could order us something in and we could take a nap until it gets here," he suggested.

She rolled her eyes at him and slipped out of bed to pad towards the bathroom, "Fine, but no sushi; I've had that twice already this week. And nothing from Carousel! I hate to break it to you but, while the view is great, the food in that restaurant of yours doesn't live up to the hype."

"For your information, Carousel just got its third Michelin star but if you don't want French then what are you in the mood for?" He asked as he reached for his pants so he could retrieve his phone. "Other than the obvious of course," he said with a hint of smug satisfaction.

"Conceited much?" She turned on the taps to the tub and grabbed a washcloth before climbing inside and washing herself, "I don't know; something different."

"Something different," she heard him mutter as he walked into the bathroom in all his naked glory. "El Salvadorian or Georgian?"

"El Salvadorian is just Mexican with more beef dishes and higher prices," she told him as he sat on the edge of the tub.

"ODA House it is then," he said dialing. "What do you want?"

"Everything but the liver and onions and no lamb," she said.

"Okay," he said with a bemused look. "Good thing I'm rich or I have a feeling you'd eat me out of house and home in no time."

"Are you complaining?" She asked with an arched eyebrow as she lay back in the steaming water, her nakedness on full display. She put aside the washcloth to trail her fingers from between her thighs to across her stomach before ghosting over her breasts.

"Nope," he said with glittering eyes before hanging up the phone abruptly, casting it aside, and climbing in behind her. "In fact, seeing how you look with your mouth full is my new favorite pastime."

*\?/*\?/*\?/*

It took a while before they were able to place their order and, while they didn't quite order the entire menu, they did order a lot. Of course, by then they'd both worked up a healthy appetite. After snoozing for an hour or so, security called up to let them know their food had arrived. Bruce slipped on a pair of soft flannel lounge pants and a tee shirt to answer the door as Felicity put her nightgown back on and helped him take the food into the kitchen after he paid the delivery guy who had been escorted up.

He ordered them two appetizers, one hot and one cold. The first was a cold salad called Pkhali, a traditional Georgian dish consisting of chopped and minced vegetables including eggplant, spinach, leeks, beans, and beets dressed with vinegar, onions, garlic, and herbs then sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. The hot appetizer was called Tolma which was basically spicy meatballs made from ground beef and pork, wrapped then cooked in grape leaves, and served with a yogurt sauce that was flavored with garlic, tarragon, and mint. He also ordered them three types of Mtsvadi, or shish kebob, an assortment of Georgian cheeses, and homemade bread called Shoti with Napoleoni puffed pastries for dessert.

They sat around the kitchen table laughing and feeding each other while exchanging intimate touches and stealing the odd kiss. It was the happiest she'd been in a while even though it was fairly obvious that they were both avoiding the subject that had started the fight to begin with. She was pretty sure Bruce thought she had given up on her idea to work for the OO but, the truth was, she was more determined than ever to get this done so she could know, once and for all, if her world was going to come crashing down around her.

Despite herself, she found herself wanting this kind of domestic bliss with him. The penthouse, even though it was half empty and knowing that they still had a long way to go before she could ever see settling down with him, had started to feel like a home; a real home. She wanted that; more than anything, and she'd do whatever she had to do to make that happen even if it meant angering Bruce in the short term or risking her life by going ahead with her plans.

Later, after the food had been eaten and the leftovers cleared away, she snuggled up against him with his arm wrapped around her side and slept in the bed he referred to as 'theirs', desperately trying not to worry about the storm yet to come.

*\?/*\?/*\?/*

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Diggle called up to Luke through the access panel of the freight elevator, passing him another box of tools. "You've been up there a while now; need some help?"

"Thanks man, but I got it," Luke told him. "I'm an engineer; if it's mechanical, I can fix it. Besides, stuff like this bugs me; at this point it's a grudge match between me and this piece of shit death trap of yours."

"I hear you," Dig said. "Felicity's the same way whenever she sees someone banging on the keyboard or whacking it because they can't get it to do right."

"Hurts her soul, right?"

"You got it," Dig grinned. "Just let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"I'm good!"

He wandered over to where Oliver was supervising Roy and Tim's sparring session.

"How are our other guests doing?" Oliver asked him quietly as he walked up, his eyes never leaving the action on the mats.

"Luke says he's got the elevator repairs almost wrapped up and, according to Barbara, she's in 'Baby Heaven' right now." He dipped his head towards Oliver's ear with a grin, "I've got to say that, despite the bumpy start, I kind of like having other masks in the foundry. Shit's getting done."

"I know what you mean," Oliver told him with a slightly amused quirk of his lips.

After a quick introduction followed by some posturing on the part of Roy, the two men had decided to test each other on the mats. At first, despite the other man's extensive experience, Dig had been a bit nervous by the idea of him getting physical with Roy. Even after he'd been given the Mirakuru anti-serum, it was still difficult for him to control his sudden rages. He'd hurt both of them a few times while sparring and he wasn't sure if Tim really understood what he was in for.

That is until he watched them go at it.

Roy had yet to land a single blow while Tim was wiping the floor with him. Dig watched as Roy lunged only to have Tim flip into the air in an impressive act of acrobatics to land softly on the mats behind him. He immediately used his Bo Staff to sweep his opponent's legs out from under him, causing Roy to land hard on his side with a grunt.

"You okay, man?" He asked as he circled him, his expression still as untroubled as always. "We can stop if you're tired."

"I'm not tired," Roy growled before casting off his staff, leaping to his feet, and rushing Tim like a bull to a matador's cape.

Tim just stood there, seemingly unconcerned, until the very last second when he nimbly stepped aside and landed a hard knock with his staff to the back of Roy's head causing him to flounder and sprawl face first onto the mat.

"Ouch," Tim said shaking his head as he circled him again. "That looked kind of painful; are you sure you don't need a break?"

"I'll break you, you mother-!" Roy wiped the blood out from under his nose with his hand and turned on Tim with a nearly feral growl, his whole body trembling with rage. He dove at Tim again only to land with another painful, "Oomph!"

"Like I said, dude; it's just the first day. We have time," Tim said with a yawn as he spun his bo between his fingers like a majorette spinning a baton. "Besides, I'm only up to half speed myself. We should try this again tomorrow when I'm fresher and can really kick your ass into shape."

"If anyone is kicking anybody's ass, it'll be me!" Roy said emphatically even as blood and sweat rolled off his face to drip on the mats while Tim still had yet to break a sweat.

"You know, I like you Roy; you never say die even when it's pretty obvious that you're completely outclassed," Tim said with a grin. "Guess that either makes you persistent or really, really stupid."

"Think it's about time we put a stop to this for tonight or what?" Dig asked just as Roy made another inhuman growl and lunged for Tim's throat only to have the other man whack him hard on the backside causing him to yelp in pain.

"Are you kidding?" Oliver said, his lips upturned in a look of amusement. "This is the most fun I've had in months."

"This is so unfair, man; seriously," Tim said shaking his head as Roy struggled to his feet. "You're really making me feel bad now. Baby told us you were some kind of bad-ass tough guy so I was expecting a challenge but now I'm starting to feel like a schoolyard bully beating up on the poor runty kid. If I had known you were an amateur with virtually no training…"

"If you want to see what I can do then throw down that staff of yours and come at me with your fists!" Roy spat out, the adrenaline causing his hands to shake even more now, a fact that was beginning to really worry Dig.

"Okay," Tim said tossing away his staff and standing in front of him, a curious expression on his face. "Show me what you got, tough guy."

Roy sprang into action, his powerful legs propelling him toward Tim like a rocket, but the other man merely stepped slightly again to the side and clocked him with his fist before grabbing his wrist and, in a text book example of kotegaeshi, locked onto it while executing a block, then leapt to Roy's other side, pulling him along and twirling as though they were dancing partners, then twisted his arm behind his back taking him down, all the while using the other man's own momentum and strength against him. As Roy landed hard face first on the mat, Tim pinned his arm behind him painfully and stuck a hard knee in his back.

"Are you going to tap out, or what?" Tim asked him, "Don't make me have to break your arm, bro." He twisted his arm further in emphasis causing Roy to cry out in pain.

A thunderous look stole over Roy's face before he slapped the mat forcefully three times signaling he was done.

Despite his tap out, Tim didn't release his hold, "Now, I'm willing to let you go, Roy, but if you try to land a cheap shot on me I'm going to have to stop playing with you and start taking this fight seriously. I've been really patient so far, but if you piss me off we're going to have a problem. Are we going to have a problem?" He twisted his arm again and jammed his thumb in the middle of his hand to put pressure on a nerve cluster that Dig knew from experience would make Roy feel like he was being jolted by a Taser as pain shot up from his arm to deep into the sympathetic nerves of his thoracic spine.

Roy gritted his teeth and grunted, his eyes watering slightly, "We're good! I quit!"

Tim released him and quickly stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest in a seemingly casual pose as he watched Roy struggle back to his feet, rubbing his arm and hand as he did so, "You want to grab something to drink before we begin round two?"

Roy let out a frustrated breath before looking up at Tim, a grudging look of respect crossing his features, "Yeah." He followed him over to where Dig and Oliver were standing and handily caught the bottle of water Tim tossed his way. "Thanks."

"No problem," Tim said, grinning at him like they were just a couple of guy's hanging out much to Diggle's amusement.

"That was a nice move out there," he told him.

"Yeah, learned it when I was ten my first week in the Batcave," Tim told him, twisting off the cap to his water and taking a drink.

"Wayne had you learning Aikido at ten years old?" Dig asked in surprise.

"Heck, he had Dick learning it even younger than that, right Barbara?" He called out.

"Yeah, but Dick had a bit of a head start on you since he came from circus folk and you grew up a rich snot from Gotham Heights," she said from where she was at the LAIR terminal.

"Who's Dick?" Roy asked a little breathlessly as he sat down on the mats in front of them.

"Dick Grayson, right? Wayne's other kid?" Dig asked.

Tim nodded and Roy frowned, "If you guys are brothers then why isn't he a Wayne, too?"

"Long story," Tim said.

"I'll say," Barbara snorted from across the room.

Tim smirked in her direction before turning to his companions, "Bruce adopted Dick when he was in his early twenties so their relationship was always more of a brother thing and Dick wanted to keep his last name to honor his parents."

"What about you?" Roy asked curiously.

"What about me?" Tim asked.

"I mean, are you Bruce's real kid or what?"

Barbara flinched and turned her wheelchair to face them, "Nice. Queen, what the hell have you been teaching this street rat of yours? Obviously it wasn't manners."

Oliver actually looked pained at that, "Roy…" he said warningly.

"What?" Roy asked. "I just meant that he looks like he could be his real kid, is all."

"I think the word you're looking for is 'biological' not 'real', Roy," Dig told him while shaking his head in exasperation.

"Sorry," he said in consternation. "No offense."

"None taken," Tim told him. "The answer is no, Bruce isn't my 'real' bio-dad. He adopted me after my parent's died just like he did with all the rest of his kids. You're not the first person to make that comment though; we do look a bit alike but that's because, according to Alfred, my mom and Bruce were like fifth cousins once removed or something."

"How many kids does he have?" Roy asked.

"Right now? Just me and Dick," Tim said, his voice taking on a slightly hollow note.

"I'd heard something about Wayne losing a child a few years ago," Oliver said quietly. "Damian? I'm sorry for your loss."

Tim's lips quirked upwards in a humorless smile, his eyes flat and cool, "Yeah, well, we've taken on a lot of losses the last few years."

"Shit, man; we know what that's like for sure," Roy snorted.

Tim looked at him curiously but before he could say anything Luke called out from the elevator shaft, "Finally!" The other man exclaimed as he jumped down out of the top of the elevator, tool box in hand. "Now you guys have an elevator that actually works." He wandered over to where the rest of them were standing after putting the toolbox back near the workstation. "Hey, bro! Toss me a water."

"Here," Tim said, reaching into the cooler and throwing it to him.

"Thanks for fixing that for us; I appreciate it," Oliver said, giving him the nod.

"No problem," Luke said, taking a long draught of water. "You guys going out on patrol soon?"

Oliver nodded, "You feel like coming along?"

"Depends on whether or not you can make it interesting for me," Luke grinned, flexing his fingers in the temporary brace. "I could use a little physical therapy."

Dig looked at his injured appendage doubtfully, "You sure your arm can handle it?"

"My armor has an interior 'skin' that not only keeps track of my vital signs but acts as a compression brace if I break a bone. It'll be just like wearing a cast but I'll have full movement," he told him. "Hell, it even injects a pain reliever if it senses an injury."

"Really?" Oliver asked, his interest peaked, "What else can it do?"

Luke opened his mouth to speak but this time Tim cut him off. "Dude, if you get him started on that armor of his, we'll be here all night."

"You're just jealous because my armor actually does shit and all yours does is make you look like you're hung which we all know is a lie," Luke shot back.

"That's not what your sister told me last night," Tim returned.

"To be fair, Tam tells that to a lot of people," Barbara called out from the workstation.

Everyone looked over at Barbara and Roy grinned, "Damn; triple burn!" He crowed, "She just insulted your girlfriend, his sister, and your dick in one go!"

"What can I say, I'm talented," Barbara said as she tapped away. She wheeled around until she was facing all of them. "You ladies can compare the size of your codpieces later; right now I have Triad activity on the docks. You want to go handle it or should I just throw the cops a bone?"

"How much activity?" Oliver asked, striding over to join her at the workstation followed by the rest of them.

"A lot," Barbara said, turning around to bring up CCTV footage on the monitors. "Baby's system has me patched into the security feeds in the warehouse district. I'm counting at least a couple of dozen inside and movement around the harbor; maybe thirty to thirty-five heavily armed gangbangers altogether."

"That looks like a major deal going down," Dig said, observing the feeds with a practiced eye.

"That looks like China White and Alberto Vargas," Oliver said, pointing them out.

"The Peruvians are working with the Triads?" Dig said, looking at him sharply. "That could be where the sudden influx of cocaine Lance was talking about is coming from. Now that the Italians are out, they need someone to move their product."

"Let's suit up," Oliver said, "Barbara, did Felicity give you the 411 on Lance?"

"I already have a direct patch into his smartphone," she told him. "You want me to give him a heads up?"

"Tell him what we have and make sure he knows we're going in. Tell him to have his guys standing by but give us time to do some recon before he sends in SWAT then patch him in on our coms. Felicity gave him his own earpiece a while back. We don't want our guys caught in a gunfight and we certainly don't want any of his men getting hurt," He turned to the rest of the men, "If you guys want to come, we could use the help."

"I'm with you, man," Luke said, already reaching for his duffle to take out his armor.

"Sounds like fun; you coming Roy?" Tim asked, already pulling his shirt over his head and heading for his own bag.

"Is that cool?" He asked Oliver hesitantly.

Oliver sighed and glanced over at Tim, "He's the guy training you so if he thinks you can handle it, fine. We'll need as many feet on the ground as we can get."

"We got this," Tim said confidently as he unzipped his jeans, tossing them in a pile on the mats as he pulled on his armor. "Just follow my lead and we'll be fine."

"You know, we do have a changing area in the back," Dig said, glancing at Barbara uncomfortably as the men stripped down to their underwear.

"Oh please," Barbara snorted as she glanced over at them. "I appreciate the gentleman routine but I've been sharing space with these two for so long that I've seen everything they've got and then some. I even shared a bathroom with that one over there," she hitched a thumb at Tim. "Trust me, after seeing what he gets up to in the shower, nothing shocks me."

"Hey!" Tim said, looking up from where he was zipping up his pants. "If you knocked once in a while you wouldn't have caught me during my, um, private business in the first place!" Roy looked at him askance and Tim flushed, "Tam was out of town and I was lonely."

"Whatever, dude," Roy said, getting up to grab his own red leathers and heading to the bathroom, obviously not as willing to give Barbara a free show.

"Tim and Luke have coms systems already built into their armor but I've patched the frequency into LAIR so you guys will be connected." She pulled the ear buds out of their case and handed them to Dig and Oliver who were already suited up and ready for business. "Before Luke heads out of town you might want to get together with him and see if he can come up with some mock ups for new suits for you guys." She looked over Oliver's green leather and Diggle's tactical gear, both of which emphasized their heavily muscled physiques. "Not that you two aren't yummy with a spoon as it is, but I'm pretty sure Bruce's gadget hook up could get you something that might help keep any new scars and bullet holes to a minimum."

"Thanks, we might have to do that," Oliver said, eyeing Luke and Tim's suits. Roy emerged in the red version of Oliver's hood and he tossed him his ear bud. "Follow Tim's lead but if I tell you to fall back you fall back, got it?"

"Got it," Roy said, putting it in his ear.

At that moment the door to the Foundry opened and Sara walked in, her own duffle slung over one arm, "Hey handsome!" She said as she headed down the stairs and walked towards the group. "You sure do know how to fill out that suit of yours!"

"Sara…?" Oliver said, looking up in surprise at her intimate tone. He moved to intercept her but, to his and Diggle's surprise, she walked past them and right up to Luke before laying a very enthusiastic lip lock on him…

…that he, in turn, responded to with equal enthusiasm.

"Damn girl," Luke said appreciatively when they broke apart, his large hands cupping her waist possessively. "You sure do know how to make an entrance."

"Miss me?" She grinned.

"You know it," he smiled back.

She loosened her hold on him and glanced around the room. "Looks like you guys are gearing up for some action," she said eyeing all of them. "Mind if I tag along?"

"Sure," Luke said, not even waiting for Oliver to speak. Although, to be fair, he didn't look like he was quite capable of it at the moment, Dig thought as he observed his partner's shocked countenance. "I'm looking forward to seeing you in action," Luke continued in an intimate timbre.

"Sweetie, I thought you saw plenty of action from me last night," she winked at him before heading for the bathroom. "Hey guys!" She said waving at the rest of them. "Be ready in a sec; you can brief me on the way."

Roy turned to Oliver with a pitying look, "Dude, I thought my love life was in the crapper but, damn; that was harsh."

"Shut up, Roy," Oliver growled right before heading out, bow in hand.

*\?/*\?/*\?/*

She took a sip of her coffee as she watched Bruce quickly put on his armor from her place behind the workstation, "Barring any unforeseen baddies, is it okay if we try to make an early night of it tonight? Tomorrow's going to be a long day and I didn't exactly get the nap I'd planned on earlier."

"I seem to recall that you enjoyed that little interruption in sleep just as much as I did," he said with an erotic overtone, now fully dressed in his armor with the exception of his cape and cowl.

"Hey, no flirting in the FelicityCave," she told him.

"Since when?" He asked as he put on his cape and adjusted the cowl before coming up to her and leaning down so their mouths were nearly touching. "I don't recall that particular rule."

She snorted at him then reached up to kiss him gently. When she pulled away she fixed him with a stern eye, "I mean it, Bruce; barring any unforeseen crap-storms, we cut this off by three, four at the latest."

"Fine," he said, although he didn't sound overly enthusiastic about the idea. "We can catch a few more hours of sleep and then go out to breakfast before Zander and his crew get here in the morning."

"You're coming back here?" She said, feigning surprise.

"Of course I am," his eyes narrowed on her in suspicion. "Why? Is there some reason you don't want me here?"

"No, I'm just surprised that you'd rather spend all morning here looking at fabric swatches when I know you've probably got back to back meetings scheduled. I always thought you and Dad had department head meetings on Tuesdays."

"I think I can spare a few hours," he said, his voice still laden with doubt. "You don't mind me being here, do you?"

"No," she said off-handedly, stifling a feigned yawn that became real about halfway through. She blinked her eyes fuzzily, "I just kind of wish I'd known you were going to be here. Tam's coming over and she's basically going to spend the entire day steamrolling over absolutely everyone. I could have spared myself the aggravation and not invited her if I had known you'd be here as backup in case Sabine shows up again."

"You invited Tam over?" He asked, his mouth turning down in confusion.

"Why wouldn't I? She speaks fluent decorator," she told him. "The woman redecorates her entire apartment every other week so I figured that if Cruella De Vil came back for the sequel she could bitch slap her down with attitude instead of the way I had planned to which would have involved you bailing me out of jail later. I hope you're not mad that I invited her to spend time with us, are you?"

"No, of course not," Bruce said quickly, the confusion in his expression obvious even under his cowl. "That was actually pretty good thinking on your part."

Time to go in for the kill, she thought. She hated to do it but she needed him to want to stay away today and not arouse any more suspicion. "By the way," she said slowly, making sure to cringe a bit. "There's something I need to tell you and there's a good chance you're not going to like it."

His jaw squared and his eyes glittered as he sensed his suspicions were about to be justified, "What?"

She sighed and pulled a face as though struggling with her words, "Okay, here's the thing; yesterday I might have let slip that you asked me to marry you and now Tam has decided that she's in charge of the entire thing." She looked up quickly, "I'm sorry! I know you haven't even talked to my dad yet and that we were still just in the 'what if' stage, but…" She bit her lip, "Okay, I screwed up, I know, and I really tried to fix it, I did, but…um, there's more."

"More?" He repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah," she cringed again. "In order to get her to agree to keep everything quiet I might have agreed to let her drag me to meet a wedding planner later—not in a serious way! Just, you know, in a casual kind of 'I might be getting married but I don't want to put down any deposits quite yet' way." She looked at him through a cascade of dark eyelashes, "Are you mad? You're mad; I can cancel it, no problem! I told her it was a bad idea anyway."

"You told your sister we're getting married?" He asked in astonishment as if that was the last thing he expected her to say.

"She dragged it out of me, okay?" She said in contrived consternation. "When I left her yesterday she was going to the store to buy up every bridal magazine she could get ahold of and all Sara could talk about on the way to the airport was that she, Barbara, and Tam were going to be bridesmaids…" She blanched again, "Oh yeah, Barbara probably knows too since Sara is already in Starling and has probably told her by now." She bit her lip, "Oh, and I also might have told Tim."

"You told Tim, Barbara, Tam, and Sara that we were getting married?" He echoed incredulously.

"I did, yeah," she said apologetically. "It just kind of…popped out...at various intervals…repeatedly and apparently indiscriminately. Wow, I really suck at keeping things quiet, huh?"

He stood there in silence, not saying a word, his gaze slightly vacant as he seemed to consider this new turn of events carefully.

"On the bright side, I haven't told Luke, Dad, or Peggy," she said with forced cheer then allowed her face to fall. "Although, chances are, Luke probably knows by now, too, so…" She cleared her throat, "Say something, okay? You're kind of freaking me out here." She took a steadying breath, "Look, if you want to back out of it, I understand. I'll just call Tam, Sara and Tim and tell them to forget I said anything. I mean, really, it's too soon to even be talking about-"

"No," Bruce said quickly. He took off his cowl, tossing it on the desk, and knelt by her chair, turning her to face him. He looked her in the eyes searchingly, "I'm just surprised; you seemed a bit reluctant and…I just wasn't expecting you to still be on board with this after our fight the other day."

God, she was starting to feel really guilty for this but it had to be done. She laid her hand on his cheek softly, "It was just a fight, Bruce. People have fights; it doesn't mean they stop loving each other. If you want to know the truth, then, yeah, you're right; I still am a little unsure about all this. I mean, marriage is a big step and I don't think we should rush in and head to Vegas tomorrow, and I definitely know that I shouldn't have blurted it out like that. but things with Tam tend to snowball, you know? Plus, Sara was in the room so it's not like I was flitting around like a bee and pollinating our mutual social circle with hot gossip; it just happened. Well, Tim was, you know, a little gossipy but I was mad at you and…" she grimaced. She didn't have to pretend this next part because it was true, "Yesterday Tam asked me if I loved you and then she asked me if you felt the same way so I told her about what we talked about; marriage, kids, the whole nine yards. I couldn't help it. And Tim, well, I thought he was going to try to talk me out of it but then he basically gave us his blessing and said that we've always belonged to each other. He even said he was happy that I was going to be his step-mom, which is really weird because if he marries Tam then our family tree is going to look totally screwed up." His lips twitched upwards in response and she offered him a tender look, "Even though I was still mad at you I guess…I don't know." She gave him a half-smile and scrunched her nose, "It was a pretty stupid slip, huh?"

"No," he said quietly, leaning in to kiss her before rubbing his forehead on hers and closing his eyes. "No, Tim was absolutely right; we do belong together. We've always belonged together and the only thing I'm upset about is the fact that we should have done this a lot sooner."

"Are you sure?" She asked quietly. "I know we were planning on waiting a while, try dating first, but now that Tim knows it's just a matter of time before he slips up and says something to Luke, and if Luke finds out then he'll spill the beans to dad just to be an ass, and you just know my dad is going to hit the roof, not to mention what Peggy Ann will do."

"Shit." He leaned back and grimaced. "You're right, Luke is going to call Lucius the minute he finds out. Damn it."

She pushed back her chair and grabbed her phone, "Wait, let me call Tim and-!"

He placed his hand over the phone and took it away from her, setting it back down on the workstation, "No, what's done is done." He looked at her and smiled softly before kissing her tenderly, his gauntleted hand caressing her cheek. When he pulled back his expression changed to one of grim determination, "You're right though; this changes our timeline a bit." He got up and paced for a moment in thought before turning to face her again, "Do you really need me here tomorrow or are you going to be okay with just your sister?"

"Tam and I have it covered and if not I can text or call you; why?" Felicity asked him even though inside she was totally doing a fist pump.

He let out a breath, "I'm going to have to try to get to your dad before Luke does and discuss all this with him. Hopefully he'll be okay but, in any case, the last thing I should do is blow off my entire day and compound things by aggravating him further."

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "Are you still coming here or are you going to the manor before you leave for work? You know, I could probably come with you today to help you talk to Dad. Tam can handle things here…of course, God only knows what she'd pick out but I'm really not looking forward to seeing all my ideas shot down followed by having her drag me from one bridal boutique to another afterwards. I would much rather be in the hot seat with you, trust me."

"No, if I know Lucius then he'll expect us to talk this out man to man. I know it sounds sexist as hell, but your father is old school that way. Plus, chances are, he's going to want to say a few things that will probably upset you so it might be best if you aren't there." He rubbed his hand over his mouth, "I should probably go home after I patrol and let you get your rest," he said at last. "Lucius always schedules an early breakfast meeting on Tuesdays so I want to try to beat him to the office."

"You know, you don't have to do this," she told him, feeling another twinge of guilt. She got up and walked up to him, placing her arms around his waist as she laid her head on his chest. She felt his arms go around her and she made a contented noise before continuing, "Really. If you don't want to tell Dad, I can call down to Starling and ask Luke not to say anything. For all we know he might not have even found out about it yet."

"Between Barbara, your sister, Canary, and Tim it's just a matter of time before someone says something," he said in an aggrieved manner even as he laid a tender kiss on top of her hair. "No, might as well get it over with."

"'Might as well get it over with'," she said with a wry expression. "Wow, you do know how to lay the romance on thick, huh?"

He tilted her chin up and kissed her deeply until her knees nearly gave out, his hand moving from her waist to cup her bottom through her thin leggings and sweater. When he broke from the kiss he offered her a lusty smirk, "Is that romantic enough for you?"

"What; you kissing me until my knees wobble or grabbing my ass?"

"The kiss; grabbing your ass was purely for my benefit alone," he told her.

She smirked, "I see, so the Bat is an ass man, huh?"

"Actually, I'm a fan of the whole package; your ass was just the first thing my hand happened to land on," he told her with a grin.

"Look at you getting all sappy in your old age," she teased huskily. He smacked her bottom playfully causing her to squeal in surprise and him to grin even wider. "What was that for?"

"Spur of the moment impulse but given your reaction I think we'll have to revisit it again later," he rumbled before capturing her lips again.

She laughed quietly against his lips, "Dirty old man."

"Watch it or this dirty old man will be tempted to say to hell with patrolling tonight, take you over his knee, and teach you a lesson, young lady," he promised in a low sexy timbre as he bent down to scrape his teeth on her neck causing her to shiver.

"Pervert. Get out of here before I'm tempted to hold you to that," she said pushing him away playfully.

He pulled back but didn't remove his hands from her waist. Instead he stared down at her for a moment before saying, "Move in with me."

"What?" She said, her eyes widening in surprise.

"After I talk to Lucius I want you to move in with me," he told her, the teasing gone from his tone to be replaced by something deeper. "I want you to move into the manor. Now, before we get married."

"Bruce…" she breathed.

"I like this; I want to have this with you every day and I don't want to have to wait," he told her. "I want to go to bed with you and wake up together, I want to walk down to the cave with you beside me and put on my armor while you sit at your workstation and talk about your sister or whatever's on your mind. I don't want to have to leave our bed here then go back to the manor every night and I just… Look, we're already living together or will be," he told her seriously. "If you say you don't want to live out there, fine; I'm still going to be sharing your bed every night until we're married no matter what but with the renovations going on it's going to be a mess and a half up there. Besides, the main Batcave has better equipment and more privacy. I agree that you absolutely should update this system but the Batcave under the manor should take precedence."

"Bruce…" She began reluctantly.

"If you're worried about keeping up appearances then I'll happily stay with you at the penthouse but after I talk to your dad, it won't really matter anymore," he said, cutting off her argument. "We're adults, he knows that, and he'll rightly assume that if we're serious enough to consider marriage that we've already had sex. Lucius might be old school but he's not naïve. He knows that you're probably not a virgin, not at your age, and given the hints he's been dropping lately I suspect he already knows how I feel about you." He paused for a second, "I'm not trying to pressure you, I'll play this any way you want, I just want you to consider moving in with me at the manor now because, like I said, the Batcave there is better equipped, that's all; plus the renovation mess."

"Because it makes sense, right?" She teased. "Purely from a logical standpoint, of course."

"Of course," he said, his lips twitching slightly before his expression turned serious. "Here or there; six of one, a half dozen of the other, it makes no difference to me." He gave her a heated look, "And…I want you in my home, by my side, as my wife and partner. It's where you belong and I don't want to spend even one more day without you there."

She stared at him for an extended moment. Put up or shut up, she told herself. Did she really want this? Putting everything else aside, Orbital, Isabel, everything else; did she want this?

She looked at Bruce as he stood there in his armor, his expression open and loving in a way that she knew was reserved only for her.

Still, she needed to hear him say it one more time. "Do you love me, Bruce? Do you really want to marry me?" She asked him. "Because you don't have to; we can pretend the 'M' word never even crossed your mind. You won't hurt my feelings or scare me away if you take it back; I'll be here for you even if we keep what we have between us. If you don't want this then I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do."

He nodded, "I want this; more than anything. I'm ready for this, Baby; are you?"

Was she?

Marrying Bruce would mean making him her home. That meant no more secrets. She loved him, she did, but if he found out what she was planning to do (and he would knowing him) he was going to be all kinds of pissed; probably pissed enough that he might never forgive her. That meant that if this was the last chance she had, she needed to make sure he knew exactly how she felt. Later on when he was full-on Bat and she was the one in his crosshairs, she needed to know that she said her piece.

She took a deep breath, "Did I ever tell you that Peggy Ann and her husband, Chao, had an arranged marriage?" He shook his head in the negative. "Well, sort of arranged; they met through a marriage broker but it all comes down to the same thing. Anyway, she would tell us stories about how she and Chao would go on group 'dates' with her family, how they never so much as held hands until they were married, but how happy they were together until he died in an accident just a few years later. Tam would ask her how it was that she knew she would be happy married to someone she'd never even kissed and she would say, 'Love is easy, passion is easy; but marriage is serious business.'" She paused, "She told us that too many people enter into marriage riding a wave of lust and passion but those feelings are fleeting. She said that the problem with today's society is that people have forgotten that marriage is supposed to be something binding and solemn, that you don't play with it; if you make that commitment then you'd better be willing to honor it as best you can. The best marriages are the ones built on the understanding that there is no easy out and if you marry someone it's because you want to create something larger than just the two of you, that you're contributing to the community and creating a legacy that binds all of us together."

She met his gaze with her own, "Marriage is serious business, Bruce. If all you want to do is stake a claim then fine; you can do that without putting a ring on my finger. I love you, I've always loved you, but marriage is on a whole other level. There are no takesies backsies in marriage. I'm not always going to do what you want, I'm going to disappoint you and frustrate you and I guarantee that you're going to piss me off royally from time to time. Marriage means working through that anger and still loving that person even when they screw up or things get scary. I need to know that you won't run or reject me; I need to know that I can screw up or disappoint you without worrying about losing you every time you get mad at me for something. I won't lose myself to you, Bruce; I need you to respect the fact that I can think for myself and not try to steamroll me or dismiss what I have to say just because you think you're protecting me or that you disagree with my decisions. If you can't handle that then we need to drop this and save the declarations of intent for a time when you can."

Okay, it was kind of cheating since he didn't know he was about to be mad at her, but still…

"I'm not going to run." He picked up her left hand and, repeating a gesture he'd made just a few days before, he kissed her ring finger. "Mine," he told her. "This is my claim and, you're right; it is serious business. I keep accusing you of being an old fashioned girl but, the truth is; I'm an old fashioned guy in a lot of ways. When I do something, it's 100% or nothing. I know all of this seems fast, I know all the arguments your dad is going to make about how you've only been back for a few weeks and how we should get to know each other better first, but I already know everything I need to know. I've known you most of your life and I've been in love with you since you were eighteen years old. I love you and I want this. I'm ready."

"I was nineteen, not eighteen," she told him with a smile. "It still makes you a dirty old man, but…"

He popped her playfully on the butt again causing her to yelp more in surprise than pain, "Keep it up and you'll be bent over my knee in no time. That or the workstation; I'm not picky."

"Ow," she grinned at him as she rubbed her cheek lightly. "Who are you supposed to be all of the sudden; Christian Grey?"

"Who?" He asked in amusement.

"Fifty Shades of Grey," she told him. "It's this pulp novel about bondage and spanking someone at work left in the ladies room at QC once and, let me tell you, the bathroom is exactly where it belonged. Talk about a piece of crap; I got three paragraphs in before I said 'no', and the last two paragraphs were a courtesy read."

He smiled at her then ran his gloved hand over her hair lightly, "You were nineteen when we made love for the first time, but I was in love with you long before that. I should have realized it sooner but I was just too scared to acknowledge it at the time," he told her solemnly. "I started falling in love with you the second I realized that you saw me for who I was under all the subterfuge and pretense. You've never seen me as Bruce or the Bat; you see the man who exists somewhere in between." His lips turned upwards, his eyes dancing in amusement, "And yes, I'm speaking in the creepy third person again but I don't know how else to say it. All I know is when I finally made my move it wasn't a spur of the moment thing, not really; I'd been in love with you for months and that night I just so happened to reach my breaking point. Still, whether it happened then or a year later or yesterday or tomorrow, we were always going to be together. I wouldn't have asked you in the first place if I had any doubts. Once I put my ring on this finger," he kissed it again, "it's never coming off. No matter what happens, you're mine and I'm yours. You're basherte to my basherter."

"Yiddish, really?" She asked, utterly charmed by hearing the words leave his lips. "Do you even know what that means?"

"Bashert; one's divinely foreordained spouse or soul mate, used to express the seeming fate or destiny of an auspicious or important event, friendship, or happening," he recited. "I looked it up." He looked down at her, the humor leaving his expression and replaced by something far more intense. "I know what I want, Baby; I know exactly how I feel and what this means to me. Now, the real question is, what do you want?"

She bit her bottom lip and considered that for a moment, "If I do this can we talk—really talk later?" She asked him. "Not…not right away but soon? There are…things I need to tell you and I need to know that you'll listen to me, really listen without going all Bat on me."

"I'll do my best, that's all I can promise. As for the rest…whenever you're ready to talk, I'm here," he told her, reaching up to caress her cheek again. "Always."

She took a deep breath, and leapt. "Okay, but my dad isn't going to like it," she warned him, her nerves jangling but a huge weight lifting from her chest at the same time. "And Peggy is really not going to like it. She already refers to you as 'the bachelor' like you have a disease or something. If I move in before the wedding it's going to be days and days' worth of lectures beginning with the words, 'why should he buy the cow if he can get the milk for free?' Of course Tam always came back with 'why sell the cow to buy the pig if you're already getting the sausage', so…"

His lips twitched upwards despite the dire note in her tone, relief casting over his expression as well, "I'm fairly sure Lucius is going to be pissed at me no matter what, so we may as well go for broke." He rubbed his thumb against the dimple in her cheek, "As for Peggy Ann, I'll get Alfred to sweet talk her into it. If that fails, well, she can only refer to me as 'the bachelor' until I marry you and I'll be sure to make it very clear to her that I don't believe in long engagements. So does that mean you're definitely saying yes? And by 'yes' I mean all of it; moving in, dinner by seven, the whole nine yards."

She blew out a puff of air and scowled. "Fine, moving in and dinner by seven it is, but you're helping me move my stuff, you know that right?" She told him. "And now I should tell you that I already promised Tam and Sara they could stay here in the penthouse. I was planning on teaching Tam to run the alternate Watchtower site and introducing you to Sara to see how you got along before asking her if she wanted to join the team on a contingency basis since she's been thinking of making a move to Gotham anyway."

He looked down at her, a hint of the Bat stealing over his features, "You invited the Canary onto my team without consulting me first?"

"The way I see it the team is now half mine so she'd be joining my half, not yours," she told him.

Despite his obvious aggravation with her his lips tugged upwards, "This isn't a community property state."

"No, it's an equitable property state which means that all marital properties are divided under a concept of 'fairness and equitability'. Something you should already know since, technically, you did pass the bar but, just in case, what that means is that since I will be handling the coms I should have a fair and equal voice in who joins the team."

He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, "Should I be worried about the fact that we aren't even married yet and you've already read up on divorce laws in this state?"

"Probably," she told him. "Oh, and I should warn you that she also asked for my permission to sleep with you and I told her she could try but I doubted you'd go for it."

"I see," he said, a hint of amusement filtering through his tone. "I thought you said she wanted to sleep with you."

"Sara is into fairness and equability as well," she said in a deadpan.

"Two beautiful blondes at the same time; tempting," he said with a smirk.

"Thought you said you weren't into having an audience and sharing," she reminded him.

"Well, a man can change his mind, can't he?"

"No," she told him flatly. "No, he can't."

"Damn, there goes that fantasy blown all to hell," he tossed back. He straightened his spine then told her in a more serious voice, "Fine, I'll meet with her but if I decide I can't trust her then she doesn't come anywhere near the Batcave; either of them, understood?"

"Agreed," she told him, giving him one last quick peck on the lips before grabbing his cowl off her workstation and handing it to him. "Now go to work, Batman; it's hero time."

"Uh uh," he said shaking his head then bent her over his arm in a Hollywood style kiss and proceeded to snog the hell out of her. When he broke free he looked down at her dizzy expression in smug amusement, "That's how we start our day from now on, Mrs. Wayne, understood?" He gave her one last smirk before putting her back on her feet, tugging on his cowl, then headed for the tumbler. "Keep all the channels open but I'm going to start at the docks tonight so pay special attention to any chatter coming from the warehouse district."

She touched her fingers to her lips and smiled, "I'm not new, you know," she tossed back before sitting down and putting on the Bluetooth headset. "Love you; be safe and come home!"

"Always," he told her before slipping behind the wheel and heading out into the night.