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Title: Green Arrow and Batgirl – Oliver and his Bats-in-Law
Fandom: DC Comics / Arrowverse
Disclaimer: All rights concerning the Arrowverse reserved to Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, all rights for the comics reserved to DC. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/f, fluff, getting together, team as family
Main Pairing: Oliver/Felicity
DC Characters: Felicity Smoak, Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Katherine 'Kate' Kane, Luke Fox, Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Parker Torres
Summary: As an early teen, Felicity tracked down Batwoman to become her Batgirl. A decade later, now known as Overwatch, Felicity joins the Green Arrow. Dating Felicity was one thing, but dating a former Batgirl meant a threatening, hovering Batman.
Green Arrow and Batgirl
Oliver and his Bats-in-Law
Felicity Smoak first saw Batwoman in person when she was about twelve years old, leaving temple with her mother. A gang of thugs had been waiting around an ally, ready to attack those leaving. It would have ended in a hate crime, if not for Batwoman ascending from the next building and kicking major butt. Elegant, swift, effective. Completely mesmerizing.
The Bats protected Gotham City, that was a widely known fact. But Batwoman, she protected her own, as she said. And for the first time, Felicity felt a connection to a hero. Superheroes were all over the news, Batman above all else, the Black Lightning, a few years ago the Flash had retired, there was Wonder Woman and the recently rising Superman. But they all seemed so far out of reach, super-human and above them. Batwoman, from what Felicity got to see first-hand there, didn't have any super-powers. She was a well-trained fighter, but she had no laser-eyes or elemental control or any such thing. Beyond the observation that Batwoman might actually be human, there was the implication that Batwoman might actually be Jewish too. A Jewish heroine who stood up for her own people and protected them from bigotry, making Gotham City safer.
Felicity developed a bit of an obsession. Tracking Batwoman, her movement, her saves. Batman and Batwoman were somehow linked, but they rarely actually worked together. There was a Batgirl too, but she usually worked with Batman, but he already had Robin. Was Batwoman working alone on purpose then? For two years, Felicity studied up and tracked her. Her mom thought it was adorable, that her daughter was a fangirl and that was it. Little did Donna know.
Only at age fourteen did Felicity finally manage to actually track Batwoman down. She'd been gathering news articles and anything useful about all members of the Bat family to try and figure out their identities and though she was a bit of a hacker, the Bats' network was a tough nut.
Felicity was a girl with a mission and she was not going to be deterred.
/break\
Kate was tired when she got back to her penthouse after a long night. So she was not really in the mood for the excitable teenager perched on her counter. The girl wore her blonde hair put up into two pigtails, she was radiating nervous energy. Despite her innocent appearance, Kate was still on alert. She knew appearances could be very deceiving. The gaggle of highly dangerous children trailing her cousin were quite the proof of that, really.
"Okay, kid. One chance: Why did you break in here?" asked Kate, leveling a glare at the blonde.
"I want to be Batgirl," declared the kid – teen? Kid? Kate wasn't sure.
Well, that was unexpected. Kate walked past the kid toward her fridge to get herself a beer. Opening it, she leaned against the fridge with one arm crossed over her chest, the other holding the beer.
"Okay, I need more than that. Who are you, how did you get in here and what do you mean."
"Right. Sorry. I'm Felicity Smoak. You saved me and my mom three years ago and I've been following you, I mean, the news about you. I've done my research and I know you're Batwoman. When you think about it, it's kind of super obvious actually? I mean, Batman being Bruce Wayne? The Wayne money, the Wayne tech! And the way he keeps adopting orphans and each time, a new teen sidekick seems to be popping up. His only blood-family is his cousin. You. Batwoman."
Kate raised one eyebrow and took a long drink from her beer. She could deny it. But something told her that the girl had more proof than just her words. Research. There was a certain sparkle in her eyes, one that reminded her a lot of Barbara. Brightness.
"I'm not saying that I am Batwoman, but I am wondering, why would you seek out Batwoman to become Batgirl? She's Batman's sidekick. Why wouldn't you go to Batman to ask?"
"I don't want to become Batman's Batgirl. I want to become your Batgirl," argued Felicity with a small pout, kicking her legs back and forth where she sat on the counter now. "Batman has the Robins. Batman had his Batgirl. But you've never had a sidekick before. And I want to be yours."
Kate had to hide her smile at that, instead taking another drink from her beer. "Okay. But have you considered that maybe there's a reason why Batwoman doesn't have a sidekick? Maybe she doesn't want one, maybe she doesn't need one. Not everybody likes running around with kids."
"I'm not a kid! I'm a teenager," Felicity straightened up like she tried to be taller. "And I want... I want to learn from you. When you saved me, me and my mom were getting out of the synagogue together. You said you're protecting your own. That's what I want to do. I know you're an idol to lesbians because there aren't many lesbian heroes, but you're an idol to me because I've never seen a Jewish hero. I want... I want to learn from you, so I don't need to be protected, so I can protect myself and my family on my own. Please."
Oh no, she was adorable. The kid wasn't all that much younger than Kate, a decade maybe a bit more. Kate knew she was young herself, which was one of the reasons she didn't have a sidekick. She was still getting the hang of being a hero herself, if she was being honest. She'd only been doing this for a few years. But there was something to this girl, a stubbornness that she recognized from herself and from the people in her life. The drive of a Bat.
"You should go home, I'm sure your ma's worried about you."
/break\
Babs tried to not look surprised as she opened her door. "Kate. What can I do for you?"
"I got an interesting visitor last night and I thought you could do a bit of research for me."
It wasn't that Kate never visited Barbara, but she was a rare visitor. If she needed Oracle's help, she would usually use the intercoms. A personal visit meant that there was more to this. Sighing, Barbara turned her wheelchair around and lead the way to her office, Kate behind her.
"A disgruntled one-night-stand you forgot about?" guessed Barbara lightly.
"Oh, don't tease," Kate huffed embarrassed. "That happened one time and it's not my fault I'm so good I gained a stalker, Babs. I'll never live that one down, will I?"
Barbara turned to look at her with a half-smirk and a light shrug when they reached her desk. While she took her spot in front of her screens, Kate went to sit down on the couch in the corner. Sometimes, one of her friends would visit and even while Babs was busy working, they just wanted to share her space. Rachel, Dick, Steph, Cass, they'd all slept on this couch before.
"Her name's Felicity Smoak and she wants to become Batgirl."
That gave Barbara pause. She turned toward Kate to look at her in surprise. "A girl came to you and wants to become Batgirl? That... is interesting. Felicity Smoak?"
Turning back to her screen, she started typing. The kid was only fourteen years old. A bright student, apparently. The really interesting thing was her father though. Noah Kuttler, better known as the Calculator. Apparently, her mother Donna had moved to Gotham City after Noah's arrest to get some distance, she also took back her maiden name. Turned out that little Felicity came after her father, because she'd already hacked into her own school to change the grades of a couple bullies. It had been internally handled and she hadn't gotten expelled because apparently Donna had raised hell about her daughter being bullied and the school not doing anything to the point of Felicity feeling the need to protect herself. There seemed to be a lot of fierceness and anger in the kid, but also brilliance. Barbara thought that she could work with that.
"And you're bringing this to me because you see a potential in her...?"
"Perhaps," Kate shrugged, her head tilted. "I think the girl got fire. I don't know how far she can go, but I think that she is determined enough to take this path regardless of who guides her so I think that... guidance might be the safer route to take."
Barbara hummed. Her eyes wandered over to the screen and the picture of the smiling teenage girl on it. Barbara needed to do some deeper digging before coming to a final verdict, but the fact that the kid had tracked down Batwoman's civil identity was impressive and Barbara would be curious to see what else the kid got.
/break\
Felicity was so excited. Her Batgirl costume was a bright, blue color like Nightwing's symbol, with a yellow bat on her chest and emerald green accents to the costume. It was a strong, bullet-proof material, the same as the other Bat family members' costumes.
"Don't think I'm going to just take you out into the night to go on patrols," warned Kate.
She was in her full Batwoman get-up and it was so much more impressive up close. Felicity bounced on the balls of her feet, excited and nervous. They hadn't met at the Bat Cave but at Kate's apartment, because apparently Felicity would have to earn the Bats' trust first. And that was fair. Even though she had a pretty good guess on where to find it.
"Yes, ma'am," Felicity straightened her back.
"I'm going to teach you hand-to-hand combat and the usage of various weapons before I'd even consider taking you out on patrol," continued Kate. "You'll have to build up stamina and strength and if training becomes too much for you, just... give up. There's no shame in that."
"I'm not going to give up, ma'am," declared Felicity fiercely.
"Okay. Then, first rule; Never call me ma'am again, kid."
Felicity nodded quickly, her hair falling wild around her head at the jerky movement. If they were fighting, she might have to do something about that; it was definitely going to be in the way.
/break\
Felicity was fifteen when she first went out as Batgirl. She'd spent months training with Kate, but also with Steph and Cass. The latter two currently went by Spoiler and Orphan respectively, even though both had carried the Batgirl mantle for a time. Now, this was Felicity's mantle to bear.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch," Felicity winced as she disinfected the cut on her arm.
Batwing turned to look at her in concern. "You okay, Batgirl?"
"Yeah, no, fine, totally fine! It's just a scratch. I wasn't as careful as I should have been, but I guess I'm still getting used to this? The going out, I mean. It'd only been a couple weeks and-" Felicity interrupted herself to smile sheepishly at the other. "Sorry, I tend to ramble."
Luke huffed out a laugh as he took off his helmet. "It's okay. And I get the nervousness. First few times are always rough, you gotta grow used to Gotham. It's a harsh mistress."
Batwing and Batwoman often went out together on patrol, he might be the closest to a partner that Kate had. But even so, she preferred to go out alone. Which was part of the problem, perhaps. Because Felicity wasn't the only one getting used to this here, Kate was too. Kate was used to the solo acts, to not having to worry about a partner, much less a younger sidekick. They'd get it though, Felicity was determined to get this. She wanted to do more, wanted to be a part of something bigger. Be able to change something, to help those who couldn't help themselves.
"You'll get the hang of it," assured Luke with an encouraging smile.
/break\
Kate wasn't the only one to become a mentor to Felicity. Babs did too. At first, Felicity learned about Barbara's history as Batgirl, because to become Batgirl, she needed to understand the mantle and the women who had worn it before her. Only recently had Barbara also started to mentor Felicity in the research and hacking field. Yes, Felicity had taught herself a lot and for a fifteen year old, she was pretty impressive, but Barbara Gordon? The Oracle? She was the queen of it, no one compared – and Felicity couldn't imagine a better mentor for herself.
"You absorb everything like a sponge," commented Barbara with a fond smile.
"This is just so amazing? You are just so amazing. You're like... who I want to be when I grow up," declared Felicity with large, sparkling eyes. "I mean, what you've built as Oracle is mindblowing."
Barbara smiled amused and took her hot chocolate. While she taught Felicity a lot, the two also spent quality time together. After all, Barbara knew the pressure of being Batgirl and the overall pressure of being a young girl in the superhero world. Especially with how much Felicity tried to shoulder – being Batgirl and learning from Barbara – she liked to remind Felicity to also just be a girl from time to time. Sometimes, the four Batgirls had movie nights with each other, but tonight, it was just Barbara and Felicity. Drinking hot chocolate and playing video games.
/break\
"Felicity," there was something akin to horror in Bruce's voice. "Are you alright?"
One thing that Felicity had learned over the past two years of going out as Batgirl was that Bruce Wayne was very paternal. He was the father of most members of the Bat family, so it wasn't a complete surprise, but a a not orphan, Felicity found it a little amusing. And as a girl who had largely grown up without a father, she appreciated his kind words and his worry.
"I'm fine. I mean, my leg is broken, but it'll heal, the doctors said it's a clean break."
She was already surrounded by stuffed toys and flowers from Steph, Babs, Kate, Luke, Dick and Tim. Honestly, she had become Batgirl because she wanted to be a hero, but she had not anticipated the family she would gain from this. A smile spread over her lips as she accepted the bear from Bruce. He was a bit awkward with these things, but he cared so deeply.
"What happened?" asked Bruce as he sat down next to her bed.
They both knew that he knew. He'd probably seen it from various different angles since Oracle kept track of all surveillance cameras during a mission and kept the footage for evaluation. Bruce wanted to hear her version of what had happened. Frowning, she grabbed one of her two braids to play with her hair in a nervous habit. She always braided it when going on patrols, to keep it out of the way.
"I wasn't paying enough attention. I should have been more aware of my surroundings, sir."
She turned to stare at her hands and Bruce heaved a sigh. He reached a heavy hand out to rest on her head for a moment, patting it awkwardly. Lifting her head, she looked at him with large eyes.
"It happens," Bruce managed a smile. "As long as you take this as a learning opportunity and know better the next time, it will be fine. Everyone makes mistakes, okay?"
Felicity returned the smile and nodded in confirmation.
/break\
Felicity didn't feel like a Batgirl when she turned eighteen anymore and she also felt like there was a different calling for her. Over the past three years with Kate and the Bat family, she had fought her out there as a vigilante, but she had also learned to hone her hacking and programming skills under Babs' leadership. Much like Barbara, Stephanie and Cassandra, Felicity came to move on from the Batgirl mantle and choose a new one, a unique one for herself. The legacy mantle helped, especially as a newbie in this life. To find their own footing, gather experience. But she had figured out who she was now and it was time for her to make an actual name for herself.
"Overwatch, do you have eyes on the target?" asked Kate through the intercoms.
Felicity's fingers flew over the keyboard, her eyes on the screen with the surveillance, zooming through various feeds to find where the criminals had run to. "Yeah, I got them. Two blocks over, near the bank. I see Batwing is closer to them than you. Want me to contact him?"
A moment's hesitation as Kate considered this. "If he's free. If he's caught up with his own fight, I'm on route and I'll make it."
Felicity tapped her ear-piece to connect with Luke's intercom. "Batwing. Batwoman is chasing five armed robbers. They left the scene while she was busy with two more. You're closer to them. Are you on patrol, or are you caught up in a fight right now?"
"I got time, Overwatch. Send me the coordinates and I'll be on my way."
While Felicity had learned great things as Batgirl, she absolutely loved being Overwatch. This was where she belonged. Behind a screen. Coordinating, gathering intel, keeping the people she loved safe even without physically fighting villains. This was her world and thanks to Barbara, Felicity had learned so much and become even more proficient than she had been as a kid.
/break\
"Something interesting in the news? You're reading the first page very attentively."
Felicity startled and flushed, quickly folding the newspaper to hide what she'd been looking at. Kate raised one curious eyebrow at her, taking a deep drink from her coffee. Felicity spent a lot of time at Kate's, they often ate breakfast together, especially after they had the late shift of patrol and monitor duty. Pushing the newspaper away, Felicity instead grabbed the bagel to take a large bite.
"You don't want to tell me?" Kate also raised her other eyebrow. "Okay, fine."
She reached for the newspaper, much to Felicity's mortification, and unfolded it. On the front page, Oliver Queen's smiling face. Kate furrowed her brows. The guy had died five years ago, in a shipwreck. He wasn't much younger than Kate, also associated with a wealthy family. They'd come from the same circles and she had met him a couple of times unwillingly. A playboy and party kid. And, apparently, back from the dead now. He'd been found by fishers.
"Queen Industries, reborn under Oliver Queen," read Kate curiously. "Back from the dead and already taking on the family business, huh? Doesn't sound like the Ollie who disappeared. Then again, doesn't look like the Ollie who disappeared back then either."
Which was true. A trimmed, short beard, a bright-eyed smile, short, orderly hair, wearing a well-tailored suit. He looked all grown up. Then again, he'd disappeared when he was barely nineteen. And whatever had happened to him in these five years must have really shaped him too.
"You interested in celebrity gossip now?" asked Kate, lifting her head.
"I don't know," Felicity shrugged. "Star City is where I'm from. I've... been keeping track of the news about it ever since I became Batgirl, I guess. The Queens shipwrecked right about when I became Batgirl and... I don't know, it stuck with me?"
"Don't go ahead and develop a crush on a spoiled billionaire kid," warned Kate. "In our world, there is a seventy-five percent chance they're either a secret superhero or a supervillain."
Felicity winced at that and took another bite from her bagel. Kate was probably right.
/break\
Kate had most definitely been right. It was nearly a year after Oliver Queen had returned from the dead that Felicity had a suspicion something was going on. She had her own wall of weirdness – thanks for that, Chloe – in her apartment dedicated to strange developments in Star City.
"Tell me what I'm looking at," Bruce's Batman-voice was always so gruff and stoic.
"Every villain that popped up in Star City since the return of Oliver Queen, as well as every appearance of the Green Arrow," replied Felicity, twirling on the chair. "And I came to the conclusion that I am 75% sure that Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow."
"75%?" repeated Bruce doubtfully, raising one eyebrow at her. "Doesn't sound like the investigative work of someone I taught. You're better at research than that."
"The 25% aren't doubt about this man being Green Arrow but rather... doubt in whether or not the man who appeared in Star City a year ago is the real Oliver Queen," explained Felicity. "We've dealt with alternate realities before, shapeshifters, people altering their faces to take on someone's identity. Taking on the identity of the heir to a billion dollar corporation seems a good in for a villain and from all I could tell, Green Arrow could as well be a publicity stunt."
The proud smile Bruce offered her at that caused her to puff out her chest. She was a twenty-one year old woman, she should no longer feel like a little girl getting praised by her dad when Bruce did that. There was just something to having Batman's approval that got to not just her.
"The League is considering him as a member," Bruce didn't sound pleased. "And I have the same doubts as you. They think he could be a great addition, he has shown great skill. Superman thinks him too violent to join, but Flash is very loudly in favor of it."
"The two have teamed up before," Felicity's eyes found the article about it.
"They have," agreed Bruce. "But I haven't. I don't know if I find him trustworthy enough to become a member of the team. I've talked about this with Kate already and we've been trying to find out a way to... investigate it. You, investigating him on your own, gives me an idea..."
Felicity perked up at that, turning to look at Bruce curiously. Admittedly, her investigation was a combination of her interest in the miraculous return of Oliver Queen after such a long and still unexplained disappearance, as well as the concern for her home town. Bruce was right; Green Arrow had killed in this past year. Men he deemed a guilty and as having failed the city. While Felicity didn't entirely share the strict moral code of Bruce, she did find the number of murders concerning and thought that there ought to be an alternate approach to at least some of them.
"From what Flash tells us, Green Arrow doesn't have anyone behind the screen on his own team," continued Bruce, his arms crossed over his chest. "He's been calling the Flash in for a favor every now and again when he needed something tracked."
"You... want me to infiltrate the Green Arrow to see if he's Justice League material?"
"I think that he is a young, inexperienced hero who could use some experienced guidance and who needs someone with your skills," countered Bruce to rephrase it in a more positive light. "If he is who he claims to be and is a hero deserving to be a member of the Justice League, I would be glad to help him out by sending him a competent team member. And if he is in fact a face-stealing villain from an alternate Earth, then I'm glad one of my brightest uncovered it in time. Win-win."
Felicity laughed softly and shook her head. Bruce Wayne was the most paranoid man she knew. Sadly, his paranoia didn't come from nothing. In their line of work, they had already seen it all.
"Okay, fine. If you can arrange for a smooth and inconspicuous move," agreed Felicity finally.
/break\
Felicity Smoak was the new IT girl at Queen Industries. Just a regular, normal IT girl. Her mom had been skeptical about her move back to Star City, but Felicity could hardly tell her the real motivation for this. The first couple days, she just went about work. And then she caught first sight of Oliver Queen and oh no, he was even cuter in real life. It took another week before the two actually interacted with each other and oh wow, he was so cute. And so not subtle. He asked her for help with something that was most definitely related to his Green Arrow gig, but he tried to pass it off as related to work. It showed that he was still young – as a hero, at least. He was a couple years older than Felicity, yes, but she had years on him as a superhero. For now, she'd entertain him and play along. Do what he asked to prove she had the skill and if he came to seek her out again...
"He's cu—ute, Babs," complained Felicity on the phone.
"Kate already said you have a crush on him."
"I did not. He was just, you know, physically cute. And I happen to have eyes. That was all."
"Sure," Barbara didn't sound very convinced. "So, what now?"
"I don't know," Felicity heaved a sigh. "He seems nice enough. He is a bit of a flirt, which I was expecting, I guess, but it's different when you are the one being flirted with."
"Don't get distracted from your mission, Felicity."
"I'm not. I mean, I am supposed to determine what kind of person he is. Isn't this like... a verdict too, in a way? I do have better survival skills than falling for villains!"
"I suppose that is true," Barbara hummed to herself. "Still, be careful. Even falling for a hero can be dangerous and tricky. Try focusing on the mission instead of the pretty boy."
/break\
It was impossible not to concentrate on the pretty boy. He was such a pretty pretty boy, especially when he smiled flirtatiously at her. It was cute how he tried to pass his requests off as work related though. She let it slide a few more times, wondering if he really thought she was just some dumb blonde who wouldn't put one and one together – despite clearly thinking her intelligent enough to solve these things for him. Those two did not go together, in her opinion.
"Mister Queen," she smiled up at Oliver, a pen between her teeth.
He looked amused, his eyes on the pen. Quickly did she pull it out of her mouth and tuck it behind her ear, smoothing her hands over the desk. Her smile turned more innocent. Another request, mh? His bodyguard stood behind him, arms crossed over his chest. While John Diggle could be quite intimating – a skill expected from a bodyguard, she supposed – she had also talked to him enough to know that he was a nice guy. Still, she wondered what exactly his role in all of this was.
"I was wondering if you had... some time to look into something."
"Again?" Felicity raised her eyebrows high. "You know, Mister Queen, this is starting to feel more like a side-job. We both know that these requests have nothing to do with Queen Industries."
Oliver winced. At least he was aware how bad he was at this. If only Felicity didn't find it so cute.
"Oliver," John spoke up, a pointed edge to his voice.
Heaving a sigh, Oliver nodded his agreement. "Okay, fine. Felicity, would you... Do you have plans tonight? There is something I would... like to show you."
"Yeah, sure, I'm free," replied Felicity quickly. "Not that I don't have a life outside of QI-"
"I know what you meant," interrupted Oliver, though he smiled fondly. "Tonight, after work."
"It's a date," confirmed Felicity, before her eyes widened. "I mean, an arrangement. A time that you and I can meet up, not a date date, that's not..."
"I know what you meant," assured Oliver once more, looking even more fond.
/break\
Interestingly enough did they head toward Oliver's club. That had been his first investment after his return and nobody had questioned it, since he was a known party boy. Only months later had he shown interest in Queen Industries. Still, in her pink pencil skirt and soft-pink blouse, she did not entirely feel like she was dressed appropriately for a club.
"Not... where I expected us to go," noted Felicity as she followed Oliver inside.
"Wait for it," requested Oliver with a smile, offering her his arm. "And don't get lost."
She flushed as she accepted his arm and let him lead... away from the main business. Through a secret door. Down into a hidden basement. Interesting. Either she was going to get murdered in a ritual sacrifice, or she would get to formally meet the Green Arrow. Diggle turned on the lights and one by one, the lights above lit up the room, showing the sheer size of it. Various training tools, costumes lined along the wall, in the center a slightly elevated platform with a desk and screens.
"Oh my gosh, you have a Bat Cave," Felicity cooed just a little. "Well, I mean, an Arrow Cave I guess? Since you're the Arrow and not a bat. But oh, this is nice."
"You're not very surprised about that," commented John with narrowed eyes.
"How do you know about the Bat Cave?" asked Oliver confused.
Right. Civilians didn't know what Bruce called his hide-out. Then again, if he bared his secret to her, then she should come somewhat clean too. That was her objective, after all. With a bright smile on her face did she turn to face Oliver and Diggle, holding her hand out.
"Time for proper introductions then, Green Arrow. Hi, I'm Felicity Smoak, better known as the fourth Batgirl and currently widely known as Overwatch. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Overwatch," repeated Oliver stunned, even as he accepted her hand to shake.
"That's..." Diggle furrowed his brows, searching Oliver's face. "The Flash's guys mentioned that name before, didn't they? The hacker they consulted when they hit a wall."
"That's the one. I mean, I. I am the one. That's me," Felicity bounced a little on the balls of her feet. "But ah. That explains the requests Cisco had there, for 'a friend'. Interesting."
"It's not a coincident that you're working for QI now, is it?"
Felicity turned to focus on Oliver with a grin. "Just a little... offer of help from Batman. If you'll accept that, that is. But, between you and me, I think you need the help, mh?"
"I assume this help comes with strings attached," Oliver crossed his arms over his chest.
"I mean, yes, Batman does want me to keep tabs on you and see if you are... living up to Barry's hype," replied Felicity honestly. "The superhero business is one of reputations and trust. And your reputation so far is... mostly murder-y. And it has Batman skeptical."
Oliver ground his teeth together, but he didn't seem like he wanted to fight her on this. "Okay."
/break\
Working with Team Arrow was different from working with the Bats. She'd been the baby of the team for so long, there were Batgirls with seniority over her, there was always the higher authority of Oracle over Overwatch. She knew she had been a valuable member, but there was something she had never grown out of after joining as a young teen. Team Arrow, she joined as a grown woman, as the singular computer expert. There was more authority to her here, a different kind of respect. And she quickly came to love this team – not just Oliver, though she might love him in a very different manner than the rest of the team, but also John, Laurel, Roy, Thea. It was a good team and she enjoyed this new role she had here. It was also good to defend her home city again.
"So, you like our team more than Batman's?" asked Diggle teasingly.
"There is no liking better," chided Felicity and swatted at John's upper arm. "Could you decide between your wife and kids and your parents and siblings? Family is family, they're just... different. Though I gotta admit, the view in here is much better than in the Bat Cave."
Her eyes wandered over toward Oliver, who was shirtless and doing the salmon ladder. That was definitely her favorite thing to watch. Fanning herself, she let her eyes drink in the sight. Diggle huffed at her and shook his head before pushing off the desk to return to training too.
/break\
"You know I couldn't be more grateful to you, right?"
Oliver wasn't looking at her while she was bandaging him up. It had been a tough mission today and Felicity had been mortified as she watched on screen how Oliver had nearly died. That was perhaps the one thing she hated about no longer doing field work. She couldn't physically intervene, she was stuck watching. Instead of reacting to his works, she focused on treating his injury.
"Hey," Oliver's voice dropped to something more gentle. "Thank you. I might have died tonight if you hadn't been there. Having you on my team, my missions have been going so much smoother. You got my back and I can trust you. So there's no reason to cry, right?"
He gasped her chin, gently tilting her head. His thumb rubbed over her cheek. She was crying? She hadn't even noticed. Then again, she always tended to, when her team-members got hurt and she couldn't physically help him. She was one of the few people who could guilt-trip Bruce with said tears into actually staying in bed and recovering instead of going out to patrol.
"I know I'm doing the best I can," whispered Felicity, blinking rapidly. "I just—When the feed went black. I thought you... Until Laurel managed to contact me, I didn't know if you were alive."
Oliver took her hand and placed it on his bare chest. Her cheeks flamed up and her own heart sped up, until she realized what he was doing. She could feel his heartbeat under her fingers.
"I'm alive. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," promised Oliver.
As he held her hand against his chest, Felicity became acutely aware of how close they sat. She sat opposite him between his legs, his knees on either side of her legs, the warmth of his body so close. Both leaned in slowly, nearly hypnotized by each other. Until their lips touched in a soft kiss.
/break\
Oliver still didn't entirely know about joining the Justice League. Some members – Flash above all others, Superman, even Aquaman – seemed to accept him in rather well. Batman, on the other hand, he didn't entirely know about. The man kept glaring at him from across the table. Oliver had never felt more threatened in his life, and he had faced Ra's al Ghul in a one-on-one battle before. Batman was dangerous, that much everyone on the team knew. But Oliver was pretty sure that no other team member got to feel that level of heat aimed at them.
"What's your problem with me, Bats?" asked Oliver annoyed after a meeting.
Batman looked unmoved as ever. "What do you mean? I have no problem."
"You sent Overwatch to evaluate me even before I joined the league and ever since I joined, you have been glaring at me during every single meeting. But I'm here, so I assume you must have agreed to my membership, since members have to be accepted unanimously. So what is it?"
Suddenly, Batman was all up in his face, eyes narrowed behind the cowl. "You should know. And know that if you prove to be a disappointment..."
Somehow, the way he trailed off was much more threatening than any actual threat he could have made. Oliver swallowed hard, even though he tried not to show how much the threat affected him. The next moment, Batman pushed away and just left. Like nothing had happened.
"Come on, Green, you gotta have it figured out by now," Batwoman chuckled as she walked up to him. "He's Batman. You're currently dating a former Batgirl. Bats watch out for each other."
Oliver looked at her flabbergasted. "...Did Batman just give me a shovel-talk?"
"Now you got it," Batwoman clapped him on the shoulder, before turning more serious. "But I need you to know that Felicity was my Batgirl. I'm the one who taught her. So if you fear Batman's threat, I need you to understand that I will do much worse to you if you hurt her. Understood?"
/break\
Felicity blinked surprised when Oliver got home from the Justice League meeting, walked straight up to her, collapsed onto the couch right next to her with his head resting on her lap, groaning.
"...Did the meeting not go well?" asked Felicity concerned.
"The meeting went well. But your Bat dad and your Bat mom gave me separate shovel-talks. Batwoman did not strike me as that scary until today. I might be reevaluating that."
Felicity bit her lower lip and reached out to caress his hair, running soothing fingers through it. Slowly, Oliver started to relax, until he laid lax next to her, his breathing evening out. Bats protected each other. She better not tell him that he should be glad the Batgirls and Robins didn't line up to give protective sibling talks too. Though there were certain members that Felicity wouldn't put it past. She just hoped the united intimidation of the Bat family wouldn't chase Oliver away. Knocking on her window interrupted her and she was surprised to see a flash of red hair.
"I figured we should drop by for a visit while we're here," offered Kate. "She's been dying to meet you in person and since you never come back to visit anymore..."
Kate made her way in through the window, followed by the slightly more clumsy climb in from the newest Batgirl. Black and purple suit. Young, though older than Felicity had been. The girl looked around in excitement and gasped when she spotted the sleeping Green Arrow in Felicity's lap.
"O—oh, so you and the Green Arrow are like, serious, huh?" asked the new Batgirl.
Kate all the while removed her wig and cowl before sitting down on the couch opposite them. She motioned at her new partner to come join her and after a moment, the girl also removed her cowl – though she first walked over to Felicity, holding her hand out.
"Hi, I'm Parker Torres. It's an honor to meet you. You left big shoes to fill."
"Every Batgirl does," assured Felicity with a grin as she shook Parker's hand. "And so will you."
Parker flushed and the smile on her lips broadened even more. Felicity had heard about the girl, a brilliant hacker who had gotten involved with Kate more on accident but then Kate had gotten attached to the girl because she was a lesbian dealing with homophobic parents, channeling all her rage into hacking. Which really did sound like the perfect combination for Kate's next Batgirl.
"Did the Bat come to kill me in my sleep...?" Oliver sounded sleepy even as he sat up.
"No, she won't," promised Felicity fondly. "I won't let her."
At that, she looked up to lock eyes with Kate, trying to convey that her and Bruce pretty-please stop threatening Felicity's new boyfriend. Kate shrugged like it was out of her hands. Once Oliver sat up, Felicity placed a soft kiss on his lips. It was time to acquaint her new family with her old family.
~*~ The End ~*~
Author's note: This fic was brought to you by - me reading the Bombshells comics and seeing Felicity as Batgirl. I don't know, I loved the angle of the young Jewish girl finding inspiration in seeing a Jewish superhero? You see these kind of representation-inspiration occasionally with black characters, but that was the first time I've seen it between two Jewish heroes and I really liked that. From thereon out, my thoughts snowballed into "okay but what if main continuity instead of WWII AU? Oliver dating Batgirl?" and I ended up unable to resist the urge to write it! (And I also stand by the conviction that if the Batwoman TV show hadn't written Kate out, they would have set Parker Torres up to become Kate's Batgirl.)