It had been two hours since Oliver and Sara had left the lair to patrol the city and in that time Felicity hadn't found absolutely any clue of Slade. It was clear from his encounter with Oliver that Slade wanted to make him suffer but it was still impossible to tell his endgame; apparently he was very good at hiding his tracks. Felicity was trying to find a link between Slade and the robbery at Queen Consolidated a few months back when they all heard Roy's phone start to beep announcing he had received a new message.

Rory who had been sparring with Diggle for the best part of the last two hours paused for a moment to look at his phone. It was all the time Diggle needed to punch Roy hard on the jaw, making him fall on his back. The younger man looked confused at Diggle who just shrugged and offered him a hand to help him get up, "Don't get distracting during a fight; it will get you killed."

Roy accepted the offering hand but shook his head at Diggle's version of "tough love" before walking to the table where his phone was charging.

Felicity watched Roy as he pressed a few buttons and read the message, his face going from a smile to a frown of confusion. He looked up at Felicity before hesitantly walking towards her, "Uhm, hey, Felicity, can you pull up the most recent news and pictures on Bruce Wayne?

Diggle quickly walked to them as he heard Bruce's name, wondering what the billionaire had done wrong. Felicity turned back to her computers, quickly typing while asking, "What? What's going on? What are they saying about him?"

Before Roy could say anything Felicity found out her answer. The numerous screen in front of her showed pictures of Bruce and her kissing that afternoon. Some magazine and gossip articles also showed pictures of them the night before. Felicity's eyes widened as she opened and closed her mouth again and again with no words coming out. Finally she was able to squeak, "How did they get these pictures?"

Diggle had been quiet so far, watching Felicity's reaction but at her squeak he had to ask the question him and Roy were dying to know, "So these are legit, they are not photoshoped or anything? You really kissed Bruce Wayne since you met him last night? Which means you met him and kissed him today?"

The blonde blushed and rubbed the back of her neck, looking from one man to the other, "Uhm, we went on a coffee date this afternoon. I mean, it wasn't a date. Not really, it wasn't really planned out and there wasn't even a meal...

Roy interrupted her with a smirk, "But there was a goodbye kiss?"

The woman glared at him but ignored his comment, "Anyway, how did you know about these pictures?"

"Thea," he answered simply. "She sent me a message asking if I knew anything about Oliver's secretary-" At Felicity's second murderous glare of the night he raised his hands in surrender and tried again, "Sorry, Oliver's executive assistant was secretly hooking up with Bruce Wayne."

"It wasn't a secret," she tried to defend.

"You were just not telling anybody?" Diggle questioned with an amused smile.

She looked at him exasperated, "It just happened this afternoon! Besides, the press is making it look like we've been together for months when actually our first date was just a few hours ago. I mean, non-date!"

"You two seemed pretty cozy last night too," Roy pointed out, chuckling.

Felicity rolled her eyes and was about to answer when suddenly a look of shock downed on her face, "Oh my God! What if he sees these pictures? These articles? What if he thinks I'm the one who talked to the press?"

Diggle chuckled, "Of course he'll see these pictures. And even if he didn't, someone will most certainly ask him about them. And about you talking to the press... if he knows you at all he knows you would never do that."

She looked worriedly between the two men in front of her and the pictures of her and Bruce on her computers but didn't say anything to the contrary. Of course she would never expose her life, or his for that matter, to the press. The thing is, Bruce didn't know her yet and she couldn't blame him if after seeing the pictures on the internet he took her for a gold digger or a girl trying to get her 15 minutes of fame. Oddly the idea that Bruce might think something like that about her hurt a lot more than it probably should.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone vibrating, showing it had received a new message, "Good evening, Felicity."

The blonde smiled and quickly replied, ignoring the men standing close to her. "Hey. I have good news... Magpie has been arrested and charged for all her crimes."

"I've heard. You were amazing linking her to everything. I'd like to thank you in person before leaving."

"I've told you I don't think it's a good idea."

"I'm outside. Just come out to say hi in person. You can bring your hooded friend with you."

Felicity paled instantly and turned to her computers, checking the security cameras from outside the club. Sure enough Batman was standing in the back alley, near the closest entrance to the lair, looking at the camera.

"Uhm, guys, I think Batman has found our lair."

Diggle and Roy approached Felicity quickly, surprised to find Batman in one of the security cameras they had installed.

"How did he find us?" Diggle wondered aloud.

"That's what I would like to know," she agreed.

"And what does he want?" Roy also asked.

"That I actually know. He texted me telling me he was outside and that he would like to thank me in person for my help apprehending Magpie."

"You are not considering going outside, right?" Diggle asked her, shocked.

"Well, I don't have many options. I don't want him to be here when Oliver is back, it would only lead to a bloodshed. Besides, he just wants to thank me. I'll be out and back in a blink."

"I still don't like it," Diggle told her stubbornly. "If you go, then I'll go with you."

"And expose your identity? No way. He already knows I'm part of the team, I don't want him knowing anyone else's identity. I know he wouldn't try to harm us, but this is still a secret team to help a vigilante; we can't just put our name and number on the yellow pages."

"I'm going with you, Blondie, and there is no arguing," Roy told her in a no-nonsense tone. "I'll just put the red hood and a voice modulator and this Bat guy will never know who I am."

She sighed but agreed, "Okay. But you'll stay back and you'll only interfere if there really is some kind of danger, do you understand?"

Roy rolled his eyes but nodded, "Okay, okay, I get it. Not getting in you way with the new vigilante."

A few minutes later Felicity slowly opened the door that led to the back alley and stepped outside followed by Roy. She walked a few steps closed to Batman who stood exactly where he was, while Roy stood back next to the lair's door watching them.

"Uhm... hi. It's nice to meet you," Felicity awkwardly said, offering a hand to the vigilante. She could barely hear Roy trying to muffle his chuckles behind her at her choice of introduction.

Batman just smiled and took her hand, "After all the work we've done together I think we're pass shaking hands, but okay."

The blonde nervously pushed a string of her hair behind her ear, "Well, we've never officially met. Besides I wasn't expecting to see you. This was very... unexpected."

"But good?" he questioned.

She rolled her eyes but agreed, "Good."

He smiled again, "Good."

They could hear Roy either groaning or chuckling behind, though they weren't sure which one the red hooded guy was doing.

After a moment, Batman looked at Roy and tilted his head to the side after finally realizing the he was wearing a red hood instead of a green one, "Where is Arrow?"

"He is not here," she told him shortly.

"He left you alone?" he asked with a tone of disapproval and surprise.

"She is not alone," Roy told him in his red hood, a few feet behind Felicity but still close enough to protect her, if needed.

Batman kept looking at Roy but his question was directed at Felicity, "So, this is your other friend?"

She cleared her throat nervously, "Uhm, no, this is another friend."

"You have a team," he stated appreciatively.

"No, Arrow has a team. I'm just a member," she corrected.

"It must be nice," Batman said with something Felicity recognized as longing in his voice.

Felicity stepped closer to him with a smile, "You also have a team. You have the hacker guy who has been helping you for years."

"It would make a pair and he has retired," he pointed out.

"You have me," she said without a second thought.

His smiled turned bittersweet as he answered, "I'd really love it if that was true."

She cleared her throat uncomfortable and ignored his comment, unnecessarily adjusting her glasses, "Anyway, how did you find me?" she asked curiously. If Batman could find her, then maybe they should upgrade their security system. She knew Batman would not try to harm the team but they may not be so lucky if someone else were to find out. Not only that, but it could lead to the exposure of Oliver's secret identity as well as the entire team.

It took a moment until Batman replied, "I traced your phone."

Felicity frowned her eyebrows and tilted her head, looking confused, "Oh."

"I should probably go. Magpie has already been arrested..."

Felicity shook her head, trying to clear her mind, "Yeah, of course..."

"But if you ever need help, just let me know. I'd be glad to help you."

"Thanks," she said with a small smile but a little distracted. A moment later Batman was gone but the confused look remained on Felicity's face.

The next day Felicity arrived at work a little early to double check Oliver's calendar and get ahead on her day. Every few minutes she would glance accusingly at her phone but would not touch it. Since Batman comment that he had found the lair by tracing her phone Felicity had kept glancing wonderingly at it.

Oliver arrived at the office about half an hour after Felicity knowing there was a meeting with investors scheduled to that afternoon that he had to get ready to. He greeted Felicity before going to his office and a few minutes later he called her into the room.

The blonde walked in with a smile, "Hey, do you need help with the numbers for the investors?" she asked, noticing he was looking at the papers she had placed on his desk.

"Felicity these numbers are from last trimester; I need the numbers from this trimester for the meeting," he softly pointed out her mistake.

"What?" she asked walking to him and taking the papers from his hand. "No, it can't be right. I got in early to check everything for the meeting..." she told him but as she checked the papers she could see he was right.

"Is something wrong?" he asked softly, touching her arm. "You seem distracted since last night."

"What? No! I'm not distracted!" she told him, stepping back defensively.

He sighed, "After Sara and I arrived from patrol you accidentally poured hot tea on your keyboard, you didn't notice Roy and Diggle calling your name for five minutes and you had to come back to the lair twice to get you keys and your phone when you were on your way to your car."

Felicity groaned in frustration but didn't comment.

"Is this about me and Sara?" he asked carefully. "If you need to talk about this..." he tried again but the blonde cut him off, shaking her head quickly.

"No, no. This is definitely not about you. Or Sara," she paused. "This is... about my cell. I'm having a technological problem."

Oliver furrowed his eyebrows, obviously disbelieving her, "Really?"

She sighed, "Really. And I'm going to fix it. And I'll also try to be more careful and focus more on work," she continued oddly.

He relaxed against his chair, conceding even though he found her behavior a little strange, "Okay then."

"I'll print the numbers from this trimester and double check everything for the meeting," she offered.

"Thanks."

She nodded with a smile, turning around to leave the office, "Sure, that's my job."

Felicity had just sat back at her desk to look for the files she had to print when her phone started ringing. She looked at Bruce's name on the small screen and sighed before answering, "Hey, Bruce."

"Hello gorgeous, we still on for lunch?"

She cleared her throat looking at Oliver through the glass wall, "Actually, can we make it dinner?"

"Uhm, of course. I thought you'd be busy tonight."

"It was cancelled," she said simply, reminding herself she had to tell Oliver she wouldn't be able to go to the lair that night.

"Okay. Any preference on where we will go tonight?"

"I was thinking we could have dinner at my place if you don't mind."

"No, not at all. After the pictures that have been taken from us it will be good to stay in."

"Oh, right, you've seen that," she asked, finally realizing she really was distracted.

"Yeah, and I'm sorry about that. The paparazzi have been following me most of my life but I really didn't expect them to take those pictures."

"It's fine. We can talk about this tonight. I'll text you the address. See you at eight?"

"Fine by me. I'll bring the wine."

"Okay, see you later."

After arriving home Felicity took a steaming relaxing long shower before getting ready. It didn't take too long to choose an outfit since she refused to dress up when she wouldn't be leaving her apartment. Of course she still put on her nice underwear and a little make-up but she draw the line on wearing high heels. A fitting bright pink blouse that showed a little cleavage and a simple black skirt would do trick just fine.

The task that longer was making her place look presentable. She wasn't used to getting visits so her living room was little more than an extension of her bedroom. As she looked around she could se shoes under the coffee table, clothes thrown on her couch and purses and sunglasses laying on the counter top. At least, the fact that she rarely ate at home meant there were no dishes to wash. On the other hand, it also meant she had to order in if she wanted them to actually have dinner on their first official date.

She dialed her favorite Italian restaurant which thankfully was only a few blocks away from her place and ordered three different dishes. She didn't want to order something just to find out he was allergic, so she decided it would be better to order three completely different dishes just to stay on the safe side. After that she started gathering anything that seemed to be out of place and stashed it into her closet, hoping it wouldn't burst open before Bruce left. Finally, she trying to put her living room and bedroom in order, making her bed, finally finding the long lost TV and stereo remote controls and setting the table. She was just has just got the wine glasses when someone knocked on her door. She nervously opened the door thinking it would be Bruce but instead found the delivery guy holding her order. She quickly paid and thanked him before taking the bags and going to the kitchen. She carefully put the different kinds of pasta in different decorated plates, as if the dishes had been homemade. Of course she wouldn't openly lie and say she had cooked the whole thing but if no one asked about it, then no one had to know.

A few moments later she looked around mentally checking her to-do list for her date and realized everything was done. She hesitantly sat on her couch knowing there was nothing left to do but wait for Bruce to arrive and looked at her cell phone laying on the coffee table, suddenly getting that puzzled look on her face again. She stared hard at the small object; she could say if it had been a couple of minutes of a couple of hours when there was another knock on her.

Glaring accusingly one last time at her cell, she stood up and went to the door, opening it. "Hey, Bruce," she said with a small smile, opening the door wilder.

"Hi," he steeped closer, lightly hugging her and walking into the living room. He looked around the room noticing the colorful furniture that looked at the same time unique and cozy. "Your apartment is really charming. It has character, just like you," he told her while offering the wine he had brought

She closed the door behind her, taking the wine from him and going to the kitchen, "Thank you. For the compliment and the wine."

"Of course. I'm sorry we couldn't go to a fancy romantic restaurant in our actual first date but I have to confess I prefer to just stay in; it's much more comfortable."

She tilted her head, "I don't mind staying in; specially considering going out with you would probably mean having my picture on some magazine tomorrow." She quickly looked up at him, "Not that I think it's your fault. I mean, you certainly don't want to have my picture displayed on magazine; or yours, for that matter," she paused and sighed at her short rambling. "Besides, it's nice not to have to wear high heels after a long day at work."

Bruce smirked at her and leaned in on her kitchen counter as she opened the bottle of wine, "I have to say I was a little curious to find out what you would wear to dinner after your comment on our coffee date."

Felicity blushed brightly remembering her rambling about either wearing a gala dress or going naked to their date. "Uhm, yeah. I guess knowing I wouldn't have to leave my apartment and that my closet is just a few feet away helped my nerves while choosing a casual outfit."

"And you look beautiful," he smile appreciatively at her.

She sighed, glancing quickly at her cell before serving the wine and handing him a glass, "Cheers."

"To a beautiful beginning," he toasted.

"To learning more about each other," she continued.

Bruce looked at her oddly but toasted anyway, offering her a smile before taking a sip from his glass.

Felicity downed her glass and she stood awkwardly in front of Bruce, the confusion back in her eyes. "Uhm... I'm not very good at the whole hosting thing so I'm just come out and ask... Do you want to eat now or do something else... I don't mean have sex... as the something else. Because this is our first date and I wouldn't invite you here to have sex before dinner. Or after dinner. Not that we can't have sex after dinner. Or before. I mean-"

Bruce was trying hard to laugh but at some point he failed miserable and now he chuckled uncontrollably while watching Felicity's face going from pink to scarlet. Taking some pity on her he touched her arm and cut her off, "I'm starving." He paused before continuing, "For dinner." And after another moment, "For now."

Differently from Felicity, he wasn't blushing on the slightest and she kind of envied him for it. Quickly turning away, she started carrying the dishes to the table and them served both of them, "Bon apetit!"

He grinned at her enthusiasm even though he could notice she was a little distant, "Thanks." He took the first forkful of pasta into his mouth and moaned, "Wow. You did this?"

She looked around a little uncomfortable. So much for no one asking, no one finding out. "Not exactly... I did call to place the order. Does that count as 'making it'?"

He chuckled but then sobered, "I guess the thought is what counts, right?"

"Most certainly!"

After that their dinner got quieter with short conversation as Felicity got more and more distracted, pushing the food around on her plate while Bruce dug in.

He knew she was probably trying hard not to show it but by the way her shoulders were tense, her eyebrows were furrowed and she kept playing with her food, it was obvious that she was distracted and most probably worried about something.

After dinner was finished it seemed the best time to approach the subject, so Bruce reached out and took her hand, "Hey, you've been distract the entire dinner. Is there something bothering you?"

She sighed and shook her head, taking her hand away. "No, just wondering about something," she told him, taking a sip of her wine.

"Anything I can help with?"

She shrugged, "Maybe."

"So what's it?" he asked, taking a sip from his glass.

She looked up at him and asked in a calm voice, "I was just wondering if you were ever going to tell me that you're Batman."

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry so much about taking so long to update. Life has been very busy and I haven't been much inspired lately. Thankfully it changed this week and I was able to finish this chap - even though it meant less sleep.

It's a little weird how much easier it is for me to write Felicity/Bruce scenes than any other character considering Bruce isn't even the show. But I'll try to put in some more Diggle and Roy scenes; and I also expect Thea to make an appearance sometime in the future.

Thank you sooooo much for the reviews and the support. It really motivates me to keep writing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

And please, keep reviews coming. They mean the world to me.