A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry it took me so long but I've been very busy/tired. Also, I'm giving up on the series... again... it seems the creators enjoy ruining the show in the last few episodes of each season. I see so many problems with the series, the characters, the plot... It's very disappointing. Anyways, even if I'm giving up on the series I won't give up on fanfics. And I can't wait to finish Spark (only a couple of chaps left) so I can start a new story that has been plaguing my mind. It'll be an Olicity story, it'll start on season one and it'll be AU (at least when it comes to Felicity's background). I guess that's it. Please, review and let me know what you think!

The week flew by and everyone in Team Arrow decided to focus on their day work and taking time off from their nightly activities to reflect on what they expected of the Team. Although Felcity still had to work closely with Oliver and Diggle she tried to avoid talking to them as much as she could, filling Oliver's schedule with meetings, preferably somewhere other than the office so Diggle had to take him. She wasn't avoiding them because she was mad or anything like that; she just needed some time to herself since she had been working the whole day and most nights closely with Oliver and Dig. She did consider them her family, along with Roy, but sometimes you need vacation from family too. And she really was enjoying her "sort of" vacation.

She spent her days at the office, doing her usual boring work, and then she spent every night with Bruce either at her home or his hotel. She was pleasantly surprised to discover that Bruce really wasn't the party animal his playboy role seemed to be and he was more than happy to spend their time together just the two of them.

She was also happy to find out that he knew how to cook - way better than her - and that he didn't mind watching series marathons with her or listen to her ramble about technology. Actually, he was quite interested in her thoughts on technology and could hold his own on the topic.

Their time together was spent learning more about each other and having fun together. Of course they would talk about him being Batman and not surprisingly he wasn't very comfortable talking about the time he was away doing who knows what but he didn't shut her out when she brushed the subject. Instead he took her hand in his, nestled his head at the base of her neck and told her there was a lot of anger and pain in him when he decided to go away and he grew up a lot during his journey, even if it wasn't always easy. She didn't bring up the subject again but the way he talked to her made it clear that he was willing to open up with time.

On Wednesday Bruce had brought up the charity ball and asked her if she was sure she would be comfortable going to with him, which led her to ramble about never being comfortable in events that held the cities elite and not being mad that he wasn't sure about taking her since she would probably say something inappropriate. After a few minutes listening to her talk he decided to interrupt to tell her he wanted her to go with him and that he was just nervous about scaring her away with the media and the city's "elite" who would be quite mean and petty.

With a breath of relief she told him she would be just fine if he was by her side and that she had already bought a dress for the event so now she had to go. She didn't think he needed to know that she had actually bought three dresses so she would have some options to choose from if she changed in the last minute.

The days blurred into one another and before she realized it was already Friday.

Felicity was putting on her earring in front of the mirror when there was a knock on the door. Checking the time on her phone she smiled realizing Bruce was ten minutes late as she had asked him to be. Putting her phone on her purse she went to living room and opened the door for him.

Bruce started at her in stunned silence. After half a minute she started to panic and looked down at herself before looking back at him, "Is it too much? I wanted to wear something simple so I wouldn't call too much attention to myself but then I thought it would look bad on you to take a date that didn't fit in with the other guests and I didn't want you to feel embarrassed about taking me to this thing. And this dress has a simple cut and I think it is elegant and at the same time a little sexy. And it's also golden so it's a little shiny... which now I'm not sure was a good idea."

"You look stunning."

She looked at him still doubtful, "Are you sure? I have another couple of dresses on my closet as plan B. If you think this is too much for the ball I could change; it would take me two minutes. Okay, maybe five."

He stepped closer to her, put a hand on her waist and kissed her softly, "The dress is perfect and you are amazing. I would love to kiss you properly but I'm guessing you'd get mad that I messed up your lipstick. Though we could always forget about the ball and just go inside so I can ravish you."

She smiled widely at him, "Okay." Then she frowned and stepped back, "I mean, no. Okay that you liked the dress. But you're right, I would get angry if you messed up my make up. So we should probably go before I decide that going to a charity ball is overrated and take you up on that last offer," she said as she stepped out of her apartment, closing the door behind her and locking it.

He chuckled, "If you insist."

Half an hour later Bruce was guiding Felicity to the bar with a hand in the small of her back while politely smiling to the people who greeted him on their way. Once in the bar he sat her in one of the booths and asked two glasses of wine to the bartender.

"Hey, take a deep breath. Are you alright?" he asked her, with his hand on her shoulders.

She slowly breathed out and looked at him with a nervous smile, "That was intense, huh?"

He sat in front of her and smiled at her reassuringly, "Yeah, that was intense. The press usually is but tonight they were more than usual. I didn't expect there to be these many reporters and photographers. I'm sorry."

She shook her head in dismissal, "It's not your fault; I'm just not comfortable with all that."

"No one ever is. Champagne?" he offered her and she nodded. He turned to the bartender, "Two flutes of champagne, please."

He rest a hand in the small of her back and whispered quietly, "At lease now that we are here we should be relatively safe. There are always a few reporters mixed in with guests trying to get something but we can just sit on our table and pretend to be somewhere else."

She smiled at him gratefully but asked, "Don't you have to mingle? After all, I thought that's why you came."

"Actually, I came because it's good for the company when I appear in one of these functions. For some reason stocks tend to rise when my picture is on the paper," he paused. "Also, I thought it was about time we went out in public like this."

"I thought you didn't care much about that."

The bartender handed them their flutes and Bruce guided her to their table before shrugging, "I don't enjoy being gossiped about or having my personal life in the papers but I want people to take our relationship seriously and for that to happen this was necessary."

She bit her lip and looked at the table, happy he was as serious about her as she was about him, "If we're pretending to be somewhere else, will there be dance involved tonight?"

He took her hand in his, "If that's what you want."

After another hour of pretending to be on a dinner date sipping expensive champagne and talking about themselves, Felicity excused herself to the ladies' room. She was reapplying some lipstick in front of the mirror when a short woman with dark hair entered the women's restroom and started to fix her hair next to her.

She looked at Felicity through the mirror and smiled, "I love the color of your lipstick, it goes well with the color of your dress."

"Oh, thanks. I was really unsure about wearing blood red lipstick with a golden dress. I mean, I didn't want to call too much attention, but at the same time I really like this color."
"You did the right thing, this color looks good on you," she paused and turned a little towards Felicity, "I'm Laura Jones, by the way."

"Felicity Smoak," she smiled.

"Oh, you're Bruce Wayne's date, right?"

Felicity straightened up and frowned a little, "Uhm.. right."

"So... how long have you known each other?" the woman asked casually.

The blonde tilted her head to the side and answered equally casually, "Not that long."

"I'm sorry, where are my manners? Asking about your date like this... It's just he is so handsome; he was voted most eligible bachelor in the country for four years in a row, you know? That's how long he's been back from who knows where."

"Oh... actually, I didn't know."

"He's such a mystery! And charming, too; not to mention successful. Any woman would be lucky to call him boyfriend."

"I guess... yeah. He is pretty amazing," Felicity answered with a far off look, then shook her head, "I mean, not that I'm saying I call him boyfriend. After all, who calls their boyfriend "boyfriend"? Not that I'm saying he's my boyfriend."

The other woman looked at her with a smile like the cat that ate the canary, "Are you saying he isn't?"

Felicity looked at her like a deer caught in the headlights, "Well-" she started but couldn't finish her sentence.

The other woman's smile widened, "It was nice meeting you, Felicity," she said before leaving the restroom.

And all Felicity could think was, "What the hell just happened?"

Some time later Felicity and Bruce found themselves standing near the bar talking to a couple Bruce had introduced her to. Mark and Rachel worked on the board of different companies but both were obviously successful and thankfully nice to talk to. The conversation focused mainly on the gala they were attending and other charities they donated to or were involved with. Apparently they all not only donated huge amounts of money every year but Bruce had created a foundation to help children in need. Of course she had been proud when Mark asked Bruce how his foundation was doing but after half an hour standing in six inch heels she was ready to call it a night and go home.

Bruce probably noticed how she shifter her weight from on leg to another and tried to stifle a yawn because he smoothly wrapped up the conversation and politely told the couple they were exhausted and should be heading home. They said their goodbyes and she smiled at him grateful as they walked to the entrance but before they could leave the main room Oliver stepped in front of them.

"Felicity, what a surprise to see you here," he said in a tone that showed he was anything but happy as he looked only at Felicity, ignoring Bruce.

She smiled tightly and leaned against the man by her side, "Bruce invited me."

Oliver stared at her for another second before turning his attention to the man that had his arm around her, "Bruce, I thought you had already left town."

"Oliver," Bruce nodded in greeting, "I found a reason to stay a little longer."

Oliver's eyes hardened, "But you're going back to Gothan, right? And soon, I imagine. After all your company is in Gotham, your whole life is there."

Bruce tensed besides Felicity. "I will have to go back eventually. But so many things can happen between now and then," he replied icily.

Oliver's eyes narrowed and his posture became aggressive, "I hope you don't think you can steal my executive assistant, Bruce. She's not on the market."

Felicity purses her lips angrily at Oliver's possessive comment but Bruce seemed to be indifferent to Oliver's threatening tone.

"I'd love to steal her away for more reasons than one. But if you're talking about her job, it seems to me she's underappreciated in her current position when she is so accomplished."

Oliver glared, "She is in that position because I need her by my side; she knows she is invaluable to me."

"Uhm... actually she doesn't," Felicity cut in annoyed at their pissing contest. "Anyway, we're not here to talk business. This is a charity ball and we're leaving. So, good night, Oliver, I'll see you Monday," she said, grabbing Bruce's arm and leading him towards the exit.

"Felicity-" Oliver called her, turning around to follow them.

She stopped and looked at him. "Yes, Oliver?" he asked politely but it was obvious she was angry at the way he was behaving.

"I just wanted-" he paused, not sure how to continue, "I hope you know how important you're to the company," he finally said, hiding his hands in his pockets.

Felicity's shoulders dropped and she realized she wasn't really disappointed with him because, honestly, she hadn't expected him to say anything more than that. She smiled at him condescendingly, "Don't worry, I know my role is important to the company and to the our mission... as a company."

He stepped forward, "I didn't mean-" he started but she cut him off.

"Good night, Oliver," she told him and turned around with Bruce, not looking back as they left the party together.

The next morning Felicity woke up to something tickling her neck just to realize it was Bruce nuzzling it. She chuckled in a very girly way and commented with turning around, "A girl could get used to waking up like this."

He kissed the back of her neck, "If you want, you can have this every morning."

She froze and carefully looked back at him, "Bruce... we haven't really talked about it. I know last night Oliver was a little..."

"Jealous?" he offered.

"Overbearing. But that's no reason to jump the gun and try to decide something so important just to rub it in his face."

"That's not why I said it," he assured.

She rolled her eyes, "Maybe not entirely but you probably wouldn't choose this morning to bring up the subject either if we hadn't bumped into him last night."

Before he could say anything Felicity's phone beeped announcing she had received a text. She put on her glasses before grabbed her phone from her nightstand and reading the short message from Roy, "Hey Blondie, have you seen this yet?" he asked, sending her a link.

She furrowed her eyebrows before pressing on the link that directed her to article on a newspaper.

"Oh my God!" she gasped and Bruce sat up to see what had the woman besides him turning pale.

He read the article's title that promises a exclusive interview with the mysterious blonde who has been seen with Bruce during his stay in Starling.

He looked at her surprised, "You gave an interview?"

She shook her head forcefully, "No, I swear I didn't."

"So you didn't speak with this Laura Jones?"

"Well, yeah, I talked to her," she started but then tries to defend herself, "But we were in the ladies room and she complimented my choice on lipstick. She didn't say she was a reporter!"

He laughed a little but stopped when he saw she was truly upset.

"It's okay, baby. I told you there would be some reporters mixed with guests; the good ones always find a way to get an invitation. I should have told you they wouldn't present themselves as reporters before talking to you."

She glances at Bruce from the corner of her eye and let her shoulders drop, "I was naive, right? I should have known they wouldn't tell me they were trying to get information out of me before trying to get information out of me. It just was unexpected... She said the color of my lipstick went well with the color of my dress and... well... I wasn't feeling all that confident last night so it was nice of her to compliment... or not. And then she started telling me how you were voted most eligible bachelor in the country four years in a row and I just got distracted!"

He couldn't help but laugh again, "You looked amazing last night; though I prefer what you are wearing now."

She rolled her eyes and just knew he was checking out her tight black cotton camisette with thin straps and matching panties.

"This is a disaster," she groaned, burying her face on his chest.

He took her phone from her hand and she looked up at him, questioning. "We should read the article to see what she is saying. If it's something that's not true or that you haven't said we can ask the papers to make a retreat and if it's too out of line we can even sue," he explained before he started reading the article.

Felicity decided she was too embarrassed to read the article with him and chose to keep her head resting on his chest while he hummed as he read.

"What did she say?"

"She started with a somewhat long introduction of me, then wrote a paragraph about your accomplishments and current position in Queen Consolidated. Now I'm starting to read what you told her."

"Allegedly!"

She didn't look up but she could tell he was grinning, "Of course." He paused for a second and then slowly asked, "Did you by any chance confirmed or denied that we were boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Oh, no!" she sat up quickly, "What did she say?"

At her reaction he knows the answer, "So, did you say I'm your boyfriend or not?"

Her stomach dropped and if a few minutes ago she thought she wanted to hack that reporter's computer change all her files names, now she wanted to corrupt those files.

"To be honest, I'm not completely sure," she started and he raised an eyebrow. She shrugged, "She made me nervous. I said that I wouldn't say you were my boyfriend and then she asked if you weren't then, but I just couldn't bring myself to say 'yes'. But I couldn't say no either, because, well, we haven't talked about it." She looked away before dragging her eyes back to him, "So, what did she say?"

Bruce grinned, "She quoted you saying, "I don't call him my boyfriend. After all, who calls their boyfriend "boyfriend"?" Did you say that?" he asked, though they both knew it sounded exactly like her.

She pulled at the hem of her camisette, "Something very close to it."

He grinned, "If the press not so subtly told the world we are boyfriend and girlfriend then it must be true. I guess it is official."

She narrowed her eyes at him but smile genuinely, "I guess it is." She paused for a moment before reaching up to him, "You know, if you intend to stay in my life long term, then we have to tell the Team you're Batman. I can't keep lying to them, even if it's by omission. And it's only fair since you know who Team Arrow is."

Bruce sighed, "Okay, if you feel that way..."

She threw her hands around him hugging him thankfully, "Thank you. I know this is not easy to you but it's important to me."

"So, when are we gonna do this?" he asked and she disentangled herself to look at him.

"Actually, I think it would be better if I told them by myself. Of course we can all meet afterwards but I think they will take it be better coming from me, alone."

By the expression on his face Felicity knew he didn't like the idea but after a moment of hesitation he agreed, "You know your team better, if you think that's the best way you're probably right."

She kissed him, grateful he was trusting her judgement and letting her share his secret with Team Arrow. "I'll tell them tomorrow."

He wrapped his arms around her and grinned, "Good. Then we have another day to spend in your place just the two of us."

Please, review!