It's been a week, I've gotten a haircut courtesy of Alfred, and the only thing I could think about was Richard. I'd been tapping my pen on my desk for about an hour just thinking of him. "Here." Dad slammed a stack of papers on my desk, taking me away from my dreamworld. "These need to be filed and stored in the archives." I sighed. Dad had made me his secretary because he thought that I needed a real job other than at the bar. "And I want no visitors today." Those were his last words before he left me alone with this three feet tall stack of papers.

By noon I was already two thirds done with the work when my door opened behind me. "Sorry, Mr. Wayne isn't allowing any visitors today." I sighed. "Probably jacking off to how much money he's earned this semester." I mumbled.

"Kitty you shouldn't say such naughty things." I turned at the sound of the familiar voice. "Richard?" Yep, the smirk on that face was unmistakable. It was Richard. "Hey Kitty. I thought you worked in Bludhaven." I fumbled around with some papers, not meeting his eyes. "I do, but my father thought that a day job would improve my social abilities." I turned to put the papers I had in their respective cream colored folders. "So, why are you here?" I asked.

"Well, I was here to see Bruce." I heard him step closer. "But I guess I'll just take you instead." I jumped at the feeling of his breath on my neck and lost my grip on some of the papers. "I can't do that. I have to finish this work." I said, bending down to retrieve the fallen papers. "Oh come on. You can't just stay here all day. Come on, tell Bruce you're going on a break and have lunch with me." I sighed, putting the papers in a folder then on my desk. It was about time for my lunch break, but that doesn't excuse his weird behavior. "Why are you doing this?"

"How else am I going to get you to kiss me?" I whipped around to look at Richard, that stupid smirk still covering his face. He shrugged. "You said that you never kiss on a first date and you also said that the ball wasn't a date. So, how am I going to kiss you if we don't even go on a first date?" I sighed.

"If I say yes, hypothetically, where would we go?" I crossed my arms and looked him up and down. He was wearing a button up, white shirt. A navy blue blazer with matching pants and black dress shoes.

"I was thinking ice cream and then a walk in the park." He said, looking me up and down. "Also, you look lovely in that outfit." I rolled my eyes. I was wearing a black pencil skirt and a white button down blouse. I've worn better. "I'm only saying yes because I want to get out of this office." Richard smiled. "Then after you my lady." He said, opening the door for me. "I'm not your lady." I said, pointing a finger at him as I exited my office.

"Not yet." I heard him chuckle. I rolled my eyes as an embarrassed smile danced on my lips. "So what's your little ice cream shop called?" I asked as he pushed the ground floor button on the elevator. "Mr. Freezies' Ice Cream Emporium." He said.

"And how are we getting there? No wait, where is it? I've never heard of it before, and I like to believe I've been to every ice cream joint in the city."

"One, we're walking and two, it just opened up a few days ago." He said as we stepped off the elevator and into the lobby. I made the the OH face and said, "So, while we're walking may I ask why you were going to see Mr. Bruce?" I asked, pushing the door open and leavening the golden gates that was the Wayne building. "I was going to compare notes on something that's not really all that important." I sighed. "Fine. Don't tell me. I wasn't that interested anyways." I turned my head away like I was actually hurt by his words. "Hey, don't be mad. It's just something between Bruce and I. Besides, you see like the type of girl who probably wouldn't find it interesting anyways." I shrugged. "I might not. But you shouldn't judge a girl by where she works or how she dresses." I gave a small laugh. "I'll keep that in mind for next time." Richard smirked. "Oh so you've already planned a next time, have you?" I poked his chest and he pretend to stumble. "Ow. You poked my heart." He said in a baby voice. "Sure, now would you like to tell me which why we're going?" I said as we stood on the corner of the street. "Just follow me." Richard said, taking my hand. My heart fluttered a bit when he did this because no one has ever been this straightforward with me since well... Dick.

"Tada!" Richard declared as we skidded to a halt in front of the ice cream shop. It was brightly colored and it had a huge line in front of it. "How are we supposed to get in if the line is so long?" I asked, but Richard just winked at me and started dragging me to the front of the line, despite my protests. "Hey, Megan!" Richard said, looking at the girl behind the front counter and I gasped. "Megan?!" It was her. Really her. Megan Morose, my best friend. "Kitty?!" We just stared at each other till Richard spoke up. "You guys know each other?"

"Yeah," I said. "My father and her uncle are good friends. We spent a lot of time together." I giggled. "It's been a long time. How have you been?"

"I've been good. Are you two here for the ice cream?" She asked. I nodded. "Richard here is taking me on a date." I announced, patting his arm at his names. "Oh, so, follow me and I'll take you to your seats." She took two menus and we followed closely behind her. "Here ya go. Your server will be with you shortly." She smiled and left Richard and I alone. "So how do you know Megan?" I asked, leaning on the table. "I've known her since I was thirteen years old." He said, twirling his right index finger on the table, not meeting my gaze. "Really? So have I. It's getting weirder that we haven't met before the party." I smiled brightly as our waiter came over. "I'm Greg." He said gesturing to his name tag. "I'll be your waiter today." His eyes trailed over my in a way that made me cross my arms over my chest. He frowned and Richard cleared his throat. "I think I'll have two scoops of Apricot Ice cream with some hot fudge on top in a bowl."

"And I'd like the Oreo ice cream on a cone, please." I said, barely making eye contact with Greg. "Sure thing doll." I flinched slightly when he called me doll. When he left Richard said, "Hey, you okay?" He placed his hand outstretched to me, almost asking me to take it, and I sighed as I did. "Yeah, it's just that I have bad memories of people calling me DOLL." I emphasized doll in a nasty tone. I turned towards the nearest TV that had subtitles.

"And in other news, the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker, recently escaped Arkham Asylum." Speak of the devil. I thought as I looked at my left hip. "Citizens are warned and should take caution." Richard whistled. "Man, I forgot how crazy Gotham could be." I tried to laugh off my uneasiness to say, "Yeah. But it's not so bad. Where there's a villain there's always a hero." Richard smiled at me and I felt a striking flutter go through my heart. "At least that's what my father always says." I could feel a blush creep onto my face as I noticed Richard was still holding my hand. "Well," I pulled my hand away from his and placed both hands in my lap. "How about you? What was your growing up situation like?" I asked, pushing the conversation onto him. "I lost my parents when I was young and then I became a ward to--"

"Here you are." Greg said, handing me my cone and practically dropping Richard's ice cream on the table. "I added a cherry on the house." Greg said, giving me a sickening wink. I rolled my eyes and started to lick the dripping ice cream off the cone as I watched Greg leave again. "What a creep." Richard said, narrowing his eyes in Greg's general direction. "Yeah, but at least I got a free cherry out of it." I said, plucking of the cherry the stem then I placed the cherry stem on my tongue.

In less than ten seconds I had the stem tied and on my napkin. I sighed. "So," I looked up at Richard's astonished face. "How's your ice cream?" I asked, swirling my tongue around the sides off the cone. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't teasing Richard a little bit. "It's good." He said, hurrying a scoop into his mouth. I laughed and stood. "Come on, if we're going to go for that walk in the park, we'd better leave now." I said, waiting for Richard to stand up too.

When he did he also pulled out his wallet to place the money on the table. "Alright. Let's blow this Popsicle stand." Richard said, smirking a little. "Pun intended." I rolled my eyes and started for the front, Richard stepping in toe with me.

"Bye Megan!" I call as we head towards the small park across the street. "I've got fifteen minutes." I said, checking my watch. "So lead on MacDuff." I took another lick of my ice cream that was almost gone at this point and smirked as I watched Richard out of the corners of my eye. "See something you like?" I asked as we started to walk the stone path of the park.

"Maybe." He said, returning my smirk. We stared at each other until I say, "So, if you're going to make me, 'your lady', as you put it, why don't you ask me a question, then I'll ask you one, and we'll go from there."

"Alright, what was your school life like?" He asked. I nearly choked on my ice cream. "Okay, well, I was home schooled up until ninth grade, spent practically half a year in school, moved and became home schooled again. And I've only ever stepped on a college campus for an art class I do for fun." I said, pretending it was no big deal and waiting for the question I always love answering. "What kind of art class?" There it was. "Life Drawing." I said, licking a finger that had some cream on it making a nice popping noise when it left my lips. Richard made a strange face. "You mean you sit in a room and draw naked people?" I gave him an innocent smile. "No." I took a long lick of my ice cream. "I'm a model." I say, and I could practically see the dirty images racing through his head. "But I've never been drawn naked." I saw him give a sigh, almost in relief.

"Okay, my turn to ask a question." I took a bite out of my cone. "Besides being a man on the edge by day, what else do you do?"

"A man on the what?" He asked. I laughed. "A police officer." Richard blushed. "Oh, after work I usually just go home and work on some other case. It's actually been a while since I've done anything fun. Like eat ice cream with a pretty girl. What about you?"

"I usually just do that art class. And, like this weekend, I'll pick up the boys and we'll spend the weekend together." I could see Richard tense up. "You have sons?" When he asked this I could feel some ice cream go up my nose as I started laughing. "God no! I take care of my brothers every other weekend for my father. They were at the party but I never introduced you to them. Tim's almost seventeen and Damian's ten." I felt my hip buzz and noticed that my break was up. "We'd better head back." I said, throwing the last bit of my cone to the birds. "Let's go."

Richard's POV

'Dick!' Megan's voice rung in my head as Kitty and I sat in the ice cream shop. 'Dick! Do you have any idea on who you are talking to?'

'Um, my potential next girlfriend?' I answered her and I could almost hear her face palm. 'No! That's Ruby!' I froze for a moment as I looked at the girl in front of me. "So how do you know Megan?" She asked, leaning on the table. "I've known her since I was thirteen years old." I said, twirling his right index finger on the table, not meeting my gaze. "Really? So have I. It's weird we haven't met before the party." Kitty smiled brightly. 'Gee what a coincidence huh Dick?' Megan's voice said. Our waiter's voice called me back to reality when he said, "I'm Greg." He said gesturing to his name tag. "I'll be your waiter today." Kitty crossed her arms over her chest. Greg frowned and I cleared his throat. "I think I'll have two scoops of Apricot Ice cream with some hot fudge on top in a bowl." I said.

"And I'd like the Oreo ice cream on a cone, please." Kitty said, barely making eye contact with Greg. "Sure thing doll." I could see Kitty flinch slightly when he called her doll. When he left I asked, "Hey, you okay?" I outstretched my hand to her and she sighed as she took it. "Yeah, just that I have bad memories of people calling me DOLL." She emphasized doll in a nasty tone. 'Gee. Who else hates being called doll that we know?'

'Megan. I get it. You think she's Ruby. But she's not.' I looked around to look for Megan to give her a glare when my eyes fell on a TV.

"And in other news, the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker, recently escaped Arkham Asylum. Citizens are warned and should take caution." I whistled. "Man, I forgot how crazy Gotham could be." I said. Kitty laughed. "Yeah. But it's not so bad. Where there's a villain there's always a hero." I smiled at her and she blushed. "At least that's what my father always says." She finished.

"Well," She pulled her hand away and placed both hands in her lap. "How about you? What was your growing up situation like?" She asked. 'Go on mention Bruce. I dare you.' I mentally growled at her before saying, "I lost my parents when I was young and then I became a ward to--"

"Here you are." Greg said, cutting me off before practically dropping my ice cream on the table. "I added a cherry on the house." Greg said, giving Kitty a sickening wink. She just rolled her eyes and started to lick the dripping ice cream off the cone as we watched Greg leave again. "What a creep." I said, narrowing my eyes in Greg's general direction. "Yeah, but at least I got a free cherry out of it." She said, plucking of the cherry the stem to eat it, and when it was gone she placed the stem on her tongue.

In less than ten seconds she had the stem tied and on her napkin. She sighed. "So," I looked at her. Astonished. "How's your ice cream?" She asked, swirling her tongue around the sides off the cone. "It's good." I said, hurrying a scoop into his mouth. She laughed and stood. "Come on, if we're going to go for that walk in the park, we'd better leave now." She said, waiting for me to stand up too.

When I did I pulled out his wallet to place the money on the table. "Alright. Let's blow this Popsicle stand." I said, smirking a little. "Pun intended." She rolled eyes eyes and started for the front.

"Bye Megan!" She call as we head towards the small park across the street. "I've got fifteen minutes." She said, checking my watch. "So lead on MacDuff." She took another lick of her ice cream that was almost gone at this point and I felt a little hot in my... Everywhere. "See something you like?" She asked as we started to walk the stone path of the park.

"Maybe." I said, giving a smirk. We stared at each other until Kitty said, "So, if you're going to make me 'your lady' as you put it, why don't you ask me a question, then I'll ask you one, and we'll go from there."

'Oh! Ask her about her school life!' Megan's voice popping into my head again.

"Alright, what was your school life like?" I asked. Kitty nearly choked on her ice cream. "Okay, well, I was home schooled up until ninth grade, spent practically half a year in school, moved and became home schooled again. And I've only ever stepped on a college campus for an art class I do for fun." She said nonchalantly. "What kind of art class?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "Life Drawing." She said, licking a finger that had some cream on it making a nice popping noise when it left her lips. I made a strange face. "You mean you sit in a room and draw naked people?" She gave an innocent smile. "No." She took a long lick of her ice cream. "I'm a model." She said. All I could picture was her naked in various poses. 'Stop thinking with your little head Dick and focus!'

'I get it Meg. Stop butting into my head.'

'Fine!'

"But I've never been drawn naked." She said and I give a sigh, in relief. "Okay, my turn to ask a question." She took a bite out of her cone. "Besides being a man on the edge by day, what else do you do?"

"A man on the what?" I asked and she laughed. "A police officer." I blushed. "Oh, after work I usually just go home and work on some other case. It's actually been a while since I've done anything fun. What about you?" I said, pushing the conversation onto her.

"I usually just do that art class. And, like this weekend, I'll pick up the boys and we'll spend the weekend together." I tense up. "You have sons?" I asked and she started laughing. "God no! I take care of my brothers every other weekend for my father. They were at the party but I never introduced you to them. Tim's almost seventeen and Damian's ten."

'TOLD YOU! IT'S RUBY! WHO ELSE WOULD CONSIDER TIM AND DAMIAN BROTHERS?!' Megan's voice blared in my head. "We'd better head back." Kitty said as she threw the last bit of my cone to the birds. "Let's go."

I follow her back to the Wayne building, watching her fiddle around with her hair. Her hair was so pretty. It was shoulder length and practically in sausage curls. "Hey." Kitty's voice breaks my train of thought. "If you're still not so busy, do you think you could help me with my filling. Unless you've got something better to do." She twirled the tip of her raven hair around her finger. 'Oh! Say yes!' I glared at Megan through my head. "Sure. I'm off work today anyways." I said to Kitty, opening the door for her. "Cool. You can take the papers I'm done with to the archives and when you come back we'll get started on the rest."

Ruby's pov

I wiped away some sweat that had formed on my forehead. It was nearly closing and I just needed to get rid of this last bit of papers. As soon as Richard gets back I'll get changed and leave for the night. I rose oil bath sounds so good right now. I groaned in yearning to finally be home. "I'm back." Richard said. I nearly tackled him in trying to give him the last stack of papers. "Good. Take these! I'm leaving." I said, dashing to the changing room down the hall. I quickly changed into sweats and a hoodie. When I stepped out I bumped into Richard. "I'm sorry, but where are you going in such a hurry?" He asked, still holding the papers that would haunt my nightmares. "It's friday. I have to pick up the boys and get them home before I have to get to work." I said, squeezing past him. "Oh no! You're coming with me to file this and THEN you get to leave." Richard said playfully, grabbing my hood. "Let go!" I say, slipping from his grasp. "Fine. Move your fat body. We have a mission!" I declare running to the elevator, dragging him behind me.

Taking out my special key I turned it and thus created an express elevator. "Hold on." I say, gripping the side rail. "Hold on? Hold onto wa--" He was cut of my the sudden drop of the elevator. It slowed and I pulled a dizzy Richard to the archive room. Throwing open the door. I quickly filed the papers and pushed Richard back into the elevator, taking my key out. "Have a nice night Richard. You know where I am if you need to talk." I said, pressing the ground floor for him. As for me, I hard cored parkoured the stairs to the parking garage.

"Finally." I sighed as I put on my yellow kitty helmet and mounted Fury. "Time to get the boys." I said, taking off towards Wayne Manor.