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Entering Dick’s apartment – their apartment, now – eased the tension in Kori’s shoulders. She had been away too long. It was a welcome sight to see all the things that made the apartment theirs. Her weapons on the walls, Dick’s sugary cereal in the kitchen counter, her favorite blanket on the couch, one of Dick’s word puzzles on the coffee table.
She found Dick in their bedroom on their bed. He was on top of the covers, curled up around a teddy bear they’d bought last Valentine’s Day.
While she had accepted the strange, allegedly romantic holiday, Kori still couldn’t grasp the concept of stuffed toys, especially teddy bears. Bears were dangerous to normal humans. But Dick had declared that the toy reminded him of her. He’d somehow found a miniature Starfire costume for it and dubbed it Star-bear. Dick had an innate talent of switching between the strong, serious leader and her laidback, ridiculous human.
Sometimes she felt breathless from how much she loved him.
Kori on the edge of the bed and gently brushed hair away from his face, enjoying its softness. He woke slowly – a true sign of his trust in her. His eyes sleepily fluttered open, revealing his captivating blue eyes, so human yet ethereal. He leaned his cheek into her hand. “Kori?” he murmured.
“Yes,” Kori said. “I missed you.”
Dick eyes closed again. “Me too.” Then he tensed. “Kori?”
He scrambled up and then cursed, “Fuck.” He grabbed at his ribs and collapsed back on the bed. “Kori, are you early? Shit, what time is it? I thought I set an alarm.”
“You are hurt,” Kori said, alarmed. Dick rarely swore so much concerning her further.
He offered her a fake smile. “It’s nothing. Just some bruised-” Kori pressed down lightly on his ribs. “Shit.”
“Have you received medical attention?” she asked.
She lifted up his shirt. He grabbed her hands, trying to stop her, but she was having none of that. Under his shirt, there were thick bandages wrapping his torso.
“Just a few bruised ribs?” she said skeptically.
Dick winced. “Maybe a few cracks too.”
“Dick,” she said softly. “I thought we were past downplaying injuries.”
He squirmed under her sad gaze. “Sorry, I just – I wanted tonight to be special, and then I had to go mess everything up by falling off a balcony.”
Her eyes went wide. “You fell?”
“Only two stories,” he said quickly, as if that would reassure her. “Leslie cleared me to come home. I’m fine, really.”
Kori sighed and leaned down to kiss her sweet, fragile human’s forehead. “I worry.”
“I’m sorry, babe,” he said with a sheepish smile. “Forgive me for being a reckless idiot?”
“Always,” she said. “You should rest now. I should not have woken you.”
“It’s fine. I have to-” He struggled to get up, and she firmly held him down.
“No,” she said. “You need to heal.”
“Leslie said I should take it easy, not sleep all evening,” he argued. “I planned tonight out. I didn’t mean to sleep so long, but if you give me a minute, I could-”
“Dick,” Kori said.
“Nothing too strenuous. I have everything and-”
“Dick.”
“Really, I won’t even use the ladder-”
“Dick.”
He finally shut up. She gently carded her fingers through his hair. “I suggest a compromise. I can do the tonight’s preparations, while you instruct me from a comfortable chair.”
“But this was something special for you,” Dick said miserably. “I can’t make you do all the work.”
“Your intentions are more than enough to make tonight special,” she said.
“…Alright,” Dick said. “Help me to the kitchen?”
“Do you wish to bring Star-bear?” she asked.
He glanced at the stuffed toy still tucked under his arm. “Nah. I have the real thing now. She’s much better.”
“Charmer,” Kori said, fond.
Kori ended up carrying him to the living room. Unlike most of the men she sometimes had to carry to safety, Dick didn’t complain. He rested his head on her shoulder and relaxed in her arms. After she placed him carefully into an armchair, he said, “I really missed you, Kor.”
“And I, you,” she said. She became lost in his eyes and warm smile for a long moment. A nearby car alarm broke them from their reverie. “Now, what would you like me to do? I am yours to command.”
“A princess, at my beck and call? I’m honored,” Dick teased. “There’s a box of stuff in the dining room. Are you going to let me eat at the table, or am I banished to the couch?”
“Banished,” she said.
He clutched his chest dramatically. “The injustice!” He grinned when she laughed. “In that case, could you bring it over here?”
The box was large and light, spurring her curiosity. She set it on the coffee table and lifted the lid. Inside, there was a large amount of diverse decorations. Lights, a tablecloth, fancy place settings, candles, artificial flower petals, a bottle of something sparkly, wine glasses…
“This is…a lot,” she said.
“I wanted tonight to be special,” Dick said.
His sincerity made her heart flutter, but then her attention was captured by the ceiling lights in the box. She took them out. They were lovely, sparkling miniature stars.
“They reminded me of you,” Dick said. “Beautiful and bright.”
“Were you planning on hanging them yourself?” Kori said.
“…I was thinking about it,” Dick admitted.
“Dick,” she said, exasperated.
“I would’ve dragged Jason in to help me, I swear,” he said defensively. “I didn’t mean to sleep the day away.”
“It’s good that I returned now,” she said, flying up to hang the lights. “You require constant supervision.”
“You sound like Bruce,” Dick said. “But I don’t mind it when you supervise me.”
She laughed. “We’ll see.”
With Dick’s instructions, it took Kori a half hour to prepare the room. She shuddered to think of Dick doing this by himself with his injuries, though she was touched by his attempted gesture.
In the fridge, Dick had stored her favorite mustard chicken dish, along with sides. There was chocolate cake for dessert. “Did you…make this?” she said skeptically.
“I watched Alfred make it,” Dick said. “I bought the ingredients.”
“Thank him for me,” Kori said, as she dished up the food.
They ate under the artificial star lights on their worn, leather couch. The coffee table was nicely decorated with Dick’s supplies. The candles hadn’t quite fit without being a fire hazard, so Kori had placed them on the TV stand.
“Not quite what I planned, but I hope it’s still romantic, even though you did most of the work?” Dick murmured, after they had finished desert.
He was laying the couch with his head on her lap. His eyes were closed as she gently traced the scars on his bare back. Dick often turned to mush under her hands. The pain killers she insisted that he take helped.
Most people thought that Dick and Kori shared intimacy through passionate, lustful entanglements. But really, their moments of intimacy were like this – soft and untouchably tender.
“Your company is all I could ever ask for,” Kori said. “Your thoughtfulness is a wonderful addition, my love.”
“Ditto,” Dick said, smiling against her thigh.
She leaned down and kissed the top of his head. “Thank you. You’re more than I deserve.”
“You deserve the world,” Dick insisted.
He slowly shifted onto his back so that he could stare earnestly up at her eyes. She placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat through the bandages. “Then it is good that you are my world,” she said.
Kori often felt breathless from how much she loved him. As Dick’s breath caught at her words, pure adoration on his face, she was warmed to see that she could take his breath away as well.