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Growing up as royalty on Tamaran Kory was burdened the minute she was born. Her destiny was to maintain the Kingdom her ancestors built from scratch, that her parents maintained and she would soon inherit. Their family was held together by love of course, but also that shared responsibility of keeping the house of Tykayl balanced. Her interest in keeping things in order was because she wanted her people and her family safe. Even with that vague feeling that something was missing she never pushed back against traditions. She learned everything she could. Adopted the warmth of her mother, the strength of her father, and the quick wit of her sister so she could be the best of the best. So if anyone threatened her kingdom they’d be up against someone they couldn’t dream of beating. But she wasn’t there when it all fell.
Earth was where Kory discovered freedom. Where she could bend the rules and challenge norms and be celebrated for it. She remembers the night Dick told her that he admired that about her. That he loved how confident she was in doing things even if no-one else agreed. She asked if he realized he was describing himself and he laughed. It was true though they were oddly similar in that way. She thinks that’s what she and Dick saw in each other at that motel all those months ago. Two people running from expectations doing what no-one wanted or approved of because they knew it was right. They always made a good team.
When they came to Gotham she was sure they’d clean the city up together the same way they did in San Fran. They had a sort of unspoken code that if one faltered the other would catch them. That’s what she was trying to do for Dick while he was off having his 3rd identity crisis, catch him until he found his footing. The problem was when she was having a crisis of her own he wasn’t there . It hurt, and for the first time in her life she felt like she was watching something she intricately built crumble in her hands.
So when Dick gave her a half assed apology that morning she just accepted it. She’d accept anything it would take for them to finally go home. She wanted to go back to a place where her friends cared about her, back where they were all happy. She didn’t care about Dick’s romantic escapades so much as what it did to their family every time he had to alter his personality to have them.
She spent that whole day rushing everyone to pack up their things and of course the one person she hadn’t seen in hours was Dick. Checking her watch again she decides to go help him. She makes quick strides up the stairs and down the hall to his room. “Dick it’s time…” She exclaims as she shoves open the door only for the words to die in her throat. He’s there on the edge of his bed holding Babs hand. She pushes down the pang in her chest when she spots the roses just behind them and the bright smile on Dick’s face. She’s not so determined to get what she wants that she’d stand in the way of love even if she wishes…
She shakes the thought from her head and gives Babs a small smile before meeting Dick’s eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to intrude. Dick are you… are you staying?”
—----
~1 hour earlier~
Believe it or not Dick is painfully aware of every wrong move he’s made since Hank died. Gar, Conner, and Kom shrugged off his behavior completely. Donna was more concerned with helping Tim than holding him accountable and Rachel was hard to read in general since her return. Then there’s Kory. Kory had decided to be so forgiving that she blamed it all on his grief. As if none of it was his fault and they could wrap it all up with a pretty bow and move on…but that’s not fair. It was too easy, and not in the way things are usually easy with them, it was easy in a way that felt like she was accepting less than she deserved. It made his skin crawl.
The fact here was he wasn’t the only one grieving. He wasn’t the only one who lost a friend and no matter how hard it was he should have been here for them, for her. Kory he knows will always be there for him whether he deserves that loyalty or not and it pains him to admit that he took advantage of that. Or rather took it for granted. Either way the result is the same.
At the very least he can tell Rachel agrees it was too easy. He’s basing that entirely on the baleful look she gave him when he and Kory were hugging it out that morning. The entire exchange was no longer than 30 seconds which completely threw him off. The words ‘I’m sorry’ barely left his lips before Kory was pulling him into an embrace and handing out an excuse. Fair to assume Rachel was unimpressed with him and honestly he was unimpressed with himself.
That’s what led him to Michael’s Garden. What would be a charming little flower shop if not for the nosy judgmental florist. Apparently in order to buy a friend flowers you have to answer a few questions, and if it’s for a lady friend you have to answer 21 more, and if you accidentally let it slip that ‘yes you do think she’s beautiful’…
When he got back to the manor and saw his reflection in the glass panels along the front door he realized how crazy he looked. No wonder the florist laughed at him for insisting Kory was just a friend. Then kept laughing as he was paying and didn’t stop until he left the shop red faced. Long story short that well intentioned ‘quick trip’ to the florist is how he found himself stuffing 2 dozen red roses and a box of donuts into the waist of his pants and scaling the manor.
He will most certainly be adding this to his list of feats seeing how he managed to get inside without breaking his neck or the rose stems. He’s gently placing the donuts and roses on his dresser and is deciding what to do next when someone clears their throat behind him. Turning slowly he prays it’s not Donna and to his dismay it’s a much more awkward reveal. With a small sigh he decides to just rip the bandaid off. “Hey Babs.”
—----
~2 weeks prior~
Her father told her once that if you need to ask for love then it’s a love that doesn’t belong to you. Babs never really understood what he meant until now. She never really took his advice at all especially when it came to romance. For so long she blamed her parents divorce on his commitment to work and held that over his head for years. When he died she finally decided it was time to listen to him. She reevaluated the way she chose to fight crime and she took up the title with the intention of honoring his legacy. A man who gave up love to be a hero. She would rebuild Gotham without Batman’s help, without love, and without any distractions. Then Dick came to town.
When the ceiling burst above her desk all Babs could think was how did this happen again? The first time with Dick it was just a game. She wanted an out and he wanted a break from Batman’s rules and coldness. It was fun and exciting but wrong and she knew it, but she didn’t care. She thought that if they removed the aspect of breaking the rules there would still be them but there was nothing. All they had was the coincidence of their paths crossing and shared familiarity with the horrible oppression of Gotham.
This time around it wasn’t his boredom that did it. Starfire had literally blown a hole in her relationship. A hole clean through with the force of the sun it would appear. Babs would get one more chance to stand in her fathers shoes and choose love or her job. She needed the team to turn themselves in and Dick agreed under the condition they would get to explain themselves. What he wouldn’t say was what they would do if no-one believed them. So she asked him whether he would allow them to be locked away without a fight because trick or no trick they had in fact broken the law and put her integrity as Commissioner at risk. He looked her in the eye and firmly told her “no.”
—----
~Now~
“You climbed in through the window.” Babs states plainly.
“Yes.”
“And then pulled flowers out your pants.”
“I was trying to be stealthy.”
“I see.”
Dick closes the window and locks it securely for the last time. He then makes his way to the end of his bed and waits for her to join him.“I wasn’t expecting you here.” He admits when she’s in front of him. “I was going to stop by your office.”
“I know. I’m meant to be the last goodbye on your list. Mostly because you feel bad right?”
He can’t argue with that. He wasn’t upset to tell Bruce or Jason or Tim bye but Babs… he really screwed things up there. She could have lost her career maybe even her life because he was trying to be someone he clearly isn’t. Willing to harm his own family to get what he wanted and thought he needed. Trying so desperately to avenge Hank because he knows that’s what Hank would have wanted. He also remembers now that Hank may have punched him in the face for going about it this way. It’s probably weird to miss getting punched in the face by a friend…
“Dick? Dick. I lost you.” Again.
“Yeah you did.” He says blinking away his thoughts. “I’m sorry.”
Babs knows he’s sorry. He’s a good guy and he’s always sorry, but she also knows she’s not the one he’s afraid to lose. This time though she can accept it. “It’s okay.”
“I was thinking about Hank.” Dick admits “You would have liked him. He was such an ass.”
“Incredible eulogy.”
“Took me hours to write.”
“So.” Babs states simply nodding towards his dresser.
“Those are for Kory.”
Some fleeting nasty words about how she and Kory don’t deserve to be swapped back and forth slither through her mind but she keeps that to herself. Kory is smart, there’s no way she’d allow herself to be used. Besides she knew this entire time he was never staying in Gotham so there’s no point in arguing over it. “Okay” is all she says instead.
“Oh not like that!” Dick says in sudden realization. “I owe Kory a huge apology for leaving her to run things by herself. I mean I already said sorry but it was really lack luster and I thought women love flowers right? The florist he just misunderstood.”
“Sure.” Him and everyone else Babs muses inwardly . “ So you told him you let your friend down and he told you take 2 dozen roses and go get your girl.”
“Basically.” Dick says running a hand over his face and smiling sheepishly. “After he laughed in my face for 15 minutes.”
Babs shakes her head at his apparent selective dimwittedness. “Well why don’t we figure this mystery out. How did you describe her to him?”
“Why all the questions?” She only raises and eyebrow and waits. Dick huffs a bit but continues none the less “I just told him that she’s someone I trust with my life and whose always there for me. How I’m meant to be the same for her but didn’t this time despite the promises we made to each other. You know… because I neglected her.” He knows how strange it sounds the minute the words leave his mouth. How intimate.
“To date me. Did you mention that part?”
“No.” Dick says and tries not to wince at the sheer disappointment in her eyes.
“Just a hunch here. But I bet if you mentioned your girlfriend he may not have laughed in your face. Or , going by your description, maybe he would have assumed you were cheating on her.”
He frowns at that. He and Kory are just good friends now. They had something that is really hard to describe and, well he can’t say it ended badly, but it did end. Wasn’t his choice really but he wasn’t going to push things on Kory. If she didn’t want to be with him then he’d accept as much of her as she was willing to give. They just happened to have a really good friendship that sounded funny if you described it out loud. “That’s ridiculous.” He states quietly.
“You’re leaving me Dick!” Babs blurts out rather abruptly preventing him from coming up with some lie neither of them would believe.
There’s a long stretch of silence before he speaks. Waiting until she seems a bit less irritated by his short answers. The truth is he needed to go home. It really was that simple and there was no way around it. “I didn’t want to make things more complicated. Or give you the wrong idea.”
“I’m not a child.” Babs replies bluntly. Maybe that’s what he thought of her before. The first time, when he vanished without a trace.“You thought I assumed you would stay in Gotham for me or that I want you to?”
“Is that not what you want?” Dick asks sincerely wondering what she expected him to do.
Babs wants to be mad but honestly its sort of freeing reaching the end of the road again but being behind the steering wheel. She takes his hands in hers and explains with confidence. “I want to be happy. I want to be with someone who doesn’t have to ask me what I want. And I want the same for you Dick. Someone who understands you.”
“Dick it’s time…” Kory’s voice sounds suddenly from the doorway.
Babs watches Kory’s face go from annoyance to shock to barely concealed sadness in a matter of seconds.
“I’m sorry” Kory continues softly. “I didn’t mean to intrude. Dick are you… are you staying?”
Babs turns to look at Dick then and she can’t tell if he even heard what Kory said. His eyes light up like he’s seeing the sun for the first time and he’s so foolish he’d rather go blind than look away. But maybe the risk is the point. She finally understands.
“Do the right thing Dick.” Babs says as she moves out of his personal space and towards the door. She stops next to Kory and takes a deep breath before meeting her heartbroken gaze. “Kory.” She almost wants to tell her not to worry but knows it’s not up to her to sort this out. “Have a safe trip okay?”
Kory nods at her gratefully in return “Thank you Barbara.”
Dick watches Babs leave for possibly the last time but he knows this is how it was always going to be. Him and Kory. He doesn’t belong here.“Kory listen I have something to tell you…”
“It’s okay!” Kory says cutting him off and forcing a smile onto her face. “You know Donna is back now and we can co-lead…”
“Kory…” He tries but she’s pacing and rambling on refusing to meet his eyes.
“Donna and I make a good team it’s perfectly fine! And really I understand if you’re in love with someone then you should be with them. That makes sense and I wouldn’t want you to be unhappy. I really want you to be happy…”
“Kory stop!” She actually startles, which he feels bad about, but when she gets started she might not stop before everyone listening is dizzy. “I’m not staying in Gotham and the roses are for you.” He chuckles at the shocked look on her face. It’s rare to ever catch her not looking like she stepped off a magazine shoot. Not that shocked looks bad on her either. “The donuts are too actually. All your favorites.”
“Oh.” She smiles a bit embarrassed when he just stares at her clearly amused. “Well then ignore everything I just said.” She swallows the lump in her throat when he continues studying her. “What did you get me roses for?”
“At this point I’m not even sure.” He chuckles softly. “ I had specific intentions when I went to the florist.” He did , he really did. And then he found himself unable to convince the man that he wasn’t in love with Kory and here they are. “I wanted to apologize.”
Kory furrows her brows in confusion “You already did.”
He did and he meant it but it was too easy. She should have been mad and he should have said something else.. Something more. Something heartfelt so that she knew he would never let her down again. If she was anyone else she’d have walked out on him like Dawn or compared him to men she thought were better the way Babs often did but not Kory. She wanted him to stay in her life and now he wants to earn the right to do that. “It wasn’t enough.” He replies. Cause she could leave him and what the hell would he even do without her? Not just the team but in general what would he do? “None of this is enough for you.”
“Are we still talking about the apology?” Kory asks although she knows that’s not all it is. She contemplates it for a moment, walking over to him and comforting him. He seems so upset though he’s not really saying why, but maybe it’s time to just let him do it himself. Make a real choice.
Dick finally stands to his feet and walks up to her stopping when they are less than a foot apart. She hadn’t gotten any closer to him since she saw him with Babs and he wonders if it’s because she cares more than she let on. He wonders if he has the courage to say something she’ll react the way he wishes she did all those months ago when he asked her to get in the car. She has the look up a little to meet his eyes seeing how she decided not to wear heels for once and now she’s doing that thing she does when she’s nervous. Spinning that big gold ring on her finger over and over. All that gold would look gaudy on anyone else but not her. She could wear anything. He grabs a hold of that hand softly. “No I don’t think we are. There’s something else I want to say. ”
They are only inches apart now and Kory has to struggle not to stare at his mouth. The last time they were this close she was urging him to keep the faith until the other Titans returned. He didn’t listen of course and sometimes she wonders how things would have gone if she didn’t go with Faddei on that wild goose chase. At the time though she needed to save her people and she didn’t know if she’d ever be back. At the time she really wanted to kiss him goodbye and maybe she would have if he asked. “What else did you want to say?” She whispers.
A million things. Like how he thought of kissing her when they first met in the arcade and she had all that audacity. Or after she saved him from DeathStroke. Or how after Trigon digged in his mind and knew to use her death to push him over the edge he wanted to tell her he was sorry for running off to Donna. How he wanted to tell her what Trigon made him see and how he would have if she had just gotten in the car with him. How her leaving him when the team did made him completely give up because he missed her so much during those three months. How much he missed her since they landed here. “You’re my teammate and my friend but that’s not all. That’s never been all it was. That’s not what you are to me.”
Closer. Just a little closer. “What am I to you?” Kory asks closing her eyes and waiting for their lips to meet.
“You’re…”
“Guys!” Gar screams nearly sliding into the room in his haste.
Dick sighs his eyes closed just an inch away from finally kissing Kory again. How long has it been? “Gar” Dick responds.
“Oh whoops!” Gar says zeroing in on how close they are. “Ha! Ummm we’re waiting on you downstairs. Time to move on.” Gar says snatching the box of donuts off Dick’s dresser and walking backwards out the room.
“You don’t say.” Dick mumbles under his breath glowering at the teen as he disappears around the corner.
“Come on.” Kory says attempting to step away from him though he holds onto her hand and gives her a longing look. “Don’t pout.” She says kissing him on the cheek and pulling away while he’s distracted. “We can talk when we get home .”She grabs a rose on her way out sliding it into her purse as if for safe keeping.
Yeah that’s the word he was looking for. Home.