Chapter Text
Dick has been slowly pacing back and forth for the past twenty minutes, waiting for everyone to arrive. His body filled with both anxiety and excitement to finally share the news he’s been keeping to himself these past few weeks.
It’s been quite hard for him to hold it in for so long. For one thing, he’s a terrible liar. Despite his best efforts, he’s never been able to convince his friends and family of his lies. They see right through him. Always. Kory says it’s because he has a terrible poker face, likely due to wearing a domino mask for so many years of his life. Which he can’t help but agree with. As Nightwing, and previously Robin, he never has to worry about anyone calling his bluff from his expressions because half of his face is covered. And his voice alone is assertive enough for the common criminal to take seriously. Regular old Dick Grayson, on the other hand, just isn’t convincing enough.
There’s also the fact that he just hates keeping things from people. Especially, Kory. Ever since their minor dispute about visions and destinies almost two years ago, they made a promise to always be honest and upfront with each other no matter how difficult the subject. They’ve both stayed true to that, and it’s only strengthened their relationship and deepened the love they have for one another. And now, even though he’s kept this secret for a very good reason, a small trace of guilt lingers in his chest for keeping her in the dark.
Dick is taken out of his thoughts when he hears a gang of footsteps approach the training room. Donna, who had officially rejoined the team, leads the group into the room. They all gather around him, a mixture of confusion and suspicion on their faces. Which doesn’t surprise him. He had texted them all about an hour ago, right after Kory left the tower, saying they’d be having an emergency meeting at this time and attendance was absolutely mandatory. So, they all probably think something serious is going to be discussed. And that will happen. It just won’t be what they’re expecting.
“Thank you all for coming,” Dick says as they all settle into their places.
“Where’s Kory?” Rachel asks, looking around the large space.
“She won’t be joining us. But she is the reason I called you all here.”
“What did you do?” Tim inquires.
Dick’s brows furrow as he crosses his arms over his chest. “Why do you assume I did something?”
‘Well...because you’re you.” Donna interjects. A matter-of-fact tone to her voice.
“What does that—you know what, never mind. I didn’t do anything. Kory and I are fine. She’s not here because I treated her to a spa day today, okay? Now can we all settle down,” Dick says, annoyance already beginning to wash over him.
“Someone’s defensive,” Conner whispers to Krypto.
His attempt at discreetness is clearly unsuccessful when Dick shoots them both a dirty look. “As I was saying. I called you all here because of Kory. I need your help with...some arrangements...”
“Arrangements? What type of arrangements?” Gar asks.
For a second, Dick wrestles with the decision to be vague or not. If he is vague, they might not want to help him at all. And the younger Titans, being some of the nosiest people he knows, might then make it their mission to find out the details to his plans. Which could indirectly spoil the surprise for Kory. On the other hand, if he does tell them what he’s planning, he’ll get the help he was seeking. But it’ll likely come with some pestering comments like the ones he’s already received not even five minutes into this meeting. And some not-so-great ideas, particularly from the boys. He goes with the latter anyway.
“...Engagement arrangements. I’m planning to propose to Kory on our anniversary next week,” Dick explains.
“Well, it’s about time Boy Wonder! I knew this day would come soon enough,” Donna says, a huge grin spreading across her face.
“You did, did you? I remember telling you way back when we were kids that I had no plans to get married. So how did you know?”
“Wait! Yes!” Rachel exclaims as she begins to poke Gar’s arm repeatedly. “This means someone owes me money!”
“Seriously? You guy were betting on whether or not I’d propose?” Dick asks, looking between them in disbelief.
Gar playfully smacks Rachel’s hand away. “Oh no, we knew you’d eventually do that. We just bet on when you’d do it.”
“So, everyone just knew this was going to happen?”
“Yes,” they all answer in unison.
Dick tries to look and sound somewhat offended by all of this but he can’t. The fact that his entire family knew in their hearts that he and Kory would make it to this point in their relationship fills him with more joy than he thought it would.
For a long time, he held back his feelings for Kory because he felt he’d mess things up. That his imperfections would get in the way of maintaining a successful, healthy relationship with her. But he was wrong. Being with Kory has been one of the easiest things he’s ever done. It feels as natural as breathing. Others noticing just how good they are together is an added bonus.
“Okay. Now I’m curious. When did you all supposedly figure out I was going to marry Kory?” Dick inquires.
“Hmmm does this ring a bell: “She’s not a killer, Donna. Has she killed people? Absolutely. Even tried to kill me, Rachel, and Gar. But Kory is nothing but an innocent, misunderstood woman”,” Donna says in her best Dick Grayson voice, making the younger Titans chuckle.
“First of all, I do not sound like that. And second, I was not defending her that hard.”
“Oh, please. You were down bad,” she says and then turn her attention to Tim. “I used that right, right?”
“Perfect,” he replies, flashing her a toothy smile and two thumbs up.
“Either way, was that really the moment you knew I’d marry her?” Dick asks, still unconvinced.
“I guess I didn’t know you’d get married at that exact moment. But let’s just say I could tell you fell really hard and really fast. You didn’t trust a lot of people in the past, especially after you left Gotham for good. But you trusted Kory and you barely knew her. In a short amount of time, she broke down your defensive walls in a way even I wasn’t able to do. And I’ve known you for decades. So, yea, that’s when I knew you two had something special,” Donna explains.
Dick gives her a warm smile, touched by her sincere words. He then turns his attention to the green-haired boy. “How about you? Since you were part of this whole bet situation, when did you know?”
“Well, if I had to pick a specific moment...it’d be the time you told everyone what happened to Jericho. It felt like Kory had made up her mind to stand by you before you even revealed the secret. Like it didn’t matter what you were going to say, she’d give you the benefit of the doubt. Then when everyone left, she comforted you. And I guess...”
The young boy trails off and Dick can see that he’s zoning out, likely distracted by another thought.
“Gar?” he asks, a bit worried.
“It’s just that...I lost my parents at a young age and my memories of them are a bit fuzzy now. But what I’ll always remember is the love they had for each other. The longing looks, the joking around and banter. Even when they were mad at each other it never really felt like they were. And, I don’t know, I guess you and Kory just remind me of them,” he answers honestly.
Every once in a while, Gar surprises him in a way he doesn’t expect. He doesn’t talk about his life before the Titans much. And, honestly, Dick doesn’t remember a time where Gar has ever mentioned his parents at all. But ever since Metropolis, he’s been working on dealing with his trauma. To share his thoughts and feelings rather than keeping them all bottled up. A change that took Dick far too long to make himself. He’s proud of Gar and the progress he’s made not only recently but since they first met.
“Wow,” Dick says, slightly taken aback. “That’s really sweet, Gar. Thank you...See this is why you’re my favorite.”
“Hey!” Rachel exclaims, pretending to be offended. Dick simply offers her a grin and shrugged shoulders.
“Ooh, okay my turn!” Conner interjects, ignoring Dick’s joke. “I knew you and Kory were crazy about each other and would get married when Kory was more upset with me for blowing up Blackfire’s ship than she was with you for going out on your own for, what was it the third time, and getting yourself killed.”
“Maybe Kory really liked that ship,” Dick offers jokingly.
“Maybe you should consider becoming a comedian.”
“Okay, sorry. But I don’t see how that meant she and I’d get married, Conner.”
“It’s simple. She favors you. And you, her. Which means you’ll always choose each other.”
Dick can’t bring himself to disagree with Conner’s statement. He does have a tendency to show favor to Kory. When they first met, he always gave her the benefit of the doubt, even though she might not have deserved it at the time. Partially because he was attracted to her and partially because he just somehow knew he could trust her. And ever since then his favoritism has only gotten worse and more obvious, especially now that they’re dating. He’s not even ashamed, despite the younger Titans’ attempts to make him feel bad about it. He loves Kory, and she’ll just always be able to get her way with him.
“Fair point,” Dick says, knowing he has no rebuttal. Finally, he turns his attention to Rachel, giving her an expectant look.
“Oh, is it my turn? You saved the best for last,” she declares.
“What about me?” Tim interjects.
“I mean, you met Dick and Kory right around the time they started dating.”
“Yea, that’s true. But I will say, when I was researching the Titans before I met any of you, I did think Nightwing and Starfire were already a couple. Lots of people did, actually. You guys have a whole subreddit dedicated to you. I could show you if you want.”
“I’ll just take your word for it. But good to know,” Dick assures. “So, Rachel, what moment do you want to share?”
“First of all, I’m an empath, remember? I knew how you both felt about each other from the very beginning. Although, the constant staring at each other was also a dead giveaway...Anyway, if you’re looking for a specific moment, I guess I’d go with the day we saved Gotham. But the day Kory and I went to bust you out of prison is a close second.”
“Why the day we saved Gotham?” Donna asks, confusion in her voice.
It only takes Dick a second to realize that that was the day Rachel saw her. His and Kory's little girl. After absorbing the Lazarus Pit, she saw and felt all that he did while he was in there. The love and adoration he had for his daughter despite not actually knowing her yet. It still surprises him sometimes how quickly he accepted the reality. Of being a father and having a family with Kory. But he knows it’s because it’s what he’s always wanted. His parents were taken from him in the most tragic way and at such a young age. And while having a family of his own will never erase that, it’s still something he’s always dreamed of. He just never thought it would happen until he met Kory.
Dick and Rachel exchange looks, and he hopes she can sense what he’s trying to say without words. He and Kory had decided a long time ago not to tell anyone else about their visions. One, because it was special and they just wanted to keep it to themselves. And two, they didn’t want to tempt fate. To get ahead of themselves by expecting this little miracle and go around telling everyone about what they saw, only for it not to happen, would be devastating. And it would likely take away from the future they might end up having instead if things did somehow change. All that matters for now is that he and Kory want to be together and start their family in the future.
“Let’s just say the Lazarus pit can reveal some pretty amazing things,” she says with a small smile, understanding Dick’s non-verbal cue.
“That doesn’t really answer the question,” Tim says.
“It’s called being enigmatic, Tim.”
“Eni-what?”
“Anyway!” Donna says, cutting them off before a tangent ensues. “Back to these arrangements. How can we help, Dick?”
“Well, before we get to that, I have to say thank you. To all of you,” Dick says sincerely.
“We didn’t do anything...” Conner replies, a little confused.
“Maybe not intentionally. But hearing that you guys basically saw me and Kory fall in love before we even realized it ourselves was nice.”
When he called this meeting, he didn’t expect it to turn out this way. He did expect the jokes, but the expressions from his family about his relationship really surprised him in the best way possible. Plus, it’s given him some new ideas for his upcoming proposal.
“It may have been nice for you to hear, but it was agonizing to witness in real time,” Rachel informs.
“Right? Watching two people clearly in love with each other but totally oblivious to it is kind of stressful,” Gar adds.
Dick lets out a big sigh as he stuffs his hands in his pockets and shakes his head. These kids sure did know how to ruin a good thing. If he didn’t need their help, he’d definitely disown them all. Donna too, since he can see her trying to stifle a laugh in the corner of his eyes. But for now, he’s stuck with them.