A/N: Hey guys! So before we start, I'd first like to say, thank you for taking an interest in this story and I hope you enjoy taking this journey with us :D. I'd also like to take this time to clarify a few things. To start, I'm working with a Co Author: olicityaddict, or as I like to call him, MY Friend Peter. Second: This story will for the most part follow past canon, however, the current story line is a bit of a fix-it fic of sorts as my friend Peter who enjoys the Dick and Kori pairing feels their ending/relationship has suffered in the hands of comic writers of the last 20 or so years. So in an attempt to right this, we'll be putting our own spin on their break-up and following story arcs. This will include certain events such as their wedding, their separation and eventual meetings. I would also like to add that I'm a bit new to this side of the fandom as I don't typically write this pairing, so I hope I do it some justice :)

The Other thing I'd like to address is Raven's age, as you are probably all aware, DC likes to Kill Raven and reincarnate her into younger bodies so the poor thing is forever a teenager (oh the humanity). However here she will be an adult because there's enough angsty teen Raven out there to go around. And since this is a fix-it fic, I'm going to explore my original ship: Wally/Raven, because that is the trade Peter and I made lol: I'll do my best to write a (hopefully) awesome Nightwing/Starfire story, but I get a ship of my choice! Thanks Pete!

Anyway if you have any questions or comments, both good and bad, please feel free leave them below, let me know how I'm doing with this pairing and I hope you enjoy the ride.

-With Love Ophelia

Chapter 1

Last Kiss

"She said, "You make your own decisions."

I said, "My motion is not my own."

She looked away and she never looked back."

—Minus the Bear

The world had nearly fallen from the sky, a simple thread holding it there, but it seemed its fragile strings were breaking. Only he refused to cut them.

It had been a year since their wedding; the beginning of their life together. Only that wasn't the ending they were given. What was supposed to be a beautiful moment that sparked a beginning, decayed into a nightmare that both had yet to recover from.

Raven's return ignited an odd chain of events: The Titans disbanded, each one seemingly moving on with their lives. Gar had moved to LA in a successful attempt to revive his once dead acting career. Victor followed, becoming a tech guru at a top company in Silicon Valley. Roy continued his work with the government and had become increasingly hard to reach. Donna was sort of there, though her primary focus was on her divorce. Wally tried, but his responsibilities as the current Flash kept him more than busy. Then there was Raven, the one who had brought them all together, the whole reason they became Titans. But that was before, before she'd given into her darker nature, truly becoming the daughter of Trigon . She destroyed her team, both mentally and physically. It was only in that final battle that her spirit was liberated from her father's influence. And with that liberation, she vanished into the ether, free to roam the planes and the cosmos as a sovereign entity with no ties to this world or the next. Finally at peace.

Yet still, somehow, she returned, with no rhyme or reason she could site for her new being. Some were apprehensive at first, but for the most part, everyone just sort of accepted it and moved on once more. It didn't matter where'd she'd been, she was back, and somehow, that seemed to be enough, but not for Richard Grayson.

He was certain that he wanted nothing to do with her. She'd left her mark on the woman he loved, in more ways than one. And deeper still, she'd left her mark on him… and in the waking darkness his life had become, he couldn't bring himself to forgive her. Not now—not after what she'd done.

He bit back his thoughts and peered over at the redhead, her green eyes listlessly gazing out the window, their wonder and beauty something of a memory. Life was something that escaped her now. Her manner paused, no longer awe struck by the simple pleasures of the mortal coil. There was something morbid about her now as she reminded him of a John Everett Millais painting: Her fair features sleeping, lost beneath the pregnant weeds of the steeping brook. Her vibrant nature'd grown ghostly, like a lost voice screaming on deaf ears as if salvation was simply a breath away.

It was as if he were witnessing a slow death, her fire dwindling as it burnt out. Her massive red hair fell in a tangled mess as she carelessly twirled the strands in her fingers. The radiance of her skin grew dull and imperfect, while the lush green of her eyes had grown infertile as joy no longer imbued them.

He stared at the alien as if he didn't even know her anymore, yet he still wasn't ready to let go. So he held onto those threads, fraying at his fingertips, hoping, that maybe one day, she'd come home.

"Richard, is everything alright?" she asked, pulling him from his worrisome thoughts.

"Everything is fine," he replied, "I was just thinking."

Her gaze withered from him a moment, a slight falter that had grown into a formality between them.

"Oh," she asked with a mournful connotation, knowing full well no answers would come her way—their new normal.

His breath hitched, feeling the wound in her chest split, something common of her now. "I gotta run some errands," he lied, he didn't have the heart to tell her that he missed her, that he felt as if he were speaking to a ghost. None of it was her fault, after all.

She nodded, though she knew his words were little more than empty charity, he loved her too much to tell her otherwise, though it hurt all the same.

"Do you need anything?" he asked gathering his coat, getting ready to head out, "I was thinking I could get you that candy you like?"

A rare smile played on her face, though still sad in nature, as if the gesture reminded her of a time when they were happy.

"That would be nice," she sighed as he approached her and looked down. She felt he'd been doing that a lot lately.

He placed his hand on the back of her head, taking hold of the once fiery hair, it's curl somewhat wilted, the color muted. He let his fingers travel down to her jaw, where they lifted her chin and stared down into the once illustrious jade.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I know," and that was what made it so painful.

He kissed her forehead, Kory shuttering at how far their relationship had shifted, they were no longer lovers, but simply child and caregiver. They'd not touched each other in months, not since their wedding. It was like the passion, the lust and the connection had all been severed, leaving them only with the bones of obligation and tethered to their failed marriage. She could hardly bare the way he looked at her now. That look of longing: No more, in its place, only pity and fear. There was little she could say, for no words could save them now, not from the world, not from time, and certainly not from themselves.

She watched as he turned and headed for the door, pulling on his coat as he went, but he paused. His eyes fell on her once more, his gaze wandering as if searching for the right words.

"Kory," he huffed taking pause, his eyes falling to the floor in recoil. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said—"

"I know..." she replied cutting him off, "...but I still think—"

"Kory, no."

"But Dick," she pleaded, cutting him off, "Raven might kno—"

"I said NO , Kory!" he snapped, out of character.

She fell silent, he'd hardly ever yelled at her, but lately, it seemed common of him.

"Kory, I'm—"

"I know," she grimaced and continued mockingly. " You're sorry ..."

He didn't reply, he knew he was out of line.

"Richard," Kory finally said, "I know Raven has become a bit of a sore spot for you, but eventually, you must forgive her… I did ."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have?"

Her face grew hard and she shook her head lividly. "Perhaps you are merely seeking a person to blame. Raven is our friend, not a monster we fought. Don't let my health ruin that friendship.

"I'm not talking about this right now, Kory," he lamented defensively.

"Then maybe you should not have entertained the subject in the first place?"

"I didn't, you did," Dick snapped and walked out the door before the alien could even compose her response, a dark cloud following him out.

His face said it all as he made his way down the hall, the empty void resting in the place where his heart used to be. Like it had been ripped out, the love of his life someone missing, yet she was right there, just out of reach.

He turned the corner and stopped, he wanted to cry, but he wouldn't, he had to be strong now. He couldn't give up: not on her , not on them .

He heard his phone ring and pulled it from his pocket with a sense of disinterest.

"Donna," he breathed as his chest fell. He answered the phone reciting a dull "hello."

"Hey, you free?" she asked, her voice less vibrant than it had once been. "Terry has Robert and Kyle's out of town, again . I thought maybe we could catch up?"

"Yeah I'm just leaving S.T.A.R. Labs."

"How is she?" Donna asked with concern.

"The same," he replied stepping into the lobby.

She sighed with disappointment. "Oh, Dick. I'm sorry."

"You and me both…"

"You wanna talk about it, I can be in your direction in 20 minutes?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Where you wanna meet?"

"How's the coffee house sound?"

"Good, I'll see you there."

8888

Kory waited by the window, lonely and empty. Her eyes rose to the sky for an answer, for anything that could fulfill her again, anything that could make her whole. She loved him, she truly did, but that didn't seem to be enough anymore.

She too had her guilt, she'd made her own missteps, they both had, long before their wedding and long before now. She'd judged him for something he couldn't help, something she still hadn't out right forgiven him for. It seemed humanity had affected her more than she'd realized. She recalled times when she could hardly look at him, disgusted with his "behavior" .

"How could he not know?" she told herself, her anger burning white in the place where passion once thrived. She couldn't bear to think of it, though the thought haunted her. She just couldn't divorce herself from her pain and heartbreak long enough to see he'd been violated and she struggled to pardon him.

What does that say about me, she thought with bitter irony, looking back on the memory of the dark haired woman laughing at him, pleased with the actions she'd inflicted upon him. Not even an ounce of shame for his troubles. Worse still, he was belittled and ridiculed for it, on her behalf, and Kory just allowed it.

"When did I become so cold?" she said aloud, her tone filled with remorse, worried she'd never be able to fix it.

She felt a presence in the doorway, its nature somehow familiar, but dark and somehow distant.

"Did you forget something, Dick?" Kory drawled. "Or do you wish to play more of the blame game ?" She paused, the figure before her taking her by surprise. " Ryand'r ?"

The gold man smiled, a warmth taking over his chilly features, a warmth she regretfully could only recall in his infancy.

"Hello Koriand'r."

888

Dick watched the door as Donna entered the coffee house, offering him a kind smile as she caught him in her glance. She approached the table and set her bag down, removing her coat as she sat across from her lifelong friend.

"So how've you been," she asked, noticing Dick's glance fall a bit.

"Okay," he replied wearily, "I mean, if you wanna be optimistic?"

"That bad?"

He nodded. "What about you? Terry still being a fucking prick?"

Her brows raised in confirmation, Terry had become something of the soon to be ex-husband from Hell . Not that Dick was surprised, he'd never really been fond of Terry, and he wasn't alone.

"He's going for full custody."

"For real?"

"Yep," Donna nodded picking up her cup, "apparently, I'm an unfit mother. "

Dick grimaced at the sarcasm, knowing that if she wasn't cynical she'd cry.

"He did not say that?"

"He wrote a letter to the judge," she replied with more bitterness.

Dick could only shake his head. Donna'd had a rough go of things in the last year. The birth of her son had brought great turmoil to her life, forcing her to give up her abilities and culture for the betterment of her son and his future. However, that didn't seem to be enough for Terry after an incident took place at their rural home. Luckily, no one had been hurt, but it was finally enough for Terry, who'd apparently forgotten he'd married an Amazonian heroine. (Like be grateful, dude.)

"Can he prove that what happen at the farmhouse was connected to you?" Dick finally asked, concerned.

"In hindsight, yeah. I mean if he wanted, he could out me as Wonder Girl and Troia ," she said hushed.

Dick's face grew darker, realizing that the implication could prove more than destructive to Donna's life and reputation, not to mention, potentially himself and others. "Do you think he'll do that?"

Donna shrugged and shook her head with a tart look. "Honestly, at this point, I don't know what he'll do."

Dick furrowed his brow, a little floored. "Do you need me to do anything?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know? Talk to him maybe?" Dick suggested, not really knowing what he could really do other than use physical force to sway his motivation, which he knew would probably only serve to further Terry's dissent.

"Yeah, I think that might make things worse," she admitted, knowing Terry might very well take any intervention on her friend's part as an intimidation tactic. She couldn't afford that.

"Listen, I'm sure it will be fine," Dick assured, unable to imagine the State taking her son away.

"One can only hope," she sighed. "Anyway, you said Kory hasn't really made any progress?"

Dick shook his head. "It's like she's not even there anymore."

"Honey, I'm sorry…" Donna whimpered, a little guilt in her voice. She and Kory had always been close, but with Donna's current predicament, she'd sort of placed Kory aside.

"Worse, she wants to talk to Raven."

Donna looked back at him, her face still, not really sure what to say. "Maybe she should?"

Dick shook his head. "Absolutely not," he replied coldly.

"Dick, sweetie, I know you're mad, and I don't blame you. You're just trying to protect her, but maybe Kory doesn't need to be protected?"

He looked back at her, a little fury mixed with resentment, like he'd fall apart at the seams if that last thread weren't holding him together.

"I don't know what she needs—hell—I don't even know what she wants anymore..."

Donna recognized that look and the pain in his voice, the final death cry of a dying love. "Listen, I know you're trying to save your relationship, but maybe you both need take a step back?"

"And if I do that what's gonna happen?" Dick defended. "I can't—I can't just leave her, Donna. She'll be all alone."

"No she won't," Donna reasoned, "she has—"

"Who? Us ? The Team ? You ?" Dick question venomously. "Cause last I checked, everyone's too goddamn busy to even pay her a visit. Jesus, everyone could have been fucked to go figure out why Raven returned, but hey no one gives a shit, right?"

"Y'know what, fuck you, Dick," Donna said and rose from her chair.

"Shit, Donna, I'm—"

"Save it. I am not your punching bag," Donna snapped making her way to the door.

"Donna, wait," Dick pleaded and caught her by the arm, considering himself lucky she was no longer capable of taking his head off. "I'm sorry."

She turned, but pulled her arm away. "Sorry that you lost your shit, or sorry that you're being unfair?"

"Both," he conceded. "I'm at the end of my rope, Donna and I don't know what to do."

"I know, I'm about to lose my fucking kid. I get it, Dick," Donna growled, "but you're blaming everyone else for something that couldn't have been helped."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you and Kory's relationship was in a bad way long before Mirage, or Raven, or the team falling to shit, and you two never dealt with it." She paused as he looked away, like he knew everything she'd said was true, but he still had a hard time keeping it down. "I'm only saying that, because it happened to me, and look where I am now. I don't want this for either of you."

He looked back at her lost, like that thread was about to unravel. "What do I do?"

"Listen to Kory," she replied mournfully, "trust that she knows what's best for her, don't force what you think is best on her."

"I just don't wanna see her get hurt again," he said painfully.

"And neither do I, but if you keep…" her voice broke as she tried to gather her words. "...if you both keep going down this path, the love you two share… it will turn to hatred and you won't like who either of you become."

"What if I already don't?"

She shrugged as if the question were mundane. "I think you already know the answer to that, Dick… and I have a feeling Kory does too."

8888

Kory giggled, a small laugh she genuinely felt a connection to. It had been so long since she had. She'd not seen her brother in years and missed the better part of his youth as she'd been trafficked into slavery, an unfortunate circumstance she'd shouldered to protect her people. Ryand'r being little more than a toddler at the time.

She looked up at his now masculine face, the youthful glow of rosy cheeks little more than a memory, his gold skin not nearly as bright as hers. Still, their resemblance was haunting, Ryand'r favoring Kory far more than his eldest sister, who was still nowhere to be found.

They'd spent the last hour talking of their past and future experiences, sharing stories of their childhoods and their lives now.

"I cannot imagine father being so liberal with the mundane," Ryand'r laughed heartily at his sister's account of their father's elaborate antics.

She smiled warmly at one of her fondest memories. "Believe it or not, there was a time when he was." Her smile faded, thinking of the man her father used to be. He was still, for the better part, kind, but he'd grown more weathered as time passed, especially after Kory's enslavement. "So you've taken the throne?"

Her brother nodded, prideful, his days as a freedom fighter at an end. "Yes, I think father is relieved to be free of the burden."

"I can only imagine," she replied, recalling her once status as heir to the throne. "Has anyone heard from Komand'r?"

Her brother's face fell with the mention of her name. "No and thank X'haul," he replied coldly in regards to Tamaran's very own Bloody Mary. "Why do you ask?"

Kory glanced down and shrugged, her sympathy for their sister ever present. "She wasn't always that bad, you know? She hasn't had an easy life..."

It was true, Komand'r was the rightful heir to her families dynasty, however, her honors and privileges had been revoked due to scandals far from her control, as she were only an infant at the time. In later years, Komand'r's status as princess had been stripped, and not for any fault of her own, but for her lameness and disfavor by the Tamaranean people. Leaving her with the modest title of The Lady Komand'r, her younger sister then saddled with the obligation.

"You feel too much for our disgraced sister," Ryand'r replied. "And on our world such sympathy could be seen as most treasonous."

Kory frowned, she'd nearly forgotten the paranoia of the royal family. "Forgive me, Brother, for I did not mean to offend your crown."

"I know," he reasoned, "but I fear that history has made me weary of such talk and Komand'r is, for as long as she lives, a threat to our family's legacy and our honor. That's the price you pay for being anointed in blood ."

"I understand," and she did, but she could not fault Komand'r for the actions of others. Knowing if she'd been afforded the understanding and kindness she should have been privy to, she'd have been most royal .

"And speaking of our great family," Ryand'r added with a smirk, "I think it might be time."

"For what?" she asked with a quizzical grin.

"For the return of the Faerie Queene. "

Kory smiled with question at the sound of her old pet name. "I fear the Faerie Queene has clipped her wings," she sighed as she stood, looking out the window once more.

"Luckily the Faerie Queene does not need wings to fly," her brother replied, his reflection looking back at her. "Tell me, what troubles you, Sister?"

Kory crossed her arms and bit her lip, not wanting to burden her brother with her Earthly vanities.

"You can tell me, Sister," he insisted. "I promise not to judge."

Kory took a deep breath, looking up to the sky, the stars finding fire in the dusk. "The Earth man I was to marry, I fear our union, like our disgraced sister, was anointed in blood."

"I heard," Ryand'r replied, "I also know of your condition. That is why I came."

Kory turned and looked at him. "You must think of me as foolish and weak then..." she whimpered.

Ryand'r approached his sister, her head hung low, carrying a burden of sorrow. He reached out his hands and placed them on her shoulders, which had grown ridged with anxiety.

"My dearest Koriand'r, you have nothing to be ashamed of," he said as she lifted her weary head. "For love on this world is primitive and self-centered. How could you be expected to be obligated to one man for the rest of your days? An earth man at that!"

"That is not the source of my despair," Kory replied, knowing her brother could not understand the Earthly customs of love and monogamy. "I love him, I truly do, but… I don't know, maybe you're right, maybe my worldly nature has caught up to me? I fear the part of me that has grown attached to him will simply not let go..."

"It sounds like Earth has changed you, swayed your better judgement?"

"That I cannot say," Kory confessed. "But still, I am unsure of what I should do…or what I must do?"

"Come home," her brother said gently. "Come home to your world, your family and your people."

Kory took a deep breath and pondered a moment, but before she could even compose her reply, she spotted Dick standing in the doorway.

"Dick?"

"Hey," he replied, a little off put taking note of the Tamarian King. "What's going on?"

"I um," Kory began, but her brother then spoke for her.

"I have come to take my sister home ."

Dick frowned with question. "Like a visit?"

"No," Ryand'r corrected, "indefinitely."

Dick looked over at Kory, the look on his face hard, but dripping in skepticism. "Is that true?"

She tried to answer, but couldn't quite find the words, the love of her life looking back at her as if she'd slashed out his heart.

"I think what my sister is trying to say is that she thinks the distance will do well for you both?"

Dick's eyes grew darker as he looked back at the Tamarian man, far taller and broader the he, but that didn't seem to faze him in the slightest.

"If you think for a minute that I'm just gonna let you take her away, then you really don't know who you are dealing with," Dick warned.

"I am very aware, Koriand'r has told me of your heroics as one of Earth's greatest champions. However, I regret to inform you that to the rest of the universe, your planet's best are subpar compared too many, including my own," the young king replied. "You may also want to pay me a little respect."

Dick smiled cynically. "Well I regret to inform you that your bullshit royalty is not recognized here."

"Dick," Kory scolded.

"No! I'm not gonna sit here and just take being talked down to by your brother, who could have been fucked to find you after your parents sold you into slavery, then made you marry a man you weren't even in love with for the sake of posterity—oh and then fucked off when it came to our own wedding, which ended with YOU getting injured and he's just showing up now?"

"Dick, stop it!" Kory pleaded again

"No!" Dick snapped, "Your family, after everything they have put you through, doesn't get to just show up one day and act like they have the monopoly on you—act like they CARE!"

"Yet you act as if you do?" Ryand'r replied coarsely.

"Fuck off, I've been here!"

"RICHARD!" Kory finally snapped, Dick glaring back at her. "Stop, talking," she warned and gathered herself. "Ryand'r, I apologize for my… friend's disrespect—"

"Really Kory?" Dick snapped, cutting her off.

She glared at him a moment and continued, "—Which I hope you can understand given our earlier talk?"

"Given the circumstances of your union , I can look passed this aggression, for now."

"Oh I'm sooo grateful ," Dick drawled sarcastically, earning a cold looked from his alien lover.

Ryand'r smiled condescendingly, looking down his nose. "I think it would be best if I left you both to talk," he said politely. "Sister, think about my offer; I await your reply." He approached her, leaning in and kissing her cheek.

"Goodbye, and once again, I am sorry," Kory said weakly, not really wanting him to go.

"Nonsense," the king replied looking at Dick, "the fault is not yours."

Kory pursed her lips with disdain, trying not to fan the flames. "I will let you know."

"And I look forward to it," Ryand'r smiled confidently. "I do hope for the return of the Faerie Queene ."

And with that, he took his leave, leaving the two distant lovers to quarrel once more.

"The fucking nerve of that guy," Dick grimaced once he was gone.

Kory looked back at him scornfully, her boiling point reached. "How could you embarrass me like that, in front of my brother ?"

Dick looked back at her perplexed. " Embarrass you? I stood up for you, which is more than your family has ever done."

She looked back at him with sour expression, her lips pinched with venom. "I understand that from where you stand, what I have been through with my family seems wrong, but on my world—"

" On your world it's okay to sell your daughters into slavery, that's a crime here! Remember?" Dick interjected with disgust. "Here, we call that human trafficking! Oh, but on Tamaran, which is supposed to be such a progressive society , cause they could give a shit about monogamy and the social benefits that come with it, because why have the entirety of a poor man than half a rich one? So you can go ahead and marry as many goddamn people as you want or whatever. Yep! And selling little girls is just fine as long as it saves the royal family!"

Kory's brow fell in disdain, her face cold. "You speak ill of my culture like yours is so much better?"

"Because it is, Kory! Maybe not universally, but here it is. We make commitments to people and see them through, we fought a whole war in this country to end slavery, which Tamaran still has! We don't sell our women for dowries or force them into marriages and we value human life, even for those who might not. Oh! And in this country, you can say whatever you want about the government and they can't do shit about it! So yeah, some cultures are better than others."

His long building rant earned him a rather cruel slap across the face, his head shooting away from her, her face not even flinching as she struck him. Dick had nearly forgotten just how strong she was, and he knew for the simple fact his head was still on that she'd held back.

"I can understand why you feel the way you do, and for all I've learned, maybe you're right, but that is still my family and my home , and without it, I would not be the woman you claim to love ."

"I do love you!" Dick sneered, "that's why I wanna bring you home ."

"I'm not ready to come home!" Kory cried as if pleading with him.

"Why?" Dick questioned venomously.

"Because I can't!" she retorted. "Alright, Richard, I can't!"

"WHY!"

"Because I don't know if this, whatever this is, is working anymore! I can't stand what it's doing to us! And I can hardly bear to be around you!"

Dick paused stunned at her words, but didn't quite know what to say. For no words he wove could mend the fracture between them. Instead, he sunk down to the tile below, his mind and body finally shutting down as if he'd lay down and die if God were so willing.

Kory's face fell to dismay, her body shivering in the wake of humiliating her confession. She knelt down beside him painfully, her heart breaking as regret caught her but a moment too late. "Dick…" she began, "I didn't mean it like tha—"

"Than what did you mean?" Dick snapped, his eyes cold as the veil of denial was lifted.

Kory looked away, the door insight. "I meant what I said: I love you, but… ever since our wedding," she paused, watching him flinch at the mention of it, "there's just been this disconnect. I thought that with time it would lessen, that in time we'd find our way back to each other, but… the longer I stay with you, and you with me, the further we grow apart."

Dick swallowed the lump in his throat, his knuckles pressed to his lips as he shook his head. "I know," he confessed, "but I am not ready to let go . I'm not ready to lose you…"

"Dick," Kory whimpered, "I know, but if we don't let go now… we might lose each other forever..."

She'd begun to cry, her guilt and pain all snowballing into one heavily sorrowful feeling she couldn't keep down. She pulled her knees to her chest, pressing them to her broken heart. Dick took a deep breath and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her head to his shoulder, where she cried. He rested his head on hers, a tear finding its way to the red hair below.

Time passed as they just sat there in mourning, trying to imagine life without the other, their hearts' reluctant to move on, yet still beat out of sync.

An hour or so passed, the two unmoved, not a word said. Dick couldn't help but think of the little things, the moments that made them who they were as a pair. He'd watched her grow from a girl, born of an ethically grey culture and into a woman of higher morals and values. He couldn't bear to think of her going back to the very world that abandoned her. To the family that treated her as little more than common currency.

To them, their daughter's love and body could be bought and sold with little regard for her soul. Whether it were slavery or marriage, their treatment of her was backwards, reminding him of an ethereal Anne Boleyn . But too Dick, she was so much more than that. He valued her heart and her mind, he wanted nothing but to protect her from the sordid and egregious treatment she'd been subjected to. But how could he if she would not allow it?

He was suddenly pulled from his onerous thought as his phone again rang from his pocket. Kory glanced down, the sound reminding her of all the dates that had ended prematurely with that sound.

"You should probably get that," she suggested.

He shook his head. "It can wait."

"What if it can't?" She looked back at him, reminding him that he had a higher responsibility. One that far exceeded their childish sensibilities.

He sighed, grudgingly answering it as Tim's name once again glowed on the screen. "Hey man, now isn't a good time."

"Dick, listen, I don't have time," Tim began, his voice panicked.

Dick's face sobered as he sat up. "What's up? Is everything okay?"

"No," Tim managed, "It's bad. I can't explain it to you now. I just need you to get here."

"It's Bruce isn't it?" Dick asked with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah," Tim confirmed, "he needs you—Gotham needs you."

"I'm on my way."

He hung up the phone and looked at Kory, her green eyes still on him.

"Kory, I'm sorry, but I have to—"

"I know, Dick," she said wearily, "go."

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine," she urged. "Someone out there needs you more than I do right now, so go..."

His eyes grew glassy as he pulled her into a hug. "Just promise me you won't make a decision until I get back."

"Dick I don't know if—"

"Kory!" he pleaded cradling her face in his hands. "Please, just promise me you'll wait?"

She nodded and he pulled her into a kiss, the passion between them lit for a brief moment.

"I have to go, but I love you."

"I love you too."

And with that, he was gone, off to the mistress she knew he'd never leave. Still, to say she was bitter would have been unfair, for his selflessness was one of the many reasons she loved him. And yet, there was an emptiness, one Time had not yet filled. She knew he had to go, that his calling was strong, but so was hers.

She opened a drawer and removed a thin piece of paper as she sat by the window. Her eyes fell upon the darkened sky above, the stars now lit with their furious beauty, she'd miss that.

Her gaze ruefully fell to the paper at her fingertips, its blank surface frightening, but somehow welcoming, like the open mouth of heaven. She placed her pen to the empty space and began:

Dear Richard...