The characters in the story are owned by D.C comics, not me. the song is Mori Shej (My Daughter) also not owned by me.

To Build A Home

"Building your own home is about desire, fantasy; but its achievable, anyone can do it"-Kevin McCloud

The keening wails of an infant echoed loudly throughout the small Bludhaven apartment (and with their luck, probably down to the street below). It was more than enough to bring Richard Grayson back from the realm of dreamland, being the conditioned light sleeper that he was. Groaning slightly, the twenty-four year old man stirred from his oh-so-very comfortable spot next to red haired beauty he called his wife.

Koriand'r Grayson was also a light sleeper-under normal conditions that is. However, constantly seeing to the care of a one month old baby had taken the edged off even the endlessly energetic alien, and the twenty-three year old only awoke when she sensed her husband swinging his legs off their bed. Their bed. For the life of her, the princess turned heroine couldn't halt a sleepily smile at the thought.

Their bed. Their home. Their life.

Their daughter.

Even after three glorious years of marriage the euphoria had yet to dim or wear off. And why should it? Both she and boy she had met as Robin had been deprived of the simple joy and security of family at very young ages. And while they had both been fortunate enough to find loving homes to take them in, and fathers to claim them as their own, it could never compare to the simple peace they both had in their souls now, in being able to have a house of their own. A home of their own.

This was not the same thing. A house was a dwelling made of wood or stone, or steel. A home was where your hopes and dreams were intertwined with the structure. It was where you heart dwelled.

That was part of the reason why Titans Tower was, for the most part nowadays, uninhabitable. Oh, it was still their meeting place, still their base of operations, much like how the Watchtower was for the Justice League. but it no longer served as the Titans (who no longer when by "Teens" for obviously reasons) home. That phase of their lives had come to pass, and truth be told...all the Titans were okay with that.

Garfield and Rachel, Victor and Karen...they had all gone out to build homes of their own. But she and Richard were the first to complete it with a child...a perfect little girl, who existence was living proof of the love she had bore for her man, from a time when they were little more than children themselves.

"Mumm..." Kori murmured drowsily, her startling emerald eyes fluttering as they tried to blink the sleep away. "Dick...is that Mar'i?" Suddenly feeling a rush of irrational maternal concern, the Tamaranean woman threw off the covers from her tank-top clad form and began to rise from the bed herself. But her husband stop her with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah Chakano," Dick confirmed softly, even as a proud grin started to spread across his face. "It's Mar'i."

Even in her half-asleep state, Kori couldn't help but feel a rush a warmth at hearing the private nickname Dick had for her-the word for star in his native Romani (which she had quite the enjoyable time learning...almost as much fun as he had teaching). But back to the matter at hand. Her daughter was crying. "Dick, I should check on her-"

But here he quickly cut her off by leaning forward and kissing her deeply, one hand coming up to cup the back of her neck. "I'll go." he murmured as he pulled away. "Your exhausted."

Well, that was truth if the ever was one. Still...

"Are you sure Beloved?"

"Positive," Dick replied, his raven head nodding as gave his assurance. Reaching down, he snatched up the sweatpants he had discarded earlier that night and stated to pull them on. "She's my daughter too."

Kori sighed softly, and smiled as she gave her consent. "Alright then," she said, as she laid back down on the bed and closed her eyes.

Dick stayed on the bed, stroking Koriand'r's fiery hair until he was certain she was asleep. Not that he needed a reason to do that, or touched his wife in general. That was his way of reassuring himself that she was here, she was safe and-by her own free will- that she was his. That their life together was real, and really happening. He had to do this because sometimes, it seemed to good to be true (He had never forgotten Bruce's story of being stuck in the Mad Hatter's Dream Machine, where your dearest wishes came to life).

Soon Kori's breathing had evened out, and Dick knew that his wife had slipped back into world of unconsciousness. Having been raised by the Batman, he could easily tell those sort of things. He allowed himself a smile-well alright, it was more of a smirk- as he thought of his adoptive father, and the look on his face when he learned that he was going to be a grandfather. He and Kori were probably some of the few people in the universe who could claim to have rendered the Dark Knight speechless.

Chuckling slightly though quietly, he slipped of the bed and padded his way out the door, down the hall to his daughter's room. Here he was helpless to stop a fool's grin from splicing his face, because the moment he entered the purple unicorn-themed nursery the cries subsided. He liked to think that the occupant of the room knew that nothing could harm her now that her Daddy was here. His little girl was peering at him, those big green eyes blinking curiously. "Ba gah?" Mar'i babbled softly, pudgy arms rising into the air.

"Hey there Starshine," he greeted, reaching down into the crib to scoop the baby up with one arm. And once again, Dick had to marvel at how small Mar'i was. Really, she bordered on being tiny. Had he been that small as a baby? That small as a kid? Out of his memory banks came Cyborg's voice. Yeah! It's four feet tall, and smells like cheep hair gel!

Okay, so maybe he had been that small...Thank God he had hit that growth spurt at seventeen.

But then again, being small hadn't been all bad. After all, when you were small, it meant people were more impressed when you did big things. And since Mar'i was a girl, she would likely be petite her whole life...which meant the world was going to be wowed by his daughter her whole life. Throw a little bit of alien superpowers into the mix, and you had a showstopper.

"What's the matter Sweetheart?" Dick asked the infant as he slowly began to rock her. "You having trouble sleeping? Why's that...bad dreams?" That last part was spoken in a lower tone. He couldn't help it. Bad dreams had tormented his sleep for the majority of his life, ever since that fateful night at the circus. When he had been a boy, he had taken refuge curled up with Bruce. Nowadays he had his wife. And the mere thought of his daughter suffering from nightmares, when she was still so new to the world, was almost physically painful.

Of course, due to being a baby, Mar'i didn't answer. At least not with words. Instead she reached up, and pressed her open hand to her father's heart-a habit she had inherited from her mother. It had many meaning in Tamaranean culture, according to Kori-I believe you, I trust you, I have compassion for you...or simply I love you.

That last one was Dick's favorite.

"I love you too Chey," he said using the Roma word for daughter as he bent down to nuzzle the top of Mar'i's inky black curls. She was such a perfect mixture of the two of them, of Kori and himself. From her mother Mar'i had her heart shaped face, green eyes, and bubbly laugh. From him she had his hair, dimpled smile...and his temper, as they had very quickly discovered. Dick shuddered inwardly. If Mar'i could throw such temper tantrums as a baby then he dread the teen years (all of a sudden, he had a lot more sympathy and understanding for Bruce).

But mercifully...that was still a long while away. For now Mar'i was a baby...his baby. Then Dick looked at the clock.

"Alright Mar'i, I've kept you up long enough. It's three a.m. young lady. Time for little girls to be asleep."

But when he tried to put her back in the crib, Mar'i immediately began to fuss, whining and kicking her legs in protest. "Ba gah!"

Dick suppressed a sigh. "Mar'i you have to go to sleep-"

"Ba GAH!"

"Mar'i Grayson-"

Seeming to realized that this wasn't going to work, Mar'i quickly switched tactics. Grabbing her father's finger, she gave her best Big Eyes...another gift from her mother. "Ba gah?"

Dick cringed. He could never resisted the Big Eyes on his little girl's mother...and the same apparently went for his daughter. Against his better judgment-which sounded like an interesting mixture of Bruce and Alfred- he pulled the baby back out and settled her into his arms again.

"Oh alright," he caved. "But only until you fall asleep are we clear?"

"Ba," Mar'i giggled.

"I'll take that as a yes," Dick said. With that, he moved to sit in the plush chair that was stationed at the window, offering a free view of the city he and his wife now defended. The city his daughter was probably going to grow up defending. Almost subconsciously, he began to hum a tune from his childhood. It was only when Mar'i let out a soft yawn at the noise did he realize what he was doing.

"Oh, do you like that song Starshine?" he asked her amusedly, and a little touched. Maybe it had to do with her being half Tamaranean, but Mar'i was advanced for her age, and seem to enjoy hearing songs and words from different cultures. "How 'bout I sing it to you Sweetheart? To help you fall asleep...It's an old song Mar'i. Parents have been singing it to their daughters for generations...and I want to pass it on to you."

"Ba," said Mar'i.

Dick grinned. "I'll take that as a yes."

For and moment he was silent, trying to bring the words back from the depths of his past. Then he began.

Buter káj egy berseszki szán,
Móri drágo piko séj,
Vorbisz mánge káki-koki,
Móri drágo piko séj.

You are not yet one-year-old,
Little, tiny dear daughter,
You are chattering to me,
Little, tiny dear daughter.

Áj mori séj, mori drago pikonyéj,
Álálálá…..
Áj mori séj, mori drago pikonyéj,
Álálálá…..

Oh daughter, my dear tiny baby,
Alalala…..
Oh daughter, my dear tiny baby,
Alalala…..

Kináu tuke szomnákáj,
Móri drágo piko séj,
Lá lumáko szomnákáj,
Móri drágo piko séj.

I'll buy some gold jewels for you,

Dear tiny daughter,
All the gold jewels in the world,
Dear tiny daughter

Áj mori séj, mori drago pikonyéj,
Álálálá…..
Áj mori séj, mori drago pikonyéj,
Álálálá…..

Oh daughter, my dear tiny baby,
Alalala…..
Oh daughter, my dear tiny baby,
Alalala…..

Áldin dévlá murá sá,
Mura cina pikonya,
Mura cina pikonya,
Murá sukár Mar'i.

God bless my daughter,
My tiny baby,
My tiny baby,
My beautiful Mar'i

The last time Dick had heard this song was when he only eight years old, back at the circus. A member of the troop had just had a daughter, and Dick remembered the wide grin on the father's face. He hadn't been able to put the baby-Sabrina had been her name- down for more than five minutes at a time. Dick remembered that some of the older members of the Romani community in the troop had thought the man odd, because most Rom preferred sons as a firstborn.

Dick found himself in perfect understand with Sabrina's father. Just like in the song, he wanted to give his daughter everything. Everything that he possible could. Anything to repay the debt that he owed her for coming into his life. For being his light in the dark, his star in the sky...for being his robin. For being his hope.

Looking down, Dick bit back a smile. The song had done the trick, Mar'i was out like a light. Carefully, Dick got up, and placed his child back in her crib. "Night, night Sweetheart," he murmured to her, kissing her forehead. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Indeed," came a voice from behind him.

Glaring up, Dick raised an eyebrow at his wife, who was leaning on the door frame, a broad smile on her face. Over the years, Kori had gotten good at sneaking up on people, to the point where he sometimes thought she could give the Bat a run for his money. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long," Kori replied, pushing a strand of red hair behind her ear. "I heard you singing and had to see...you are quite good."

Dick rub his neck, his face flushing a bit. "Thanks."

Rolling her eyes fondly, Kori made her way over to the crib, and looked down at their daughter. Clucking her tongue, she reached down to stroke Mar'i's cheek for a moment. Stopping, she threw her husband a playful glance.

"You know Dick...maybe Mar'i wouldn't have such a hard time sleeping if her parents didn't set such a bad example."

"Well that's the truth," Dick sighed. "Even on our shortest patrols, were home at eleven earliest."

"In that cause, would you like to put me to bed?"

Dick's head immediately snapped to her, only to see Kori smiling coyest up at him, blinking these big green eyes innocently. Eyes darkening, he let a low growl as he reached out and caught his wife's hand in his own. Tugging her to him, he didn't waste anytime in attaching their lips.

"Not at all."

Finis

Review=happy author

Okay, this story is for four writers/reviews who have inspired me to do better. Thank you KaliAnn, Diana Laura, The Keeper of the Worlds, and Alexandra likethecityinegypt. (man that's a mouthful) You guys rock!:D