He's been coming here everyday for six months now.
He hasn't missed a morning since the first day he saw her.
She was new to Gotham.
Never been seen before around the city or the university he attended.
The first day he saw her was on a rainy day. It downpoured hard and Dick couldn't see anything while he was driving so he pulled to the side of the road and waited for the rain to stop.
But it didn't stop.
And he was growing bored and tired in his car.
He noticed the coffee shop just across the street. He had been there before, only a few times as he and his friends passed it during a ride and waited to stop and get some coffee.
It was located a little outside the city but the ride was still long. It'd take him an hour just to get there if he was driving from his house but his current girlfriend lived fifteen minutes outside Gotham so he was passing the shop more frequently.
He didn't notice her when he first stepped in.
He shrugged off the wet rain, rain his fingers through his wet hair to comb it out, and walked up to the counter. He ordered his coffee black, getting this tendencies from his adoptive father. The barista gave him a flirty smile and he'd notice she wrote his name on the cardboard cup with hearts all over it.
"It's not everyday Dick Grayson visits this shop" she said with a smirk.
He kindly thanked her and looked around the shop. There were several people here, typing away on their laptops and excessively sipping their beverages. An employee was cursing as he moped a spilled cup of coffee in the corner, a couple was making out at another table, and a man in suit was making what seemed like an aggressive call.
Dick looked around the shop, trying to decide where he wants to sit, before noticing a small entry way into another room. It was divided by a blue colored curtain and a sign above read "Enter for Tranquility."
He stepped through and that's when he noticed her.
She was sitting in a rounded corner, near a tall window, and was writing in a journal.
He didn't know why she attracted him so much.
At first he thought it was the hair. The red was very hard to miss. It wasn't red like Wally's or Bab's, it was like he hadn't seen this type of red before.
And then he thought it was her skin. The perfect tanned complexion looked like gold to him.
Then she looked up and made eye contact with him.
It was the eyes.
His favorite color used to be red.
Now his favorite color is green.
She was looking away now and Dick wished she would look at him for another moment.
Why was this stranger so captivating?
He sat on a table that was on the other side of the room, opposite to her, and he couldn't help but stare. He very well knew he looked like a pervert, just staring at her, but he didn't care.
Everyday for two months, he would come back to this shop. It was closed on Sundays so it was the only day where he could just fantasize about being there and seeing her. He knew her schedule very well. She would come to the shop around 4:00 every day and then leave at 5:25 every single time. There wasn't a time where she didn't arrive on time and leave on time.
He would get there early sometimes and other times he would get there late but he always managed to make it on time before she left.
Then after two months of stalking, they had their first encounter.
He arrived at 3:55 and the shop was packed. There was only one table available in the tranquility room and he gladly took it before anyone else could.
Five minutes later and there she was, tapping him on the shoulder, and he had to catch his breath.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
He'd imagine what her voice sounded like and it wasn't anything like this, it was calm and sweet.
"Hey" he greeted.
She tilted her head to the side and played with the edges of her notebook. "Um, there seems to be more people here than usual. I was wondering if you didn't mind if we shared a table?"
He was too shocked by the request that he just stared at her.
"I understand if you do not wish to be bothered-
"No!" he interrupted.
A few people looked over to him and he cleared his throat in embarrassment.
"I mean" he continued. "Yea, I don't mind at all."
She beamed at him with a big smile and placed her things down on the table.
"My name is Richard Grayson" he greeted and extended his hand out. "But my friends call me Dick."
She accepted the greeting. "Kory Anders, I just moved here not so long ago."
"So we're finally introduced" he told her.
She gave him a giggle. "I believe so. I have noticed you here everyday around the same time that I am here."
His face turned red and his palms started to get sweaty. "Um, well I get out class around three and my girlfriend doesn't live too far from here."
"Oh that is nice" she simply said. "What school do you go to?"
"Gotham University" he replied. "I'm in my last year now. Do you go to school?"
She shook her head. "I do not attend school here. I decided university is just not right for me. I tried it back home but I decided I wanted to leave home for a while."
"Home?" he asked. "Where are you from?"
"The island of Tamaran" she replied.
"How come you left?"
"Most people do not understand. I just needed to get away for a while and just-
"Disappear to place where no one knows you?" he asked.
She blinked at him as he sat back, arms crossed with a smile.
"I might understand a little" he said.
It was the first time Kory didn't leave exactly at 5:25. They spent hours talking and getting to know one another. For two months, they were strangers and sat across from each other while they sipped their coffees and worked on whatever they needed to get done. They'd share a few glances here and there and small smiles but they never spoke until this day.
"That is hilarious!" Kory laughed. "So the monkey pulled down your pants?"
"He ran away with my ice cream too!" he exclaimed. "Of course people loved it. Thought it was part of the act but the clowns didn't expect a four year old to run after a monkey in the arena with his pants down."
"I will have to go to a circus performance soon" she told him.
He raised his eyebrows. "Never been?"
She shook her head.
"Well I'd love to take you" he blurted.
Kory's cheeks turned red and she looked away from him.
The sound of the mops caught Dick's attention and he looked around the shop. It was closing time and he hadn't noticed that they were the only two left in the shop.
She seemed to have noticed as well. "I should be heading home now."
He got up and placed his jacket on. "Yea I didn't notice how long we've been sitting here."
"I guess I will see you next time?" she asked.
He made eye contact with her. "I'm sure we'll run into each other again."
And they did.
They no longer sat on opposite sides of their room but instead, they took a seat at Kory's table. They continued to talk for hours and get to know each other. She gave him advice on his current girlfriend who was fighting with him all the time. He admitted to not being happy in the relationship and Kory could only give him the only advice she knew and that was to follow your heart.
He broke up with his girlfriend and he and Kory talked about that too. She was supportive and told him that if he was meant to be with this girl then he'd eventually find his way back to her.
But Dick always found his way back to this coffee shop.
Kory opened up more to him as well. He noticed she was hesitant at first but as weeks went by, she was coming out her shell. She admitted the reason for leaving her home was because of things a bad man did to her. It made Dick angry to know someone would intentionally hurt her. She needed to leave the remainder of the tragedy that happened and start new and he understood where she was coming from.
She tutored him in one his classes. It turns out she's really smart in science and Dick would never turn down an excuse to sit closer to him. And the reward was great when he received a B on his exam. A kiss to the cheek and she payed for his coffee.
Six months have passed and they hadn't missed a day to talk to one another.
He surprised her one day.
Rented out the coffee shop for the night.
When Kory walked in, all the tables were moved in the tranquility room except for their table. It was decorated with white table cloth and a candle lit in the middle of it. The room itself was decorated with white christmas lights and flower petals all over the ground.
"Dick?" she asked.
He texted her earlier. Told her the coffee shop was having some dance event here and to meet him at 4:00 so she slipped on a dress and flats for the night.
Someone cleared their throat and she turned.
There he was. Dressed up, hair slicked back, and a bouquet of red roses in one hand.
"Hi" he said.
"Hi" she shyly said back. "Dick? What is all this?"
He cleared his throat again, becoming more and more nervous. "It's for you."
"You said the shop was having an event" she said looking around for someone. "There is no one here."
He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. "I bought the place out for the night."
She waited for him to continue.
"Kor I need to tell you something" he admitted. "When I first saw you in here, I was captivated by you. I have never seen a more beautiful girl in my life and I didn't want it to stop. There was something about you that just made me want to get to know you. So I started coming here on purpose, in hopes that we'd get to talk one day and when we did, it felt natural. And then we continued to meet up everyday, it was never planned, and it just became a routine for us."
Her face was red and her mouth became very dry. She never had someone speak about her like this before. It was all new to her and it felt right with him.
"I feel like I've known you for years" he continued. "But we've only known each other for six months and I think its time we try something new."
"What do you have in mind?" she asked.
He gave her a chuckle and lifted up the roses. "How about we start with a first date and see how it goes from there?"
She pushed the roses out of the way and wrapped her arms around his neck before giving him a kiss on the lips.
He stilled and the roses dropped to the ground.
"How about we just skip to the kissing?" she asked.
Dick smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I like the sound of that."
My babes are too cute.