Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
After a tedious day of unpacking, Richard finally decided it was time for a break. It was almost 2 o'clock in the afternoon, but the sun still shone as bright as it did five hours earlier.
Richard got up from sitting crisscross on the floor and headed for his new bedroom.
"I'm finally done," he sighed heavily as he walked through the entrance.
He had already finished putting away his clothes, which were now confined in his closet, and decided to change into a black pullover hoodie and a pair of casual straight cut jeans.
When he was finished getting dressed and making sure to bring his wallet and keys, he left his house and started for the city. Since it was a beautiful sunny day, he chose to walk instead of taking his motorcycle. It would be nice to relax and appreciate his surrounding for a few hours.
While following the sidewalk towards the jumble of buildings, he shoved his hands into his pockets and whistled a song that had been stuck in his head for awhile.
Richard abruptly came to a halt as something invaded his thoughts. "Dammit, I forgot my iPod!" He grunted as he did a face palm.
"Oh well, whatever." Shrugging, he continued on his expedition.
Jump City was nothing like Gotham. It was livelier and seemed to be more welcoming. Gotham, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. The city was dreary and lonesome, and was definitely not the place to go if you were searching for a pleasant vacation.
After finally making it out of the suburbs, Richard came face to face with Starbucks. He felt rather famished, so he decided to have a frappuccino and a bite to eat.
"What can I get for you, cutie-pie?" the girl on the counter asked in a sing-song voice as she batted her eyelashes at him, obviously trying to be cute.
Richard wasn't the least bit daunted by her attempt, considering the fact that he was used to girls like her. He didn't pay much attention to them nowadays because he figured they were all essentially no different from one another.
"I'd like a caramel frappuccino, and one red velvet cupcake with cream cheese."
She slightly frowned at him, disappointed that he hadn't flirted back. "What size for the frappe?"
"Venti."
Her dissatisfaction grew more apparent as she began to pout. "Coming right up."
After Richard finished his cupcake, his frappuccino only a quarter finished, he decided to get moving again.
He kept his drink, just in case he felt thirsty later on, and headed towards the nearest park. On the way there, he came across an intriguing find.
It was a comic book store called Comix Unlimited.
As a kid, Richard always had an interest for superheroes, and he didn't care what others thought about it. He enjoyed reading anything from the Amazing Spider-Man to the adventures of Superman. His favorite hero, in particular, was Robin.
He didn't fully understand why he liked that character as much as he did, but all he knew was that he just felt it.
"Hey there." Richard was greeted by a seemingly overweight man with a bushy uni-brow who was leaning against the counter. "You new in town?"
Nodding slowly, Richard raised an eyebrow at the guy. "Yeah."
"Need help finding anything?"
"Hmm," he thought for a moment, then glimpsed at the countless number of shelves filled with hundreds, maybe even thousands, of comic books. He didn't feel like spending too much time in the shop, so he decided to take him up on his offer. "Can you point me to where the Batman comics are?"
"Alright, follow me."
After finding the exact issue he had been looking for, Richard decided to just read it in the store so he didn't have to buy it and carry it around. He figured that his frappe was already a handful considering his state of laziness at the moment.
Finally arriving at the park, Richard inhaled deeply. He smiled as he caught sight of two kids playing tag, undoubtedly having a great amount of fun. This would've been a rare site if he were in Gotham, so whenever he got the chance, he would marvel at seeing others happy.
"It's nice out here."
He finished off the rest of his drink, and proceeded towards the closest garbage can. As soon as the empty cup hit the bottom of the trash, he felt something wet splatter on the back of his hand. He looked up only to find a storm-cloud approaching, literally from out of the blue.
Before he was given the chance to react, it began to drizzle. Richard noisily huffed as he pulled his hood over his semi-damp hair and tugged at the drawstrings.
"This is just fan fuckin' tastic."
Richard frantically searched for someplace dry to wait for the volley of raindrops to subside. Seeing that there weren't any nearby, he followed the trail leading deeper into the forest of Oak trees. He noticed that the grass was greener and the flowers looked more exotic here, but it was astonishingly desolate. When he finally spotted an old bench with a large canopy, he immediately sprinted toward it. He sat down, and began to wait impatiently.
It was a bittersweet day. Well, at least he had fun while it lasted, right?
And that's when he saw it.
There, in the meadow, was a girl. It was odd, seeing her the way he did. She was completely soaked, but that didn't stop her.
She danced in the rain like nobody was watching, which she probably would've thought since the area was barren, and it was definitely a sight for sore eyes.
Her vibrant, crimson hair swayed with the breeze as she frolicked around, laughing. He loved how she seemed carefree, like nothing else in the world mattered. Never before had he seen someone radiate such elegance while, of all the possible things to do on Earth, dancing in the rain.
Hesitantly, Richard began to approach the girl.
"Excuse me, Miss? What are you-" The moment he got a closer look at the mysterious woman, he was immediately speechless. She was shocked for a moment, but she instantly recovered and her lips slightly quirked up.
"Is it not obvious? I am relishing the wonders of the rain."
He couldn't stop admiring her fervent beauty, and remained silent.
"I take it you have not danced in the rain before."
Richard slowly snapped out of his daze. "I-"
Without warning, she quickly took his hands into hers and began spinning in circles, dragging him along with her. If it'd been someone else, he would've immediately pulled away. But, with reasons unknown even to him, he didn't.
She was giggling, and he reveled in the moment. This stunning woman gave him a feeling he couldn't even begin to describe, and he didn't even know her name.
After what seemed like an eternity in pure ecstasy, she stopped and smiled at him.
"My name is Kory," she offered him her hand to shake.
"I'm Richard, but my friends call me Dick." He felt a jolt in his torso, in the exact location where his heart was located, and felt butterflies fluttering in the pit of his stomach.
He wasn't sure what this meant, because he'd never felt this type of sensation before.
"Would you mind if I referred to you as Richard instead?"
He beamed at her, loving the way his name rolled off of her lips. "Not at all."
Richard couldn't understand it. He felt like he knew her already, and it hadn't been an hour since they first met. Deep down, he believed he could be himself around this girl, and he liked that feeling. It was something special. Definitely a feeling he hadn't gotten before, not once. The moment he realized he would probably never feel this way again, not with somebody else, he decided that he didn't want to let her just walk in and right out of his life. He wanted to get to know this girl a lot better.
Time seemed to stand still as they gazed deeply into each others' eyes. Hers were a shade of green he'd never seen before. It was brimming with elegance, and seemed to be out of this world. He began to falter as his knees grew weak.
After what felt like hours, the rain finally ceased to fall. Kory broke the contact and looked up, and then back at Richard. "What now?"
"You up for some coffee? We can watch a movie right after."
"Are you certain?" She motioned to their clothes. "We are soaked to the bone."
"I really don't mind."
"So is it a date?" She offered him a cute smile.
He swiftly returned the gesture. "I'd like to think that."
Together, they left the park, thankful for the wonderful surprises a little rain could bring.