The planet Tamaran was beautiful once. To Koriand'r, it is beautiful still, even though the world is scarred and barren. From the balcony in her room, Kory can see the scorched earth that was once lush fields, and she remembers. The bright gardens outside the palace, her brother's laughter and her sister's smile, her mother's hands brushing her hair—if Kory closes her eyes, it's like it never changed.
A noise from her bedroom catches her attention, and Kory turns away from her balcony when she realizes what it is. Reentering her room, she closes the balcony doors behind her and joins Dick on the bed.
Dick frowns at the heavy book in his lap. "This just makes no sense," he complains.
"Which part?" Kory shifts a Tamaranean dictionary over to look at the grammar book in his hands.
"Well, all of it, but this part here." He points to a line on the page. "The word taerk has, like, eighteen different suffixes, and they all change the meaning completely. And don't even get me started on conjugations. I swear, Cantonese was easier to learn than this."
Kory hums, flipping through Dick's book. "I believe you might have an older edition. See," she says, tapping one of the words. "This is a very archaic term, yet it's in the Basic Terminology section."
Dick leans forward to read. "Lachra," he says. "Wait, I just saw that in the dictionary. I thought it meant flight."
"It does."
"But here it's listed as an emotion."
"It means greatest flight," Kory explains. "It is… not an emotion, exactly, but the result of one." She crosses her legs. "To fly, we must feel joy. Lachra is that which brings us the most joy."
"It's always a thing?"
"Sometimes it is a person," Kory admits.
Dick gazes at her, then leans forward and kisses her deeply. After a moment, she pulls back, grinning from ear to ear.
"Is this a common studying technique on Earth?" she teases.
"I'm studying the Tamaranean way," he says, eyes sparkling. "Isn't this how you guys learn languages?"
"It does not work the other way around." Kory giggles as his hands settle on her hips.
"Well, has anyone ever tried?" Dick kisses her again, then pauses. "Hmm. Nope, didn't work that time."
"We should try again, just to make sure." She rises up on her knees and moves to straddle him.
All the books clatter heavily to the floor, but neither Dick nor Kory pay them any mind. In fact, they don't pick them up for quite some time.
The palace's dining hall is largely reserved for state affairs, such as visiting dignitaries, celebratory banquets, and, of course, a princess's homecoming. Dick had asked about that, since Kory had abdicated the throne, but giving up her succession rights wasn't the same as giving up her title that was hers by birth. This time is quieter than last, and the table only seats Grand Ruler Galfore, Koriand'r, Dick, and about half a dozen noblemen.
The food is the same, Dick notes miserably, as the lump on his plate flinches away from his fork. Giving up, he turns to listen to Galfore and Kory's conversation.
"And have you given any thought to what we discussed?" Galfore asks Kory.
Kory swallows the large mouthful of—something. "I have," she says, "and I am sorry, but I cannot give you an answer right now. The future is too uncertain."
Galfore nods. "I understand, Princess."
Kory meets Dick's eyes from across the table, and at his questioning look, she shakes her head minutely: Later. Dick accepts this, and tries to start a conversation with the man on his right, and receives only a vicious glare at the interruption.
After dinner, Dick and Kory return to her room. Kory goes to stand out on the balcony again, and this time Dick joins her. He wraps his arms around her, breathes in the scent of her hair, and waits.
"Galfore asked me to come here so that we could discuss the future of the throne," she says eventually.
"But you're not in line for it anymore."
"No," Kory says, "but Galfore has no spouse or children, and no plans to change that."
"So who would inherit the throne after him?" Dick asks.
"He wanted to know if one of my children might be his heir."
Dick pulls back, heart skipping a beat. "Um…"
Kory turns her head and smirks at him. "Children that I do not have at the moment. He was attempting to plan ahead."
"Ah," Dick says eloquently. "And you said you weren't sure."
"Because I am not. I cannot say whether or not I will ever have a child, nor they would be a fitting heir."
"Do—do you want kids, though?" Dick moves his hands off of her; it's not polite when they're this sweaty.
Kory considers him. "I might," she answers eventually. "It would depend on the circumstances. I would certainly not say no to one."
"Just one?"
"Maybe two." She smiles. "As for the matter of the throne, I believe I would let them decide for themselves once they were old enough."
Dick nods, and his insides settle down marginally. "About those circumstances…"
"Yes?" Kory faces him fully.
He reaches into his pocket and thumbs the small box inside. "What if…"
Before he can get the words out, a loud ringing pierces the air. They both jerk, and realize that it's coming from a pocket of Dick's suitcase. It's an old communicator, older than the Titans, and one he hasn't used in years. Only one person would ever call him on it.
Dick sighs. "He always did have great timing," he says. Kory smiles understandingly as he goes to answer it.
He accepts the transmission and greets the figure on the screen. "Long time no—" He breaks off as he realizes that it's not Bruce, but Alfred. That's only mildly surprising, however; Alfred's expression is the part that really sends a chill up his spine.
The funeral is a muted affair. Only close friends and family allowed; most everyone there is in the know, and there's absolutely no press. Lucius clasps a hand on Dick's shoulder; Kate squeezes his arm; even one of the flower deliveries has the initials S.K. on the card.
Dick stands next to Bruce the whole time, and Kory in turn stands next to him. It's a closed casket, and Dick can't decide if he's relieved or horrified at the necessity. Finally, the service ends, and Dick, Bruce, Kory, and Alfred pile into the limo and pull away from the graveyard, the words Jason Todd becoming indiscernible as the headstone grows smaller in the distance.
When they arrive back at the manor, Bruce disappears as quickly as he usually does. Kory gives Dick a meaningful look and goes to sit in the kitchen with Alfred. Sighing, Dick makes his way to the grandfather clock and down the winding stairs.
The cave is as orderly as ever, and Dick almost misses it, but then he does a double take and sees exactly what is in that glass display case, and—
"Are you kidding me?!"
Bruce doesn't look up from the computer. "What do you want, Dick."
"That's a little morbid, don't you think?" Dick can't keep the anger out of his voice.
Bruce keeps typing. "Have you forgotten what we do here?"
"How about disrespectful?" Dick snaps. "This is how you're gonna memorialize him?"
The clicking of the keyboard stops. "That's not the point. It's not a memorial for him, it's a reminder for me."
"A reminder for what? Never get close to anyone? Never let anyone help you? You don't need dead boy's suit for that, Bruce."
"Get out." Bruce's voice is emotionless.
Dick starts to walk away, but then turns back. "Look, I know you think you break everything you touch, but that's not true, okay? What happened to Jason was…" his voice cracks, "horrible. But that doesn't mean you get to give up."
"I'm not giving up."
"I don't mean give up Batman, obviously you'd never do that. I mean give up at life, Bruce, at us." Dick rubs a hand over his face. "You still have a family. That's what you need a reminder of."
And he walks out of the cave.
Dick and Kory stay at Wayne Manor for nearly a month. Eventually, they have to return to their old life; so on the last night of their stay, Dick takes Kory out to the massive gardens.
She stares in wonder as Dick leads her through the hedge maze, exclaiming appropriately at all the hedge animals. They reach the center, and Dick sits with her on the bench.
"Kory, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," he starts, and she nods encouragingly. "This might seem like a really bad time, but it actually got me thinking." He reaches for her hand.
"I've loved you for years, in a lot of different ways. And recent events have only made me sure that I want you in my life forever." Dick pulls out the ring box and drops to one knee. "You can say no, of course, but I'll still want to be with you. You're my family, and I love you, for the rest of my life. So will you marry me?"
Dick doesn't have time to prepare for Kory launching herself into his arms; his back hits the grass, and she lays on top of him, kissing him over and over again.
"Can I take that as a yes?"
Kory laughs, which is rapidly becoming Dick's favorite sound in the world, and lets him slide the ring on her finger before returning her attention to his lips.
Tragedy can strike anywhere, Dick knows that better than most, but if this experience has taught him anything, it's that being afraid is the worst way to handle it. Bruce is the bravest man Dick knows, but he's still riddled with fear, and it cripples him in many ways.
Someday, Dick hopes he can help Bruce; that Bruce will learn to cope without lashing out or burying himself. Perhaps one day Bruce will stop seeing human fragility as a weakness and start seeing it as a gift. But all of that is far away. Here, now, all Dick knows is that this girl, with her glowing eyes and her hair falling around him, is worth every possible heartbreak or pain imaginable.
A/N: Set during and after in this divine glass, but can probably standalone. This fic should have one more chapter in it, I think. And don't get used to quick updates; this was a fluke.
I have only basic knowledge of the extended Batfamily, so I do apologize for any errors.
Title from here: poetryfoundation dot org / poetrymagazine / browse? contentId = 25958
My tumblr url is deprofundisclamoadte. This fic is also cross-posted on ao3: works/10222544