I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING.
He felt embarrassed every single time he looked at her, she had continued to race through his mind from the moment they had met. Wally and Roy both teased him to no end, when she kissed him. Which only made the problem worse, but even he admitted that they weren't the issue. Rather the issue was Kori; he knew that she scared him. Of course not it way that expelled terror, instead it was the fact that he didn't know what to expect from her. He was completely in the dark, which was something he was not accustomed to. He had been taught by his mentor to always maintain control of every situation especially when it came to his emotions, but Kori made it impossible for him. He had decided to maintain his distance, as way to avoid the situation altogether, she was the first crush that was testing him.
Since she moved in with the team, everyone had made themselves readily available to her (specially Wally and Roy), everyone except Robin. He was not doing it to be rude or unwelcoming he was just unsure of how to approach the situation. He had introduced himself to her and acknowledged that he would help her in anyway she needed, but aside from that there was nothing. They rarely saw each other, much less spoke to one another. He was also going through a rough patch with Bruce, he was kind of depressed and had lingering unapproachable vibe to him. Something Kori had caught onto pretty quickly. One day she had decided that she needed to fix this situation, she had even surprised herself to have waited this long. She knocked on his door hesitantly, letting her dainty wrist softly touch his door. She had nothing planned but all she knew was that she needed to talk to him.
"Who is it?," he said in an annoyed voice thinking it was Wally or Donna.
"Hi Robin, its Kori," she paused waiting for him to open the door. But of course he didn't respond. "You know Robin it would be easier to talk if I could see your face." That's when the door opened. Revealing the confused young man. She smiled at him, but he didn't do the same, causing a bit of tension.
"So… was there anything you needed." He awkwardly asked trying not make eye contact with the alien beauty standing right in front of him. Despite having a mask, but he still couldn't do it.
"Yes, I was wondering if you could show me Jump city?" She tried not to leave much of an option. "I have been here for, over 3 months and no one has had time too. And Donna-"she always babbled on when she got nervous.
"Uh…well you see I'm kind of busy," he lied. Trying to find an excuse that would set him free but he couldn't come up with a good one on the spot. Her cheerful expression increasingly began to sadden as his rejection became more obvious to her.
"I talked to donna, she said you would be the only one, who could the moment, as today is your day off." She sighed trying to look a bit more upset. Kori was no idiot she knew how to pull heartstrings, and get her way. "But that's okay, I'm sorry to have interrupted you." She began to walk away slowly, making sure to leave room for him to change his mind. She was about to turn the corner when…
"Kori," he sighed knowing that he was not following his brain; but what could he do it was hard to say no to her. "I think I can take a break for a while," she turned around looking a bit confused. "How about we leave in 30 minutes," her face instantly changed into happiness.
"Oh Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!," she began to float of the ground, which caused him to laugh.
"Okay, it will be pretty short though,"
She nodded. "That's, okay with me." She quickly hugged him and raced to her room to change.
The car ride into the city had undoubtedly been pretty awkward. They didn't even say one word to each other. Robin was kind of making it up as he went; he had never given a tour of this city. To be fair he hadn't grown up in Jump city, so he was also somewhat new. He decided to show her all his favorite spots. Their journey would begin in Harrison park where they would follow a trail into the city. Kori had raided Donna's closet, which was pretty common. She had decided to wear creme colored sweater, with jeans and boots. Her beautiful hair was tied up in a messy bun, which hung delicately around her face. He on the other hand was wearing jeans, a white V-neck and a brown jacket. Even though it was almost sunset he wore his sunglasses, hiding his true identity. He had lived with the titans, for a little over a year. Despite living with them all of the team, Donna and Wally were the only ones that knew of his true identity.
Fall in Jump city was the best time of the year, she immediately noticed the orange and red leaves that adorned the ground almost perfectly. She picked up one of leaves, and began inspecting it profusely.
He chuckled, "What are you doing?"
"Oh, I was trying to compare the leaves of Earth to the leaves of Tamaran, "she blushed, embarrassed but turned her attention back at leaf. "Such strange colors?" almost whispering it to her self as she traced the leaf with her finger. They continued to walk.
"Really you don't have orange leaves in Tamaran?"
"No, we have pink leaves and purple, it always amazes me when I see how different both planets are," she faked a smile.
"Do you feel homesick, sometimes?" he asked abruptly. But then instantly regretted it as he realized that it might have come off as insensitive.
She looked right at him and nodded. "Yes, although I am happy to be living here on earth with the team. I must admit that I miss my home planet from time to time." She looked away.
"I understand, well kind of…." He trailed off, wondering if he should continue. He met her gaze and made up his mind to be truthful. "As you know I'm not from Jump, rather I grew up in Gotham,"
"Yes, I believe Wally mentioned you were new to the city," she said.
"And yet you still wanted me to be your guide to the city?" he teased playfully. Her face turned a light pink.
"Please continue your story robin," she demanded. This was the first thing he had really ever said to her, and she was desperate to know more about him.
"Alright, where was I?"
"You grew up in Gotham," she answered impatiently. He grinned.
"Oh right, okay so I grew up in Gotham lived there since I was nine with my mentor…" just the thought of Bruce caused him so much rage and pain His relationship with him was very strained at the moment. Dick continued, "See in the beginning of my life my family moved around a lot, it wasn't until I settled down in Gotham that I realized how I had never had a a permanent home." He paused. "I know that it is nothing compared to what your going through but I guess in a way I can sympathize."
"Being homesick is something we all share, yes my home might be a larger distance away but it still doesn't mean that you can't feel what I feel." Her voice filled with appreciation.
They continued to walk until they reached the city. That when Robin took her in to his favorite coffee shop, Joey's coffee shop. They walked in ordered some hot chocolate and sat down inside. Kori looked around in awe, it was one of the strangest earth locations she had ever been to. It wasn't very big, and it looked like an old house, but it was packed full of people.
"This place is wonderful," Kori admired all of the artwork that adorned the south wall. It was a mirage of paintings some good some bad all hung up together to show the local artists of the local city. This place was also dimly lit, Christmas lights and candles made it feel very intimate especially with the setting outside. Robin hadn't really taken noticed that this place was pretty romantic, which was definitely not was he was trying to achieve by taking kori here. Or at least that's what he told himself. He panicked momentarily but he realized how much she was enjoying looking at the art and all of his worries melted away. She came back and sat down.
"I think my favorite one is that one," she pointed at painting of a woman. It was weird angle and close up of her face. The woman in the painting seemed to be smiling, toward a light. It was very well made, and had so many details it almost looked like a picture.
"I like that one too," he agreed. Trying to steal a glance at her while her head was turned, he felt like a creep. It wasn't like he was completely unaware of how to act around, girls. He knew how to keep his cool, but Kori was not a simple girl. He had never felt this way, about anyone else.
"I like how even though you can't see much, you can see the pure emotion that just comes from within her. "She turned to look at him. "I'm sorry I must sound so weird…"she blushed.
"No, you don't. I like listening to you talk," had he said that out loud. Now he was blushing too. "…I-I mean I agree with what you are saying," she just smirked at him and took a sip of her drink.
As soon as they were done they headed back onto the trail, by this time it was pretty dark out. They continued to make their way, until they got to Robin's favorite place. It was a giant gazebo in the middle of the park. Just like the coffee shop, Christmas lights surrounded the place. Kori was giggling at something Robin had said, when her attention caught first sight of the place. It was gorgeous, it was in the middle of a clearing, about 40 other people had set up blankets around the gazebo. Bands had begun to play, and the couples on lying on the ground were all snuggled up next to each other listening. There was also a make shift dance floor in the middle of all the people. Several couples danced to the slow tunes of the acoustic guitar. It was as if it was torn from the pages of a romance novel. Robin's cheeks turned fiery red. He had only been there in the early mornings.. He hadn't imagined that it would turn into a lovy dovy paradise at night.
"Uhh Kori" he did not know how to explain himself. But Kori wouldn't stop looking at the dance floor.
"C'mon lets dance" Kori she grinned and grabbed a hold of his hand, before he could protest she had him on the dance floor. She led his hand to her waist, he briefly hesitated but eventually gave in, then she gently placed her hand on his shoulder. Gently they would move to the sound of the song, they found peace in being so close to one another. Neither could explain it, it was as if it was familiar to them. It felt right.
"Thank you for everything Robin," she whispered trying not to disrupt the music. She dropped her head to his shoulder.
"It was my pleasure, Kori. I actually had a lot of fun too." He could feel her breathe of relief as he said it. She lifted her head.
"Really, you did?" she smiled. "I was worried because I thought you didn't like me," she confessed.
"What, how could I not," he held her closer. "What's there not to like?" this time he didn't care about being embarrassed he wanted her to know that he did care about her.
"Thank you," was all Kori could mutter. "I'm glad we can be friends."