AN: I'm back from my mini vacation so now I can get down to typing again since I just happened to get a summer cold. Ugh. Damn you weak immune system! Anyways pushing my runny nose issue aside, let's gets started! Happy reading!

Love Never Dies

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They sat together on a picnic blanket at the park; the soft warm breeze swayed her long flowing skirt, the spaghetti straps of her green tank top hanging for dear life as her body tingled as he brushed his fingers on her shoulders and kissed her tenderly. She blushed and slowly spoke, "Richard, we're in public! What if someone sees us?"

She heard him chuckle, "So? Let the world know I have the most incredible girlfriend!" He took her hand in his and squeezed it, "I feel like the luckiest guy alive"

Richard looked at her, the gleam in his eyes showed nothing but warmth and love, adoration and honesty; She blushed even more, she's never experienced such a love but she would never trade it for the world. She caressed his cheek and smiled, "I love you" She whispered.

"I love you, Kory" Richard mumbled.

"You know if you ever slip up like that around Ms. Gordon, I don't think she would take it well" Lucius said as he knocked on the opened door and showed himself in.

Once hearing his voice, Richard jumped up and woke up completely. He pressed his index finger to his lips and wondered why he said it out loud. He constantly dreamt of her but he would never say those three sacred words out loud. He was just glad it was Mr. Fox who heard it rather than Babs.

"I'm not one to intrude in relationships but harboring feelings for your ex doesn't seem healthy Mr. Grayson" Lucius said as he opened the curtains of the penthouse window.

Richard sat up on the bed turning his torso so he could get off. Before standing he thought about what Lucius said and he knew he was right but he just couldn't stop thinking about her. "I loved her and I still do, of course my father wouldn't know what that feels like, but for me, that love will never leave me, it will never die but that doesn't mean it will affect the way I feel about Babs. I screwed up my first relationship and I'm not about to the second one" Richard got up and headed to the bathroom.

Lucius nodded and continued to look out the window towards Jump City's cityscape. "Yes, your father is a rather… complicated man. Everything we speak of is confidential of course, Mr. Grayson, just be careful. The jet will be here within an hour to pick you up, Richard" He turned around and showed himself out as Richard shut the bathroom's door.

He took in what Lucius said, of course it struck him as odd to be receiving advice from him, but it was nice and as much as he wanted to promise he would be careful, there was no guarantee. He would screw up another relationship eventually.

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"So the bodice will be covered in apple blossoms and wrapped nicely with a white satin ribbon around the waist and finished with a elegant backbow. The skirt will have apple blossoms and rhinestones scattered around and of course the white top hat veil is an optional substitute to the more traditional wedding tiara most brides go for" Kory explained as she went over the sketch designs for the wedding dress her client ordered.

She smiled and explained as she pointed at the plans and designs with a pen. She mentally sighed, she loved her job, she was where she wanted to be in her career, but sometimes it was sad. She mostly did wedding consultations and they were fun and she loved it when they would go to her as a professional designer when there are plenty of much more experienced people in the field. She was proud of herself and her talent but that didn't mean that there weren't days when she felt no good and there were certainly days like these where seeing a giddy happily in love bride was just too much.

She would watch these brides, watched them trust her with their ideal perfect wedding day image, watched them kiss and cherish their soon to be husbands, watched them be happy. She wasn't envious; she just knew she could never have that. She would always be that bridesmaid that would never get to walk down the alter herself. She was just the wedding planner, the fashion designer, the metaphorical bridesmaid.

"I definitely love the dress design, it is absolutely gorgeous! You certainly have the Midas touch Ms. Anders! I think I will go for my top hat veil choice, a wedding tiara is just overly done my dear. Before I go, I do have a question for you" the client said in a posh voice.

Kory wanted to roll her eyes, she guessed people would only ever really know her for being a former teen model. She smiled and nodded signaling for the woman to continue.

"Have you ever been married? I do remember reading a magazine article of you dating a billionaire's son in the States" She asked as Kory froze. She tried to forget about him even with Mar'i being a constant reminder of how much she resembles him. She was still foolishly madly in love with him.

Kory gulped and tried to be curt and polite about what the woman asked as she replied, "Married, no, never. When I was very young, I was close to having a shotgun wedding" She said and left it at that. Kory got up pretending she had to attend another consultation with a client before the posh woman could ask any more. She felt uncomfortable about talking about her personal life especially with a client, it was unprofessional.

They shook hands and Kory had the rest of the day to her. She was currently in England doing her rounds of wedding clients and then she would be off to Italy, France, and then finally Spain. She sighed as she sat in the garden foyer of the location and closed her eyes thinking about him.

"Richard…" She whispered.

They chased each other around the mansion's garden. They met two weeks ago at the soiree his father held and since then he was captivated by her, by her hair, by her gorgeous green eyes, by her red lips, by everything. She visited him every day since they met that night and every day was filled with a new experience, new feelings, but without a doubt – love.

"I was made for loving you baby, you were made for loving me" He sang as she giggled, "You crazy fool, I won't give into you" She winked and stuck her tongue out at him.

He chuckled and tried to think of another verse of the song, "We should be lovers!"

"We can't do that!" She countered as he managed to grab a hold of her wrist and pin her to a large ivory marble pillar. He knew there was truth in the words she spoke due to his father. His father would see to the termination of their budding romance, he could be a powerful influential man, but to be disowned, to be banished, to be the bad son –it would be worth it for her.

"I love you" He whispered and looked into her eyes as she gasped.

She was immediately silenced by a kiss; her moans were more than enough of an answer. It was rushed, it was moving so fast, it was a Capulet-Montague disaster waiting to happen, but it felt so right, it felt natural, it felt like breathing. She could feel it in her heart that it wasn't fake or deceitful but that he meant every word.

And she was never wrong. Their relationship grew more serious, and even sometimes a little too wild, but above all, they were happy and in love.

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"Say Zorkaberry cheese pie!" Wally shouted smiling as Kory said it while Linda and Richard gave him a weird look."Dude, that sounds gross" Richard said as his face contorted into a grossed out expression. "Hey don't knock it,'til ya try it!" Wally defended his case as he shushed them and made Richard and Kory get closer for the picture.

They were out in Italy for the weekend just goofing off and having a good time before heading back home to Gotham. It was there that things got a little too crazy and in the spur of the moment Richard proposed taking Kory by the hand and running off to a chapel but of course they never went along with their shotgun wedding, instead Richard promised that someday he would ask the right way and that they would get married.

Richard tapped his spoon against the black granite island table; he ignored his soggy cereal and just sat there on the metal stool. He was back home again in Gotham and everything was great minus his dreams. He dreamt more of her lately than what credit card nightmare Babs was running up.

Richard deemed himself temporarily crazy thinking that his brain was just fried from all the wedding planning and the fact that he was getting married. He thought he was stressed out and perhaps missing an old friend so he decided to call up his best friend Wally and make plans to go to a bar or something.

"Honey, I'm back!" Babs announced as she walked into the kitchen with ten bags strapped around each arm. Richard didn't say anything as he looked at her and nodded just to acknowledge her presence there.

She kissed him taking him by surprise and for the first time it felt different.

Not like before where it was just nice or pleasant

For the first time, he cringed.

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Done! To be continued.

Short chapter is short, I know.

Next up, camp and what Damian has in store for Mar'i!

What is Damian brewing up in that little evil head of his?

And yes, the parts of the song in the flashback are snippets of the lyrics from Moulin Rouge's - Elephant Love Medley.

Remember to R&R, Alert, etc. Plz & Thankies! :]