Chapter Four - "Friend" Date
Hello, fluff. I want you all to keep in mind that this story was put in the angst category for a reason, so don't get overly happy yet.
Sunday, June 15th 8:00 AM - roof
Starfire's POV
I lay half awake, my face buried into Richard's chest in order to avoid the sun shining in my eyes. I feel him shift under me and his arms wrap around my lower back. smiling a little, I do the reflecting on the events of last night. I am obviously immensely happy, but there is still an underlying layer of confusion. I love him, that I am clearly certain of, but there are still many questions that need to be answered.
He lives in Gotham, all the way across the country. How are we to truly do the starting over if we never see each other? He is Batman now and I know he must be very busy. I cannot expect him to fly back here ever weekend just to see me. Also, I am curious as to how he feels about me. Obviously I shall not ask him that, at least not anytime soon. He will tell me if he wishes to. Another thing that is doing the concerning of me are the rules to this "friendship." It was not made aware if we are allowed to do the seeing of other people, while we are doing the attempting of this.
I obviously have no interest in doing the dating with anyone who is not Richard, but does he feel the same way? Women have always done the flirting with him, even when they were aware we were in the committed relationship. I have no problem making him aware that I am not happy with it. I may not have voiced my love for him yet, but I will not hide the fact I dislike him speaking with other women.
Yes, things between us will indeed be complicated. I have no delusions about that, but it is worth it. If we find our way back to each other, then I have no doubt that it shall be the most glorious day of my life. I will surely do the crying, but they will be tears of pure joy instead of the sad ones I have become so accustomed to.
"Star," I hear Richard whisper and feel his hands run through my hair, causing me to get the chills. It truly does feel like the way it used to be when we first met. I used to become quite nervous, yet excited every time he touched me. I feel very similar to that now. I have craved his touch for so long that the sensations are amplified by a great degree. I just wish to kiss him right now, but I do not believe that it would be acceptable, not at this stage at least.
I peek my eyes open and tilt my head enough to where I can see him smiling lightly down at me, then sun causing his eyes to almost glow. "Greetings Richard, did you sleep well?"
He chuckles a bit, his eyes showing his amusement. "I'm a thirty year old man sleeping on concrete. My back is going to hurt like hell for a week," he replies to me with a joking smile.
Truthfully that was the first night I have slept all the way through the night without waking up because of the mares of night... Nightmares, I mean. I grin at him playfully. "I slept quite well and I am the same age as you are. I believe you are just being the baby who cries."
He frowns at me, but I know the look in his eyes is anything but angry. "You're calling me a cry baby, huh?"
I continue to tease him, are playful banter reminding me of how things used to be. "And what are you to do if I am?"
A mischievous gleam forms in his eye and from many years of living with this man, I instantly know what he is planning. Before I even have a chance to defend myself or fly away, he flips me so that he is now on top and mounting me. If did not know the horror that was about to come this may do the turning of me on. He makes a tickling motion with his hands and I shriek loudly as he attacks my sides.
With my strength I could easily remove him from on top of me, but I have to admit I am enjoying this a little to much. I laugh and squeal gleefully as I squirm under him, pleading for him to cease, but he just continues, smiling the entire time. Robin would have never been so bold with me when we first met, but we are adults now... at least on the outside.
I manage to escape him briefly, crawling away as fast as I can, but he quickly captures me from behind, now centering his assault on my pits of the arm, the most ticklish spot on my body. We have had this battle many times in the past and he is well of aware of that fact. As I laugh uncontrollably, I manage to roll on to my back, which in the end only puts me in a worse position. I try to catch his hands, but he is far to quick and ends up pinning both of mine behind my head with one of his, while he continues his assault with his free one.
"Richard... please... do the stopping," I plead in between laughs, although I clearly do not want him to.
"Say you're sorry for calling me a cry baby," he demands playfully, continuing to tickle me as he does.
"I... am... sorry! You are not the baby who cries!," I scream in one breath. He stops, but its still takes me a moment to catch my breath. I notice he has not dismounted me, his hands now resting on my stomach and he is staring into my eyes, his face suddenly serious.
"You know Star, I'm really glad you're back," he says softly.
I feel my body warm dramatically and I am sure that I am blushing. "I am glad to be home. I must admit, at first I was not sure that I would stay very long, but now I think this may very well be permanent." The reason I have reconsidered exactly how long I shall stay on Earth is rather obvious, most likely even to him. I am aware that Tameran, or specifically Karras will not like my decision, but I truly only care what Richard and my friends think on the matter. I only married Karras to put Tameran at peace and now that it is, I feel I have done what I was obligated to do and have no further reason to remain there.
He smiles lightly down at me and brushes a stray hair behind my ear. "I sure hope so." Did I mention how much I love him? He leans down slowly and kisses my forehead before standing, much to my disappointment, and helps me to my feet. As I feel his hand release mine I find myself feeling slightly upset. Maybe this shall be harder than I originally anticipated.
Richard picks up his discarded cowl and puts it on, once again becoming Batman. He then walks over to the tower's edge, me curiously following behind him. I hear him chuckle as he looks down and I follow his eyes to the ground to find many vehicles sitting in the front of the tower. "I guess everyone felt the need to spend the night," he says with a smirk.
I laugh as well, knowing the only reason anyone is here is because they are curious to what happened with us and I am fully aware that the moment we walk into the common room we will be questioned quite extensively. I can already here the boys teasing Richard, and I must admit I am curious to hear how he responds. "I suppose we should not keep them waiting."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He holds his hand out to me and I put my hands behind my back and grin up at him.
"I do not remember Robin ever holding my hand," I tease. I do enjoy this game. We used to play it all the time. He would become most frustrated with me and it was cute to see him do the pouting.
He frowns at me before picking me up in one swift motion and slinging me over his shoulder, me squealing and giggling the entire time. I love Richard at all times, but when he is being playful I find him most fun. He begins to carry my dangling body toward the door and then down the stairs, me still laughing. When we reach the door of the common room he sits me down, knowing if we walked in like that, the teasing would have no end.
We step forward side by side, the door automatically swishing open and we step through, finding everyone in the middle of the breaking of fast. They all look up from their plates, most grinning at us. "Walk of shame!" Wally calls from his place between Tim and Jinx.
"So, did you guys bang?," Bee asks loudly.
Richard's mouth falls open and I flush in embarrassment, burying my face in my hands. She has always been most forward, but I was not prepared to be asked that, at least not with everyone looking at us. "No, we did not do the banging! We talked and did the sleeping together... I mean sleeping beside each other," I quickly correct myself before everyone does the overreacting. I remember the first night Robin and I slept in the same bed. We had fallen asleep during a movie we were watching in his room. The next day I told Raven we slept together and the microwave did the blowing up. I did not realize the term "sleeping together" was a synonym for having sex.
"Riiight," she replies, raising an eyebrow and appearing very amused by the situation. "We heard you squealing from down here." This caused everyone to laugh and both me and Richard to frown, me still blushing. I can see how they would have done the assuming.
"I was tickling her," he blandly retorts.
Wally laughs and leans back in his chair, putting both his hands behind his head. "So, that's what the kids are calling it these days." He turns to Tim. "Hey Red Robin, you tickle anyone lately?"
Everyone laughs again, even Raven is smirking. So much for this being a room full of adults. "Yeah, a new girl every night. I guess it runs in the family. What about you Static?"
The person knows as Static opens his mouth to say something, but catches sight of Richard's glare and quickly shuts it. People have a certain fear of Batman. Richard is a large man for an Earthling and the cowl only makes him look more fearsome. "Enough," Richard orders. "Flash, I feel the need to remind you I know where you live." He turns to look at Tim. "And I'll just kick your ass."
This is where Vic steps in. "Alright everyone, calm your tits and let the happy couple come eat." Richard grunts something and I just continue to blush and follow behind him over to the nearly full table and take a seat beside Donna, while Richard sits on the other side of me. Vic brings us each a plate with eggs, toast, and bacon and then continues to tease us by bringing us a glass of the sprite with two straws in it. I knew we were going to be teased, but I did not realize it would be to this extent. I really believe everyone is just happy we are talking again.
Richard seems to have no issue sharing the sprite with me, so I follow along, not minding in the least. Our heads bumped one time during the breaking of fast, as we tried to take a drink at the same time, causing everyone to make an 'awwww' sound. I am actually starting to find this amusing, Richard however is a different story. I noticed he does not smile very much... or at all really. The only time I have seen him smile was when we were alone on the roof. I am not sure what has happened to him in the last five years, but he seems to be... darker in a way, but that is not surprising to me.
I used to be the only who could get him out of his office or the gym, where he would spend hours. All I would have to do is walk in and ask him to do something with me and most of the time he would without hesitation. I guess without me he has become a much more secluded version of himself, but I shall not do the standing for it. He must enjoy life and remember how to have fun. "Richard?," I say, sense only Donna and Wally are next to us. In fact, I am pretty certain everyone here besides this Static person is aware who Batman is, so I feel no need to address him formally. It is still odd to me. When I think of Batman, I can only do the picturing of Bruce, but I'm sure I will adjust.
He looks over with me from where he is talking with Wally. "Yeah, Star?"
"I am wondering if you wish to do the hanging out with me today?, Perhaps the park or the boardwalk?" I question, smiling sweetly up at him.
He smiles before it quickly falls from his face. "I'd love to, but I can't." My smile falls as well, but then he clarifies why. "When I was Robin or Nightwing, it wasn't a huge deal if I was seen out in public in the middle of the day, but with Batman it's different. If Batman is seen walking around the park, it would be the lead story on the six o'clock news."
I beam a smile up at him, now understanding. "Oh no, I do not mean as Batman and Starfire. I still have my hologram ring in my possessions at Raven and Gar's house. I believe it is acceptable for Kori to be seen with you, yes?"
He chuckles. "Yeah, that would be okay. After you left I didn't get out much and of course you weren't around so people assumed our break up was really bad. We actually made a few magazine covers."
I frown at this. Our break up was indeed bad, but that is our business. I do not like the fact that it was broadcasted to the world, but that is just the way things are when you are the public figures as Richard says. Shaking it off, I turn my attention back to him. "So we may go?"
He nods. "If you want."
I clap my hands together, my beaming smile returning. "Glorious!" I am truly excited for this. I can never get enough of the alone time with Richard. Despite all the years we spent together, I never lost the thrill of being around him... Obviously it was not the same for him, but I am attempting to leave the past in the past. As Richard said, we both have our regrets, but we cannot change what happened, however we do control the future and I want my future to be with him, so I must not let the past interfere, but at the same time I have to learn from it, we both do.
Sunday, June 15th 11:00 PM - Raven and Gar's house
Starfire's POV
Raven, Donna, Bee, and I sit in the living room of Raven's house. The rest of the girls are enjoying the tower's pool of swimming along with a few of the guys, while Vic, Gar, Wally, and Tim were having a discussion with Richard in the common room when we left. I had to return to Raven's in order to retrieve my hologram ring, and the girls decided to join me so that we could do the girl talk before Richard and I did the hanging out this afternoon.
"So," Bee begins, a grin on her face. "What really happened last night?"
"It was as I said. We talked until we fell asleep," I restate.
"Are you guys back together?," Donna question from her place on the couch beside me.
That is truthfully a good question and I am not overly sure how to answer it. "We... we have agreed to be friends, but it is my understanding that both of us have an interest in being more. So, I suppose we are doing the working on things and taking things slow."
"Why did you guys even break up to begin with?," Bee asks. "Dick was never to clear on what happened between you two."
I sigh, not really wanting to recount the details, but I suppose I should tell them. Raven is the only one who I have told the whole story to. "We grew apart, or rather he thought so. I am not saying it is entirely his fault, we both did things that we should not have. He became very absorbed in his work and I spent a lot of time away for the modeling. We had no issues with money, so we should not have let those things become priorities over each other. None of it should have ever happened."
I feel Donna place her hand on my shoulder, sensing I am distressed "Do you love him?"
I look over at Raven, who is sitting on the opposite side of me. She is the only one who truly knows just how deeply I do love him. She has told me many times that it is stronger than anything she has ever felt. I often think about asking her if she can tell if Richard loves me as well, but I do not wish for this to start that way. I would like to do this by ourselves, just like we did in the beginning. She gives me a light smile and nods and I nod back. "Yes, I shall love him today, tomorrow, and ever day until the end of my life and then longer. Tameranian love is not like human's. We are monogamous, meaning we spend are entire lives with one mate. Once we fall in love, there is no falling out."
"So, you're saying your love is eternal?," Bee asks with wide-eyes. "Man, that must be a lot to deal with."
"Yes, it is very stressful. Most Tameranians do not mate outside of our race for this reason, but Robin stole my heart and Richard shall never be able to give it back." To be honest, there are times that I wish I could forget Richard... at least there were until last night. I have been restored with hope and it's difficult to not become the carried away.
"They say true love can overcome all obstacles, and I'm pretty sure he loves you," Donna says with a comforting smile. "Ask anyone, when you left he was a wreck for years and really isn't much better now. Only Wally and Babs know all the details, but it just wasn't pretty. I see him at the Watch Tower a couple of times a week, but other than that, he just kind of disappears."
I truly do not like that Richard is not happy, rather he is with me or not. I know him better than anyone besides Raven and it only took one look at him at the breaking of fast this morning to know he was deeply troubled. He is my life and I wish to see him smile, smile like he used to when we were together. If me trying to make him happy again results in us becoming the couple once more, then all the better. I love him and I do hope he loves me, but if he does not, if he cannot, then I still wish to bring happiness into his life, no matter how broken I am.
Sunday, June 15th 12:00 PM - Common Room
Richard's POV
"So, did you two do it?," Wally questions me, wiggling his eyebrows as he does and I just frown in response. Seeing I have no intention of answering him, he just continues. "Oh, c'mon man, it's just us. Give us the details."
"We talked then went to sleep," I droned, my tone resembling Raven's as I wipe the non-present dust off my civilian shirt. I have to admit, I really did try to look nice for this "friend date" as Wally keeps calling it. I'm not wearing anything fancy of course, just a black V-neck and some greyish jeans. She always liked when I dressed casually in the past because it meant she didn't have to spend hours on her hair. One of my favorite Starfire quotes is from one night when we were going to dinner at some fancy restaurant in Bludhaven.
She walked out of our bathroom is a stunning green dress and found me laying on the bed in some blue jeans and a red polo. She frowned at me before walking back into the bathroom. When I asked her what she was doing she stated, "if you can look like the crap then so shall I."
"Are you guys at least back together?," Tim asks, sounding almost worried about it.
I look over at him and sigh. "It's complicated. We're... working on things... I guess." I shake my head. "I don't know what's going on and neither does she. We're friends, that's all I know."
"By the way she was screaming this morning I think you mean friends with benefits," Wally teases, only to be ignored. Star's not the kind of girl to just sleep with a guy without being wooed, even if that guy is me. I wouldn't want that from her anyway. It would only complicate things even further and if we're going to do this, whatever this is, I want to do it right. It kind of pisses me off that everyone assumes we slept together, but I can see why that would be the assumption.
Vic continues the questioning, his face serious. "Do you love her... No, are you in love with her?" He is aware of what I said to her before she left, so it's wise that he phrased the question that way. The word "love" can mean many things, there are many different types of love after all. I love Vic, Wally, Gar, Raven, Donna, Tim, Damian, Helina, Babs, and even Jason, but it's different then the way I loved my biological parents or the way I love Bruce, Selina, and Alfred. There is no grey area with "in love." It means only one thing. Do you romantically love her? A straight forward question with no wiggle room.
Am I in love with her? It feels pointless to even ask myself that question anymore. Last night when I saw her standing there, looking like an innocent-faced Goddess, my heart literally stopped beating. I've heard people say you know you're in love if your heart skips a beat, but it stopping completely? That's a new one. "Yes." The fact is, I'm not falling in love with her again because I don't think I ever really fell out. I believe what happened was we just went through a rough patch and for a couple who never even argued, it was a hard thing for us.
I see slow smiles spread across everyone's face, but then Gar of all people turns serious. He pokes me in my chest, a glare in his eye. "If you hurt her this time, we're all gonna kick your ass. Got it?"
I smile lightly and nod. "I wouldn't expect anything less." Just then the elevator dings and the girls walk in, Kori leading them, her ring now on her finger. When she sees me she smiles and I smile back without any control over it. She's the only thing that has ever been able to make me smile with just a look. I really don't know how she does it. I think it's her face. She's is just one of those people with a naturally innocent face that melts your heart, but that may be just a reflection of my own feelings toward her.
"Greetings, friends," she exclaims with a beaming smile. I'm really not to sure how high I am on being called a friend by her, but she's right when she say entering relationship right now would be a bad idea. We need to take this slow, maybe not wait two years this time, but definitely not right away. Her eyes focus on me and her smile becomes a little wider. "Are you ready to do the hanging out with me, Richard?"
Before I can say anything, Wally hops into my lap from the sace on the couch beside me and wraps his arm around my neck. "Sorry Star, I think you're just going to have to face the fact that we're meant for each other." He then plants a wet kiss on my cheek. Only Wally has the confidence to do this kind of shit.
She covers her mouth as she giggles in the cutest way before trying to put on a serious face. "Richard, I'm afraid I must ask you to chose. It is either me or him."
I smirk at her playfulness. "Easy." In one powerful thrust I push Wally into the floor before standing to my feet and extending my hand out to her. "I'm ready to go when you are."
She takes my hand, blushing slightly as she does. I don't know how she feels about me, but I think there is at least a possibility she still loves me on some level, or she could again... I hope. "We may go now."
I nod, smiling slightly as we both head toward the elevator hand in hand. I'm sure Tim want mind if I "borrow" his motorcycle.
Sunday, June 15th 4:00 PM - Boardwalk
3rd person POV
Richard and Kori sat on a bench on the boardwalk, both tired from the park. Kori absolutely insisted that they feed the ducks and Richard quickly found that he still lacked the ability to say no to her. They then found themselves going for a joy ride on Tim's motorcycle, cruising all over the city. Kori discovered that her blush was far more visible on her less orange skin and having her arms wrapped around Richard to hold on was not helping her hide it in the least.
Eventually the two decided to head over to the board walk to enjoy the rides, but a quick break was in order first. Kori looked over at Richard, finding a light smile on his face as he looked out into the water. It certainly seemed like he had enjoyed the day as much as she had. This really had been the best day she had experienced in the last five years. She found herself falling even deeper in love with him, if that were even possible. He was acting just like he did when they were dating. Still no kissing or touching that would be anything more than friends would do, but he was smiling and that made her smile.
Richard was indeed having a fantastic time. He had smiled more in the last twenty-four hours then he had in the last five years. Starfire just had that effect on him. She was so cute when she was feeding the ducks and he had to admit that her hands around his torso made him feel a little... frisky. Her touch was like a drug to him and he was craving more, but he restrained himself in favor of doing this the right way. Plus he was pretty sure that he would be heading back to Gotham with a black eye if he kissed her, and rightfully so.
That was one thing that was troubling him though. He would be leaving for Gotham at least by tomorrow morning. What was he going to about her? Could he just leave her here after already being away from her for so long? Would she possibly agree to come with him? His house was more than big enough for the both of them. They would have plenty of their own space and wouldn't over crowd each other, which at this point she could cling to him twenty-four/seven for the rest of his life and he wouldn't feel over crowded. It was definitely a problem that needed to be figured out quickly. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, an action that didn't go unnoticed by her.
She reached over and laid her hand on top of his, a concerned expression on her face. "Richard, are you the okay? Are you not enjoying the day with me?"
Her worried tone caused him to react quickly, moving his hand to hold hers, their finger intertwining. "Of course, I'm having a blast. I'm guess I'm just a little tired." He looked over at a nearby ice cream stand before turning back to her. "How about we get us some ice cream?"
She beamed a smile and nodded enthusiastically, almost like a child would. A thirty year old woman with child like enthusiasm? Just one more thing he loved about her. He stood from the bench, pulling her up with him as they did. They walked over to the ice cream stand hand in hand, something that both were enjoying. "Hi, can we get one chocolate for me and a strawberry with sprinkles for my friend here?"
The man nodded and began to prepare there cones, while Kori stared at Richard in amazement. "You remember my favorite ice cream flavor?," she asked, her face clearly showing that she was surprised. How could he possibly remember such a small detail as that after so many years?
He smiled and nodded at her. "Of course, I remember everything about you."
She blushed and leaned into him, loving the fact he remembered such insignificant things. They were handed their ice cream cones and Richard handed the man a five dollar bill, not waiting for the change before walking off, Kori still leaning into him and she licked her ice cream. "Thank you for purchasing this for me. I would have myself, but I have no American currency."
He frowned down at her. She used to never thank him for buying things for her because he made it clear that she didn't have to. He liked spoiling her, and an ice cream cone was wouldn't even register compared to the items he used to buy for her. She would occasionally complain, but he would shut her up with kiss, not that he had that option right now. "Star, you don't..."
"Yes, I know. I do not have to thank you for doing such things for me. I did not know if that still applied," she explained.
He continued to frown. "Of course it does. It always will."
She smiled and released his hand, leaning further into him, signaling she wanted him to wrap his arm around her waist, which he did without any hesitation. "So, please tell me what you have been doing these last five years. Do you still work as a police?"
Richard chuckled a little nervously, not really wanting to get into how messed up his life had been since she had been gone. He didn't want to scare her away with making her think he was to broken to be fixed, which he very well might be, but he certainly felt light years better with her back. "Uhhh no, I kind of quit police work a few years ago." Or pretty much anything that involved him going out in public. Nightwing could do more than the police anyway. "I actually am in charge of the applied sciences division of Wayne Enterprises. Bruce thought it would be good for me."
"Oh?," she questioned, sounding surprised. "I thought you said you would never work at Wayne Enterprises." He had said that, multiple times actually. He never had any interest in taking over the company and Bruce never asked, but during Richard's period when he was actively trying to get himself killed, Babs finally tattled on him to Bruce and Richard was surprised how Bruce reacted. It was very... fatherly. They had become much closer over the years and Richard actually referred to him as dad when speaking to him directly.
"Things change," he answered simply.
Kori frowned at that. Things certainly did change. One second you're in a perfect relationship, full of love and the next the man you love barely speaks to you, but that was the past and she had to let that go. No, matter how difficult that was. She knew what went wrong in the past, they both did, so maybe they wouldn't make the same mistakes twice. She believed that X'hal had given them this opportunity for a reason and she didn't intend to mess it up. Her focus shifted to the sight of a roller coaster not to far away. She looked up at Richard and grinned. "Please?" She knew she didn't have to clarify. They knew each other far to well for that to be necessary.
He smirked down at her. "You going to puke on me this time?"
She became playful. "Possibly, but I promise it shall be less abundant this time."
He laughed. He actually laughed for the first time he could even remember. It had been so long that the echo of it sounded foreign to his own ears. Kori beamed a smile, ecstatic that she got such a reaction out of him. It made her feel glorious, especially with vaguely knowing how hard things had been for him.
"Well, when you put it that way..." he trailed off with a grin.
Sunday, June fifteenth 7:00 PM - Boardwalk
Starfire's POV
Richard and I sit on the ferris wheel, watching the sunset, both of us vomit free. I am certain he is very thankful of that. Our hands are still interlocked as they have been for the majority of the day and I find myself curled into his side, holding the stuffed panda he won me in my lap. I shall treasure it as I do my other stuffed bear. I have truly had a glorious day, the best day I can remember having in so long.
I know we are only friends, but I feel that spark that they talk of in the movies and I am certain if I were to kiss him right now that I would feel the fireworks. The flies of butter in my stomach begin to flutter their wings every time he looks at me and I find myself feeling suddenly warm. I truly feel like we are just meeting, which in a sense, we are. He and I both are different people then we were then, he more so then myself. There are things that have happened that neither of us are aware of and there are many stories to be told. Truly the only difference between fifteen years ago and now is we are older and Richard is not scared to touch me, which is most glorious. I do not wish to wait two years this time.
I am still uncertain, not of my feelings for him, but where this is going. I wish to know how he feels, but I understand it is far to early to voice such things. I just wish I could skip the friendship part and move straight to the kissing and the cuddling, but this is necessary. I may not enjoy thinking logically, but I have to at times. I want this to work, and there are going to be many obstacles we shall have to overcome, but I am prepared for that. Earth has a saying that states anything worth having is worth fighting for and I suppose that is true. I am willing to fight for this, for us. I just have to pray to X'hal that it does not end like last time... or end at all. That would be nice.
I hear Richard sigh and see him bow his head out of the corner of my eye. I instantly become worried and arch my head so that I may see his face. "Are you the okay?" I am somewhat worried he is not enjoying himself as much as I am. I wish to make him happy, to excite him, not do the boring of him. Our relationship becoming boring is one reason he did the breaking up with me last time.
He looks up at me and I can see his face is somber. "You know I have to leave in the morning, right?"
Now it is my turn to sigh and bow my head. "Yes... I do not wish for you to go. I shall miss you very much," I say rather boldly, not caring about being to forward anymore.
He pauses for a moment, his thumb stroking my the back of my hand. "You know... I was thinking, Silkie misses his momma and... so do I... a lot" He pauses once more, and I remain silent, not wanting to do the assuming, but I do hope I am correct in where I think he is doing the going with this. "Maybe, you could come back to Gotham with me? If we're really going to try this... whatever this is, then wouldn't it be better if we were around each other? I can't leave Gotham often, especially to fly across the country and then there's the time zones and I'm pretty busy most of the time. I mean, my house would be big enough for the both of us, but if you don't want to live with me, then I can buy you your own house and a vehicle, no problem. I just want..."
"Yes," I interject him, beaming a nearly teary eyed smile. I truly was hoping he would ask me. He is correct. We would never get to see each other and almost never speak when he left. "I would love to move in with you. I am sure my bumgorf wishes to see his momma everyday and I wish to be close to you."
He smiles and suddenly I feel myself being wrapped in a hug. I hug him back with no hesitation, holding on tightly. "strawberries," he whispers into my ear. "You still smell like strawberries."
I just close my eyes and sigh happily, melting into him completely. This is the start of something glorious. I feel this.
Monday, January 16th 2:00 AM - Titan's Tower
3rd person POV
After spending another hour on the boardwalk, Kori and Richard went to a late showing of one of Starfire's romance movies, cuddled up a little closer than friends should be, but both were excited that they would be living together again. It was so new, yet at the same time so familiar. upon leaving the movie they went to a late night diner, seeing who could eat the most pancakes. Kori and her nine stomachs won of course.
After that they took a moonlight, bare-footed walk on the beach hand in hand, listening to the waves crash against the shore as they watch the moonlight lit water shimmer. That somehow escalated into him chasing her into the water, but a shark fin surfacing above the surface and far to close to them ended that, Kori running out of the water screaming something about 'the shark of great whiteness.' Richard could only assume she meant great white shark, but with Starfire you never really know. Now they found themselves coming up the elevator, both laughing ridiculously at an idiom Starfire had messed, very badly at that.
Specifically it had begun to drizzle very briefly and Starfire had asked him if it were going to rain the felines and canines, meaning cats and dogs of course. Starfire loved rain as long as it didn't thunder. Thunder scared her... badly. When the elevator dinged open they found that the Titans were all sitting on the couch with knowing smirks. It wasn't everyone, just their close friends. Wally, Jinx, Donna, Vic, Bee, Raven, Gar, Vic, Tim, Helina, and a sleeping Damian, who had passed out laying across Wally, Jinx, and Donna's laps.
Wally, somehow always having energy even at this hour, was the first to speak. "So, how was the friend date?," he asked, making air quotes when he said friends.
Starfire and Richard traded glances, Starfire being the one to reply. "I am moving in with him."
"Ha!," Gar exclaimed. "Who called it?"
Everyone raised their hand.
Next chapter: The Titans wake up to find an interesting story in the morning paper, Starfire returns to Gotham with Richard, and the adjustment period begins. Just imagine living with your ex. That would be terrible, but they still love each other so we'll see how that goes. Also, does anyone want shorter chapters or are we good with this? I shall not do the updating until I receive my desired number of reviews!
