Sorry if it's rushed...

Disclaimer: don't own tt

Six o'clock rolled around, and Richard got home on the dot. Kori was bustling around in the kitchen, not paying any attention to him. He decided it was best not to disturb her, and went to the door just as the doorbell rang. Vic, Karen, and Gar stood outside.

"So, where's the other lovebird?" asked Vic. Richard gulped, suddenly wondering if this was such a great idea.

"Um...in the kitchen...hey, Kori! Vic, Karen, and Gar are here!" he called. Kor appeared, wiping her hands on a towel, and smiled graciously at them. Richard saw Gar's mouth water, and shot a glare at him.

"Hello. It is nice to meet you," she said slowly, unsure of what to make of them.

"Pleased to meet you, too, little lady. I'm Vic. This is my girlfriend, Karen, and something our lawnmower threw up, Gar." Kori giggled at his introductions while Gar glared.

Richard closed the door and pointed at the living room, where everyone filed in. Not five seconds later, the doorbell rang again. "I shall get that," said Kori immediately. Richard frowned, wondering who it could be.

"Hey Dick, you don't mind if I steal her, do ya? I mean, you don't look too whipped, so..." started Gar. Richard threw him another glare.

"Shut up."

"Shutting up now."

Kori returned, hauling Rachel with her. She met Richard's confused gaze with a fake, sweet smile. "As you were inviting friends over, I was sure you would not mind if I invited a friend of mine over as well. This way we can all get to know each other!" she said cheerily. Judging by the expression on Richard's face, he did mind, but didn't say anything. Rachel glared at him.

"No, of course not, Kori," he said finally. Kori flounced into the living room happily.

"This is Rachel Roth," she introduced.

"Rachel?" asked Gar in amazement.

"You have met?" asked Kori. Rachel nodded.

"Gar's a family friend. I haven't seen him in years," she said bluntly. Gar beamed.

"Dude! Kori's awesome! She totally just pulled old Rae up from nowhere!" he exclaimed. Kori giggled a little bit, and then even more at Rachel's expression. A vein near her temple was twitching ever so slightly.

"Don't call me Rae."

"Right. Forgot, sorry. Does everyone here want me to shut up?" asked Gar irritably. Vic nodded. Kori laughed and sat down on a loveseat.

"Of course not, Gar. Please, I do not know anything about you three. Have you always lived in Gotham?"

Richard stayed standing while they chatted, as the only other place to sit was next to Kori. How could she have brought someone? Didn't she know how hard this was already? And where'd she pick up this 'friend'? Rachel looks like she wants to kill me...he thought uneasily.

Rachel was glaring, sending him death wishes. He frowned at her, but she didn't look away. Kori seemed to notice the tension and smiled. "Would anyone like a cup of tea?"

"I'll take one," droned Rachel, tearing her gaze away from Richard. Gar and Karen agreed as well. Richard followed Kori out, trying not to groan as he heard Vic's "aw, how cute."

"Kori! What were you thinking?" he hissed. Kori stared defiantly at him.

"Why am I not allowed to have friends over if you are, Richard?"

"Because I was trying to introduce my friends to you. Then you bring this Goth here who looks like she's ready to tear me to pieces. What kind of friend is she, anyway?" he asked harshly. Kori rolled her eyes, something she had picked up from Rachel whenever Gar tried to talk to her.

"A good one." She turned back to her tea-making, ignoring the rest of his protests, and secretly congratulating herself. This was the first time since Monday she'd been able to stand up to him. Normally she'd scamper past him, not wanting to get yelled at or hurt again. Richard hadn't tried talking to her or apologizing either. Of course he wouldn't. He wasn't sorry.

Kori put the three glasses on a tray and headed back into the living room, with Richard following.

The rest of the evening passed rather pleasantly. Gar had Rachel annoyed to the point where she broke the handle off her teacup, and Gar had just laughed. Vic and Karen were the two kindest people Kori had ever met, Gotham or otherwise. Alfred was right. These are wonderful people, she thought happily.

Richard was sulking. His friends were leaving him out, and Rachel was shooting him death glares every time she thought Gar wasn't looking. The only thing that had actually make him feel any better about inviting these people over was the look on Kori's face. He hadn't seen her this happy since she had arrived.

Kori served the dinner as well, late, around eight o'clock. Vic's eyes popped out, and Richard's stomach started to sink. "Who cooked this?" Vic rasped.

Kori answered in the worst way possible. "I did." Richard thought he would faint.

"It's delicious! Girl, you could work at a five star restaurant if you wanted, and they'd be lucky to have you!" exclaimed Karen. Vic nodded enthusiastically. Richard frowned and took a bite of his...whatever it was. Apparently, Kori had been experimenting, but it had turned out pretty good.

"Thank you. Alfred has been teaching me much about American food," she said shyly, sitting down. The sinking in Richard's stomach worsened. He should have given her a second chance.

"So, Dick, how come you aren't eating?" asked Rachel, bringing Gar's attention to him. The atmosphere turned considerably icy.

"Uh...I am...just making sure you all like it..."

"You don't trust Kori's cooking? She's pretty good at it. Not good enough for you?" snapped Rachel. Richard was taken aback.

"No...I mean, yeah, it is--"

"Then what's your problem?"

"Geez, Rae, way to bite his head off," interrupted Gar. Richard wondered how he could ever have been mad at him. Glancing over at Kori, he noticed the side of her mouth twitching slightly. Rachel grumbled something incoherent and returned to her meal.

Dinner turned extremely quiet, and no one except Kori was very happy. Poor Vic and Karen were just plain confused. Rachel continued insulting Richard all through dinner, leaving him completely speechless. Did she work for Harper or Redd? Did Kori know that? Is that why she brought Rachel over? The explanation made sense to him.

Afterwards, Vic and Karen made it a point to hint heavily on important plans they had after this, and left immediately. Gar stayed, though Richard had the sneaking suspicion it was because Rachel was here. What Gar could see in her, he had no idea. Determined to set the record straight, though, he waited just outside the bathroom when she went in.

Rachel heard footsteps stop just outside the bathroom door, and frowned. There had to be a hundred bathrooms in this place, why not use one of those? At once, her paranoid side kicked in. It was what made her write such realistic horror novels.

Question: What would a killer be doing in Wayne Manor?

Answer: Obviously, he would be after Richard or Bruce. They owned Wayne Enterprises, and were very important people in the corporate world. The killer must think that she was either Richard or Bruce, and was therefore waiting outside the bathroom to murder her. The killer could have easily slipped in, they were professionals at that. She could actually be in danger. Wayne Manor was a pretty easy target.

Opening the door slowly, she noticed that the hallway was dark. The murderer would have turned off all the lights, so she couldn't see him. She opened the door all the way, to noticed a shady figure standing in front of her. It reached out. "Rachel..." The voice sounded oddly familiar, but Rachel didn't care. With one swift punch to the temple, the figure was knocked out. Turning on the lights in the hallway, she saw Richard Grayson lying on the floor, knocked out.

"Whoops," she commented dryly, walking over to alert Kori.

When Richard woke up, he kept his eyes closed. His entire head was aching, and something cold was pressed to his temple. He groaned in pain. "Shh, Richard. It is fine, now. It is only a slight bruise." A soft, warm hand rested on the side of his head, the side that didn't have that cold thing pressed on it. He tilted his head so it could completely rest on that hand and groaned again. "Shh..." If only that voice would keep talking...

He opened his eyes slowly, and everything seemed slightly brighter than it usually was. His sunglasses! He shut his eyes tightly again. "My glasses..."

"Not now, Richard. You are hurt, and then I will not be able to help you. Keep your eyes closed if you wish," said the voice. He opened his eyes again anyway.

"Kori?" His fiancee's face loomed over his, concentrating completely on the side of his head. She looked directly at him and smiled a little bit.

"Shh. Relax, Richard. You are hurt." An ice pack. She was pressing an ice pack to the side of his head.

Apparently, Rachel had punched him, and then Kori, Rachel, and Gar had hauled him to the couch. His head now rested on Kori's lap while she tried to move his messy, jet-black locks away from his wound while she pressed the ice pack to it. He snuggled into her hand, currently caressing his cheek. I should get hurt more often...

"I'm tired," he declared.

"Go to sleep, then, Richard," she murmured. He obeyed immediately, the throbbing vanishing as soon as he drifted off.

Kori smiled serenely at as sleeping form. This was when she liked Richard the best, when he was too sleepy to remember that he was supposed to be angry at her. Unfortunately, these episodes did not last long, but they were almost worth it. That was the side of Richard she could almost fall in love with.

She laughed, remembering the look on Rachel's face when she had delivered the news. Indifferent and slightly amused, Rachel had told Kori her murderer story, and had followed when Kori ran to the bathroom to find him.

They had called Gar to help haul him over to the couch. He winced with every step they took, so they laid him down as close as possible. Gar and Rachel offered to stay and help, but Kori waved it off. Richard probably wouldn't be too happy to see Rachel anyway. The two left her to take care of him, and now all Kori was worried about was how he would react when he got up it the morning. You are being selfish! He has gotten hurt so badly, he has every right to be angry now, she scolded herself. Yet, she knew tomorrow was going to be a horrible, horrible day. Unfortunately, Richard's explosion didn't even wait until morning.

"Kori!" Richard called angrily. She woke at once, not aware of having gone to sleep. It was still dark outside, giving the impression that it was two or tree in the morning. Richard was up and pacing, sending a glare her way. She sighed, turning to him with an impassive look on her face. It scared him a little bit. Kori was the type of girl who wore her heart on her sleeve, but she must have picked up something from Rachel.

"Yes?" she asked, her voice as devoid of emotion as her expression.

"Well? What were you thinking? That this was some joke? That I wanted to be humiliated in front of my friends? That I felt like getting knocked out cold? What?" Kori frowned thoughtfully. Rachel had been harsh, but then again, so had Richard. In Kori's opinion, he had gotten what he deserved, and if his friends thought any less of him, too bad. The punching thing had been kind of funny. She wasn't going to cry over it with him. She wished he was still asleep.

"'Answer me," he commanded.

"No."

"No what?"

"I do not believe you wanted any of this, but you did deserve it," she said matter-of-factly. Richard gritted his teeth.

"Excuse me?"

"You are excused."

"That's not what I meant! I don't deserve any of this! You should be glad I'm willing to put up with you! All you do is nag and whine. And you say I deserve this? What did I ever do to you?" he yelled, losing any control he might have had. That was a stupid question. You've done quite a lot to her, Grayson. Maybe you do deserve this, said a small voice in the back of his head. Maybe he was going insane.

Kori eyed him coldly. "Willing to put up with me? You have done nothing but hurt me! You are the one not worth my time." She stomped up the stairs, and he didn't even try to stop her. For the first time, Richard Grayson the Great doubted himself. Was Kori the bigger person here?

Auck. I thought it'd be better, but it's not. And I promised I'd have it up today, so...

Review please.