Give Me Clemency
Chapter 10
Authors Note: Actually really starting to worry about this story because I thought I knew where it was going but now I'm not so sure…every update is feeling like a filler. Not sure what's going to happen.
If you guys have any suggestions for mean things Kitten can do to Kory, and ways she can rub in being close to Dick, please let me know! It'd greatly help me
This chapter does contain characters speaking in different languages. In order to keep it from being as un-confusing as possible, I will not be typing anything in French. Whenever something is in italics; that means it was said in the different language. This works alright since both characters are basically fluent in French. However for future chapters, if there is ever a different language being spoken where not everyone understands the language, it will be typed in that language. Sorry if that's wicked confusing…There will also be italics for inner thoughts as always, but they won't have quotation marks, so that's obviously how you can tell whether the character is thinking or speaking. Sorry if it is still a little confusing, I just had no other clue how to do it.
Thank you guys all for your reviews, they make me really happy. Especially to some Guest's who reviewed and I couldn't reply to, thanks so so much!
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans
Dick pulled into the school parking lot and couldn't wait to get out of the car. Kitten had texted him bright and early suggesting that he should pick her up for school because her car was making "some kind of really strange noise and she wouldn't feel safe driving in it". She also threw in "what are friends for?"
He rolled his eyes as he ripped his keys from the ignition and hopped out of the car, breathing in the crisp air momentarily before sneezing emphatically. Kitten's perfume had been bothering his sinuses the entire drive and he mumbled a string of curses as she sat demurely in her seat, not having moved an inch. She eyed him snidely through the cloudy window, challenging him to open the door for her.
Dick did so begrudgingly.
Kitten stepped nimbly out of the car and immediately flung her arms around his neck, holding tightly as her feet slipped beneath her. "Oh Dicky-poo." She purred against his cheek with a wicked grin. "You might just have to carry me."
Dick grunted as he tore her limbs from around him only to have her leech onto his arm. This was going to be a long day, and only the first of many.
"I wouldn't look so miserable if I were you Dick." Kitten hissed under her breath as they made their way to the school. She gestured for him to take her back pack and he complied without a word, slinging it onto his shoulder a top of his own, refusing to even look at her.
She was really starting to get pissed off.
"You know Dick," She started. "it's pretty sweet of you to try to protect that freak." Kitten smiled as he tensed at the mention of Kory. She stopped walking and played with the zipper of his jacket, looking innocently into his sun glassed eyes. "But just how far are you willing to go?"
Dick growled and took hold of Kitten's hand, yet still said nothing.
At least it was some reaction; but she still wanted more. She aimlessly began to swing their hands back and forth while giving Dick a sultry smirk as they entered the school building. She dragged him to her locker and piled books upon binders into his arms, all the while gossiping with him, and becoming increasingly aggravated with his blank expression.
She was in the middle of telling him another riveting story about the "absolute cutest necklace" she saw the other day, desperately trying to drop a hint when she suddenly was able to watch as his entire demeanor changed. His eyes became brighter and the corners of his lips twitched before being pulled into a charming smile. He raised a hand, motioning as if to wave.
Kitten took the opportunity to grab the hand and pull it back down, playing with his fingers. She looked over her shoulder and gave Kory a smug smile, sneering as she saw a flash of hurt in her eyes as she looked to their joined hands and headed off in the opposite direction.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Lost. Kory was so incredibly lost. How was she supposed to act? Supposed to feel? She'd had the entire weekend alone to think about it, but she hadn't come any nearer to understanding how she felt. It was…complicated.
Tameran was an island in the Bahamas. It was very hot and humid year round and wasn't uncommon for women to forgo wearing a top due to the overwhelming heat. Thusly, she never imagined that knowing people had seen her bare torso would bother her so much.
Even then, it wasn't due to the "parts" they were seeing, more so the weakness, and the fear that any of her marks would be visible.
That's not to say that she would be okay with anyone seeing her topless. Had it been someone like Roy or Xavier, she would have been greatly uncomfortable. They had both expressed blatant interest in her body before, and so them seeing her nude may have led to them feeling a sort of sexual desire towards her. But all of her companions, as she liked to call them, did not harbor any such feelings beyond friendship for her, so she did not mind too much. They had taken the initiative to protect her and make her feel safe.
She was positive that all of the cuts and bruises had healed enough to not raise any suspicion, but it was still embarrassing that she had gotten herself into the situation to begin with.
Kory pulled open the massive front door
She couldn't help but fear that the entire previous week had been some sort of surreal encounter. That she'd walk into school, and it'd again feel like no one cared. People would bump into her in the hallways, she'd be excluded and taunted, and she'd wonder what it would be to have someone who cared about her, even just a little.
Her current situation is the closest she has ever been to having a friend since she moved from Tameran; yet even there making friends was difficult for her. Due to her families status and thusly her own, she did not have the most opportunity in the world to socialize. That's why when she was seven, and mother and father finally allowed the family to get a pet dog, she loved it more than anything else in the world. He had immediately taken a liking to Kory as well, and she and the dog had become fast friends. Ryan had used to tease that she cared for the dog more than the rest of them.
The faintest hint of a smile graced Kory's lips when Bee passed her in the hallway and waved to her beaming. Kory continued on her way feeling reassured by Bee's gesture. At least she knew she hadn't imagined everything. She felt her optimism return as she continued to smile her way through the hallway.
Unfortunately her peace of mind was short lived.
Kory stopped short, causing the person behind to bump against her before they shuffled their way around. Kory couldn't move as she physically felt as though she had been stabbed by a knife and fire seemed to burn behind her eyes.
There was Kitten, talking nonstop to Richard and loading supplies into her arms. Kory did enjoy the fact that he seemed rather bored out of his mind at the time. Her heart swelled with butterflies when he happened to look up and make eye contact wither her, only to be replaced once again by that sharp pain as Kitten nabbed the opportunity to lace his fingers with hers. Richard visibly paled as he looked to Kory guiltily. Kitten on the other hand made sure to throw Kory one of the filthiest of looks she had ever seen.
She ducked her head and looked away from the couple, continuing on through the hallway towards her locker. She opened it swiftly and proceeded to grab her abundance of French supplies. Kory was ready to leave and head to class until she felt an unfamiliar body standing very close behind her. A hand moved to cup her waist and she turned abruptly.
There stood Xavier, his crooked smile dressing his lips. He licked them seductively, drinking in Kory's form before speaking.
"Hey Cutie. Haven't seen you in a while. Why don't you let me take you out Friday night?" Xavier lifted his thumb to Kory's bottom lip and stroked it lightly, unable to think beyond how badly he wanted to ravish it with his own. He moved closer to whisper into her ear. "You can wear a little outfit like the one I heard about from Friday night…unless you would rather clothing be optional." His voice oozed sexual desire.
Kory found herself repulsed by his forwardness, and pressed his shoulder back, trying to get as much distance from him as possible. "No Xavier. I do not think I would enjoy that."
Xavier leaned back and shoved his hands in his pockets, the grin never leaving his face, seemingly unconcerned by her blatant refusal. He decided to change the subject. "So where are your new friends? I'm surprised that Dick isn't here just waiting for the opportunity to jump in your pants."
Kory felt her face heat up as she narrowed her eyes at Xavier. "Do not speak of him in such a foul way. And I will be eating the lunch with all of them, so please leave me alone." Kory turned away to shut her locker. "I do not wish to be late for class."
Xavier slammed his hands against the row of lockers in front of him, trapping Kory in-between his arms like a small bird in a cage. "I know you'll come around, but someday, I might just get tired of asking."
Kory gulped as she found herself locked in Xavier's gaze. She felt trapped and needed to get away from him. His shameless flirting made her uncomfortable; add his proximity on top of it and she was ready about ready to scream if it weren't for the freckled boy that walked by and noticed her distress.
"Hey Kory. What's up?"
Xavier clicked his tongue and looked away as he released Kory from his hold.
She graced Wally with a grateful smile. "I am most wonderful today Wally. How are you doing?"
"Alright." He turned to glare at Xavier who sulked along the row of lockers. "Why don't you buzz off X. I can get Kory to class."
"Whatever, I don't have time for this shit." Xavier scoffed and shook his head. "Catch you later Kory." He called over his shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.
Wally laid a friendly hand on Kory's shoulder. "Hey, let me get those." He offered before proceeding to take her books for her.
"Oh Wally, I really do not mind carrying them."
"S'no problem. Besides," He winked at her. "Dick'll get mad if he thinks I'm flirting with you, and that's always fun."
Kory stifled a shy giggle behind her hand. She had definitely spent the least time with Wally out of the rest of them in Dick's group, and although she had originally been quite intimidated by his humor, she was becoming used to it. He constantly teased Dick and loved to get a rise out of him, especially when it had involved herself.
"So does X always bother you like that?"
Kory nodded her head sadly. "He is most persistent in his attraction towards me. He always requests we do the 'going out' and that the 'clothes are not required', but I do not wish to spend any more time with him than necessary."
Wally nearly choked at Kory's comment about the clothing. Shit if Dick knew…
His train of thought was distracted as a certain blonde crossed his path. His eyes trailed after her as memories from the oh so blurry party resurfaced.
Kory noticed his longing glance and reached for her books back. "I am nearly to class now Wally. I thank you for your chivalry."
Wally smirked at her and nodded before trotting off after Artemis.
Kory took her normal seat in the far back of the class room and opened up her notebook. She busied herself copying the assignment from the board. As people began to trickle into the classroom following her, Kory couldn't help but think back to Saturday morning, as she had constantly throughout the weekend. She could still remember the way that Dick's arms felt around her frame. Although he was not much taller than she, he still felt immensely larger than her. His arms, although covered completely by his winter jacket, were well defined; both tenacious and soft at the same time. He also smelled enticing to her, his musky scent having enveloped her senses in the moment. And the feeling of his fingers tugging on her hair, something about it was so innocent in comparison to when Xavier had ever touched it.
Kory jumped in her seat as the chair beside her was pulled back and Dick sat beside her. She immediately busied herself with writing in her notebook, cursing as her palms began to sweat and the rest of the classroom began to fill up.
Dick smiled and ran his hand coarsely through his spiked tresses. "Hey Kor." He whispered with a charming smile, hoping that Madame LaBelle wouldn't hear him speaking English. "How are you?"
Rather than responding to Dick's question, Kory looked on at him in a gravely perplexed manner, furrowing her eyebrows and chewing at her lip. "Richard, it is Kory. You neglected the 'Y' at the end of my name."
Dick couldn't help but chuckle at her innocuous expression. "It's a nickname Kory. Like how people call me Dick rather than Richard. Is that okay though? Can I just call you Kor?"
She tapped her chin thoughtfully, repeating the nickname over and over in her mind. "Yes, that would be acceptable.
"So, did you have fun Friday?" Dick smirked and crossed his arms. "Or should I say Saturday morning?"
Kory giggled softly and beamed at Dick. "I had a most enjoyable time. I thank you Richard for distracting me from the night's previous events."
Dick placed a soothing hand absentmindedly over hers that was still feverously scribbling in her notebook. Kory shuddered at the jolt that shot up his arm with his touch. He seemed to feel it as well and tightened his grip, ceasing her movement and forcing her eyes to look clear into his. "Kory, if you ever need to talk about what happened Friday, or anything really, you know I'm here for-"
Dick was cut off mid-sentence by Madame LaBelle's strident voice piercing the air. "Richard! In French!"
He pulled his hand back from hers and groaned, rubbing his eyes aggressively. He mumbled bitterly to himself so LaBelle couldn't hear. "Bitch. As if I can say any of this in French for her to understand."
"I understand." A timid voice came from beside him.
Dick looked to Kory curiously and couldn't keep cheeky grin from his face as he chuckled. "Okay. One, French."
Kory's expression changed to one of confusion as she reverted back to English. Luckily the room was too full of students chattering away about the week-end they had had for Madame LaBelle to hear. "I do not understand Richard."
He chuckled slightly and explained. "When I asked how many languages you knew, you said maybe I'd find out, so I'm counting. You seem pretty fluent in French, so that's one. Then two is obviously English, and three would be Tameranian? You know more than that?"
Kory rapidly shook her head as understanding washed through her system. She smirked at him teasingly. "I guess you shall have to continue to count."
Dick shivered, shocked by her tone of voice. Is she flirting with me? He coughed in an attempt to clear his throat before expressing his interest. "So how do you know French? Or why?"
"Tameran is very close trading partners with Morocco, where French is often spoken. It is not uncommon for us to learn French in school from a young age." She thanked Madame LaBelle for the worksheet that she was handing out and immediately wrote her name at the top before beginning. Dick did the same and they both began to fly through the assignment. The class being "Honors Conversational French 5", participation was a great chunk of their grade, and talking throughout class was encouraged.
The work was very easy for both Dick and Kory as it always was. Kory had only taken the class because in order to graduate, at least two years of a foreign language was required, and all the Spanish classes had been full. Dick enjoyed taking it because it was an easy A for him, and helped to greatly boost his overall GPA.
After they had both diligently worked their way through more than half of the paper, Kory spoke again. "What about you Richard? Why are you so fluent in French?" She looked up from the paper to see Dick shrug is shoulders nonchalantly.
"My adoptive father's Bruce Wayne. He's really into language, thinks it's good for business. I also know Italian and Romanian."
Kory wrinkled her nose. "You are adopted? What happened to your true parents?"
Dick made a strangled sound deep in his throat as he picked his pencil back up and returned to working on his class work. He'd thought Kory would have known. Most people already did. She did not ask with malicious intent; she was simply curious, and he couldn't get upset with her over it just because it was still, almost 11 years later, a sore subject for him. He was unsure how to answer her, so he decided not to, figuring she would drop it.
Kory, immediately sensing Dick's distress, and decided to change the subject. "You do know many languages and I have never heard one speak Romanian. However, I know more." He remained quiet, seemingly ignoring her teasing remark. She chastised herself. Why would she ask such a question? Obviously if he was adopted, something must have happened to his parents, and she had been inconsiderate and asked him about it. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. What if I have truly angered him? What if he will not wish to remain my…my friend?
Kory felt a lump tighten to a knot in her throat as she attempted to refocus on her work. Only minutes had ticked by yet it seemed like hours with Dick's rigid form frozen beside her, silent until he hastily got up and excused himself to get something from his locker.
She willed herself not to cry. Kory was finally ready to truly call Richard her friend, but had she already lost him? Had she truly already screwed up the one possible friendship she had? And clearly if Dick hated her, all the others would as well. She knew it had all been too good to be true. She quickly stood and asked Madame LaBelle to go to the bathroom.
Kory fled out the door, desperately struggling to keep her tears at bay. She shuffled through the hallway, figuring she could just hang out in the bathroom for the rest of the day; she couldn't bear to see Dick. What she'd said deeply upset him and she hated herself for it.
A single tear ran down her cheek and fell to the stairs below. She hastily wiped it away as someone began to descend the same flight of stairs; the last thing she needed was to be sent to the school guidance counselor to talk.
She had not expected to hear his voice.
"Hey Kory, where're you going?"
She stopped and stood stock still; her eyes glued themselves to the floor and she felt the tears weigh heavier in her eyes.
Kory heard his pace quicken as he marched towards her. Dick immediately noticed her watery eyes and panicked. "Kory, what happened?" He placed his French book down in the middle of the hall and pulled her into his arms. He hesitantly moved away when she didn't return the gesture and remained stiff as a board against him.
She couldn't hold back the tears anymore as they rushed forward: down her cheeks, over her nose, between her lips. Dick wanted nothing more than to kiss them all away.
He reached forward and cradled her sodden face between his two hands. "Kor, you gotta tell me what happened."
Upon hearing her newfound nickname again Kory pounced on him, wrapping his arms tightly around him and burying her head deep into the crook of his neck, breathing in the scent of him. Dick held her tight; his cheek lay against her silky hair. "I am so sorry Richard! I did not mean to upset you!" Her breath came in quick gasps and her words were muffled by his skin, but he got the picture.
He'd hurt her again.
He pulled her body even tighter against himself as he sat down, cradling her in his lap. He stroked his hand along her neck and rocked back and forth. Her breath became rapid hiccups as she continued to speak to him. "I should n-not have brought it-it up!" She pulled away and her expression broke him. It was as though all of her features were being weighed down by this incredible guilt that she felt because of him for no reason. "I am so-sorry Richard. P-please, I wish to be your friend! Please do not do that hating of me!" She collapsed against him again and he struggled to talk through the lump he had developed in his own throat at the sight of her.
"Oh Kor no. No, no please. I don't hate you." He begged her to calm down. "Please Kory, just calm down. I want to be keep being your friend. It's ok." Dick pressed his lips to her hair right above her ear. "Please stop crying. Just please stop." He prayed to her.
They sat as such, in the middle of the hallway, for an undetermined amount of time; until Kory's cries tapered off to occasional sniffles. She lifted her head from him and saw the tear stains she'd left on his shirt. "I seem to cry on you a lot. Many apologies Richard."
Dick noticed that she still didn't look him in the eyes. He lifted her chin and captured her gaze. "Don't ever apologize for showing how you feel." His attention dropped momentarily to her lips before meeting her eyes again. "You didn't do anything to upset me Kory. I just had to get my French book. I forgot it in my locker."
Kory looked at him blankly and moved out of his lap. "You were upset with me before you left Richard. You need not hide it." She bowed her head again.
He lifted his knees and leaned his elbows on them, rubbing his neck. "No, Kor…I wasn't upset with you. Not at all." He sighed and looked to her. "I guess I was just upset with myself. I mean, my parents died more than ten years ago, and I still can't talk about it." His voice caught in his throat. "It still hurts me."
Kory grabbed Dick's hand and held it in both of hers, bringing it to her lips for a kiss and then pressing it against her cheek. "I am so sorry friend Richard. I did not know. If you are not yet ready to speak of it, we need not. Just remember if the time ever arises; I will be here for you."
Dick brought his other hand to hold her cheek and brought their foreheads together. "Thank you Kory. Mulțumesc."
They stayed close until a hall monitor sent them back to class.
Authors Note: Sorry this is a little late again, but O had a lot of trouble figuring out where I was going with it. We're gonna spend some of the story now focussing on getting Kittens laptop and getting rid of that video.
And since I've started this story I've wanted to emphasize how different Tameran really is from Gotham, so I decided to have them comfortable with nudity, and embarrassed by weakness, etc. I just thought it would be more interesting since Kory isn't brand new to the U.S, but she still hasn't experienced much.
Again, if any of you guys have some good ideas for mean things that Kitten can do to Kory that I haven't already done, it'd be greatly appreciated. Especially something that has to do with gym class!