Chapter 37
Rain drummed down on the hanger roof. Its constant plinking noise echoing in the vast empty space until it reached thunderous proportions. A single drip fell from a small hole in the roof and plunked onto a puddle of the floor. The wide concrete floor was devoid of equipment and a distinct lack of aircraft. Wooden crates with various stickers and signs were stacked up against one of the walls. Machinery and bits of equipment were placed evenly along the opposite wall to the open hanger doors. A soft wind flowed through the space, bringing with it the fresh scent of rain on dirt and tarmac and a chill to the skin.
Four teenagers were huddled together, their backs to the hanger doors as they tried to stay warm and another one stood apart from the others.
Dick sniffed and scrubbed at his nose, hoping that he wouldn't catch a cold and smelling the aging fumes of oil mingled with the smell of rain. Trust the first day of his honeymoon to be a miserable, depressing, and rainy day. To top it off, the rain had delayed the aircraft his father had sent to pick them up. So he and his friends were stuck in this hanger, waiting for the plane to land.
He shifted on the crate he was sitting on, propping his feet up on the suitcase that rested on the floor.
Lightning arched across the sky, illuminating the hanger brightly in its light and Dick began to count. He'd reached ten by the time the thunder rolled across the land. He shivered, drawing his jacket tighter around him as another gust of wind whipped through the wide door, carrying minute particles of water that sent a chill down his spine.
He hated rainy days. The dampness of them, the way he had to huddle to keep warm, the way he always felt soaked through even if he hadn't actually been rained on. He hated the way it played with his senses too, the disorienting noises of the rain on the roof, the thunder that rumbled through the land, the sharp crack of lightning if it came too close. And when he looked through the window of Titans Tower on a rainy day, the land was encased in a gloomy gray cloud, trickles of water running down the outside of the window obscuring the view.
Not that Kori seemed to mind them.
She was standing at the edge of the hanger doors, placed so that the wind only carried sprinkles of rain toward her. Her glorious hair flowed in the breeze, a smile dancing on her face as she seemed to drink in the sound of the rain, seemed to bath in the mist as the wind kissed her features.
Tamaran didn't have rain or snow. Water did not fall from the sky. Dick remembered the first time Kori had seen rain, several weeks after he'd first met her. They'd just finished building Titans Tower and a storm had crashed over Jump City. The sky had darkened and the overburdened clouds had opened to dump bucket loads of rain down on the hapless people below.
A flash of light, a particularly loud crack of thunder and the power had gone out. While Cyborg and the others traveled down to the basement to turn on the backup generator, he'd thought he'd heard muffled whimpering coming from her room. And he, being the gallant hero and protector that he was, had gone to investigate.
She'd been frightened, huddled under the blankets in her room.
He'd found it strange and disturbing that a powerful warrior such as herself had been afraid of a little water falling from the sky. But she'd looked at him with those beautiful jade orbs of hers and said that she had never seen it before and please, Robin, why was the sky crying?
It was then he'd realised how different the world that she had come from truly was. How strange the people of Earth must seem to her. How out of place she must feel on a planet where people were nice to her, cared about her, concerned for her. She'd huddled against him most of the night and he'd soothed her and stroked her back and explained about the rain.
That night had cemented their friendship. He'd made it his mission to help her adapt to Earth and she in turn had become his best friend, his confidant, his heart. She made him look at things with a different light, an innocence and the simple joy of someone truly seeing something for the first time.
And now look at her. Her arms spread wide, the wind catching the white jacket she wore and sent it flapping in the breeze. Her face lifted to the heavens, those alien eyebrows hidden by the hologram ring, sprinkles of water littered on her pale human looking skin, the droplets kissing her eyelashes. He half expected her to be floating; she looked so happy to be home.
Dick smiled to himself. Perhaps rainy days weren't so bad after all.
"Do I even need to ask why you're smiling?" Rachel asked, tugging her own black jacket tighter around herself, and snuggled into Garfield side.
Dick grunted before he looked at his friends. "You have my cell phone number, right?"
Victor laughed and clapped a hand down on his shoulder. "Man, stop worrying. We're gonna be fine. We can handle it, trust us. We have your cell, and you have a communicator too, not that we want you to use it. You just take care of our girl and have fun."
"Yeah," Garfield echoed, clasping Rachel tightly, his teeth chattering. "It's not like we haven't done it before."
"Vic's not going to Gotham until the weekend," Rachel mentioned. "And Gar and I are perfectly capable of being left alone."
"I know," Dick said quietly. "I just need to make sure."
"Dude," Garfield said, eyeing him. "You're going on your honeymoon. You don't need to worry about us. Forget the trouble of being the boss for two weeks and trust us to handle things."
"I do trust you," he replied instantly. "I just… well, I haven't been a very good leader lately and I guess I'm trying to make up for it."
"Being overbearing is not going to make up for it," Rachel said quietly, regarding him with those solemn eyes of her. "Dick, we'll be fine. You just have a good time. Spend this time reconnecting and let duty go."
Dick nodded and sneezed.
"And getting sick on the first day of your honeymoon is not an option," Rachel said, leaning over to press her hand inside his jacket against his chest to hide the glow, just in case someone else happened to be watching. "Hmm… not a cold, then."
"I'm just damp that's all," he muttered, scrubbing his nose again as he jumped off the crate and walked over to Kori, feeling the misty flush of breeze hit his face. "Hi Star," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and kissed the skin below her ear.
"Oh Richard," she breathed, leaning into his embrace, her head tilting back to rest on his shoulder. "It is truly wondrous to be home again. I did not realise how much my heart ached for Earth."
"Earth missed you too," he whispered softly, breathing in her ear. "It seemed duller without you around."
"I am so excited," she said happily. "I have never been in an Earth plane before. Is it much like the T-Ship?"
"Kinda," he mumbled, still to interested in the skin below her ear. "I won't be flying, and we won't be confined to our seats."
"Why is the plane so late? And why could we not wait in the airport?"
He nibbled on her neck, allowing his breath to waft over her as he spoke. "Planes have difficulty flying in storms sometimes. And the press would have gotten wind of us being in town if we'd waited at the airport. This way we can slip out without hassle."
"You never seem to have that trouble flying in storms."
"I'm good, that's why," he replied cheekily. "Plus, the T-Ship is more maneuverable than most planes."
She shivered lightly, running her fingers across the back of his hand. "I could still fly us there. It would take little effort for me to get us above this storm."
"As much as I would love that," he murmured, his hands making small circles on her stomach. "We can't. Playing human, remember? If we arrive without the plane, that would concern the caretaker, and we promised Bruce we would be good." He nibbled her neck, planting small kisses and licks along her jaw line, enthralled as she moaned slightly, one hand reaching up to take hold of the back of his neck.
"Hey you two," Victor complained loudly. "Save it for the plane. Join the mile high club later."
Dick snickered while Kori looked confused. "Richard?" she asked cocking her head at him.
He leaned in close to her ear once more. "It's slang for those that have had sex on a plane," he whispered in her ear. "Called the mile high club cause you are more than a mile in the air."
"But we have already-"
"I know that, you know that. They don't need to know."
His cell phone made a buzzing in his jacket pocket, indicating that there was a message for him. He fished it out and clicked it open, studying the message. "Plane's here, finally." He nuzzled her as he dialed a number. "You can bring the car around now please," he said into the phone before hanging up. "Star, go and say goodbye."
He felt cold as she left his arms, the warmth that she was bounding over to her friends. It wasn't right to take her away from them so soon, but he was looking forward to being alone with her for two weeks. Just the two of them. On a huge tropical island in the middle of nowhere.
Two weeks of sun, surf and sand. Two weeks of romantic interludes, of picnics and quad biking, of scuba dives and snorkeling. And if they felt like it, a short boat trip away was a tropical tourist destination that they could go and visit and she could browse through the markets and partake in the local delicacies.
Two weeks of his wife in a bikini.
He was going to enjoy this.
TTTTT
Garfield waved frantically at the retreating car, Kori hanging from its window blowing kisses and waving enthusiastically. He laughed as he saw Dick's hand snag the back of Kori's jacket, dragging her inside the car and away from the pelting rain.
Sighing, he slipped his hand around Rachel's waist, giving her a squeeze as he watched the car disappear into the gray, murky depths of the downpour.
"I hope they have a blast," Victor said, thumping his arm down on Garfield's shoulder. "They both need this."
"Oh, I'm sure they will," Garfield said happily. "I'm just glad Star's back."
"I know this isn't my style," Rachel said carefully. "But seeing as we're already in civilian gear, and the T-car is hologramed too, there's a comics thing on at the convention center. Did you guys-" she paused, eyeing them warily. "What?"
"Rae," Garfield breathed, flabbergasted that she even knew there was one on, let alone offer to go. He scooped her up and spun her around, laughing madly. "What a brilliant idea!"
"That's awesome," Victor included as he picked his jaw up off the floor. "I didn't even know one was in town!"
"Oh yeah," Rachel muttered, her hands tight on Garfield's shoulders. "Make me regret it."
"Aww, babe, don't be like that," Garfield murmured, smiling up at her.
"I'll go grab the car, drive it over here," Victor said, heading toward the hanger door. "That way you two won't get wet, seeing as these clothes of mine are just a hologram."
"Thanks Vicky," Garfield called cheekily.
"Grass stain, you're headin' for a butt kickin'!" he bellowed in reply, raising his hand above his head and bolted into the rain.
"What made you think of a comic convention?" Garfield asked, placing Rachel on the ground but still holding her tight.
Rachel shrugged, her hands still on his shoulders. "I just remembered seeing it in the paper that's all. There's supposed to be a launch of a Titan comic or something like that. I thought you might like to see yourself in print."
Garfield laughed. "Really? A Titan comic? What will they think of next?" He stopped and thought. "Wait a second… do we get royalties?"
Rachel arched an eyebrow. "Somehow, I don't think so."
"Damn it," he muttered. "I'm never going to make any money out of being a hero, am I?"
Rachel gave him a small, knowing smile. "At least you get the girl, right?"
He beamed at her. "Oh yeah," he crowed with a smile, leaning in to kiss her.
The car horn beeped as Victor drove the car into the hanger. "Yo, you two," he called, hanging his head out the window, a bright smile on his face. "Stop the lip locking and get in!"
TTTTT
Kori pressed her face to the window, but could see nothing but the endless blue of the ocean. The engine of the plane made a humming noise, quite unlike the gentle purr of the T-Ship and somewhat louder as well. But she could see the advantages of being in a plane. It was nice to be able to get up and stretch her legs when she needed to. That and she couldn't hold Dick's hand in the T-Ship, being separated by the capsule bubble.
And the chairs were so comfortable. She could lounge in them, sprawl on them if she so desired. The two adjoining chairs opposite them were large enough that if she wanted to, she could lift the armrest and curl up in it lying down and still feel comfortable. There were buttons to push; a whole console built on the arm that did different things. She could bring a television screen down from the roof and watch if she wished. She could manipulate the chair, arching the back or maneuvering it so that it sat higher. She could listen to the radio, or music or call that sweet Air-hostess Tia, who did seem to be getting annoyed with her.
Kori squashed the urge to play with the buttons.
"Baby," Dick said with a yawn, propping his feet up against the small table before them, and she once again marveled at the ability to have a table in a plane. "We're still a few hours out. Why don't you snuggle up here with me for a while and sleep."
"I am too excited," she said bouncing in her seat briefly. "But it does seem like this is taking a long time. Why did it never seem to take this long on the T-Ship?"
Dick shuffled on the chair, shifting his position in an attempt to get comfortable. "Because you were helping fly? And it's faster? I don't know, Star."
She looked at him. "Why are you so sleepy?"
He shrugged. "Months of not sleeping properly I guess." He lifted the arm of the chair that separated them, gesturing at her with his arms, making the come-hither motion. "C'mon, Star, snuggle up."
She shook her head. "I am not tired."
He sighed dejectedly. "All right. I'm just going to close my eyes for a while."
"At least we are not still connected," she said softly. "Then you would never get any sleep."
"Oh, I don't know," he murmured, his eyes already closed. "I kinda liked being chained to you. We'll have to do that again sometime."
She smiled, placing her hand on his knee, creating small circles with her fingers. He reached down and took hold of her hand, keeping it still and she marveled at the feeling of his wedding ring on his finger. He still wanted to wear it, no matter what, so he was also wearing a hologram ring that hid his wedding ring from sight as well as his e'ara, just as her hologram had been modified to include her wedding ring, just not her engagement ring.
"D'omegatro, Star," he mumbled, his breathing evening out as he slipped into sleep.
"I love you too," she whispered, turning her gaze back out to the blue ocean.
TTTTT
Garfield was jiggling up and down excitedly as he waited in the enormous line for the brand new Titans Comic series that was coming out. It was amazing to see so many people coming to purchase a series that depicted him and his friends and he desperately wanted to know if the characterization of him was correct.
Rachel was watching a person dressed up as Raven with veiled eyes, while Victor was checking out a Cyborg wannabe.
"This is incredible," Garfield said, seeing a boy that had dyed his skin green and was wearing Vulcan like ears. "Why do so many people dress up like Titans?"
"You're kidding me, right?" asked the freckled red haired kid in front of them that was dressed in a poorly made imitation of Kid Flash. "The Titans are the greatest! They're so cool and they actually care about people! I'm their number one fan, I know everything there is to know about the Titans. Go on, ask me."
Rachel arched an eyebrow. "Where was Raven born?"
"Raven's hot!" the kid exclaimed, not actually answering her question. "She's one of my favorites, though she's not as hot a Starfire. That girl's not afraid to show her body. More heroes should dress like her. Did you know she fell into a vat of green radioactive gunk, that's why she can fly and shoot green fire bolts and has that funny orange skin."
Rachel's eyes went wide. "Radioactive gunk?"
"What about Cyborg?" Victor asked curiously, sharing a cheeky glance with Garfield.
"Oh," the kid said, with an air of importance. "He's the result of an experiment gone wrong. They were experimenting with artificial intelligence and the prototype got struck by lightening and fused with one on the scientists."
Rachel snorted. "And, where did you get all this information from?"
"The Official Teen Titan website," the kid said. "It's run by Nightwing himself and he knows everything about the Titans. Did you know that he and Slade are actually having an on the side affair? He's a closet masochist. He's not interested in Starfire, its all a cover and cause she's such a nice person she's going along with it, which is great cause I know most guys would like to do her, she so hot."
"And Beast Boy?" Garfield asked curiously, struggling to hold in his laughter.
"Did you know he actually paints his skin green and wears ear extensions? That turning into every animal thing is cool though, but I think he tricks people into believing that he change and it's really all in your mind. I don't like him, he's mean to Raven."
"And… let me guess, Raven's not a half demon and she doesn't really love him," Garfield said, casting a impish glance at Rachel.
"Course not, Raven's too good for him. And where did you get the idea she's a demon? She just different that's all. She has voodoo powers. She's just toying with his emotions, cause, like, you know voodoo powers feed of them and stuff. Besides, everyone knows she'd be better off with Nightwing, except, that, you know, he's gay and all."
Rachel began to laugh.
Garfield and Victor looked at her in surprise as she continued to laugh before joining in. As one, they removed themselves from the line of people and walked toward the exit.
"Voodoo powers," Victor snorted.
"Nightwing's gay," Garfield chortled, slinging his arm around Rachel's shoulder. "Auvy'r would looooove that."
"Ear extensions," Rachel added while Garfield cracked up again.
"I vote we go back in there as ourselves and teach those guys a lesson," Victor laughed.
"I like the sound of that," Rachel said with an evil glint to her eye.
"Nah," Garfield said. "Doesn't really matter, its just some harmless fun. Who cares if they don't really know us? We know us, right?"
"So, what shall we do then?" Victor asked, glancing up at the dark sky above as they paused under the veranda before the convention center. "It's still raining. And I really don't want to go back to the tower just yet and it not like we can do anything outside."
"Arcade?" Garfield asked hopefully.
"Oh, yeah!" Victor exclaimed. "I challenge you to a game of Mega Monkeys five!"
"Dude, you are so going down," Garfield said, a bright smile on his face. "I rock at that game, don't I, Rae?"
"Define rock," she droned, with an arch of her eyebrow and a smirk on her face.
"Burned," Victor laughed, clapping him on the back while Garfield poked his tongue out at his girl.
"You gonna come too?" he asked, nudging her slightly.
"Who else is going to referee?" she replied with a smile, treading her arm through his.
TTTTT
Something soft stroked his nose.
"Richard," a voice said quietly, followed by a tiny giggle.
He waved a hand at the tickling sensation on his nose, willing it to go away, desperately trying to hold onto that dreamy place he'd managed to get to.
"D'anthe l'ani," the voice said again. "It is time to wake."
"Don't wanna," he mumbled quietly.
"We have arrived," the voice said, a warm hand pressing on his chest.
"Sleepy."
He felt a breath tickle his cheek and something warm and wet slipped into his ear.
Dick bolted awake, his hand going straight to his ear. "Starfi-" Suddenly remembering where he was and who could be listening, he changed what he said. "For crying out loud, Kori, you startled me."
Kori sat back on her chair, grinning merrily. "It is time to wake. We are here."
"We are?" he asked, suddenly noticing the rumble of the plane had dimmed. "Sorry, I didn't expect to sleep for that long. What did you get up to?"
"I did the bothering of the pilot."
He cringed, wondering if the pilot still wanted to work for Bruce.
Kori laughed. "I read a magazine and watched you sleep. I am aware that I am a little… annoying… when it comes to my asking of questions."
He took her hand and kissed her fingers. "You're not annoying, baby."
"Mr Grayson," Tia said, approaching them. "I have opened the doors for you and the caretaker is waiting by the car."
Dick nodded. "Thank you." Unsnapping his belt, he stood, tugging lightly on Kori's hand and led her down toward the exit of the plane.
The fresh, tropical scent of pineapples assaulted his nose as he exited the plane. A light breeze teased through his hair and the sunlight felt so warm. He stripped of his jacket as he walked down the stairs of the plane, tossing it over his shoulder.
A short, stocky man in a loose white buttoned up shirt, kharki shorts and sandals waited at the bottom. "G'day," he grinned. "Me name's Charlie, but ya can call me Blue."
Dick eyed the man's red hair and stuck out his hand. "Right… I'm Dick, this is my girlfriend Kori."
Blue shook it roughly, still grinning madly.
"Blue?" Kori asked curiously as she stepped from the stairs and stood beside Dick. "I believed that to be a colour. Can it also be a name?"
"It's a nickname, mate," Blue drawled. "On account of me hair." He gave a long whistle. "You be one mighty fine looking sheila, that'd make you one lucky bloke, hey?" He nudged at Dick before sweeping out his arms. "Welcome to Wayne Island."
Dick raised his eyebrow at the man and inwardly cringed, glancing at Kori.
"The shack itself is a fair way up the track, so I brought ma ute for the bags." Blue pointed at the pilot who was unloading the suitcases. "That'd be them, hey? I'll just pitch in, get us cracking." Blue moved away. "G'day mate!" he called jovially. "Long time, no see!"
"Richard?" Kori asked timidly. "I thought I had a good concept of the English language but-"
"Wasn't just you, Star," he said quietly. "I'm having trouble understanding him too."
Blue talked all the way to the beach house. Dick's eye was twitching by the time they got there and he was just thankful that it was only a five minute ride to the house from the landing strip. He stared out onto the lush, tropical vegetation and half listened as Blue talked about his work and what he did for Bruce and watched Kori out of the corner of his eye as she tried to listen politely and understand what Blue was talking about.
"Mista Wayne rarely lets anyone come here, how'd youse manage to wrangle a stay?"
"He's my father," Dick said quietly, still looking out the window.
"Bloody oath!" Blue exclaimed, the car jolting as he swerved. "You'd be little Dickie! He goes on and on about you, he does!"
Dick looked at the man in surprise. "He does?"
"Too right, I reckon he's mentioned you twice, and that'd be heaps for the old bloke. The missus will be stoked to clap eyes on ya. She's been dying for a stickybeak. Anyway, there'd be the shack-"
Blue continued talking right the way up to the door. "Now," he said, planting their suitcases by the door. "Took the dinghy off ta the main isle yesterday, got youse mob some fresh grub. The missus grows all our stuff, but I figured youse'd be wanting a fair of taste of home. If it ain't to your liking, let me know, we can take the dinghy out, fetch ya some of what ya need. If youse wanna take the horses out for a bit of bush bashing, let me know, I'll saddle em for ya. Youse can go walkabout anywhere on the island, just no going in the greenhouses; the missus will have yer heads. The billy-lids are off at boarding school, so they won't be pestering ya. Sorry if I've come across as a bit of yabber, the old chook will probably have ma head for yarning at ya all day. We're down the back paddock there. Youse won't even know we're there, we'll be playing possum, but if youse need us, that'd be where we'd be."
Dick could only stare dumbly after the man as he got back into the car with a cheerful wave. "Oh… my… god…" he said slowly.
Kori burst into laughter. "Oh Richard, you should see your face!"
He chuckled and shook his head at her, fishing the key out of his jeans pocket while Kori picked up their suitcases.
The door opened to reveal a large, open plan room. A small bench sat rested beside the main door. A sunken lounge room, three long leather sofas strategically placed to catch the best sunlight from the large skylight in the roof. A kitchen stood to the left of the lounge room and past that stood a wall of windows and a large glass door, all of them covered in closed wooden blinds.
An open door to the right of the lounge room revealed a king size canopy bed covered in a red quilt.
"Wow," Kori breathed as she wandered across the room, twirling slightly as she looked around and disappeared into the bedroom.
A basket of fruit perched on the gleaming black marble counter in the kitchen. Dick wandered over and peered through the fridge. "Ahh… now I understand," he mumbled, seeing how stocked it looked. "We're gonna need more mustard though." He raised his voice. "Want a soda Star?" he called, pulling out two cans, and went and peaked through the blinds that covered the far wall.
"Richard!" she called. "Come and see!"
He wandered over to the bedroom, two sodas in hand, seeing Kori bouncing up and down excitedly. She pointed as he got there.
"It has one of those indoor pools!" she exclaimed and he glanced into the room. A large bathroom, a modest shower in the corner, the necessary toilet and bathroom cabinets, and a large mirror hung on the wall.
He grinned as he saw what had captured Kori's attention, passing her a drink, his mind already brimming with possibilities. "It's called a spa bath, Star, like a hot tub only it doesn't need to be warm." He glanced at the panel on the wall as he peered into the bathroom. "Wait till you see this!" he exclaimed, pushing one of the buttons.
The blinds along the wall retracted, revealing a wall length window. The view was gorgeous, it looked out over a small grove of green fern trees and dropping off into sand and down toward the crashing blue ocean.
Kori squealed in delight, lifting off the ground for a moment, her hands clasped around the soda so tight he thought the can would explode. "And that's not the best bit," he said, taking her hand and dragging her back into the main living area of the house. He planted her in the middle of the huge wall of blinds. "Stay there."
Crossing back to the kitchen, he pressed the button on the wall he'd seen before and turned to watch Kori's reaction as the blinds opened.
Her jaw dropped, before she lifted off the floor, bending her knees and spinning around in the air, squealing like a schoolgirl. "Oh, Richard! It is glorious!" she cried. "We are right on the beach!"
A small table and chairs perched on the balcony and a hammock was strategically placed allowing the best view of the breathtaking ocean beyond. A small staircase exited the balcony and wandered down into the sand.
"That's why they call it a beach house Star," he said, smiling at her.
"Oh, please!" she said happily. "May we go swimming?"
"Right now?" he asked. "You don't want to unpack and check out the house? Or go for a walk and look at the grounds."
She looked at him, that delightfully wicked glint in her eyes. "Bikini."
And that was all she needed to say.
TTTTT
The sun buried itself into the depths of the ocean. Clouds scattered through the sky were flecked with pink and purple hues. Dark waves crashed against the sand and washed up against the beach. The wind whooshed through the air, tossing the scent of salt through the air and frothing the surface of the water. Stars were beginning to wink in the nearly night sky and the waning moon was readying itself to rise.
The rope made a soft creaking noise as it gently rocked the hammock to and fro. Kori shifted her head on Dick's chest, listening to the rhythmic thumping of his heart, the steady hum of his breathing.
Dick was making tiny circles with his fingers on her shoulder, his other hand covering hers on his bare chest.
He sighed, a sentimental sounding puff of breath.
"Something is troubling you?" she asked quietly.
"Just thinking," he replied.
"For your thoughts I will pay six grubfars."
"Do you…" He stopped and cleared his throat. "Bruce said something and it's been worrying me… and I know what I think about it and I probably should've mentioned it sooner… but… well… Do you think we got married too quick?"
Kori frowned. "What exactly did k'norfka Bruce say?"
Dick sighed again. "That he was concerned that I rushed into marriage cause I was so glad I had you back and I wanted you to come back to Earth."
Kori fell silent, watching as the waves frothed against the sand, the rapidly vanishing sunlight twinkling off the water. She continued to listen to the thumping of his heart, which was swiftly becoming faster.
"Star?" Dick asked, sounding nervous.
She tapped him lightly on the chest as she lifted her head off and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the hammock. "Stay there."
"Star?" he asked again, his voice catching as he struggled to sit up. "Where are you going?"
She pushed against his chest, forcing him to lie back down. "Stay there," she repeated. "I will not be long."
"But-"
She stood, the hammock swinging as her weight was removed. "Do I need to do the tying down of you?" she asked. "Please, I shall not be long."
"I…" He swallowed. "Okay."
She nodded, walking back into the beach house and headed to the kitchen, where she knew she'd seen a pen and paper earlier. She sat on one of the stools beside the bench and chewed the end of the pen for a moment as she thought and placed pen to paper.
She folded the piece of paper with her thoughts and ran her fingers along the crease she'd created in the paper just once as she stood and walked back out onto the wooden veranda.
It was dark by the time she walked about out, the stars twinkling in the night sky, only a splattering of light left on the horizon and Dick was still swinging forlornly in the hammock, right where she left him.
Kori walked back over to him, but instead of climbing back into the hammock, she rested her arms on the wooden railing that edged the veranda and looked out over the ocean as the light from inside the beach house reflected on the surface. She held up the piece of paper between her index and her middle finger. "This contains my answer, Richard. Before I allow you to read it, I wish you to share yours."
"Why?" he asked as the hammock squeaked from him sitting up. He fumbled for a moment as he pried himself out of it and leaned against the veranda edge beside her.
"Because I do not wish my answer to influence yours. And I do not want you to believe that your answer will influence mine."
"Okay." He cleared his throat, threading his fingers together and stared at his joined palms, his thumb caressing his ring finger and Kori knew he was rubbing his ring beneath the hologram. "I wanted to marry you, Star. I carried our wedding rings in my belt the entire time we were separated. I had this scrunched up piece of tissue paper that was all torn from overuse, because every time I was alone, I would take them out and look at them and imagine the day I'd wear mine and you'd wear yours. When the day came that we were supposed to get married, I almost threw them into the ocean, I was so angry. Angry with myself for letting you go and not being able to figure out how to get you back. Angry with you for leaving me alone. But I never stopped loving you, not even for a moment. Yeah, there was a little bit of relief that I had you back… well… a lot. And yeah, I wanted you to come home. But… I would have spent years on Tamaran winning you back if that's what it took. So… no I don't think it was too quick."
She tilted her fingers toward him, allowing him to take the note. There was a rustling sound as he opened it and she saw him tilt the paper to catch the light from inside.
"I don't understand… This just says 'I love you'."
She nodded. "Yes, it does." She looked at his confused face. "Richard, I do not think you understand how difficult it is for a Tamaranian to say those words. When I came to your planet and discovered that love was freely given, I could not understand it. Why would a race that created such wondrous things show weakness so frivolously? I do not know if you have noticed, but I rarely use the word. I express my adoration of things, they are glorious, or delightful but seldom do I say I love them. And I had never, ever expressed those words to a person until you, nor had they ever been uttered to me." She gave a sad smile at a memory. "Kom berated me fiercely for uttering those words to her after the Citadel had taken me… but she echoed them before she died."
"Are you saying you married me cause I was the first person that told you that you were loved?" he asked disbelievingly.
She sighed and looked out onto the ocean. "I am saying that I married you because I love you. You are the d'anthe l'ani."
"And it's really that simple for you?"
She nodded. "I do not understand why humans insist on complicating emotions. Just because Tamaranians do not say the words, does not mean that we cannot express it. We show our happiness through flight, or fury through our eyes, our confidence through our strength. We show our love and affection through touch. That is the way it has always been for us. But humans try to complicate feelings with words. It is much like when you said I was not your girlfriend."
He chuckled. "That was such a long time ago." He unclasped his hands and took one of hers. "So, you don't think we got married too quickly?"
"No, Richard, I do not. I was waiting for you."
"You always seem to be waiting for me," he said huskily.
"I do not need to wait any longer."
He gave her a tiny yank toward him, pulling her back into his chest and hugged her stomach. He lifted a hand and dragged her hair away from her shoulder, exposing her neck so he could attach his lips. She leaned her head back so that it rested on his shoulder and she felt his fingers tugging at the tie of her bikini at her back, and then her neck.
As it flopped to the ground he bought both hands up to cover her breasts, his mouth suckling at her neck. She leaned back into him, twisting one hand behind her back to tunnel into his board shorts. One of his hands left her breast, flowing across her stomach and dived below her bikini bottoms.
"Hey, Star," he murmured, his lips still nibbling her neck, his fingers buried inside her. "Let's go skinny dipping."
"Skinny dipping?" she questioned with a gasp as he flicked her pleasure center.
"Yup. In the ocean, no clothes on. Last one in gets a head job," he said, snatching his hands away, dropped his pants to the ground and bolted for the ocean.
She blinked numbly at him for a moment and lifted into the air, casting aside her bikini bottoms as she chased him down.
They both won, naturally.
Author's Note:
-eye twitch- That doesn't mean the island is near Australia, it just means that there's an Aussie caretaker.
Disclaimer: Not all Aussies speak like that. The majority of us do not butcher the English language in that way. But I do I know people that talk like that all the time. I figured I'd give you a taste of why I have so much trouble with American slang. And I was going easy on you.
Kry's Aussie slang dictionary:
Blue: A nickname for person with red hair… seriously… Bluey works too.
G'day: It's a greeting, good day. And yes, I use it. I answer the phone with it.
Sheila: woman.
Bloke: man, although, I think I have used this word before in the story.
Track: road.
Beaten track, or off the beaten track: Dirt road, while off the beaten track is making your own road.
Ute: Utility truck. Like a pickup truck, only better.
Youse: you both, that kind of thing. Spelling changes between states/territories. Other spellings youze, yewse.
Youse mob: y'all, you both, you as a group…
Pitch in: help.
Get cracking: get moving.
Long time, no see: It's a greeting for a friend you haven't seen in a while.
Stickybeak: nosy person, or a nosy action.
Grub: it's slang for food, but there are also grubs that we can eat. Aboriginal tucker mainly… don't go there… although honey ants are very tasty.
Dinghy: it's a boat. Normally a little one, like a lifeboat, but I've known people describe yachts as a dinghy.
Bush Bashing: Go hiking, make your own trail through the wilderness, that kind of thing.
Walkabout: Basically means to deliberately get lost in the bush (wilderness). To walk wherever you please for however long you want.
Missus: wife, partner, ball and chain.
Old chook: see above.
Billy-lids: kids.
Yabber: someone who talks a lot. Not to be confused with a yabbie, which is a type of freshwater prawn.
Yarn: to tell stories.
Playing possum: to be quiet. I tell my kids to play possum.
And where I live, it's customary to end a rhetorical question with the word 'hey?' And I do that… and I didn't know that I did that until I had a friend from down south pointed it out to me. -blush- Er... down south - southern states… cause I'm from the Top End (and now all the Aussies know where I live).
And to give you a clue, I have used, in every day conversation, all of those words at some point… except 'sheila'.
Also, I meant absolutely no offense by the comic book stuff. -evil grin-
Next Chapter: A day on a honeymoon.