It had been later than normal when Kori perched herself on the roof of the usual skyscraper that night. She had flown more slowly, not wanting Nightwing to see the green light that appeared every time she would burst into hyper speed. She hoped he would be there, but he had not yet shown up. Now she's been there nearly two hours and was about to leave when she heard his voice behind her.
"I figured I'd find you here," he said, taking his usual spot next to her. She smiled sadly up at him. "Sorry I haven't shown up in a couple weeks. Lots of idiots getting up to no good lately. You know how it goes." Carefully, Nightwing intertwined his fingers with hers, using his thumb to gently stroke hers.
"I am of the understanding. You cannot very well forsake your responsibilities for some girl." Kori took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "But I am glad that you are here now."
Nightwing felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips. "So how was the dance?"
The space between her eyebrows creased as she thought back on the night she'd had. "I am apparently the queen of coming home, but I am uncertain what kind of duties they are expecting out of me as a ruler. Apparently though, Vic and Bee did the stuffing of the ballot box to make sure I won."
A chuckle escaped his lips. Of course they stuffed the box. They probably rigged it for him as well, doing what little they could to make sure he and Kori had to speak to each other. "Don't worry. The rule of the homecoming king and queen is always short lived. They'll forget all about by the morning and you can back to life as normal. Speaking of the king though, did he treat my lady well?"
Kori bit her lip. "It was Richard. And he," she paused, searching for the right words to say. "He would like a second chance."
Nightwing kept his gaze fixed on the horizon. "Are you gonna give it him?"
"That is what I wished to talk about," Kori sighed. "You are wonderful, Nightwing, and you have made me most happy when we are together."
"But?"
"But he is the one I truly wish to be with."
Nightwing could feel his heart pounding. He wanted so badly to just tear off his mask and reveal himself to her. Kiss her like he had two weeks ago. Hold onto her and never let go. But the timing still was not right. "Go for it."
Kori looked up into his masked eyes, scanning his entire face for some sort of emotion. All she found was an earnest smile, and a small scratch across his left cheek. She brought her hand up to his face to gently drag her thumb across the mark, coming back red with blood. He must've been fighting a criminal before he arrived. "You are certain?"
"Absolutely. You and I don't have to be anything more than just friends."
At that, she flung her arms around him, feeling as his enveloped her. "I thank you."
"Anything for you, Kori."
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After making sure that Kori was safely inside the house, Nightwing went around to tap on Rachel's window, certain she'd still be awake. After a few seconds, the window opened. "Nightwing? What the hell are you doing here this late?"
"I need you to heal the scratch on my cheek. Kori noticed it. I can't have her seeing it when she next sees Richard."
Rachel rolled her eyes, placing her hand on the scratch and using her energy to seal the wound closed. "Are you done playing with that girl's heart yet?"
Nightwing looked taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"I mean you fucking kissed her, Nightwing!" Rachel seethed. "How messy do you want things to get? She's bound to find out who you are if you don't quit seeing her. Not to mention, you're with Kitten!"
"Not anymore. I broke up with her tonight. And I found out diamond rings are sharp. That shit hurt." He pointed towards his cheek, now only baring a faint scar.
"Oh yeah? And how long is that gonna last this time? A couple hours until you get too fucking scared to commit to Kori?"
Though he wouldn't admit it, her words stung. But she was right to be angry. He'd been a total dick. "It's different this time. I'm done with Kitten. For good."
"And what about when she inevitably sends more moths to attack Kori?" Rachel folded her arms over her chest.
Nightwing took a deep breath, knowing there was only one option. "Well, I guess it's a good thing I have mutant friends that can help me out."
Rachel's eyes widened. "You mean you'll actually let us?"
"It's time I stop pretending that I don't need help. Tell Bee to meet us at my place in the morning, and we'll start forming a plan."
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Kori slept in that morning, getting some much needed rest. When she awoke, light was streaming in through the window. She checked the clock on her bedside table. 11:42am. The house was oddly quiet, but she didn't think much of it as she left her bedroom and got into the shower.
When she re-emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel and her wet hair cascading behind her, she was surprised to see Richard leaning against her bedroom doorframe waiting on her. She could hear the others chattering loudly in the living room.
"Richard!" she exclaimed, and he looked up to see her looking the sexiest he'd ever seen her, water glistening on her skin and seemingly unfazed by the fact that she had no clothes on other than the flimsy towel. He could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks as he forced his gaze to stare in the other direction. "I am most glad to see you!"
"Um yeah," he said, focusing hard on containing his thoughts, his eyes fixed determinedly on a painting on the wall.
"Please, do come in," she said, oblivious to Richard's reaction to the request.
"Um, wouldn't you like to get dressed first?" he asked, his voice an octave higher than normal.
"Oh, okay," she said as she walked into the room without bothering to close the door. Richard heard the sound of her towel falling to the floor and caught himself about to turn his head, but kept his gaze on the painting. Did she even know what a tease she was being? Something in him told him it was probably just a cultural difference. "Richard, which do you think I should wear?"
He mentally cursed as he knew he wasn't going to be able to very well ignore her question. Slowly, carefully, he turned his head toward Kori, relieved to see she at least had on a pair of jeans and a pink bra. She was holding up two nearly identical grey crop tops, but one that was slightly longer. He pointed to that one, needing all the help he could get right now not to lust after the beautiful girl in front of him. Kori slipped it off the hanger and over her head.
"So, have you and Kitten…?" Kori's voice trailed off.
"I broke up with her last night." Richard reached up to nervously scratch the back of his neck.
The corners of Kori's mouth lifted slightly. "I also did the talking with Nightwing. He and I are no more than friends."
"Cool," Richard said, unsure what else to say.
"So, does that mean…you and me…we can do the starting over?" Kori crept closer to him, placing a hand gently on his arm.
"I'd like that," he replied, finally catching her gaze. Their faces were mere inches apart now. Kori's eyes fluttered closed as brought a hand up to cup her cheek to so he could close the distance between their lips. He could feel her breath on his lower lip when there was a loud voice from the living room.
"When the two of you are done fucking each other, we're heading to Mikey's!" Gar yelled.
Shit, Richard mentally cursed as he pulled away from Kori.
"When we are done what?" Kori asked innocently.
Double shit. That fucking language barrier. Aloud he said, "Don't worry about it. Let's go."
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That night, Bumblebee stood guard outside her house, her rings abandoned in her room, and her wings glinting in the moon light. She brought her communicator close to her mouth as she spoke into it. "All clear here, Nightwing. Any sign of Killer Moth?"
"Beast Boy noticed a disturbance downtown. We're all heading in that direction. Stay there and make sure Kori is safe."
"You got it." She glanced behind her. Kori's light was still on. She wondered if she ever turned it off at night.
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Meanwhile, a green bat was flying around the tallest towers downtown, scanning the skies for the source of the high-pitched screeching he had heard. It would have gone unnoticed by human ears, but fortunately that was no barrier for Beast Boy.
A void opened up in the sky near him, and Raven emerged from it, levitating in place. Then Cyborg drove up below the two of them, closely followed by Nightwing.
"There," Raven said, pointing toward the west, where a large army of moths was heading towards Bumblebee's neighborhood. They all rushed in that direction, getting in front of the mutant insects, led by Killer Moth himself. Raven opened a void in front of a small selection of them, and closed it as several of the bugs disappeared into it.
"Who's there?" Killer Moth called out in a loud, intimidating voice.
There was no response besides a large green t-rex storming towards him, swinging his tail at the moths, knocking a few to the ground unconscious.
Nightwing jumped off his bike and launched himself towards Killer Moth, landing on the back of the giant insect he was riding. "Nightwing, I see you've got some friends now. No matter. You all still don't stand a chance."
"I'm demanding that you leave Kori alone."
Killer Moth cackled. "Or what? Because of her my daughter is heartbroken. If I can get her out of the way, she'll get her boyfriend back."
"Not on my watch," Nightwing said, swinging his staff at the villain.
"Nightwing, on your left!" Cyborg yelled, as a giant green bird carried him toward Killer Moth. Nightwing ducked out of the way, as the half-robot man blasted a sonic beam at the villain, knocking him to the ground. Meanwhile, Raven was blasting dark energy at the remaining insects, knocking them out one by one.
"Take care of this ugly thing for me, would you?" Nightwing said to Beast Boy and Cyborg as he jumped down and handcuffed the unconscious Killer Moth, holding him there until the police showed up.
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Nightwing and Raven arrived at Bumblebee's house shortly after the battle. Cyborg and Beast Boy had already headed home. "Everything here okay?" Nightwing asked the winged hero.
"Had a few stray moths to take care of," she said indicating a small pile of moth corpses barely hidden in the trees and overgrowth near the house. "But it's nothing I couldn't handle."
"And how's Kori?"
"Sleeping like a log. Lord knows she needs it. Does she ever turn that light off?"
Nightwing shook his head. "Scared of the dark. I don't blame her. She seems to have a troubled past, though I'm still not sure what exactly."
"Well, haven't we all?" Bumblebee quipped. "I'm turning in for the night. And Dick, thanks for letting us help."
Nightwing smirked. "Couldn't have done it without you."