Life's Canvas
Chapter 13: Wrapped in Silk
Dinner proved to be rather easy. Kori had placed herself conveniently next to Richard, so as to separate herself from Bruce Wayne. It wasn't that she didn't like the man… he'd seemed very professional and had the same sort of charisma Richard did, but she didn't want any questions directed at her. She knew it was end up with her having to say something about her relationship with Roy or her part in finding "the body" as Roy's corpse was so eloquently referred to.
Richard had taken her hand under the table, squeezing it lightly to tell her she could leave. She had done so gracefully, thanking Bruce for the chance to dine with him and quickly retiring to her room. By the time she'd reached the top of the stairs, she could hear Richard already begin to explain things quietly, finally revealing to Bruce what connections there were and what was going on with Kori's past.
She had waited patiently for him in her room, suddenly anxious to find whether Bruce thought she was too much of a burden. Nearly three hours later, Richard had come up to her, knocking lightly on her door. She'd only opened the door a smidge, and peeked through. Richard had smiled and laid a very quick kiss to her forehead, letting her know things had gone alright and Bruce had been understanding, before she disappeared back into her room.
The next day, she went down to breakfast to find that Bruce had already left to have a brief discussion with the police on heavier security matters and then would be off to return to his business meeting on the east coast.
Richard stood from the breakfast table. "So Kori, what do you want to do? It's Saturday… you should take a break from the gallery and… maybe we can go do something to take your mind off of everything, you know?" he suggested. Kori smiled appreciatively, standing and going over to his side where she wrapped him in a quick hug.
"Sounds wonderful. Perhaps the mall? I have yet to get a dress and the party is on Wednesday…" she tilted her head to the side.
"Fine with me. We can take my bike if you want," he shrugged but an amused light shimmered in his cobalt eyes. Kori nodded rapturously. Another ride on Richard's motorcycle would be plenty enough to push all thoughts of the recent events out of her mind. Richard grinned and took her hand, tugging her outside. He handed her his helmet, but she didn't take it.
"You should wear it…" she murmured. Richard shook his head.
"Seriously, Kori, I'd feel a hell of a lot better if you wore it," he countered. Kori flushed but accepted the helmet, staring warily up at Richard's unruly hair. It was dangerous for him to ride without a helmet… he really needed to be a bit more conscious of his safety. Kori jammed it onto her head and they got on the bike, peeling from the drive moments later.
The ride to the mall was just as exhilarating as the first time she'd ridden the bike, the smooth roar of the engine vibrating her senses, her head pressed against Richard's back and taking in the Gotham sights behind the visor of the helmet. The ride was a good deal longer, which Kori thoroughly enjoyed, and she couldn't help but laugh with delight as they soared into the parking lot. She bounced off of the motorcycle, tugging the helmet from her head and shaking her auburn locks free. She combed through them swiftly with her fingers. Richard lifted an eyebrow, watching the ritual with interest.
Kori noted his stare and grinned bounding up to him and planting a solid kiss to his lips. She went to draw away, but this time it was Richard who pulled her back in, just long enough to revel in her taste and commit it to memory… not that he wasn't considering her refreshing said memory in the near future. "Mmm…" Richard declared as he let her free. Kori rolled her luminous eyes and slapped him lightly on the arm. Richard shrugged and offered her his arm escort style.
She took it and he led her into the mall. "So, where shall we go first?" Kori inquired. Richard shrugged.
"I'm not a frequent dress shopper… you tell me," he grimaced.
"Goodness… fine. We'll go there first, Touchy," she pointed in the direction of a boutique with several cocktail dresses in their windows. Richard laughed softly and nodded.
"Ok," he agreed. The artist was a little ball of fire, that was for sure… They walked into the boutique and Richard immediately felt lost. He was practically engulfed by the massive amount of women's clothing that greeted his eyes. "How do you breathe in here?" he asked, looking over at Kori who had let go of his arm.
"Oh, don't whine Richard… you were the one who offered to take me to the mall in the first place… albeit it was a while ago that you proposed the offer, but I'm taking this as a rain check," she countered. Richard shrugged and let his eyes wander, only to lock gazes with a pair of beautiful grey eyes. He hardly heard Kori tell him she was going to the dressing room as the woman made her way towards him. A sales associate at the boutique, obviously, but one whom was dangerously attractive.
She approached him, brushing back a few strands of highlighted brown hair. The coppery strands fluttered back and she smiled a smile hardly appropriate for a saleswoman. "Mr. Grayson? The Richard Grayson? What an honor to have you in our boutique. Can I help you with anything?" she asked, staring at him with hungry gaze.
Richard swallowed, about to say exactly what she could help him with when he remembered Kori, those sweet jade eyes staring up at him from her seat on the steps and begging him to tell her what she was going to do. "Um, not really. I'm just waiting for her to come out," he jerked a finger in the way of Kori's dressing room. The girl looked at him, somewhat startled before nodded queerly and moving away.
"Oh, a-alright then. Just… tell me or one of the others if you or your uh, lady-friend need any help," she stuttered. Richard nodded, detached. He turned just as Kori stepped from the dressing room, clutching a dress in her hands.
"Richard, it seems we've made a lucky pick. I think this dress will be absolutely perfect… now we can go someplace you'd like instead of wandering around in clothing stores," she giggled and held up the dress. It was simple; a pale champagne colored silk that would fall just below her knees. The top was done in a corset style, laced with gold-toned ribbon. Richard nodded. He could only imagine how magnificent it must look on her… considering she'd been absolutely gorgeous in a pair of paint-speckled jeans and an old tunic. "Richard? Are you ok?" she asked softly. He nodded blankly, choosing to take her into his arms and lay a hard kiss to her lips. She was thoroughly surprised but made no effort to stop him.
He let go of her abruptly, his eyes filled with something she couldn't quite place… almost as if he'd become angry… but not quite. At the counter, the grey-eyed beauty was working the register. Kori watched as Richard locked gazes with her, a strange defiance in his eyes. She returned it with a cold and aloof glare. They quickly left the boutique, Richard profoundly surprised that Kori's choice had been the cheapest dress in the store and had also been on the discount rack. She shrugged and smiled, saying she hadn't wanted to have him pay much.
He'd been about to protest but she'd squeezed his hand and her eyes had told him he couldn't change her mind. As they walked down the center path of the mall, Kori sighed.
"Thank you," she said. She knew now what had gone on in the boutique whilst she'd been changing.
"For the dress? Not a problem, Kori." He grinned. Kori shook her head.
"I know what you did… or basically what you did, in the store back there. With the saleswoman," she said softly. "And… thank you," she looked over at him. Richard was quiet for a while.
"It was… right, that's all," he muttered. Kori shook her head.
"You don't like being bound… I honestly didn't expect you to stop your ways with other women, I mean… we never officially said we were a couple or had any commitment to one another. So I kind of expected you would… you know… just do as you pleased. I didn't totally—trust you," she sighed. Richard looked down. It was true. And he'd thought about it too. And he definitely was uncomfortable with his current "bound", as she put it, state. But he couldn't do it. He couldn't have done anything to hurt Kori.
"But… you wouldn't have ever gone with another man. Even without us verbally saying it… you treat our relationship as, well, what it is. I mean, 'cause that's what it is in reality," he said, stopping to face her. Kori bit her lip, and a slow smile worked its way onto her face.
"I should hope it is…" she chuckled and wrapped him in a hug.
Author's Note: Ok, I feel a bit better about this chapter, heh. I hope you all will accept it as repayment for last night's absolutely horrid update. I'm glad some of you are finding the Titans News useful. According to my stats, we're nearing the 200 mark for reviews... although I think it displays it differently on the story itself... if that makes any sense. So I don't know how many reviews there actually are, but I'm going to go by what my stats say... so if you could please drop off a review I would greatly appreciate it, I truly love you all for humoring this silly goal of mine. Anyhow, a new chapter for you will be up tomorrow, I think.
Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran
Titans News: Well, news of today is fairly basic... in reply to a question, I can't say whether stranded is good or not from personal experience, but from the various reviews I've read on it and judging from the screen shots... I'm guessing it'll be one of my all-time fave episodes. ((I still have to wait to see it... why must I be bound to the US premiere schedule?)) I've heard the sub-plots are wonderfully done and very funny and that we get to see one of those rare times when Raven finally lets herself relax a bit. If you're still wondering, go do a web search for the episode, you'll find pleanty of chat threads and reviews and descriptions... as well as some spoilers ;) Unfortunately, my e-mail is being stupid and I can't see my reviews to answer any of the other questions but I promise to get them in the next chapter. ciao for now!
Chapter 13's Teen Titans "Fun" Fact:
Do you remember Larry the Titan from the episode "Fractured"? Well, you'll probably remember he had one odd, long name in the begining... before BB cut in and named him Larry. Either way, if you take that monstrosity of a name and spell it backwards... tell me what you get! For those of you who don't know what Larry's full name was, it's Kcid Nosyarg.
Oh, BTW... before ou flip those names backwards, Kcid and Nosyarg are two seperate words. You flip Kcid and you get the first name and then you flip Nosyarg and you get the last name. You might have already known this... but hey, at least it gives a clue to which Robin is leading the titans. Oh... and there was the whole Nightwing thing in "How Long is Forever"... but hey, this clue's more fun! XD