Life's Canvas
Chapter 16: Miss Starfire
Richard couldn't help himself. He really couldn't. She was just…wow. He stared blatantly at the woman before him, only vaguely similar to the Kori he knew that pranced bare-footed down the halls. Crimson hair spilled over her shoulders and down her back in loose waves that fell clear to her slim waist. Coiling tendrils twisted to frame her face. It appeared that Kori had discovered make up, and though she was amazing without it, he couldn't help but gape at the transformation. Her eyes were shadowed in smoky grays that highlighted her green eyes, and mascara and eyeliner accentuated the glittering gems further. A soft blush graced her sun-kissed skin and a light, shimmering gloss made her lips look absolutely delicious…
Richard tore his eyes from her lips and carefully absorbed her outfit. From her ears dangled a pair of silver, star earrings and her slender throat was laced with a black ribbon with a small green pendant dangling from the choker. A low-cut tank top was held up on her delicately formed shoulders with thin, lacy straps. It clearly showed her toned midriff and was made of violet cloth that hugged her form.
Her skirt was small, sleek, and black leather. She'd also donned black fishnets and a pair of thin heeled, knee-high, black leather boots. She offered a dainty little turn and. "So, what do you think?" she asked.
"Are you allowed to own that?" he asked warily. He'd never even guessed she had a wardrobe to match her often foxy attitude. Kori slapped his arm lightly.
"Artists can dress up too. Stop being so stereotypical, Richard," she laughed quietly. "Besides, a little competitive spirit never hurt a person," she winked. Richard grinned.
"Whatever you say, Miss Starfire. Let's get going," he said, taking her hand gently. Kori gave him a sly, side-long glance.
"Are we taking your bike?" she asked. Richard looked at her in surprise. She smirked. "Skirt's not gonna stop me… I can manage," she rolled her eyes. Richard shrugged and led her out to the bike. Kori did manage, and she found the ride most entertaining, laughing so hard from pure bliss she would've toppled from the bike without her tight hold on Richard. Richard slid expertly into an empty parking space, the neon lights declaring their location at Starfire Night Club flared brilliantly in the dark Gotham sky.
He offered her a hand and she took it gracefully, hopping from the bike. Kori tugged his helmet off of her head, and raked her fingers through her hair to straighten it out again. He watched the ritual with interest, mentally noting he should get her a helmet of her own, seeing as he figured she'd be riding with him a lot more in the future. "Ready to go in?" she asked him, eager to meet Richard's friends. Richard smirked.
"Not quite," he murmured. She lifted a brow as he took her into his arms. Richard grinned and pressed his lips against hers, leaning her back against the bike. Neither particularly cared that people were looking at them oddly, and they would have been quite content to stay as they were until the end of time had not booming laughter shaken the air. A feminine voice quickly followed.
"Well, I guess we found them, Sparky! C'mon, Richard, let the woman free… you'll muss her make up," Karen stone mused. He heard Victor groan at use of the pet name. Richard leapt away from Kori as if she'd suddenly burst into flames, surprise and slight embarrassment flashing on his handsome features. "Don't worry, it's not the first time we've caught you… aww, Victor look at him acting all guilty, that's sweet. It's time you stopped rollin' your mama around in her grave and got yourself a good and wholesome relationship," Karen chortled, bumping out one hip and leaning her hand on it.
Richard rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, hoping Kori hadn't caught the implication… but none the less, as they all walked towards the club and Kori had finished shaking hands with Victor and Karen, she leaned over and whispered in his ear.
"Your mother…?" she asked quietly. Richard shook his head.
"We can talk about it later, let's just enjoy ourselves, shall we?" he muttered. She hesitated, but nodded. She'd wondered what kind of relationship Richard had had with his parents, and now she knew. Bruce Wayne had been the one to serve as Richard's parents, it seemed, and probably had done so for a longer time than she could imagine.
"Will you dance with me?" she asked as they entered the club. Richard returned his attentions back to her, having been previously occupied with staring down the bouncer who had (much to his distress) been looking at Kori in a more than friendly way. He smiled at her.
"Of course," he replied. Victor caught Richard's eye from where he was already dancing with Karen and wiggled his eyebrows. Richard rolled his eyes. "It looks like we have an hour before the Miss Starfire competition anyways," he said as he led her out onto the dance floor.
"Will you vote?" she asked. He laughed and nodded.
"Definitely," he replied. She gave him a curious glance. "And don't worry, my vote is solidly yours," Richard continued. At this, Kori blushed and smiled. Then they began to dance. Kori swayed to the pulsing beat, her body seemed to throw the rhythms back and forth. She threw her hands above her head and laughed, dancing closer to Richard. He came in closer as well, so they were dancing nearly nose to nose. She smiled and placed her hands on his shoulders.
He was good, she decided. The best dancer she'd ever encountered for sure. And he seemed to know it to an extent, moving with her in perfect sync and with a confidence she found delightful. He, on the other hand, was finding himself more and more surprised by the second. Kori hadn't struck him as the kind of girl to go out dancing, and yet here she was complimenting his every movement with expert ease… seeming to almost anticipate his next step.
Kori turned so her back was to him and he wrapped his arms about her waist and they danced in that fashion for the entirety of the next song. The DJ announced that they would be playing a few slow songs before the ladies who wished to enter the Miss Starfire contest had to go up on stage.
She turned to look at Richard and tilted her head to the side, a wordless inquiring of whether he would be willing to slow dance. He didn't need any prompting, having been in a semi-euphoric state since Kori had awed him in the foyer. In fact, he'd been perfectly happy the entire time, save a small interruption by Karen's off hand statement… Mrs. Stone hadn't meant it; she hadn't realized Kori was ignorant to Richard's deceased parents. Of course they were all ignorant to how terrible their deaths had been. None the less, Richard willing obliged and took Kori comfortably into his arms as the first song started.
Kori smiled and laid her head against his shoulder, and he squeezed her lightly. "I really do love you, Richard. I want you know that. And I want you to believe it too," she breathed. Richard kissed the top of her head gently.
"I do believe you, actually. And I need you to trust me when I say I love you too," he murmured quietly, a note of tenderness in his voice that surprised the both of them equally. They danced together without a word for the next three songs and then it was time for Kori to go up on stage with Karen and the others competing. Richard wished her good luck and then went to stand with Victor.
"I take it we know who you're voting for, Sparky," Richard chuckled dryly. Victor snorted indignantly.
"Stop being a dick, Dick," he snapped back. Richard lifted his hands in mock surrender.
"Alright, alright. So, how are you, man?" he asked with a grin.
"Good, real good. But Karen's scaring the crap out of me. She keeps talking about kids and how babies are so cute and…" he shuddered. "I ain't ready for that, dawg," Victor said solemnly.
"Rae's pregnant. They found out it was a boy yesterday. Naming him Griffin," Richard commented. Victor looked surprised. He hadn't seen Raven and Gar for what seemed like ages.
"Wow, that's great. I still hate the fact I missed the wedding…" Victor shook his head regretfully. Richard shrugged.
"It's ok, I'm sure. Gar's taking good care of her," Richard said. Any further conversation was stopped as the various women competing paraded across the stage they had set up. Cat calls and whistles sounded all over the club, and there were even a few cheers when a tall blonde sauntered out. And then came Kori. She pranced out with a sweet little smile that looked disturbingly seductive in the current setting. Everything went quiet. She blushed, unsure if the silence was good or bad, and then everyone erupted, guys hollering less than appropriate things in her direction. At this, Kori's smile faltered slightly obviously displeased with the offers being shouted at her.
All the women stood in line and were instructed to strike a pose. Kori giggled and hammed it up, blowing a kiss to all the club-goers and winking in Richard's direction. Victor broke up into a fit of raucous laughter seeing a very faint tint of red rising to Richard's cheeks. Richard looked over and scowled, considering socking his friend in the jaw. His thought process was interrupted by a ripple of hands as they passed back slips of paper to right the lady of choice's name on.
The DJ stood up and went down the line, saying their names as he passed each. Soft pencil scratches whispered through the club along with a few cheers at different names. When all of the ballots were passed in, the DJ went to the side and counted them all up. It took a while, and people began to mill about again and talk, some heading back to the bar. The DJ cleared his throat and everyone turned to look and listen.
"Ok, y'all. You chose her to be our lil' club princess and the first ever Miss Starfire… congratulations Kori Anders! Come and get your cash, baby," he announced. Richard watched as she grinned and went to get her check, scowling as he watched the DJ say something to her and hand her another piece of paper… a phone number no doubt. He watched curiously as Kori said something back and the DJ nodded with interest.
He continued to eye them warily as the DJ's eyes lit up with an idea. He saw Kori shake her head furiously as if to stop him, but the DJ paid no heed. "Wow, y'all, who'd a guessed our Club Princess Starfire already has herself a prince! Why don't we all welcome up the one and only Richard Grayson! Come on up sir, your lady awaits!" he crowed. This sent Victor into another fit of hysterics and Richard saw Kori give him an apologetic look as the crowd gasped and then burst into a round of excited applause in the presence of the famous Gotham play boy. What, she thought he was embarrassed of her or something? He jogged confidently up onto the stage, much to Kori's surprise and took the phone number Kori was holding from her hand and smartly handed it back to the DJ. The guy coughed and tried to save a little of his dignity by hiding the paper quickly. Richard laughed and then, without warning, he decided to do something Kori would do and give in to impulse.
Richard turned suddenly and abruptly scooped Kori up bridal style. "Thanks for the welcome," he yelled. The crowd went wild again, many women screaming his name. They were fairly sure this Kori chick couldn't keep him long and were determined the louder they screamed the more likely Richard was to picking them as his next accessory… it wasn't like they were volunteering to be used or anything, right…?
Kori was looking up at him with utter shock. "Richard…?" she questioned, hardly sure this was the same composed man that had entered the club with her. Richard was laughing as he looked back down at her.
"What? Don't tell me you're embarrassed," he winked at her and she smiled, letting her own laughter escape as he leaned his head down and placed a fiery kiss to her lips. Again, the clubbers went into an uproar. And then Richard saw a flash, followed by several more flashes and clicks. He brought his head up and his eyes became very wide. Oops… he'd forgotten about the paparazzi…
Author's Note: Well... I guess Bruce will be finding out about Rich and Kori in tomorrow's paper... lol. OK, that's my second update today to make up for one of the days I missed. I'll try to get two up tomorrow as well so I'll be all up to date, ok? I hope you like it... and now you all know what Kori was wearing. It's quite different from what she usually wears and it was very shocking to poor Richard. I believe he's been a bit flustered by it... hm. He was a little more outgoing in this chapter too, but now he's got to pay for it in the tabloids. hehe.
Titan's News: I found out about the title name "The Wedding" on a Titans chat board which is why I'm guessing it's a rumor... plus the whole thing about Star and Rob being MINORS in the show... so, I hope that answers tha question. I'm not sure exactly which board I was on... If I find the URL, I'll post it. MyMonkeyIsOrange, thank you so much for your help, I'm eagerly awaiting what you find out. Not much news right now... I stuffed it all in the last chappie, lol. But I can assure you that the Titans Movie is NOT a rumor. The script is already done or something like that:) Some of you are wondering where I get the info I put in here. I get it from reviewers and from the many, many web searches I do. If I get it off of a search I only put it if I've found the same info in several different places so it's at least fairly possible it might happen/be true. Any more questions? I'm your girl!
Chapter 16's Teen Titans "Fun" Fact:
Richard Grayson is famous for splitting from Batman and becoming an independant hero both as Robin, leader of the Titans, as well as defender of BloodHaven and of course as Nightwing. I thought it was interesting to find that split was caused when Richard was shot in the shoulder while fighting along side Batman. The Dark Knight refused to let Robin return as his side-kick, likely fearing for his ward's life. So Grayson split, angered by his mentor's decision. Now I wonder, Robin... will you show us the scar?