Confusion was abundant at the girls' house that evening.

Richard had simply watched as Kori disappeared through the front door, kicking off the ground and riding back home the second he heard the latch catch.

Kori flung herself onto her bed and buried her head into a pillow. What had just happened? Why was Richard acting so secretive? What had made him so angry? Why did she find herself missing his touch, one that had seemed so full of urgency and hunger, completely absent of his usual gentleness? Why was she wishing he'd do it again? Why had he stopped so suddenly? And why were his advances untainted by unwelcome memories of the Citadel, when the very same ones from Xavier a couple months ago caused her great distress? What was the difference?

Trust, she concluded. Even though she couldn't seem to get him to trust her with his secrets (and she couldn't really blame him since she was hiding something really big from him, too), somehow she knew that she could trust him with her life.

But trust didn't come nearly as easy for the raven-haired girl down the hall. She sat cross-legged in her dark bedroom, hoodie pulled over her head, willing the sun that had only just slipped below the horizon to not rise again so that she could completely disappear into the shadows.

Whatever happened to the days that she had never been afraid of anything except herself? What kind of strange abilities did he possess that forced her into such a state of helplessness like she'd never experienced before him? Why could she not recall most of their time together, just seeming to awaken from some kind of non-sleeping state with furious purple finger prints marking her pale skin on her arms, her neck, her ribs…?

Melchior had left only a half hour ago, but she secretly feared that he'd return. She double checked the locks on her window, then watched as the clock hanging on the opposite wall slowly crept its way towards 8:00pm. She knew this would be a long night, so she attempted to meditate in the corner. This would normally involve some levitation, but as she sighed out the words "Azarath, metrion, zenthos," she couldn't help but dwell on how she couldn't seem to leave the ground.

————————————

"BOOYAH!"

"DUDE, YOU TOTALLY CHEATED!" Gar exclaimed, throwing his controller to the ground and glaring at Vic.

"Did not! You just can't handle that I'm better at Mega Monkeys than you!" Vic retorted with a smug grin. The two of them had abandoned their rings in their respective bedrooms since they weren't expecting any company tonight. In the privacy of their home, Gar morphed into an octopus, using four of his long tentacles to restrain Vic's strong robotic limbs and the other four to reach for the controller in his metal fingers. "Get off me, Grass Stain!" Vic emphasized the words by dropping the controller and peeling one suctioned tentacle off his shoulder, just for it to be replaced quickly by another. "I'll whoop your sorry ass if you don't let me g—"

Slam. The two paused mid-wrestle to turn and look in the direction of the door that leads to the garage and Nightwing's hideout. Richard had just returned from another fruitless mission, storming off to his room, completely oblivious to his roommates' shenanigans.

Gar changed back to his regular green form, resuming his spot on the sofa. "You know, I think maybe we should call it a night. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of Dick's anger issues just because we're keeping him awake."

Vic nodded. "What's gotten into him anyway? He's even been taking it out on Kori."

"Must be something in the air. Rachel has been acting really weird, too. Like weirder than normal," Gar replied. He had noticed how she'd flinched when he'd placed his hand on her arm in mid-conversation at lunch. How she'd chosen to wear a turtleneck to school even though it was a high of 80 degrees Fahrenheit today. How she kept pulling the sleeves of said turtleneck over her fingers as if they weren't long enough.

Around 8:30, he had texted her a joke he thought was hilarious (Who stole the soap out of the bathtub? The robber ducky!) to which she did not reply with her usual sarcastic remark or emoji rolling its eyes. Though he did prefer telling her these jokes in person, because every once in a blue moon, she would stifle a laugh. But that was five and a half hours ago, and still there had been no response. He thought it was possible that maybe she'd gone to bed early, but somehow he still found himself with his phone pressed against his pointed ear as he shut his bedroom door behind him and plopped down on his unmade bed, absentmindedly kicking at the pile of dirty laundry on the floor. After the fourth ring, Rachel picked up.

"Garfield, do you have any clue what time it is?"

"I, uh… just calling to check on you," he stammered, scratching the back of his neck. "You didn't text me back earlier."

"Was I supposed to?"

"No, um. I guess not. You… I was just hoping you were okay." Silence. For several long seconds. "Rachel?"

"It's too much to bother you with. Don't worry about it."

"Rae, you can talk to me. Please," he begged.

There was a pause, then she said, "It's just… I'm tired, Gar. Of everything. I want it all to just…. I just want to be done."

He felt his heart break for her as he laid his head back on his pillow, his free hand running through his messy green hair. "How can I help?"

"Don't. There's too much darkness. You shouldn't have to deal with that."

"But that's what I'm good at. Let me be your light." The corner of Gar's mouth twitched upwards.

"Look, Gar. I appreciate what you're trying to do. But you don't deserve to put up with all of this. I'm fine."

He wished he was there with her right now. He didn't know what he'd do. If he tried to hug her, she'd surely zap him with her dark energy. And she clearly wasn't in the mood for jokes. But he'd do everything he could think of to make her smile. "You know I care about you. I'm here for you, no matter what. You can trust me."

And though he couldn't see it, that statement was enough to send a single tear down her cheek and into the corner of her mouth as it raised ever so slightly into a relieved smile.