Kori breathed in the smell of her coffee. It was 4am and she couldn't fall back asleep. With an afghan wrapped around her she cuddled up in her chair with a warm mug in her hand, and opened her laptop. She wanted to find out what happened after she had left. Her home page was her Yahoo account, and the headline title was what she was dreading, " Dynamic Duo Takes Down Walker." She clicked to read the full article and was relieved when there was no mention of her. The story claimed that Bat Man and Robin tracked Walker down and ambushed him. It was only party factual regarding the death of Walker's assistant, and that Robin was the one to take him down.
She wanted to reach out to him, to assure him that she was fine, and she wasn't angry at him for keeping a secret. She thought back to the many times an emergency "work meeting" would come up and wondered how many of those were times that he transformed into Robin. She caught her breath as she thought to the campus invasion. He was the one who saved her. She knew he needed space, but she wanted to reconcile, and soothe him, because she knew him well enough to know that he was mentally distraught. Alfred told her wait, so wait she would.

"Master Dick," Richard heard, followed by a knock. " It is almost 8, would you like your breakfast?"
Richard groaned. He had not slept well, and wanted to sleep the whole day, to avoid the memories from the previous day "I'm fine, Alfred!" He responded back.
" Sir, I would like to offer my opinion. Wasting away all day will not accomplish anything. You need to call Miss Anders."
Robin closed his eyes. Alfred was silent for a moment before he continued.
" She loves you, Sir. I am certain you feel the same way." Robin groaned. Alfred was always right and perceptive. He rolled out of the bed and trudged to the door and opened it. He gave a heavy sigh.
"Al, I'll call her, just not right,"
" Richard Grayson, I have watched you grow up and I have seen you make many mistakes but this will not be one that I can stand idly by and allow." His firm voice woke Richard up. " There is a beautiful young woman out there hurting to be with you and you will treat her with the respect she deserves and the way that I raised you. I expect to see you at breakfast showered and ready in 15 minutes." Alfred finished and walked away.
Richard closed his door, ashamed of how selfish he was behaving. He wanted to protect Kori, there was nothing wrong with that, but Alfred wouldn't lie to him and if she loved him, then she would be in pain right now. He headed towards his bathroom to get ready, coming up with an action plan.

Kori went through all of her classes in a daze. She was impressed with herself for showing up to classes, but she needed a distraction. Multiple times she had pulled out her phone to start a message, but quickly deleted and put it away. The day dragged on.
At 3:45, as she was approaching her apartment she saw a figure by it.
It was Richard with a bouquet of roses, and her heart skipped a few beats. As she walked up and began to unlock her door, the silence was deafening.
" Would you like to come in?" She asked as she opened it.
" Is Rachel home?"
" No, she won't be back until tonight." After that response Kori walked in and Richard followed. He shut and locked the door behind him and Kori made her way the the couch. She sat down. It was still silent.
" Um, I am going to get a vase for these flowers." Richard began, not sure how to behave.
" There is one above the fridge." Kori said ,trying to keep calm, even though millions of questions were racing through her mind. Richard got the vase, filled it with water, and walked it over the table. After placing it in the center, he walked over to the couch.
" Can I, um, is it okay if,"
" You can sit down." Kori said gently. Richard sat and bent over with his elbows on his knees. His head fell into his hands and began to shake.
" What I did, what I've done." He started, " I should have been more careful, I should have thought this out, you could have,"
" Yes, I could have died," Kori finished bluntly, " but I didn't because you saved me. Richard, I'm not mad at you for keeping this secret." His head perked up and he met her gaze. Her eyes were soft, and loving.
"I'm so sorry."
Kori took his hands in her own.
" Richard, I love you." She had said it first. " I love you so much.
" I love you too," he said passionately and then engulfed her with his arms. " I don't want you to ever be afraid, I want to protect you." He said into her hair as she reacted by clinging to him. After moments of being connected again, they released their embrace.
" May I ask, how many of those "work meetings" were actually work meetings?"
Richard gave a small smile, " None."
" That's what I thought. " She gave a small smile back.
" So how do you feel, dating not only Gotham's heartthrob, but it's super hero too?"
" Wow! You went from apologetic to arrogant very quickly!" She laughed. " So tell me, what has been the most exciting thing you've done as Robin?"
" You really want to know?" She nodded her head. " Okay, so about 2 years ago..."

After hours of talking Richard felt relieved. Kori had so many questions, but it was almost therapeutic for him to talk about it. The time had gone so quickly. He felt his cell phone go off. It was the Bat Sign. Kori leaned over and saw it.
" Get out of here superhero." She grinned. Robin fiercely kissed her.
" I'll be back tonight." He said and he stood up. He kissed her on the cheek, " I love you!" He yelled as he raced out the door.
" I love you too!" Kori said laughing.