Ok, it's official...LONGEST CHAPTER SO FAR XD *cheers* Seriously though, I feel proud for managing to come up with something remotely coherent while struggling to stay awake. XD So, please let me know GENTLY where the mistakes that y'all would undoubtedly find and that I would like to say that I was slipping in and out of consciousness while writing this chapter, so please don't get mad at me .
By the way, for this chapter, I'm not so sure that it counts, - but I really do want it to count since Dick was still a part of the act and they were his family so they deserve a tribute.
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or DC, but I do own "Max" - y'all will see him around there somewhere.
and now...drum roll pleaaaase!
thebluecrystalrose: HAHA. I'm glad you liked it! and thank you, the characters remaining IC has always been a source of insecurity for me and I considered the first one actually, it's in my suggestion basket or something of that sort. :))
batman-defeats-all: Thank you :) and yes! I originally planned for him to be the one who was pounding on the door demanding that they start kicking villain ass soon, but like I said, I didn't want him to appear OOC.
babytiger5360: Ikr? :)) I try to give everyone shout outs whenever possible so they would know how much their support means to me :) and thank you! :D That was certainly my goal, glad to have achieved it :P and yes, I am planning a Starfire side of the story. It'll most probably go hand in hand with this one :) but I'm not so certain about Alfred though, i mean I absolutely love him, but I'm not very familiar with his background :( It would be awesome though. By the way, thanks for adding Stormy Reunions and Between Then and Now in your favorite stories list :D
Fighter1357: I'm sorry if it wasn't quite what you had in mind :( I really hard a hard time thinking up of a plot for that chapter...
xxellabearxx:Hey, it's fine,, I admit, I didn't know much about Damian either before researched him for the Batman chapter. Damian is the biological son of Bruce Wayne with Talia Al Ghul :) He took up the mantle of Robin when it was Dick's turn to be Batman.
soulevans31: Hey there! Thanks for adding Names to your favorite stories list! *hugs you*
FallingNight01: HAHA. Thank you! I sort of owe it to the people in the 39 Clues category actually. If they weren't so fussy with grammar and capitalization and stuff like that, I would never have tried to be better. by the way, I hope you got the email notification for this when you added it to your Story Alert list! ;)
Adam: Yeah, I realized that when I just published the thing. I was like wait up, did I just type in Red Hood? OH GOD. I meant Red X =)) I was reading about Red Hood at the DC Wiki Database at that time so that was probably why I became momentarily confused. Thanks for pointing it out though :) Well, it would be awesome to have Star join in, but I don't think Batwoman would be quite her style. She wouldn't be able to use her powers or even fly and I think that would just inconvenience her.
brokenangelsely: Hi! Thanks for dropping by. :) I really appreciate it, and thank you! and yes, they will be more! I think 3 or 4 more, I can't remember. :)
TheCretin: Did you that shortned your review when they sent me a reveiw alert email? :)) I had to check the site to see that whole thing! Although I was thrilled that you gave me a long review :) and yeah, exactly! I mean, I don't think Bruce would have forced him to if he really didn't want the mantle. I mean, there is always Tim, but yeah, he does seem like he would trust Dick the most with his legacy. and about the happy ending...I KNOW *wails* It was actually going to be a sad one, with Star actually taking the ring off and going her own way, but when I told me sister, she pelted me with pillows! Almost knocked my laptop off my bed! and so I changed the ending to a happier one :) haha. Exactly. :) He even almost married her in the comic! Oh no, I won't kill you! I love you too much! HAHA! Seriously though, I agree with you, Babs is the only real competition against Star - so it irks me to no ends when he ends up with Babs (even if it's just for a while) I won't even try to figure out how they would work with the triangle :)) I'm still trying to work through my confusion for Earth-22 where Star ends up dead :| and thank you :) Glad you think so :D
and..well, I sprt pf put that there too. But it was just you know, trying to show that by finishing the act that was started by his parents, he was finally able to come to terms with their death and move on. Something like that, I couldn't come up with anything better last night :(
brycelke: Thanks for Names to your favorite stories list! :D
The Flying Graysons
"Richard?" Starfire called out loudly as she exited their bedroom and walked into the living room as she scanned the seemingly empty penthouse apartment
"In here!" Came the muffled reply from the down the hall as the sound of bare feet padding across the varnished wooden floors, giving the man that soon rounded the corner away. He looked up at her and grinned as he dried his sodden raven locks with the towel in his hands "Sorry I took so long, I couldn't hear you very well down at the gym." He then slung the white terry cloth towel over his shoulder and eyed her expectantly "So, what's up?"
"It is of the alright." Star said as she glided closer to him, an excited smile on her face as she clutched a flyer tightly before thrusting it towards her boyfriend, making said man stumble back a few steps in shock. "The circus is in town!" She said with the same amount of glee that a child would show – a trait that never failed to make Richard smile. "I was wondering if we may go and maybe purchase the candy that is made of colored cotton once more and play the games?"
The former boy wonder blinked at her before taking the flyer that had been pushed towards him and looked at it before grinning. Perfect.
"Sure Star." He said with a smile and a shrug "We can go tonight if you want."
At the prospect of going to the circus that night, the 25-year-old woman's eyes lit up as she smiled just as brightly, but then slid down to a frown at a sudden terrible realization "Would we still be able to buy the tickets to the show and for the entrance at the last of the minutes?" She asked worriedly, after all, she had heard from the clown that gave her the flyer that Haley's Circus was famous – and would only be here for a single night.
"No problem." He replied with an easy grin "I can get them easily." He added as he eyed the picture of the grinning ringmaster, remembering how they used to play with the elephant's ball during rehearsals. It was only right that he inherited his father's position – he would be surprised if he didn't. That man was old!
Star eyed him curiously, but Dick offered no other reply aside from a grin and a call over his shoulder instructing her to get ready while he showers.
"Ready yet?" Dick called out for what felt like the hundredth time as he lounged on their king sized bed as he eyed the bathroom door impatiently.
"Nearly!" The woman that had not so recently taken up residence in the room called out, the sound of the hair dryer humming in the background
Dick sighed as he rolled his eyes. "I might as well watch the news." He grumbled to himself as he opened his bedside drawer to grab the remote from his secret hiding place, but stopped when he saw the small, velvet black box sitting there in plain view beside the remote.
Then, without another word, he took the box, placed it deep into the pockets of his black jacket before taking the remote in his hands and switching the television on.
Unfortunately, before he could even watch 5 minutes of the news, Starfire emerged out of the bathroom in a pair of jeans and a purple sweater.
"That's it?" Dick asked; don't get him wrong, in his opinion, Starfire looked gorgeous in his opinion, but he didn't think that she would take almost an hour just got come out in a simple pair of jeans and a sweater. "You took an hour for that?"
"My apologies." The red head said with a sheepish smile "It was my hair that was being troublesome, I apologize for taking such a long time."
"It's alright. Richard said with an easy smile as he jumped out of bed and offered her his hand "Come on, let's get to the circus."
"Richard?" She asked as she glanced at the man who was seated on the driver's seat beside her as they sped through the dark streets of Gotham. It was as if every single citizen – villain or not – was enjoying a night at the circus. "Are you certain that we would be able to acquire the tickets?" She asked worriedly "It seems like there are plenty of people who have gathered to watch the shows and participate in the games."
Dick spared her a glance accompanied with a confident smirk as he turned away from the main entrance of the circus which was crowded with cars and pedestrians all trying to get into the famous Haley's Circus.
"Richard, the entrance is that way…" The redhead said pointed out as she turned in her seat to watch as they drove further away from the entrance and closer towards a small gap that seemed to be the back entrance of the circus.
He then turned into the small entrance, parked the car near a medium sized tent and stepped out of the car excitedly as Star followed closely behind, making sure to keep her feet firmly on the ground.
"Dude!" A man with light blonde hair and warm brown eyes wearing a red ringmaster's suit suddenly exclaimed as he emerged from the tent, greeting Dick jovially "When I got your call, I was thrilled! It's good to see you!" He said as he hugged the black-haired man briefly
Dick grinned in response before glancing over his shoulder to beckon his girlfriend over "Kori." He said with a smile as he took her hand in his "This is Max, I grew up with him in the circus. He's the ringmaster." He explained, hoping she would catch his drift.
Of course, Star was not stupid, she was merely naïve, but she knew a hint when she heard one. "Oh!" She exclaimed happily "So Haley's Circus is the place where you grew up?" She asked, earning her a nod from Dick to confirm her thoughts.
"And any friend of Dick's is welcome in the Haley's Circus!" Max piped in from beside Dick as he produced two barrier-side tickets from an inside pocket in his suit and handed them over to his smiling friend "Enjoy the show!" He then glanced back towards the brightly lit tent before turning back to them "Well, I've better get back inside, the show is starting soon."
Dick nodded at home once more, clapped him on the back gratefully before letting the blonde man walked back into the Staff's Tent without another word before pulling Starfire into the main tent to find their seats.
"Come on." He said excitedly "You'll love this."
"This was where we used to do our somersaults." Dick explained, his voice filled with sorrow and nostalgia. He then pointed towards the far rung and explained "We had this act where my mom was supposed to swing from that, and then I would catch her from the other side" He then looked away, his face haunted by memories before continuing, his voice threatening to break "We never really got to finish it…the first time that we were going to perform it – it was the day that they died."
"Oh." Starfire said sadly, her green eyes drifting towards the hanging swing before looking around the now empty tent, then flying off towards it, much to Dick's surprise and alarm.
The girl then hung upside down from it, using her knees as hooks on the wooden rung as she used her strength to swing herself towards Richard who now had a frantic expression on his face – no doubt fearing that history might repeat itself.
As Star neared him with each swing, Dick reached out instinctively, the years he spent away from the bars having no effect on him as he performed his side of the somersault as if he had been practicing all these years.
He had thought that Starfire would simply reach out for him, dragging him into the air with her – which he didn't mind at all – but he was wrong, looking back, perhaps it was just luck, pure coincidence, - or maybe even the spirit of his mother instructing Star as she swung, but somehow she knew that she was to launch herself into the air, flip once then grab his hand as he pulled her onto the plank successfully. Finally completing the act that they had failed to finish all these years.
"Was I successful?" Starfire asked with a smile as she stood in front of him, hair messed up and breath short from hanging upside down while repeatedly swinging back and forth.
"You were more than successful, Star!" Dick exclaimed happily as he enveloped her in a tight hug, he then leaned his head against the crook of her neck and whispered "Mom would have loved you."
Green eyes widened in shock, surprise and sentimentality all at once, and moved to hug him even tighter, but stopped when she felt Dick move away on his own, before fishing something out of his jacket pocket and proceeding to kneel in front of her.
"You are just incredible" He said breathlessly "You have managed to bring my life to a full circle." He then cracked the box open, revealing a simple gold band with a sizable diamond nestled in the middle of it as it glittered against the stage lights that had been left on "You are amazing, beautiful, smart and just perfect in my opnion" He said with a boyish grin that would have sent Starfire swooning if she wasn't already doing so "and it would really, really mean so much to me if you'd spend the rest of this crazy life of ours with me – forever."
The girl in front of him grinned as she nodded mutely, too shocked to speak, before launching herself towards him – making sure to control her strength in fear of sending them toppling to their early deaths.
"YES, YES YES!" She exclaimed happily as she peppered his face with kisses as she laughed while Dick slid the ring into her finger before standing back up and taking her face in both his hands, kissing her soundly on the lips.
"Kori?" A voice called out from the first floor of the manor "Kori? Where are you?" It called out again, this time sounding much nearer.
Snapping out of the day dream she had been in, the redheaded alien smiled at the memory of his proposal half a year ago before clearing her throat and calling out "I am in the room of slumber!"
Minutes later, Richard strode into the room, wearing a look of mild annoyance as he leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest
"My sincerest apologies Richard." Star said as she floated off the chair and flew towards him, giving him a brief kiss "I had been immersed in the dreams of the day." Then she asked "Is there anything you required?"
The black haired man smiled as he shook his head "Nothing, I just wanted to tell you that the Wedding Planner is here." He replied, as if the fact that they already had a wedding planner shocking him.
At this news, the girl settled herself back on the ground before running down the hall excitedly to finally plan her wedding. Not that she was in any hurry of course, but every girl was excited to plan their wedding, weren't they?
So...what did you guys think? :) It wasn't that terrible was it? :D and a Wayne chapter is next ;) Keep your eyes open for that one! I'll probably get to writing it over the weekend and it depends on when I finish it. :))