THIRTEEN
Haha, um, hi guys?
Yeeeeeah, sorry about the EXTREMELY late update, I've barely had any time to write this or my other story because of finals, grades, and my personal life too. And that's still an issue for me, sadly. My family's going through a rough time right now unfortunately, but I'll try and write as much as possible for you guys, since I know how you all feel when a story you like doesn't get updated. I really need to keep my grades up or no laptop for me anymore, so yeah. And not to mention that every time I wrote this, it never saved and I had to start all over again. -.-
I'm getting behind on chapters, I know, but I'll try as hard as I can to make up for it with either REEEAALLLY long chapters or short and frequent ones ok?
Anyways, here come the review responses:
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Randomness: Aw, I'm sorry, but my family doesn't like me being on the computer for as long as I am, and they are always around, so I couldn't get access to my laptop for the past few days. I feel bad now.:( Merry Christmas to you too, and I'm INCREDIBLY sorry for the wait, but her it is. Consider it a late Christmas present.:)
robstarfan504: Haha, sorry for the LOOOOOONG wait,, but here it finally is.:) Don't die on me yet, because this story still isn't over.:D
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Chapter 1:
Guest #1: Here's the next chapter, sorry bout the wait.:)
Guest #2: That was an interesting story, I am honored that you shared it with me, honest
Chapter 8:
Guest: here it is
Okay, this chapter as of now is dedicated to Guest004 and robstarfan504. You two are the ones that made me extremely happy while reading the reviews, thank you for that.:)
Alright, alright, go ahead.
Chapter 13
It's been around three weeks since the guys had met Mike. They finally believed what I believed; Star was alive. After all those years I tried to convince them, they never believed me. That is, until a private detective told them.
~*Flashback*~
"So, when exactly are we meeting this private detective of yours?" Vic asked me, still skeptical.
I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the door. "Soon. He'll be here any minute."
On cue, Mike came through the door. He looked around the restaurant, scanning the place until he found me sitting in one corner of the room and walked over.
When he reached the table, I stood up and introduced him. "Guys, meet Mike." I Looked at Mike and gestured to who were sitting in front of us, "Mike, these morons," they protested, at which I just smirked, "Are Victor, Wally, and Garfield," I finished, pointing to each of them respectively.
Mike nodded his head and said to them all, "It's a pleasure meeting you all." He sat down in a chair next to me and as soon as he had looked up, Vic spoke up.
"So," Vic asked once Mike had looked up after sitting down, "You think you've found Star." He said like a statement, not a question
Mike looked Vic in the eye. "Yes, I believe I have." He put the suitcase he'd been carrying around in his lap and took out a thin but important looking manila folder. He placed it on the table for everyone to see.
"There is a young woman that although does not fit the description I was told, acts similarly like Starfire."
He took out many more papers, excluding a few of them and leaving the rest aside.
"I have no pictures as of yet, but I have some files pertaining to this person." One by one he placed them on the table, describing each sheet before setting them down.
"This is a list of receipts from different stores where this woman has bought hair dye. It does not specify which dye color was bought in any of them, but I thought it suspicious, especially since it is bought regularly and over a long period of time." He set the paper down, and immediately Wally picked it up, the others crowding around him to see it also.
I looked towards Mike, and he mouthed, 'Copies for you inside,' patting his suitcase quietly. I nodded and turned back to Wally, who had finally let the paper down and was looking now at Mike again.
"Alright," he said. He still looked skeptical, the others too. I restrained from shaking my head and groaning in annoyance and settled with just closing my eyes.
"There are also these purchases of nonprescription contact lenses, also over a long period of time," I heard, and I opened my eyes.
"Nonprescription? So she just bought them because she wanted a different eye color?" I asked. Obviously, I knew that many people tended to buy colored contacts just for the fun of it, but for a long time? Mike was right; it was a little too suspicious to be considered normal.
Mike nodded at my question. "Not needed at all, just bought with the intent to cover up the eye color."
"Hm, alright," I said, leaning back in my chair again. "Is there anything more?"
Mike shook his head. "Not as of now, but with this information and the rest I'm discovering at the moment, I'm sure there will be more to look into." I nodded and Mike turned to the others at the table. "I suppose you three will also be kept updated on this from now?"
Wally immediately nodded, at which I smiled. Gar came soon after, nodding quickly and grinning my way.
Vic didn't say anything. We all looked at him, waiting for his answer. He looked us all in the eye, but he kept his gaze on me the longest. He narrowed his eyes, searching for something, before sighing and leaning back in his chair. He put his hands up in surrender and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Fine, fine. I believe. And yes," he looked towards Mike, "keep us all updated after this."
He smiled softly. "It's been to long since I've seen the little lady."
~*End flashback*~
It's also been around two weeks since we all met Marie. Well, since the guys and I had met her. Karen, Jen, and Rae had met her before us, when they all met up by themselves a few weeks ago.
That little girl is just adorable, she never sits down. That might be a bad thing though, because she went off wandering that day and scared her mother half to death. It all ended up fine though, because Marie came back and we all met her. She is a total sweetheart and I admit it, she has me wrapped around her little finger. She's just so lovable and sweet to everything and everyone, her innocence just adds to it.
Vic loved her the moment he saw her. He now calls her little lady and every time we see her (Which is more often now) he entertains her with stories of being part of the Teen Titans, since she absolutely loves the show they made of us. Gar does the exact same thing, but tells her his old corny jokes he loves to tell. She doesn't laugh at any of them, but he still tries, and sometimes succeeds in making her smile widely and giggle. Wally just demonstrates how fast he is, which Marie loves because she gets to try and find him when he hides from her.
For some reason though, she looks up to me the most. I asked Kori and she just smiled and said six simple words:
"She loves you because you're Robin."
She loves asking me what it was like being the leader and demands stories, which I think is so amusing. I tell her what really happened during her favorite episodes, which she explains by using hand motions, sounds and voices. It's those times that I seriously begin to wonder how she's so smart, she's only three and the intelligence she's showing is that of a five year old, if that.
Another thing is that Kori and Rae are extremely close now, even more than before. It's like they'd known each other their whole lives, what with them whispering to each other constantly. Rae is now incredibly protective of Kori and Marie, and is always shooting Kori… worried glances every once in a while. It's suspicious, since Rae's never like that, not even with Jen and Karen she's that way.
Now that I think about it, the only time she's ever been like that is when Starfire was around…
What is going on?
I shake my head as I walk in my office. I need to focus on work; there'll be time to analyze all this later. Kori is already there, answering calls and filling in paperwork, neat piles all around her on her desk. She heard me come in and turned to the door. Once she saw who it was, she smiled.
"Hey Richard," she told me simply. I smiled back and responded the same way. I sat in my own desk and called Kori. She looked up, her expression inquisitive.
"How's Marie?" I asked, the words coming out before I could stop them.
Kori just smiled. "She's fine. Of course, she's been asking where Mr. Robin was and when he was going to tell her his stories," she chuckled. "She really admires you, you know."
"Really?" I asked. She admired me?
"Yup," she said popping the p. She grinned and continued, "You're one of her favorite Titans," she reminded me.
I nodded, remembering when Marie herself told me that. Then idle curiosity crept into my head.
"Who's her #1 Titan?" I asked. Kori snapped up to meet my gaze and smiled sadly.
"Starfire," she murmured, a sad-like smile on her face.
I wasn't surprised. Marie had never been subtle in any way regarding who her favorite was. She would always point out Star every time she saw her, a smile on her face.
For some reason, instead of telling Kori that I had kind of always known, I lied. I don't even know why, but I did.
I put up a confused expression. "Really? Do you know why?" I asked, clearing my face of everything besides confusion.
Kori smirked — why would she smirk? — and put her head down, shaking it slightly, as if amused. After a few seconds she raised her head again, the smirk still on her face, and shrugged.
"I have no clue," she said responded simply, the smirk more pronounced.
I shook my head and sighed. Kori was confusing. I looked at her again, noticing she was looking at me, yet another amused look on her face.
"We should start on our work yeah?" I said, gesturing at the work on both of our desks. A small smirk appeared again on her face, and she nodded. The smirk turned into a small smile as she bowed her head and started working, and I just shook my head again. Too confusing.
I sighed but got going on the files in front of me.
~*WAYN*~
I finished all my work for the day quickly, seeing that it wasn't much. I sighed and relaxed in my chair, leaning back. I checked my watch and noticed the time. 11:42. Less than twenty minutes left until lunch. I leaned back further in my chair and looked over to Kori. She was working diligently, completely focused on the papers in front of her. She had her earphones plugged in, music most likely playing. I would tell her to not do that at work, but that was how she got things done, and if that's what it took her to work efficiently, then music it is.
I closed my eyes for a few minutes, relishing in the quiet, until my phone started vibrating. I opened an eye to look at it, and then opened both, picking it up. It was finally time to eat.
I stood up and stretched, walking over to Kori. I tapped her shoulder lightly and her head shot up. She sat up straight, and once she saw that it was me that had tapped her shoulder, she visibly relaxed and smiled. She took out her earphones and got up, also stretching slightly. She picked up her handbag, checking some things in there, and then we left, dutifully ignoring the stares we got because we were leaving together again.
We reached the parking lot and I turned to Kori. As I opened my mouth she raised a hand, silencing me, the other holding her phone. She was scrolling through it, and she finally looked up.
"We're eating with you guys today, Pizza Place," she informed me, answering the question I hadn't even asked yet. She began walking to her car, calling to me over her shoulder.
"Come on Richard!" She almost sang, climbing into the driver's seat as she did so. I felt a grin on my face and went to her car, getting in. It wasn't unusual to just get into one of our cars when all of us ate together for lunch, and so it wasn't a big deal.
The ride was spent with Kori humming under her breath to a song that was vaguely familiar, like I had heard it years before, but didn't remember it. For the life of me I couldn't remember it, but I didn't dare interrupt her, I wanted to hear it more, to see if I remembered it later on.
Unfortunately, I didn't remember it by the time we got to the Pizza Place, and I just shook it out of my head. I'd remember it later.
Once we had our food, we went upstairs to the table, where Rae and Gar were already there. Kori immediately went over to Rae, sitting next to her. And so the hushed whispers between them began.
I sat next to Gar, and as soon as I had my food on the table in front of me, I nodded my head at the two women in front of me.
"You know what's up with Rae?" I whispered to him.
He shrugged and shook his head, looking confused but resigned. "You know how she is. She knows how to keep things to herself. That and there's no point in trying to understand women. They're confusing."
I hummed my consent at that, but my suspicion still bothered me. What are they hiding?
Karen and Vic came minutes later, Jenny and Wally following soon after. As soon as Karen and Jenny sat next to Kori and Rae, they finally stopped whispering and talked to everyone else.
Everything went fairly well. We all finished quite early and instead of leaving back to work, we stayed there for a little bit longer, just relaxing. Soon though, we had to go.
Kori and I said our goodbyes to everyone and started walking to her car. It hit me then, I was done with all my work today, and there were no meeting or conferences whatsoever planned today. I had the whole day off now.
I felt the grin on my face and called Kori. She looked confused at my happy expression, which only made me grin more.
"I finished all my work today, and there are no conferences today. I have the day off, meaning you do too."
Almost instantly she grinned, matching my own. She took out her phone and began talking, mostly to herself, while her eyes scanned the screen of her phone.
"It's 12:47, means I can pick up Marie right now because her naptime is over. That also means I can finally get her that ice cream she's been whining for." She finally looked up, visibly relaxed. She had a happy smile on her face, and she asked me, "You want to come?"
I nodded almost immediately. "Sure. I miss the little monster," I told her.
She laughed at the nickname I had given Marie and walked over to her car. I followed after her and soon we were on our way to pick up Marie.
Kori began fiddling with the stations when we were on the road, and finally settled on classical music. I raised an eyebrow and she just smiled serenely.
"For Marie. It calms her down," she said, the smile still there. I nodded and gazed out my window in thought. We spent the rest of the ride in silence, listening to the piano flow through the speakers.
Soon Kori stopped in front of a relatively small building. There was a play set to the right of it, surrounded by a large gate to keep the children safe and inside. Kori got out, and I followed, looking around as we walked to the entrance.
As soon as we walked in, Kori was greeted by everyone that was close. She smiled back and responded with the same greeting, then turned to walk to the front desk.
There, a young woman, about our age, was sitting. She was writing, completely focused on what she was doing. Kori leaned over and tapped her on the shoulder, and she started, looking up. She had long, wavy brown hair, and dark grey eyes.
She relaxed once she saw Kori, and smiled. "Hey Kor." Then her gaze shifted to me. She raised an eyebrow and smiled. "And who might this be?"
"Hi Selena. This is my boss Richard Grayson," Kori said, an edge to her voice. I looked to her, but she was looking at Selena, who now had an eyebrow raised to Kori.
Selena smiled and nodded to Kori, for what I'll never know. "It's nice to meet you Richard," she said, smiling politely at me. I smiled back and replied much the same way, slightly confused as to what had just happened.
Selena then reached for some papers on a clipboard and handed them to Marie.
"Here Kor. Sign these." She turned from the desk and called to another woman. "Anna, could you bring Marie over here? Kori's here." Anna, a blonde, nodded and went over to where Marie was, sitting on the carpeted ground with some dolls in her hands.
"Here," I heard Kori say. I looked back to where she was and saw her handing the clipboard and pen to Selena. Selena smiled and nodded.
"She's all yours now, good luck," Selena said, smiling. Kori laughed and nodded.
"Thanks, I'm going to need it. She's getting ice cream right now," She told her.
Selena laughed too. "Oh god, you're going to need more than just luck then."
Kori suppressed a laugh. "Yeah, I know right?"
It was at this time that Anna came back, holding Marie's right hand while the left held the two dolls she was playing with before. Once she saw me, she squealed.
"Mr. Richard!"
She ran up to me and wrapped her little arms around my neck. I hugged her back and then lifted her into the air, twirling her. She was shrieking and giggling the entire time, and when I let go she was practically glowing.
"Hi mommy!" She squealed again, running to her mother. Kori smiled and bent down to hug her, and they pulled away when Marie started giggling.
"What are you laughing about Marie?" I asked her.
She giggled again and held up the dolls she had in her hands. "Robin and Starfire!"
Then I saw them. She had Robin in her right hand and Starfire in the left. She beckoned us to come closer to her, and we obliged, Kori on her left and me to her right. We crouched down to her level and she grinned at us.
She took my right hand and put the Robin figurine in it, closing my fingers around it with her little hands. Then she turned to Kori. Already knowing what she wanted, Kori held out her left hand, and Marie smiled widely, small dimples showing on either side of her mouth. She put the Starfire figurine in her hand and also closed her fingers around it. She stepped back from us both and nodded to herself, as if satisfied.
I smiled at Marie, thinking this was adorable. She smiled widely in return. I turned to Kori though, and saw she had gone pale. She swallowed and smiled weakly at Marie, looking like she was trying not to freak out.
Why would she freak out over this?.
"Honey, why'd you put this in my hand?" Kori asked, gesturing towards the figurine held in her hand.
Marie focused her attention on her, looking at her as if the answer to the question was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Because mommy, you're Starfire."
I chuckled and reached out to ruffle Marie's hair. She cried out and raised her hands to cover her hair and swatted my hands away.
"Hey, who knows? Maybe your mom is Starfire. Maybe Kori is just a disguise and she's been hiding from us all this entire time," I told the three year old, smiling. Marie's eyes widened and she turned to Kori, who looked like she had seen a ghost, again.
The color was returning to her face though, and she groaned. "Don't tell her that. Now she's going to be constantly asking me if I can fly and if my eyes will glow green." She gestured to her eyes. "Which I don't think is possible, since I'm stuck with blue."
I shook my head and laughed, picking up Marie and putting her on my hip. It was almost on instinct, I realized I had done that without a thought; I had just picked up Marie and put her on my hip like I'd been doing that for ages.
I shook my head, ridding myself of those thoughts. Why were they coming to me, when there was no reason for it? I shook my head again. I needed to stop overthinking about this.
I needed to stop overthinking, period. I was spending time with one of my friends and her adorable daughter, I needed to focus on this, not on some random thoughts going around in my head.
Kori was looking at me in concern, her head tilting to the side slightly. So much like Starfire…
I closed my head and forced those thoughts out of my head. No, I need to stop.
Kori Anders is not Starfire, so why do I keep thinking about it?
Yeeeeeeeaaaahh, I'm really sorry about the SUPERLONG wait, but here it is?
Ok, I have half of chapter 14 ready, all written down on paper because I don't have much access to my laptop anymore because of my grades .-.
I'll try to type the next chapter up and update it as soon as I can, but I sadly can't promise anything.:(
Anyways, here ya go, after the looooooong wait haha, thank you to the loyal readers who stuck with me and waited so long for this, I LOVE YOU.
Yeaaahh, bye.:)