Chapter 2

Saturday evening was surprisingly slow, though the inconsistent rainfall that had been going on all day had Kaldur surmising that folks had decided an evening in was more called for. So, it was rather startling when a blonde woman suddenly stomped into the bar out of the drizzle, a tired looking redhead trailing after her.

"Beer, please. Budweiser." The blonde ordered as she sat at the bar, wringing some of the water from her ponytail. "Megan? You want anything?"

"Oh! Um... Lemonade?"

"It's a bar, Meg. I wouldn't have dragged you out here just to get something you could have had at the campus dining hall." The first woman rolled her eyes.

"Alright... I'll have a martini, please."

"Coming right up." Kaldur set the glasses in front of them, but before he could step away the blonde called for his attention again.

"You're Kaldur Ahm, right? My friend Raquel's been talking about you the last couple of days."

"Has she?" He wasn't sure whether to feel flattered, or worried, especially given the way that the woman was eyeing him.

"Yeah. Do me a favor, don't keep up the nice guy act just to keep her as a customer - after the hell she's been through, Raquel deserves better than that."

Taken aback, it was several moments before Kaldur could formulate a response. "I can assure you, miss..."

"Crock. Artemis Crock."

"Miss Crock, I am not putting on any sort of act for Miss Ervin - she is a charming woman who has engaged me in some wonderful conversations for the last two evenings, and I would not dare do anything to add to her burdens: raising a child while gaining an advanced education is hard enough."

Artemis' eyebrows climbed steadily higher through his small speech, and Kaldur felt a subdued sense of satisfaction at her new expression.

"Well. Alright then." She nodded to him slightly, raising her glass to take a sip. "Just so long as we're clear."

"What kinds of things have you talked about with Raquel?" The other young woman, Megan, asked curiously. Kaldur didn't see Artemis' glare of warning until it was too late.

"A fair amount of topics involving the university, though last night was mostly about relationship advice." As soon as the words had left his mouth, the man knew they had been a bad idea. Megan's eyes filled with tears, and her shoulders started to shake with silent sobs. Artemis was off of the stool and standing by her friend's side almost instantly.

"Aw, hell, Meg, you've got to stop beating yourself up about this-"

"B-but it was my f-fault!" The tears began to spill then, as Kaldur hurriedly reached for the box of tissues he kept beneath the bar top. "If I h-hadn't-"

"You don't know that." Artemis tried to sooth her, to no avail. The shorter woman was in a full blown meltdown. Silently, Kaldur handed over the entire box, which Artemis gratefully accepted. Other customers were shooting them various looks, so with a sigh, Kaldur got one of the waiters to take over for him behind the bar as he guided both women into the private room, closing the door firmly.

"I have no wish to pry if it is not wanted," he said quietly as Megan's crying began to slow. "But if there is any way in which I can offer my assistance...?"

Artemis sighed. "Well, you started this up again by mentioning advice on relationships, so maybe you can use some of the same to help her out." With occasional interjections from her friend, the woman began to tell him how Megan and her boyfriend Connor had been together for years, until the previous spring when a heated argument between the two. Forever trying to keep on top of their lives and make things easier for the other, Megan had developed a habit of going through Connor's personal mail and other belongings. After discovering this and repeatedly telling her to stop, he finally ended the relationship, and no amount of attempted reconciliation on Megan's part had gotten him to forgive her. Weeks of constant trying did nothing to change their new status, so she'd grown angry and given up. In the months since then, the two had often met under various circumstances for school or with other friends, and despite tempers having cooled, neither was willing to take a risk and talk to the other about repairing their relationship.

"I'm sorry for reacting like that, but when you brought it up, I just- I just couldn't stop myself." Megan said with a sniffle. Kaldur gave her a consoling pat on the shoulder, smiling in sympathy.

"Please do not feel bad about it. Believe me, I've seen much worse outbursts in here over the years." He managed to win a tentative smile from her, at least. "To be frank, though, I think that this is an intolerable situation, one that should be resolved regardless of the eventual outcome. Suffering for the sake of leaving things be is never healthy." Kaldur tried to keep his words soft and gentle, and managed to keep Megan from bursting into further tears. A few minutes more of soothing from both himself and Artemis, and the woman declared herself sufficiently recovered.

The pair reclaimed their drinks as Kaldur retreated to his usual position behind the bar, and after a while the ladies decided to return to their dorm hall. "We'll try to come back sometime." Artemis promised.

"Take care, Kaldur!" Megan called back as she stepped through the door.

"And yourselves as well." He answered, debating getting his own drink to combat the rising levels of stress that came with dealing with Raquel's friends. It wasn't that he minded, but so far, the three consecutive nights of mixed emotions were beginning to wear him down, just a bit.

Little did he know that the worst was yet to come...

-TC-

Kaldur got to meet another of Raquel's friends the next night, when Artemis returned dragging a muscular young man with dark hair behind her.

"Kal, this is Richard Grayson. Dick, this is Kaldur, so you get to talk to him about Zatanna while I go finish my physics homework. 'Night!" And with that, the blonde disappeared back out the door, leaving a bemused Kaldur glancing at the sheepish young man.

"Um... Hi. Guess I don't really need to bother introducing myself now..." Dick mumbled, rubbing a hand across his face. "So, apparently you're the local love expert."

"Apparently." Kaldur agreed. "Am I to take it that you've been deposited here to receive supposed expertise?"

"Yep." Settling down on a nearby bar stool, Dick cautiously asked for a pale ale, and waited for a few minutes until Kaldur finished his other orders before speaking up. "I don't suppose you have any suggestions for how to go about turning a best friend into a girlfriend, do you?"

"A few. To start, don't think you need to change any of what you are doing. Zatanna mentioned when I met her that you two frequently do things together and with friends such as shopping or going to school events, correct?"

"Yeah, but those aren't things I typically do with the girlfriends I've had."

"Women who you are no longer with." Kaldur pointed out, earning a mumbled agreement. "Then keep doing them with Zatanna, gradually adding in activities that the both of you think ought to be in a relationship." Dick nodded in agreement, his eyes taking on a calculating expression as he no doubt began to concoct ideas for future dates and outings.

It being a quiet Sunday night, Kaldur didn't have many other customers to attend to, so he was able to spend a fair amount of time with the younger man as they discussed a variety of topics. As it turned out, despite being a mere twenty one years old, Dick was in his second to last term before completing a dual degree in computer science and business. His foster father ran a large company, it seemed, and the young man was interested in working more closely with some of the different departments.

"I mean, my siblings and I would have inherited the lot anyway, but I want to know what's going on and what I can do to help." He explained with his second drink, to Kaldur's thoughtful agreement. "My friend Roy, he was in a similar position - adopted by a billionaire, wanted to do more than just sit in an office and be informed of the business progress. He was going to college here too, wanted to complete the courses in business management, and sports and recreation. Ended up going south for him, poor guy."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He was dating a girl, they got a little too frisky, baby comes along and he wants to do the right thing. His dad cut him off, so Roy had to use up his savings to finish his last year of classes. Now, he coaches some different kids sports teams while his wife works so they can make ends meet. And I know just how stubborn the moron can be when it comes to getting help, but the two of them together are, like, the ultimate teaming up of the immovable object and unstoppable force. If they're agreed on something, like not accepting perfectly good money from friends, then it's not happening." Kaldur couldn't help the slight snicker at Dick's annoyed expression. "You want to know the weirdest thing, though? His wife is Artemis' older sister, and they actually know Raquel through mutual babysitting."

"A small world indeed."

Dick slapped a hand over each ear. "Please tell me you didn't just say that. Dang it, Kaldur, I'm going to have that song stuck in my head for hours now. So not asterous."

"Excuse me?" The bartender asked, a little concerned he may have given Dick a stronger drink than he'd intended.

"Asterous. Opposite of dis-asterous." A sheepish grin accompanied his words. "English was my second language growing up, so when I was a kid I messed around with a lot of prefixes, seeing what other meanings I could get from different words."

"Ah. I see." Kaldur did not add the phrase I think?

"Yeah, it was weird. My little brothers and sister were all pretty happy when I stopped. My foster dad, too. And our butler. And most of my friends..." Now the younger man did win a chuckle from Kaldur, smirking at his victory. "Hey, do you think you could do me a favor?"

"Depends on what it is."

"If I drag my friend Wally here some night, or get Roy to do the dragging, could you work some of your magic and get him to think about dating Artemis? We've all been trying to-"

Kaldur cut him off with a sigh. "I am willing to do what I can, but you are not the first person to mention this dilemma to me. You and the others all seem inclined to think this pair would do well together, but being pushed into it from so many directions at once may be the very thing causing Artemis and this Wally to dig their heels in and resist." Dick pondered over that for a while.

"You may have a point." He eventually said. "I'll pass that along. Thanks, Kaldur."

"Of course."