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Off to a Forgettable Start!
Richard 'Dick' Grayson was not one to make many stupid decisions. He would cop to making dumb choices, well that was before this happened. This… Well this… This was unexplainable. Even to him.
Now, this, it had to be the stupidest decision of his life as he slowly cracked his eyes open to the evil glare of the Vegas sun and groaned as it felt like a jack hammer in his head. Rolling over slowly he winced feeling like he'd been ran over by an eighteen wheeler. Wincing a bit he looked around the room and frowned, he didn't think…
There was a soft feminine moan beside him which had his aching head snapping over to the source faster than his aching head could care to handle and groaned at the reaction of his hangover and sun and waking and found himself looking at the other occupant of the bed.
The world stilled as his eyes zeroed in on the flaming red hair and he felt his heart drop as he moved his left hand to touch her and saw the gold band on his finger.
Oh fuck!
He fell out of the bed then and heard muffled, foreign curse.
This was…
He didn't know what this was! That was problem.
Dick nervously peeked up at the bed as he winced and walked to the bathroom, he found his diddybag and pulled out the meds as he popped them back and took a swig of water. Slowly he released a shuddering breath. This was bad! Very bad!
Sitting on the lid of the toilet he tried to remember what had happened the last seventy-two hours and bit his lip.
See, he remembered coming here, undercover, with Koriand'r after kissing Shawn goodbye and heading to Las Vegas, for work. wincing he slowly made his way to the other room where he saw his partner sprawled out in all her naked glory and he just blinked.
What the fuck had happened. Stealthily as he could he slipped to her left side, there was a good size diamond rock on her ring finger. Which had his heart sinking as he stared at Kori. Seriously!? What the hell had happened!?
Quietly he slipped around the room and found a recite, for a ring, and he grimaced at the price. Well fuck, he'd gone all out on this! Looking around he found a pair of pants and found the discarded dress of Kori's, which had him bending over with a wince as he lifted it and noted the tears.
Either she'd been mauled by a wild animal, or he'd jumped her.
Dropping the material, he groaned as he rubbed his brow and flopped into a seat where his laptop was open with an image. The image felt like a stab to his head and gut as he slammed it shut and rubbed his brow, Kori made a noise and shifted on the bed.
Well… fuck.
There was no other way to describe the shit storm he'd found himself in now. Reluctantly Dick pulled out his phone.
78 Hours Earlier…
"I don't like this," his blue haired girlfriend stated as he packed for the trip. It was a simple mission, Jason had stumbled onto some information about Zuko, and the family dealings and was going to Vegas to deal with it. Raven and Kori were going on vacation and he'd actually come up with the brilliant plan of going in a group, the Zukos wouldn't be looking for a group, and wouldn't expect it. With great reluctance Raven and Jason agreed to do this as a group and both had snapped something about needing a vacation from this vacation. Dick and Kori had just been happy to get them to agree to this.
Dick and Kori had been over for years now, but she was still a dear friend, he just didn't understand why Shawn couldn't just see he and Kori were friends. It wasn't like he had a conniption fit whenever she hung out with her guy friends. However, Shawn had issues with Kori, and this lead to a lot of fights between them. Hell, he'd even helped one of her buddies who was framed for murder.
"It's only for the weekend, and I need to see this through," he shrugged.
"But with her?" Shawn whined.
"Kori is friends with Jason, Jason was paying for Kori and Raven to have a girl's weekend, and this popped up, I need to see this through Shawn," he said pointedly as he continued packing.
"You shouldn't go, not with them," she cooed.
"Kori and Raven are my friends, Shawn, and Raven's been a friend to me since I was a kid, and Kori's… Kori," he shrugged. He truly had no words to describe what Kori was to him anymore. They were friends for sure, but to Dick, in his secret heart of hearts, Kori was his greatest 'What If'.
Ending their engagement had broken his heart, and shattered hers, however, it was the right call, and they both knew it. There was no way he could rule Tamaran by her side, and there was no way she's stay on earth for just him. No, it was a good thing they'd ended, even if they didn't want to. Then she'd teamed up with Jason and Roy and off she went, he hadn't seen her since, and just heard about her through Jason, Raven, Roy, and the news.
Kori was Dick's biggest 'what if' especially since he accidentally stumbled to Earth-22 and met Mar'i Grayson, not that he was telling Shawn or anyone about that trip. No, that was one of those things he was keeping to himself because he had wanted it so badly, he had wanted that with Kori, and she was the only one to inspire it for him.
"I know you have feelings for her still Dick!" Shawn snapped.
"The only woman I have eyes for is you," he assured her as he bent over and kissed her lightly as he hefted his bag up and left.
Dick finally scrounged up the energy to walk over to Kori and gingerly shake her shoulder. Brilliant green eyes snapped open as she tensed and slowly looked at him.
"Ow," she moaned and moved away from him. "What do you want Dick," she mumbled in the pillow.
"Do you remember last night?" he asked.
"We had shots because someone sent you pictures of Shawn with another guy," she answered in her pillow.
"Uh… I think that was two days ago," Dick admitted. He'd just seen the image, and the date on it, it was taken maybe twelve hours after he'd left his apartment in Blüdhaven and started working in Vegas.
"Mmm… Where Jay, he know," Kori slurred.
"Honestly, I have no clue, and; where are we?" he asked as he staggered to the window and looked down to see the Bellagio fountain; alright so he was still on the strip, he was pretty sure he was up in the Bellagio according to this view.
"Jay wouldn't leave me behind," Kori yawned and he turned to blink at all the marks on her chest, all those hickeys, he wanted to escape before she noticed it, however he also had no fucking clue what was going on.
"Uh… you sure?" Dick asked as he forced himself to look up from the glorious naked view of Kori and look out the window and not think about… well, a heated romp in the sheets with Kori; again apparently, until he knew just what the fuck was going on!
"Jason may not like you, but he adores me… WHAT THE HELL!?" Kori shrieked and he looked back over to the bathroom to see Kori standing there, all her glory, her hair all but aflame as she stared at herself in the mirror.
"GRAYSON!" she roared as she spun on him. "No One Would Dare To Leave This Many Hickeys On My Person Beside You!" she started in on him.
"Now Kori…" he stepped back from the pissed off Tamaranian carefully.
"What the…" she stopped mid punch when she noticed her left hand and she floated there, naked, gorgeous, and stared at her hand before she turned her brilliant green glare onto him.
"What is the meaning of this, Dick?" she hissed as she shoved the giant emerald rock at him, not removing it from her finger.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you! I have no clue!" he finally sputtered and she blinked slowly before she landed her feet on the ground.
"I will call Raven," Kori decided as she marched purposely for some of the shredded clothing and started looking through it.
"No Jason?" he asked.
"Your brother has your family paranoia and refuses to carry a communication device unless it be an Ouija board," kori sighed.
"I don't get that…" Dick omitted.
"Neither do we, Raven thinks it's funny thought," Kori pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number.
72 Hours Earlier…
"Las Wages!" Dick announced gleefully walking off the plane. Kori smiled.
"Jason! Raven! We must participate in the drinking of shots! Gambling! Poker! Slap Jack! And the many touristy things at Las Vegas!" Kori giggled.
"Black Jack," Raven and Jason corrected in unison.
"Next vacation I want to not be in a hundred and twenty degree heat," Raven muttered.
"Come on Rae, it'll be fun!" Dick slung an arm around her shoulders as they walked into the airport for the car rentals. He was so excited, not just for finally shutting down the Zuko crime family, but for also getting this opportunity to hang out with two of his oldest friends, and finally get to know Jason who was ever elusive in the matter of family.
"This will be most glorious! We must take many photos for Roy, Jay," Kori grinned.
"Uh-huh, no flashing your boobs though Kori," he said.
"Is that not an earth custom in Vegas?"
"New Orleans on Mardi Gras," Jason answered.
"Very well," Kori smiled. "Oh! Rave, we must do the spa day before we leave!"
"Excellent you girls have a nice relaxing time and Dickhead and I will do the mission," Jason announced.
"Who died and made you team leader?" Dick demanded.
"This is a team, I thought I was on vacation with Kori for girl talk," Raven flatly stated.
"That's the spirit, come on little bird, we'll get the car," Jason said as he and Raven left him and Kori there.
Now it was awkward as Dick shoved his hands in his pockets and Kori looked anywhere but him.
"I heard you have a girlfriend," Kori said uncomfortably.
"Yeah, Shawn, she's great," he managed.
"This is not weird right, we're still friends," Kori said and his head snapped over to her.
"Yeah, best friends," he smiled. Kori had been his best friend as a teen and young adult, they used to talk about everything, and nothing for hours! There were still times he turned to say something to her and she wasn't there, even after all these years since their broken engagement. He also looked at her now and remembered how Mar'i looked and he wondered if a child between them here, on this earth, would look like Mar'i had.
"Good, I expect you to help me with poker," she stated.
"Kori! That requires keeping a straight face!" he laughed.
"Oh, I will leave it to Raven and Jason," she decided then as she smiled.
"How about you and I hit the crabs tables, I'll be the coolest guy there with you on my arm," he mused.
"Do you not have a girlfriend?" she mused.
"Well, I do, but we're friends, it's not cheating with friends," he smiled.
"Very well, I will be your arm candy, perhaps we should ask Raven to be Jason's arm candy," Kori said thoughtfully. Dick snorted, Raven and Jason were liable to murder each other if they had to play roles of being a couple or something.
"Let's not have Vegas blown up," Dick decided as Raven and Jason pulled up with the sleek black rental.
"Alright, all crap in the car, and let's hit the Strip!" Jason shouted as he hopped out.
"I'm driving," Raven deadpanned.
"Kay, no awkward ex-lover shit on work or vacation," Jason deadpanned.
"Raven, we must get our hair done while we are here," Kori announced as she walked over to the car and Dick watched her go as Jason collected her bags.
"You're an idiot, that's all I'm going to say on the matter, now help me get her fucking bags!" Jason snapped. Dick chuckled as he leaned over to comply.
"What do you mean I'm an idiot?" Dick asked.
"Think with the head above the shoulders, dickhead, it'll come to you why you're an idiot then," Jason shouted as he loaded up the car. Jason and he ended up crammed in the backseat as Raven drove them to their hotel, which was none of the fancy hotels, no, Jason wanted a low profile. Dick Grayson was high profile, but unless he was advertising it few ever noticed he was Dick Grayson. Which was why he was going to stay low for this.
"So Jay, what's the plan?" Dick asked.
"Raven and Kori do… whatever the hell it is girls do in Vegas, while tailing Sonia Zuko, you and I will be setting up surveillance equipment in her hotelroom," Jason yawned.
"How do you know which hotel she's in and which room?" Dick asked.
"I have ways," Jason smirked.
"Dangling a guy off a building is not a method, Jay," Kori chided.
"It is, and it worked!" Jason snapped back.
"You're little brother is impossible Dick," Kori sighed.
"Beats dealing with Damian and Tim," Raven countered.
"How are the Titans?" Kori asked. And the girls launched into a rant about the Titans which Dick smirked at as he looked at Vegas.
"Oh! In-N-Out! quick little bird next exit!" Jason shouted.
"Sounds good!" Raven agreed.
"Do you two ever think with anything but the stomachs?" Kori demanded.
"No," they deadpanned in unison which had Dick laughing as he smiled and enjoyed the light feeling of the SUV. Oh this trip was going to be good for them, of that he was certain as he looked at his phone when it buzzed with a text from Shawn demanding to know if he was there.
He answered with annoyance as he shoved the phone in his pocket.
"Dick, what are you ordering?" Raven asked.
"Animal style, double, animal fries, and a coke," he called out.
"Same," Jason chimed. "Dr. Pepper though."
"Jason!" Kori cried out desperately.
"Go with the same for Kori," Jason called out.
"Alright, four doubles, animal style, four animals fries, two Dr. Peppers, a Diet Coke, and a Coke," Raven ordered.
"You do that for Kori often?" Dick asked.
"Whe we eat out, otherwise I make her weird food," Jason shrugged.
"It is delicious," Kori defenced.
"No it isn't," they all informed her.
"Answer your phone Raven!" Kori ordered as she hung up and looked at him. "What happened?"
"Uh… I think we had sex," Dick mused looking at the all but destroyed room and Kori spun around to give him a startled look.
"We did not do this damage, is that a body print on the ceiling!?" she gasped.
"Well, we always were acrobatic with sex," he chuckled.
"You… you…" she sputtered and then they were laughing at old memories as he sat on the bed, there was a piece of paper on the floor, tucked under the bed which caught his attention and he pulled it out.
Marriage Certificate!
"Uh… Kori?" he called out and she appeared wearing what remained of one of his shirts as she plucked the paper from his hands and her green eyes went wide.
"What did you do!?" she gasped.
"Me!? This is an US!" he countered.
"Nonsense, I would not marry you," she said.
"Hey!"
"You broke my heart, Dick Grayson, I would not marry a man who could break my heart!" she snapped as she shoved the paper at him.
"Well I broke my heart," he snapped at her as she walked away, and she turned, her eyes narrowing on him.
"You ended our engagement," she snorted.
"Not cause I wanted to," he spat back.
"You did not want to marry an alien, and you made your points, very clear," she hissed.
"Jesus Kori! We were kids!" he shouted.
"And what are we now?" she countered as she folded her arms to glare at him.
"I… I don't know," he omitted.
"You would not marry an alien, and I refuse to marry a human, Roy is calling me, so go in another room so I may speak to my friend and not worry about you," she ordered and Dick groaned as he walked out of the room and rubbed his face, blinking at seeing his bag in the living room of the suite, same with Kori's bags.
"Hello Roy," Kori sounded happy talking to her and Dick gently shut the door on the conversation.
Kori was his friend, she was his dearest friend, but he'd royally fucked up breaking up with her. He still had the original ring he'd bought with Raven's help tucked safely in his safety deposit box of important things.
He looked at the paper he had in his hand and leaned on the wall. This was…
Weird.
He was pretty sure he'd remember getting married, but apparently he couldn't even remember the weekend. Yet, there was his signature: Richard Grayson, scrawled confidently, and proudly on the paper, as was Kori's.
There was a knock on the door.
"Room service," a chipper voice called out.
"Coming," he got the door and smiled at the employee as she walked in.
"Here you are, compliments of the Bellagio, Mr. Grayson, and the hotel owner will be ready to speak with you and your new bride this afternoon, one o'clock still good?"
"Yeah," he lied. He had no fucking clue what she was talking about.
"Excellent, as always we hope you enjoy your stay in Las Vegas Mr. Grayson," the employee left and he lifted the covers off the food to look at all of Kori's odd foods.
Alright, what was going on here?
Um... Yeah, new story. Bad Blu, I ought to be ashamed of myself. No matter, I'm not, anyways, this piece can also be found on my Tumblr so check it out.
That's all for now folks.
Enjoy A Weekend We'll Never Remember! =)