He'd give anything right now for time to tick by a second faster, for the minutes to pass by in the blink of an eye. He'd give anything to just be outside, to feel the sunlight prancing along his skin while he took in a fresh breath of air.

Exhausting.

Tedious.

Horrendous.

The day had crawled by too slow, devouring at every brain cell he had rattling around in his skull. At this point, he was down to two or three. If he couldn't get out of this office soon, he was sure he might spontaneously combust. His body would rupture, his skin would melt away and he'd become shrapnel across the floor. Not a pleasant way to go, but he'd take it.

Paperwork.

Meetings.

Interviews.

Typical aspects of a job, yet today was somehow different. Every document that needed his scribble on it were filled with too many little details that couldn't be overlooked, every meeting was pointless and dull, and every interview was lackluster. Words spat at him went over his head. Each voice he encountered was slowly becoming aggravating to hear. And to top it off, the most annoying girl in the entire world was blabbering in his ear.

He needed out. Now.

"Katherine," he gritted his teeth. "Could I have a moment alone? I need to make a personal call; it should only take a few minutes."

The blonde looked up at him, nose scrunching in slight annoyance at the interruption, but she plastered on a faux smile anyways and gave a quick nod. "Of course, Dickie!" He cringed, head throbbing. "I'll just be right outside your door! Call me back in the second you're done!" She flitted away to his relief, but not without tossing a wink his way before shutting the door behind her.

He swiveled in his chair, pulled out his cellphone from his pocket, swept through his contacts and pressed call. It rang about four times before he got an answer.

"What's up, boss?" Wally's teasing voice sounded from the other line. "Aren't you at work still? Personal calls should be a big no."

"They aren't when your head is on fire and you're literally dying to get out of the place you've been stuck at since like five in the morning." He tried to match the friendly tone his friend offered, but couldn't quite do it. He mood was spoiled too long ago.

"Yikes... that sucks, man."

"Yeah, I know." Dick threw a glance towards his door, groaning at the sight of Katherine pressed against the glass with a grin. "I need you to save me from here, Wally. I can't take another three hours of this."

Wally chuckled. "Why don't you just take off in your car and leave? Just say screw it and get the hell out of there."

"I can't." He sighed and combed his hand through his hair. "If someone sees my car gone, everyone will know I left. Word will get around and Bruce will hear about it, then he'll bitch to me about how I'm not responsible enough for this job and how anyone would kill to have this position and I'm just throwing it away like it's nothing." The headache that had manifested today worsened at the thought. "But, if my amazing best friend met me at the back of the building and picked me up, people would just think I'm wandering around somewhere and can't find me."

Roy's voice piped in. "Oh, so Wally's your best friend? After everything I've done for you, I can't believe it."

"You're just jealous that he called me and not you." Wally snapped playfully then quickly threw in, "Oh, by the way, Roy's with me."

"So, are you going to pick me up or not?" Dick ignored everything the two had said. He just wanted a confirmation on whether or not his freedom would be happening.

"You're going to be just splendid to be around," Wally grumbled. "But yeah, fine, I'll pick you up. Meet me in the back in a few minutes."

Maybe god was real, but in the form of a sometimes-pesky ginger. "Thank you, Wally."

"No problem, boss." The line went dead.

Shoving his phone into his pocket and grabbing his keys off the desk, he felt the small turn of his lips resemble a grateful smile. What a shame it had to vanish within a millisecond.

"Are you done with your call, Dickie?" Katherine's scratchy voice tore through the silence of his office.

A piece of him may have died inside at the mere reminder of her existence. "Yeah." A bland response, but he had no intentions of giving her more details than necessary. "I'm gonna go take a walk around for a few minutes, okay?"

"Can I come with?" She stalked towards him. "You might desire a bit of company, and you know I'm always here if you need me. For anything."

"I really just need a second alone, you know?" He stood up, swiftly avoiding the hand that reached towards him. He had become an expert at evading her touch. "But just make sure everyone keeps busy." A charming smile graced his façade. "I trust that you'll be able to do that."

"Of course I can, Dickie!" She practically vibrated in her spot. "I'm so happy to know that you trust me like that! Trust is such an important part of every relationship, so it delights me to know we share just so much of it!"

"Yeah, trust..." Maneuvering around her greedy hands, he made a beeline to the exit. His fingers curled around the doorknob, pushing it to a close inch by inch. "Come and find me if anything serious happens." And with that, he slammed the door shut, concealing the swooning blonde inside for a minute, before strolling to the nearest elevator.

He got a few stares, but what was to be expected? He was the heir of Wayne Enterprises. Everyone was always too nice, too helpful, too obvious in their attempts to earn his praise and respect. For the most part, he ignored it, but did offer polite smiles to those that didn't try and kiss his ass.

Nevertheless, Wayne Enterprises was like a perplexing labyrinth, but he had mastered the skill of finding hidden doors, secret pathways, and exclusive exits. It was convenient for when he wanted an escape from this type of hell. In a matter of minutes, he found himself in the back-parking lot. It was a few minutes before Wally pulled up, beeping the horn and shouting light profanities his way. He sighed as the natural curve of a smile found its way to his veneer. He rushed towards the car, throwing himself into the backseat, and took in a breath of relief when Wally sped off.

"You owe me one for this, boss. I was busy doing shit." Wally laughed, tossing a glance to him in the rear-view mirror.

"Doing what?" He rolled down the window to let the cool breeze hit his face and brush through his hair. It was an instant comfort. "Running every restaurant in town out of business because of how much you consume in a day?"

"Hey!" Wally's exuberant grin was replaced with a vexed frown. "You don't know my life—"

Roy interrupted, "We were on our way to Taco Bell."

Dick's smile turned smug, but Wally's wall of defense kicked in and he blurted things out in a mess of sentences. "Okay, who cares if we're going to eat? I'm starving! And you know what, we weren't only going to get food because I don't need Roy's company to do that! For your information, I was gonna use my money to buy our boy here a good-looking suit for when Donna and—" Roy's elbow jabbed into Wally's stomach, causing a minor swerve of the wheel. "Dude, what the hell? Do you want us to die?"

There was a moment of silence. It was uncomfortable, thick with a tension that Dick couldn't put his finger on. But he had caught the words Wally had spoken before he was cut off; it was the "Donna and". That half-spoken sentence was enough to make his heart skip a beat.

Everyone knew the story. He wasn't a fool to the whispers that went behind his back and the details his friends thought he was oblivious to. They all were aware of the infamous split between his ex and himself. He knew they still talked to her, but that didn't bother him. Why should he get all the friends and she get nothing? Although, he didn't get all the friends. Vic chose to have a vendetta against him and Donna moved away to be with her. Donna... the name that had caused alert. Maybe it wasn't the mention of Donna. It was definitely the "and" added afterwards. Only one person could be paired with that name. And right now, it wasn't Roy.

"Is Kory coming to visit?" He asked, his heart thrumming so loud he feared the others might hear it. He wouldn't be surprised if they could. "Just tell me how long."

Roy and Wally exchanged looks. The rush of emotions that went through their faces was hard to keep track of, but when Roy chose to speak in that almost sorry type of whisper, Dick understood completely. "You weren't supposed to find out, but Gar overheard Rachel talking on the phone with Donna. Gar, being himself, got too excited and told Wally, and then he told me." Hesitation. The wait to know the rest nearly killed him. "Donna and Kory are moving back down here."

That ending froze him.

Kory...

The mere idea of her being here again sent a tsunami of feelings over him. Suddenly, he was overwhelmed, afflicted with a mix of thoughts he couldn't find his way out of.

That cerise hair that was always wavy, spun in curls that cascaded all the way down her back...

Was it joy he felt? Relief to see her again when he hadn't in so long? Was there fear to see her again? It would be inexorable, impossible to escape the sight of her. Was there anger? Leftover rage from the argument that had torn their love apart. Was there pain? Heartbreak made by the resurfacing memory of her walking away from him in tears.

Those emerald eyes that seemed too unnaturally beautiful on her, yet what else could be expected from a walking goddess.

His mind spun, swirling in confusing circles that somehow made no sense and too much sense at the same time. He said nothing for minutes. The only sound was the noise from the car and the strong wind hitting his face. Eventually, he broke it.

"When is she moving back?"

"Uh." Wally shifted in his seat, scratching the back of his head. "Don't really know, boss. Gar only knew vague details, and honestly who knows? It could just be for a visit. He got all his information from what Rachel was saying and you know he can get a bit too excited for—"

"Less than a week." Once again, Roy interjected.

Time, an agonizingly long thing, suddenly became crushed down into mere days. He thought it would be months, or at least one. But no, he was down to days. Days to search for the right words when he would see her again, days to make a new impression on her, days to spend wondering if she wanted to even see him again, days to replay their last night together a million times in his head.

Days.

Author's Note: So yeah, this chapter was in Dick's POV. Chapters will alternate between Dick and Kory. Hopefully, it'll be consistent... one then the other, but I make no promises. Anyways, R&R! (;