Detective Richard Grayson (28)

Kory Anders (27)

Detective Marty Grimes (36)

Special Agent Brandon Soames (25)

Victor Stone (30)

Rachel Roth (28)

Sarah Simms (29)

Garfield Logan (27)

Komille Anders (31)

Weston Redd (28)

Dr. Seth Gordon (33)

As always, enjoy!

The thick scent of incense filled his lungs as he dragged in a slow breath. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and slowly dripped down into his eyes. He blinked them away, not daring to move his hand, as it was most likely the only thing that was keeping him from making an ass of himself and collapsing on his mat.

"Inhale," The alluring voice from the front instructed again and he obeyed, sucking in another breath, body trembling slightly from its current position. "Rise up, place both knees in front of you, and lower to the floor." Gratefully, he twisted his body, following the rest of the class, and bowed his head forward, meeting the black shade of his yoga mat. "Now, pull upwards, arching the spine and rotating the shoulders. Take another breath in and let it out."

He drew one eye open, glad that she wasn't looking, as it was against the strange feng shui rules in her class, and eyed the lovely new instructor. She'd started sometime when he'd been out in Los Angeles, helping Agent Callen out on a case there for over a month. When he'd come back to Gotham, she was there- in his gym- adjusting the free weights, sporting no ring on her left hand, and wiping sweat off her ample chest.

"You may open your eyes." And that was her personal cue to take leave and leave they did, rolling up their mats and collecting their water bottles. He moved slowly, though, taking his precious time to wipe the sweat off his own mat and guzzle down the rest of his water. "I believe the rules were to keep your eyes closed." Her voice awoke him from his ritual. As he turned to face her, he turned on the famous Dick Grayson charm and graced her presence with a sly grin.

"I couldn't help admiring what you've done with the place." Amazingly, he was telling the truth. What used to be a simple ballet studio with floor-to-ceiling mirrors was now a room worthy for a sheik. Bright turquoise covered the other three walls of the studio, the color bouncing off of the mirrors. Where large box windows used to sit naked, billowy poppy-colored curtains blocked the harsh sunlight from coming in, one of the reasons he'd signed up for the class. He liked being holed up in a dark and quiet room with a gorgeous woman to gaze towards. She moved forward, arms crossed across her chest, and chuckled dryly.

"I thank you, but know that in my class, you will follow the rules. Understood?" Resisting the urge to lower his eyes, he merely stuck out his hand for a shake. Her emerald eyes glanced down momentarily, as if she were confused by the action, but quickly stuck her own palm out and gripped his hand. For such a hardass, her hand is awfully soft.

"Dick Grayson, nice to meet you."

"Kory Anders, and a pleasure, as well." Their hands stayed connected for another second or two until she pulled away to pick up her purple mat. He cleared his throat and made his way for the door, but his hand had barely touched the doorknob before she spoke again, breaking the silence.

"Interesting choice of color, Mr. Grayson." Her hand motioned to his mat, "I have to say that as long as I've been teaching these classes, I've never seen anyone with one as… dark as yours."

"Guess I'm one of a kind," He flashed a pearly smile and she scoffed, "Are you enjoying the lovely Gotham City?" A shrug of the shoulders told him all he needed to know. She probably hadn't been out very much, considering how intimidating the downtown district could be. When he'd started, the other cops had teased him that he would have to prowl the city at night, so no one saw him, and draw himself maps to help find his way around Gotham while on patrol.

"I suppose so, but it is rather…."

"…massive?" He finished and she nodded. "Well, if you need someone to show you around, I'm your man."

"I don't date. Sorry." His eyes widened innocently, like that had been the last thing on his mind, even though it was the first thought that crossed him once he first caught sight of her.

"Hey, now, don't be jumping to conclusions, Kory. I'm only being a helpful officer of the law." He decided that he rather enjoyed the way her face flushed, a light pink brushing across her tan features.

"Oh. Forgive me, then. It's just that all of the men here seem to think that if I am single, I am what you call 'simple'."

"Easy?" He grinned at her as the pink turned to a slight red.

"Yes, precisely," Kory leaned down to drown her incense sticks, hoping that the motion would keep her face hidden, "This colloquial language you Americans speak is rather confusing, you know." A dark eyebrow arched up, thoroughly amused with the redhead in front of him.

"Eh, you'll get the hang of it sooner or later-" An annoying bringing sound interrupted him and caused her to jolt slightly. "Detective Grayson." She moved away, allowing him to have his conversation in peace, and flicked off the overhead lights, leaving the sunlight to color the bamboo floors a spicy orange color. "Shit. Are you serious? Yeah, I'll be down there in twenty."

He snapped his phone in frustration, his anger seeming to leak over to Kory, who stood timidly on the other side of the doorway. "Duty calls." She smiled and waved him on out so she could lock the door, when a hand on her forearm stopped her. "Think about what I said."

In the matter of a few seconds, he was barreling down the stairs and out the lobby door, slipping into his Gotham Police Department jacket along the way, before entering the frigid winter air. Kory leaned against the railing, watching his dark form head off down the street to a newer-mode l SUV.

It was then that she realized she wasn't sure what she was supposed to be thinking about, because the man had talked so damn much. Rather than mull over his words, she chose instead to think about the muscles she knew resided underneath that shirt of his. Perhaps her sister was right; Gotham was indeed an interesting place to settle down in and right then, she couldn't think of a better place to be.

\/

"Name?" Dick immediately asked as he reached the crime scene. His partner, Marty Grimes, glanced down at the missing person's photo in his hand before returning his gaze to the victim.

"Rita Farr, age twenty-four, lives in West Harlow." In front of the detectives were the tattered remnants of a woman. Long brown hair covered most of the gruesome scars littering her face. Her arms, chained to the wall, sported gaping, bloody gashes and nasty teeth marks, both of which were made by the three vicious pit bulls in the corner- subdued long ago by an animal control officer.

The cheery yellow dress she wore contradicted her fate, which was immediately assessed by the amount of blood loss and nonexistent pulse. A copy of The Beauty and the Beast lay near her feet, gleaming pristinely with its gold cover and binding.

Dick grumbled as Melinda, the coroner, helped the EMT's remove the murdered princess from the wall, "The Fairytale Felon strikes again."

AN: Chapter One: "Love Save the Empty" by Erin McCarley

I suppose I should dedicate this chapter to my dentist, Dr. George, because without him painfully removing my wisdom teeth and doping me up with Vicodin, I wouldn't have ever finished outlining this as quickly as I did.

You know the drill: review! …please?