Sea and Sky XX: Revelations and Conversations

A jam fic by 'rith, Carmen, and Elay (Compiled by 'rith* )

Notations: m/m relationship, nonexplicit. Also, Roy curses under stress. Well, all the time. But more potently when he's ticked off.

Summary: "The one where everyone finds out."

Series timing: Begins a few hours after S&S XIX, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Tower", aka the Clocktower Visit, wherein the guys had a chat with Babs and Dinah. (Takes place before the dinner with Bruce and the Titans-invade-'Haven fics.)

Canon timing: circa Titans #9, before Deathstroke collapses on the lawn.

Thanks to nw's chick for insightful draft notes, to Chicago for the Voice of J'onn, and to Smitty for letting me whine at her.

The html version of this fic will contain annotations for the truly obsessed. Because I like to share.

* and therefore any lingering errors are also mine.

Sea and Sky XX: Revelations and Conversations
A jam fic by 'rith, Carmen, and Elay
Compiled by 'rith*
***

Dick:

The silence was immediate, and loud. I told myself it was due to understandable surprise, and tried to keep my breathing steady. It didn't help much. These people were my and Garth's shared family--and after everything we'd been through, I desperately wanted this to go right. I looked around the rec room at the assembled team, hoping for that to be true.

The speculative look in Donna's eyes had blossomed into a glow of pure delight. She smiled at us, with the utter warmth and sincerity that makes her so special, and I felt my heart ease. Our old friend was happy for us both.

Next to her, Kory stood absolutely still, silent and frozen, arms clenched stiffly at her sides. Her face had gone so pale it would have been white on a human--but her eyes blazed with rage and pain. Donna's emotional radar must have kicked in; without even looking, she moved over slightly and put one arm around my old love. Eyes still locked on me, Kory didn't seem to notice.

Vic was outright grinning--actually, it was more of a smirk. There was absolutely no surprise in his face. I suppose when you've been through as many changes as he has, surprise is hard to come by. Or else...I thought about his array of sensors, wondering for the first time what they might have picked up from us, and damn near blushed. I'd investigate that later.

Grant was blinking at us, dark eyes wide and startled. His expression suggested he was trying to work out how he felt about this and hadn't quite managed it yet.

Roy and Wally had almost identical expressions on their faces: utter, uncomprehending shock as they tried desperately to process the information and failed completely. They looked as if someone had come up behind them and hit them over the head with simultaneous two-by-fours--I suppose in a sense we had. Jesse had been their triplet for about three seconds before she shut her mouth with a snap and rearranged her features to a carefully polite blankness. Interestingly, her reaction after that was exactly the same as mine: to look around and study the others. The mask almost broke when she caught sight of Wally, but I won't tell on her.

Surprise cleared Toni's face too, but only for a moment. After that it washed into enthusiastic--and, I judged, mostly genuine--delight. Her voice broke the silence first. "Wow, that's great!" When no one immediately jumped in to second her, she glanced around the room, slightly defensive. "Well, it is, isn't it?"

***

Donna:

Maybe I'd subconsciously known this was coming when Dick asked everyone to move to the rec room after the official meeting was over, because standing next to Kory was exactly where I needed to be right then. I felt Kory's muscles tense under my hand and tightened my own grip a bit, trying to silently let her know I was there for her. I was glad he and Garth had finally gotten it out in the open--but dammit, could Dick have picked a *worse* way to break the news? I love him, I do, but his good sense falls apart when his emotions are involved.

"Of course it is," I replied to Toni's question when no one else leaped in, "It's just something of a surprise."

"Very funny." Wally's tone said he didn't think it was funny at all...and the fact that he was standing perfectly still, not fidgeting at all, made that even more clear. "It's a little late for April Fools, *Nightwing.*"

His emphasis reminded me that three people in the room didn't know Dick's identity. Even furious, Wally had the presence of mind to consider that.

"No joke," Dick said, calmly enough, though I could almost feel his abrupt, belated realization that he should have at least told Wally first. "And thank you, Toni."

"What. the. FUCK," Roy shouted from his position over the back of the couch, which was the signal for everyone else to start reacting all at once. I kept an eye on the rest of the room while whispering urgently into Kory's ear. She was trembling under my arm, angry and confused, and I had to try to get through to her before that came spilling out into words or actions she'd regret.

"I'm sorry, honey, but it's true. They've both been lonely for a long, long time. I think they--"

She interrupted, turning to me, green eyes full of anguish. "He didn't have to be alone. Why couldn't he let me be with him?"

There were a half-dozen reasons for that, and none that would make any sense to her. "Kory, you know he couldn't do that. That's how he *is.*"

She shook her head, and I could feel her frustration. "It doesn't make *sense,* Donna, it never made sense. I love him, he still loves me, I know that."

Sometimes there's nothing to do but tell the truth. I cursed Dick a little for making me be the one to say it. "He does, Kory. But not the way he did before, and it won't ever be that way again."

***

Jesse:

Nightwing and a guy. Tempest and a guy. Nightwing and Tempest.

Did you ever feel like you'd gotten up on the wrong planet this morning? Just when you think life can't get any stranger...

Okay, it took me a little aback, I can admit that. It's...well, honestly, I'd never even thought about it. Certainly had no clue that Nightwing and Tempest were--well, anything. I'd feel grouchy about that, except that from the array of stunned looks around me, we were *all* left out of this one.

And besides, seeing the look on Wally's face right now is well worth any number of secrets.

Ah, the Titans. Running a multimillion dollar company has nothing on this. And my dirty little secret: I like it. Where else can I watch a seventeen-year-old walking bomb make eyes at a half-alien mall princess? Where else will all our construction workers turn out to secretly be super-villains? (That actually worked out to our advantage--we got most of a day's work out of them before they started their attack, and we didn't have to pay them for it.) Where else can I go bar-hopping with a goddess turned fashion photographer who started out life as a clone of Wonder Woman, and an alien warrior princess with a body out of Frazetta and a personality out of Sweet Valley High? Where else will the Batman's protégé call me in to confess to having a passionate homosexual affair with an Atlantean mage?

To hell with what my mother thinks. I love this team.

***

Vic:

Guess my sensors *hadn't* been on the fritz, after all.

Alien princesses from the other side of the galaxy, magicians from thirty thousand leagues under the sea...tell you this for nothing, Robbie sure can pick 'em. Have to admit, I've wondered sometimes if he'd let himself in for a little less grief if he'd find himself a nice girl next door. But hell, me and Fleetfeet both went that route and didn't do so well ourselves, so who am I to talk?

Besides, it ain't like there's anything wrong with his taste. Kory may not be Donna Reed, but they don't come any sweeter, and she's got enough heart and enough guts for ten people. Don't know Gillhead as well, but everything I do know is good. 'Sides, underneath all the worry 'bout what we're gonna say, you can see stars in both their eyes. Those two are In Love.

I'm probably supposed to say something about their plumbing at this point. Well, hell with that. Maybe way back when I was Vic Stone and nothin' more, I'd've cared. But I've known too many people in every shade of strange now, and if half of 'em were stone killers, half of them were fighting day in and day out against every kind of evil and craziness, and some of 'em were the best friends I've ever had. And me--for years, I was a walking advertisement for Freaks'R'Us, and that was *before* I got to be part of an alien computer collective. Trust me, after that *nothin'* looks weird to you. So if Dick's found himself a piece o' joy, more power to him, and never mind the packagin'.

***

Garth:

Wally was still staring at Dick, too stunned to react. In fact, nearly *everyone* was staring at Dick, everyone but Toni, who was staring at...me. She had an odd, dreamy expression on her face, and I wasn't quite sure I wanted to know what that meant.

After Roy's outburst Donna had turned to Kory, talking urgently into her ear, and I hoped Kory would understand. Dick said he would handle telling everyone, and he had--and now we had to deal with the fallout.

Beginning with Roy, who hadn't stopped bellowing to take a breath. "No, seriously! What the fuck! Did everyone suddenly wake up gay? Was there a memo I missed? You got some 'splaining to do, Lucy!"

His tirade was directed entirely at Dick, and I had to suppress the urge to slip out of the room while most of the attention was focused on him. Dick was better equipped to handle the inevitable questions, especially since I had known going in that his 'sudden change'--at least from the perspective of those who had no reason to expect it--was going to be a considerably more popular subject for debate than my involvement. Dick had laughed when I'd told him that earlier, but it was true simply by virtue of his nature. His place was in the spotlight. I was far more content to merely be part of the team. Still, it would have been...tacky, I think Toni would say, to leave Dick to fend for himself. Not that I'd seriously considered it.

Donna caught my eye, winking slightly even as she spoke to Kory, and I knew she understood. She always did.

Vic approached us, with Jesse trailing behind. Ignoring Roy, he addressed us both, sounding genuinely pleased. "Well, damn. That's great."

"Um, yes." Jesse was trying very hard to keep from glancing at Wally, probably to keep from laughing in his face. "Surprising, but...if you guys are happy, then that's all that matters, right?"

"That's what we thought." Dick sighed and faced Roy, who'd gotten up off the couch where he'd thrown himself when we first entered the room and was advancing with an irate glare. "If you'd stop yelling...."

"Then you better start talkin'."

Dick shrugged. "What do you want me to say?"

He was baiting Roy, just a little, and possibly not even realizing he was doing it. Dick and Roy seemed to communicate best on a level that others might mistake for antagonism. Or maybe he was deliberately goading Roy, counting on his more predictable strident outrage to deflect Wally's quietly rising temper.

Roy, of course, wasn't going to stand for Dick's non-answer. "Well, c'mon! What, all of a sudden, you both simultaneously decided you liked playing hide-the-sausage?"

Oh, yes, that was vintage Roy. Vic coughed, Jesse turned bright red, and Dick looked like he was about to go for Roy's throat. "I never thought I'd have to say this, but my sex life is none of your business, Roy."

Roy didn't budge. "It is when you drop a bombshell like this."

If Dick had been more honest with the Titans about his personal life over the years, these explanations wouldn't be necessary; but then again, I hadn't been completely forthcoming myself. Dick glanced at me, hesitating for a moment before he answered. "This isn't...entirely new. To either of us. But I'm not naming names." He obviously didn't want to explain about Joey, not like this, and especially not in front of those who hadn't known him. Time for a distraction.

"Any names I gave, you wouldn't recognize anyway." Roy's attention shifted to me, the result I'd been hoping for. "But I didn't think you were that interested."

"Jesus, Gillhead, I didn't think you'd been with anyone since--" Roy cut himself off, biting his lip.

Despite the exasperating nickname, I appreciated Roy's attempt to spare my feelings, unexpected after the way he'd been speaking to Dick. Roy demonstrated surprising thoughtfulness at the strangest moments. This time, it wasn't necessary. "Since Tula died," I finished for him, keeping my tone light. "Thanks to the years I spent in Atlan's dimension, it's been eight years for me since then. Trust me, I did not spend that time in a monastery."

Roy blinked at me, probably trying to reconcile what he *thought* he knew about me--about us--with what Dick and I were telling him now. Before he could resume his questioning, Wally spoke again.

"I know Nightwing didn't." His voice was low with anger. "But I guess he was busier than I thought."

Vic tried to intervene. "Wally, man, take it easy."

"How long has this been going on?" Wally asked in that same deceptively quiet tone, ignoring Vic.

"We started, ah, dating, about three months ago," I said, trying to pre-empt the confrontation, "but it's only in the last two weeks that we've--"

Wally cut me off, his eyes never leaving Dick's face. "Spare me the details. Three *months*?! And in all that time, you didn't have five minutes to pick up the phone?"

"Wally." Dick's voice was sharp, commanding attention. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I should have, and I apologize for that. But I'm not going to apologize for falling in love with someone you didn't expect."

***

Donna:

Next to me, Kory made a small choked sound--but despite my sympathy for her heartache, I couldn't help smiling. It was both surprising and wonderful to hear Dick declare that out loud, in front of everyone.

Judging by the stunned look on Garth's face, I guess he thought so too.

Dick was beaming, as if he'd realized what he'd said and didn't care what anyone else thought about it. Jesse was blinking rapidly, and I wondered if she was as okay with this as she seemed to be. Toni, on the other hand, had on a grin so huge I could practically see the fillings in her back molars.

Grant was wide-eyed, looking vaguely...nervous? Before I could get a better sense of his mood, he noticed my glance and turned away, blushing. He was so powerful, sometimes it was easy to forget how *young* he was. I guessed maybe a teenaged boy might be embarrassed by all this. I'd have to see if he wanted to talk later.

Roy had been caught with his mouth half-open; now he closed it, looking thoughtful. Even Wally seemed to back down at Dick's statement. "You--you really mean that."

Vic chuckled. "Can't you see he does?"

Beside me, Kory said, "D--Nightwing wouldn't say that unless he meant it." She spoke softly, but everyone in the room turned to look at her. She took a few steps away from me, toward Dick, her eyes fixed on his face.

It was like the world narrowed to a corridor of space between the two of them, where nothing existed except the memories of what they'd once had. It wasn't easy to watch. Even the three in the room who hadn't ever seen Nightwing and Starfire as a couple seemed to understand that this was the final nail in the coffin of a relationship we'd all once thought would last forever.

And truth be told, it had already been over for a long, long time. But Kory had still hoped that Dick would remember what it'd been like for them and come back to her. I'd told her that Dick hadn't forgotten...but that he'd changed so much in the past three years, I didn't think that was possible. She hadn't wanted to believe me. And if I knew Kory, she *still* didn't see any reason why she and Dick couldn't be together...Garth notwithstanding. Tamaranean social customs were a lot different than Terran morals. Or specifically, Dick's morals. He was a lot more conservative in his own way than most people thought.

"Kory, I--" Dick took a step toward her, hands out, and she shook her head violently.

"Don't. Don't--say anything. Don't think you can make it all right with words."

"There's nothing to make right, Kory," Dick said simply. "You just need to accept what you already know."

She made an inarticulate noise and flung herself through the door. We could all hear the noisy rush of her flight down the corridor. There was a long, stunned moment and then I heard my own rueful voice break the silence.

"Well, *that* could have gone better...."

***

Gar:

So this is where I came in--late. What can I say, the coast-to-coast commute is a pain in the rear. Actually, I was in the area already, fighting my way through some a' the Dayton Industries red tape, and I was so busy swearing at it I almost forgot Dick'd asked me up to the Tower. Isn't this what ridiculously rich playboy heirs have staffs to take care of? But Questor says I gotta at least be able to tell if they're ripping me off, so.... And to be honest, I kind of like the idea of knowing what's going on with the biz. Still made my head hurt, though.

So when I remembered, I dumped the paperwork and made my escape through the nearest window, the better to avoid anyone who wanted to stop me. Heck, maybe if I was really lucky, the Paperwork Fairy would come in and take care of all of it while I was gone. But I wasn't betting on it.

I zipped my way crosstown, did a quick sea-change to an otter to get into the Tower, and was stepping out of the elevator when I was run over by an upset Tamaranean.

"Whoa!" We wobbled for a sec, then wound up in a heap on the floor, me mostly on the bottom. That's not as bad as it sounds--having Kory lying on top of me is actually way up there on the fantasy-meter. Only problem was, I was up close enough to see the tears shining in those bright green eyes.

Pure reflex kicked me into joke-mode. "Y'know, Goldie, we've got to stop meeting like this."

Didn't net me even an inch of smile; she only sniffed a little and started picking herself up. "Sorry, Gar. I didn't see you."

I stepped firmly on another one-liner, took the hand up she offered, and didn't let go. "What's up, Kory? Can I help?"

*That* won me a brief, bitter smile, but it wasn't one I liked much. "Can you bring back the dead?"

The cold went straight through me. "Dead?" I croaked. "Who's dead?"

Again with the smile. I didn't like it much this time either. "No one you know." Half of me was relieved, for a minute I'd thought...but I was getting more worried about Kory by the second, not to mention completely bewildered. Did this have something to do with Dick's mystery announcement?

She scrubbed at her eyes, shook her head impatiently. "It doesn't matter, I have to go."

"Kory, *wait.* What's going on?"

The tears started flowing, and this time she didn't bother to rub them away. "Dick's in love with Garth."

"He's WHAT?!"

***

Jesse:

Wow. I'd known Nightwing and Starfire used to be together...but I had no idea she'd be *that* upset. Then again, she'd given me the hairy eyeball every time Nightwing and I had so much as a brief conversation.

And I'd thought about it, sure, but it had seemed like an amazingly stupid idea to get involved with someone who was as much of a workaholic as me. In retrospect I was *extremely* glad I hadn't considered Nightwing as a potential romance. I'm not sure how I would've dealt with the revelation that my hypothetical boyfriend swung both ways.

I didn't have a problem with that...in theory. Maybe I was more sheltered than I thought. I'd dealt with HR issues within my own company, the standard corporate CYA on discrimination and hiring policies...but not so much personally. Still, it hopefully wouldn't *matter* as far at the team went, and it wasn't like I knew either Nightwing or Tempest that well, anyway.

Not like Wally did, and I was starting to feel bad for privately snickering over his shock. Beneath his surprise was a very definite undertone of hurt, and despite the rotten trick Wally had played on me once, he didn't deserve that.

Donna turned as if she was going to follow Starfire, but she came over to our little cluster first. "I probably should go after her. But I'm so glad you guys finally decided to tell everyone. It's so--"

Wally didn't miss a thing. "'Finally'? You *knew* about this?"

Donna looked like she wanted to rip out her own tongue. It was almost funny, seeing her so flustered. It wasn't that I didn't like her--I didn't think it was possible *not* to like Donna Troy--but she usually came across as so...perfect. I knew she hated that perception, too. "Wally, I-- It wasn't like--"

While she flailed for an explanation, Cyborg tried to step in again to calm Wally down. I was still getting a feel for team dynamics and wondered if he'd always played referee. This time he picked the wrong thing to say, though. "I wouldn't have known either, if I hadn't been in the right place at the right time."

Nightwing glanced at him with a wry smile. "That day I came in looking for Garth...."

Cyborg smirked, an incongruous expression on his golden face. "Yeah."

Wally reacted like he'd been punched in the gut. "You too? That's..." he started, but then he tilted his head, seeming to listen to something. After a second he fixed Nightwing with a glare. "You got saved by the bell. JLA meeting page. *Don't go anywhere.*" There was a brief blur of motion--faster than anyone else could see--and then he was gone.

"Ohhh...damn." Donna sighed. "I'm sorry, guys."

Nightwing shook his head. "Not your fault. He was going to be upset no matter what anyone said. My mistake."

"Say that again." Roy looked completely disgusted. "What the hell were you *thinking?*"

"I was *thinking* that I wanted to share some good news with my friends." Instead of being defensive, Nightwing countered with his own annoyance. It was a good tactic, one I used myself. "I was *hoping* they might be pleased for us."

Roy wasn't going for it, though. "Don't even. That's not what this is about."

Nightwing crossed his arms against his chest. "Then what *is* it about, Roy?"

"Forget it. I'm not helping you out of this one."

As their voices escalated, Tempest looked past my shoulder, frowning a little. "Jesse, did you see where Damage went?"

I whirled around, startled, belatedly realizing that Grant had vanished.

***

Toni:

Why do people make everything so complicated?

So Nightwing and Tempest are dating. I mean, that's pretty sweet. They gave each other these looks--like, they didn't actually kiss, but it was a lot better than that. Didn't know Nightwing *could* look like that, all I've seen him doing is that ultra-leader thing--well, he'll joke with Flash and stuff like that, but he's still, you know, all Bat-thingy. But with Garth it was like he *melted*. Been a while since I've seen *my* parents look at each other that way....

Yeah, yeah, I know, the guy thing. Well, it is kinda a waste, 'specially Tempest. He's just *so* cute--those hands, and those *eyes*, and that butt--and he's really, *really* nice. Nightwing's always doing the leader thing, like I said, and Arsenal's kinda a jerk, and Flash never holds still to talk to or anything, and he's married anyway. But Garth.... Oh, get real, Toni, you had *no* chance, even if he and big bad Nightwing hadn't taken the fall. And not such a loss, anyway, once you see them together, and, ooh, lotsa daydream material there--way major cute factor.

But I guess not everybody sees it that way.

So after the, you know, the big come-out meeting, Garth did this little, you know, brush with his hand, and murmured something to Nightwing and then moved away. I was so busy watching, it took me a minute to realize he was heading my way.

"Toni." Did I mention those eyes? They're so--I mean, it's almost like a romance novel, you totally can fall into them. "May I ask you a favor?" Oooh. Oh. Oh yeah, anything you want, honey, no problem.... Then I kicked myself hard--c'*mon*, girl, drag your brain out of the gutter. 'Least for now.

I tried to look responsible and adult. "Sure, Tempest. What is it?"

"I wondered if you could talk to Damage. See if he's--" his hands did this graceful little thing--"all right."

And that really did pop the daydreams, because all of a sudden I realized I hadn't heard a peep out of Grant this whole time, and when I glanced around he wasn't there. Ooops. Yeah, Toni, *that's* cool--get so caught up in watching 'em be sweet you totally lose track of the best friend you've got around here.

Garth nodded, like he was following what I was thinking. "He was very quiet, and I know some might be...disturbed...by the idea of this relationship."

"Yeah, like--" And then my brain caught up with my mouth--was I really about to snark on the Flash? To somebody who knows him, like, ten times better than I do? But--I mean, I know he's a hero, but he was acting like a total moron. They're supposed to be his friends, he should be happy for them.

Except Garth got a look like he was thinking the same thing. "Yes. Like that." But then he sighed, and sort of waved it away. "No, that's not fair. Wally...doesn't do very well with surprises, especially not from people that he cares about. He's hurt right now because he feels his friends were keeping secrets from him, and that makes him angry."

And, okay, that does kinda make sense. I hadn't thought about it that way. I guess I might be pissed too, if I were him--I mean, nobody tells me and Grant anything anyway, so it's not like I was expecting to know. And if Garth's okay with it, I guess I ought to be too.

"But you do see--and Nightwing and I don't want our being together to create problems. He'll talk to Wally, but if Grant is--" he did that thing with his hands again--"upset, well, I don't know that he will want to see either of us. You're his friend."

And that kinda made me--I mean, maybe I'm Janie-come-lately around here, but I *have* been paying attention, y'know? When Garth and the others talk about being friends, they don't mean somebody you go to the mall with. More like somebody you'd die for. So when he says that, it's like this huge compliment. And I'm not even sure that I *am* like that for Grant, but right then I absolutely wanted to be.

And it's not like I *don't* care. I do. And, okay, I'd probably have walked out into rush-hour traffic if Garth had given me that look and asked, but I'd've gone after Grant even without that, if I'd clued in he was having problems. I just hadn't thought about it or anything--not something we ever talked about, you know? "Hey, Grant, would it bother you if Tempest was sleeping with Nightwing?" Yeah, right.

But I know, I knew even before the last five minutes, some people it does bother, big time. Even I might think it was a little weird if I'd heard about it and couldn't see how *so* perfect they are together. And maybe it's stupid, but it's there, and you don't dump your friends 'cause they're stupid about something.

"I'll, um, go talk to him." I looked over and saw Arsenal and Nightwing standing toe-to-toe, practically shouting. "Are they, uh, gonna be okay?"

Garth smiled and whoa, swoon-city. "They'll be fine. I'd be more worried if Roy *wasn't* bellowing. It's healthier if he gets it out of his system now."

"Oh." Articulate much? I tried to sound understanding and hoped it didn't come out too stupid. "So it's like if he's that loud, he's really not that mad?"

"Something like that."

Across the room, Nightwing held up a hand to stop Roy from yelling and turned to face the rest of us. "This probably goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway. We wanted you all to know because you're our team, and we trust you. But I'm counting on you to make sure this *stays* in the Titans. No talking to the press or other heroes. As far as anyone else is concerned, Nightwing and Tempest are simply teammates."

Roy said something under his breath I didn't catch, but I guess Garth did, because he looked like he was trying not to laugh out loud. I was about to ask, but Garth shook his head like it didn't matter. "Roy's on a roll. But about what Nightwing said...it's important to keep in mind."

"Well, sure," I said, but I didn't get it. Superhero dating was always big tabloid news, so I didn't see why this was different. And everyone kept telling me to ask if I didn't know, so.... "Okay, wait, why? I mean, what's the big deal?"

"I don't have another identity," he said, watching my face. Girl, don't blush. "Nightwing does."

"Um, yeah..." I knew there had to be something obvious I was missing.

"And sometimes," Garth said, not sounding too much like he was talking to an idiot, "we'd like to go out in public without having to use disguises."

Duh. Well, of course Nightwing didn't live in his costume. Never mind that the idea of him *out* of costume was super hot--oh, yeah, there went the blush--I hadn't thought about that. That he, y'know, went grocery shopping and to the movies and out to eat like other people. Nightwing was all Secret Identity Guy to me, but I guess to Garth, he was...whatever his real name was. "Uh, right. Got it. No talking about it. I'll tell Grant about that too."

"Thank you, Toni. I know this is a surprise to everyone, but I hope--"

"Oh, no, it's good, it's totally great," I babbled. Oh, I so had to get out of there before I blew what little cool I had left. I didn't want to miss a second of this but Garth was expecting me to talk to Grant, and last thing I wanted was for him to think I wasn't up for it. "I'll go find Grant. Good--good luck with Roy."

He smiled again with a kinda ironic expression, this amazingly cute little twist of his lips. "We'll manage."

I took off, thinking that first, I really had to learn to stop staring, or at least figure out how to watch 'em so they didn't notice; and second, that Garth had said 'we.' Like he and Nightwing could face anything or anyone together and be okay.

*Utterly* romantic.

***

Gar:

I wanted to go up and hear what was going on for myself, but it was easy to see that Kory needed someone to talk to. Since she didn't seem to want to wait for anyone else to follow her, I figured that someone ought to be me. "You wanna get out of here?"

"Terribly."

"Let's fly." I morphed myself into a green falcon and hung back a second while she took off, using the comm to call up and tell the computer to let everyone know I was with Kory. I also left a private message for Nightwing, mostly consisting of multiple variations on "what the hell?!" Then I flapped like crazy to catch up. We didn't end up going far, just down to a nearby bar that was used to having the Titans drop in ever since Vic's dad built the first Tower. Most of the time we--

Dammit, I had to stop doing that. I *wasn't* a Titan these days, partly 'cause I didn't get picked in the 'draft'...not that I could blame 'em for their choices. Argent and Damage needed the training, Kory and Vic needed the support, and Jesse could fill in for Wally when he was off with the JLA. They woulda made space for me if I'd asked, but I hadn't wanted to be an eleventh wheel. Besides, I'd wanted to see if I could make a life for myself outside the team. Great experiment, right? Except it wasn't supposed to be so *lonely.*

Oh, wah. All things considered, I was doing pretty well. And now wasn't time to play 'all about Garfield.' Now was about finding out what was going on.

We got drinks, settled into a back corner booth, and Kory told me what Dick had said.

It absolutely didn't compute, you know? Nearly the whole time we'd been in the Titans together, Dick had been with Kory. I knew he'd had at least one girlfriend before her, and heard the rumors about the Huntress after. Never mind that woman he actually *married.* The guy was more of a walking chick-magnet than Harper. I remembered Flamebird, Huntress, Mirage, and even Argent staring at Nightwing after we saved Vic, watching him like a bunch'a cats about to pounce. Practically licking their whiskers.

I didn't know Garth hardly at all...but he saved my life, once. And he was the one who voted Vic back into the team. That counted for a lot with me.

There was no way I was gonna figure this myself, so I tried to work out where Kory was coming from. She was awfully upset, and I had to wonder.... "Is it because Garth's, you know, a guy?"

She just looked confused. "Why would that bother me?"

Okay, not the issue. It *was* completely out of the blue, though. "Well...but...Dick never...."

Kory shrugged slightly. "Of course not. He thought it was wrong to be with anyone but me. He slept with Joseph for a while, though."

No. Flippin'. Way.

I *thought*-- I *wondered*-- "When?!" I managed to squeak out.

"When I married Karras," Kory said softly. "I *told* Dick it was only a peace treaty, that he and I could still be together...but he couldn't accept that."

Oh, yeah, I'd heard about that afterward. And it sounded like Dick, too. "So Joey--"

"Offered him comfort." She nodded, seeming utterly at ease with the idea. "I was grateful to him for that."

I took a long, long sip of beer to collect my thoughts. Okay, technically I shouldn't have been drinking, being under the legal age and all, but since I was bright green and wearing superhero colors the bartender wasn't too eager to card me. 'sides, he was too busy staring at Kory's bo--chest to pay attention to me.

Joey and Dick. Unbelievable. It was like this whole new piece of history being laid over what I already knew. Dick had been messed up when Joey died--but *all* of us had been messed up, then. Maybe that was another reason why he'd been so crazy afterward. Not only his teammate, but his...ex-boyfriend? I guess.

God. Did *Slade* know about that? I couldn't imagine. As if his connections to the Titans weren't confusing enough.

I'd *been* there and hadn't caught a single clue. Except I *hadn't* really been there, since Vic and I had been busy chasing down the Hybrid and fighting Brother Blood, and by the time we were all together again, Kory had come back. It'd sure looked like she and Dick would be okay after that, but I guess it turned out things weren't as good as they seemed. "So Joe, um, he was okay with you and Dick getting back together?"

Kory sighed. "I suppose. I didn't talk about it with him, and I should have, but I was too happy to be with Dick again. And I *told* Dick it didn't matter, we could be with Joey too, if he wanted--"

My whole body jolted with the shock of *that* declaration and the beer bottle slipped out of my hand, bouncing onto the table and spilling a little before I caught it. "You. Uh. Seriously?"

Kory gave me that look, the patient one she got when she was trying to explain something that was so obvious to her it shouldn't need explaining. "Joseph was my friend too, and I loved him. It didn't make sense that Dick had to give one of us up to be with the other." She fiddled with the stem of her wineglass, her nails clicking against the glass. "I'm not...stupid, Gar. I know people think I am, because of the way I look, and I don't understand that. But I do understand that humans have different ideas about love, and I respected that because I loved Dick and wanted to be with him, no matter what. He believed he could only love one person at a time, so that was the way it had to be."

"I never thought you were stupid, Kor'," I told her, and that was true. Even as dense as I'd been when we first met, I'd been able to recognize that her sincerity and openness didn't mean she was at all naïve. "I'm beginning to think Dick is, though. He has no idea how lucky he was."

Kory smiled and sipped demurely at her wine. It killed me, it really did. One second Kory seemed so innocent, and the next, she was talking about threesomes like it was nothing.

Only she *wasn't* innocent. We all knew her story, about how her own parents had given her up to be a slave to avoid a war, and while she didn't tell us exactly what happened during those six years, the Titans'd gotten a damn good idea from everything we learned later about her captors. *Horrible* things. I'd had my own share of misery, but Kory's life made mine look like a cakewalk. And she'd never been bitter about everything she'd been through, never been...broken.

"...you're amazing, you know that?" It slipped out before I could censor myself, but hell, she probably needed to hear that.

Kory tilted her head at me. "Gar?"

"You...just...you never give up."

Her face kind of twitched, like she was trying not to cry, and she turned sideways in her seat to stare out the window. I didn't say anything, watching her, sure I'd screwed up but not knowing exactly how. After a long couple of minutes she finally spoke again, in a voice so quiet I had to strain to listen. "I was trained as a warrior, Gar. As long as there was something to fight, something to fight *for,* I could survive anything. I didn't battle in the slave pits or the arenas because I was forced to, I fought because as long as I kept fighting there was the chance I could escape someday. I *chose* to survive everything for that chance. When I got to Earth I found other things worth fighting for. Everything the Titans did, and Dick..." her voice wavered the tiniest bit, "Dick was worth fighting for, the chance for both of us to be happy. When Dick thought he couldn't love me because we were so different, or when his mentor made it clear he didn't like me, I could win those battles. Or at least," she admitted, her mouth twisting in what might have been a smile if she hadn't been so upset, "declare a draw, like with *him.*" She meant Batman, the great and terrible. Talk about the last guy anyone would want as an in-law.

"But when things went wrong with us, there wasn't anything I could do. It wasn't like before, there wasn't anything...I could fight against to fix it. And now, I know I'm not supposed to hurt this much, I'm supposed to be glad for him, and I *am,* I honestly am, but Gar, I don't...." Kory finally looked back at me, and her eyes were swimming with tears. "I don't know how to *fight* this."

I slid out of my side of the booth and moved to sit next to her, shielding her as well as I could from the rest of the bar while she sobbed on my shoulder. The thing was, I knew what she meant. Not that she wanted to fight Garth, or force Dick to love her again, but that she didn't know how to make things okay with how *she* felt. God, I knew--when Tara died, after we all knew she was a traitor and that she'd played all of us for idiots, especially me, I'd *still* cared about her, still cried for her like she deserved it.

Kory and I sat there for a long time, my arms around her, and damned if I wasn't crying too.

***

END PART 1