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The Other Wife	By : serious Category: DC Verse Comics > Batman Views: 9290 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Batman series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
Month 3/October: Father of the Year
“Dick Grayson, you are the biggest idiot this or the other fifty-one worlds have ever seen!” Dinah shouted by the way of greeting.
Dick was with the Muab tribe, fishermen who still preferred spears and homemade nets to boats. The past few weeks had been a cartoon, Dinah chasing Dick chasing the “Generalissimo,” a nasty piece of work who Dick’s team had been kind enough to depose. Dinah had only caught up with them because the Generalissimo had been gored by a charging rhinoceros. The funeral pyre the Muab had set up for him was still smoldering. Dick hadn’t been hard to find… his tent was high-tech despite the markings painted on the side. If she knew Roy and the others, they were out getting hammered on whatever beer Africa had to offer and having sex in increasingly esoteric combinations. Dick’s wedding ring precluded most of the former and all of the latter.
Dick blinked. “Okay, not disputing that… but any particular reason?”
“Reason? You cut out to the Congo for a month to take out some genocidal African warlord, as if that narrows it down…”
Dick shrugged. “Deep cover. This is what the Outsiders do. Barbara’s cool with it. She probably hasn’t even noticed I’m gone.”
Dinah planted her fists against her hips. “Oh, trust me, she’s noticed. She sent me all the way from Metropolis to find your ass and drag it back home!”
“With the rest of me attached?”
“Optional!”
“So, you just barge in her, tell me something’s up, and expect me to drop everything and leave.” Dick crossed his arms. “Dinah, how do I know you’re not Everyman?”
“…what?”
“Or a shapeshifter or something. You could be leading me into a trap so you can replace me with… Earth-14 Nightwing or something.”
Dinah slapped her forehead. “Just… call Roy in here. Now, while I can still promise I won’t tell Barbara what an idiot you are.”
“Like it’s my mind she’s interested in.” Dick’s confident demeanor broke for a moment. “Is there something wrong with Barbara?”
“No, nothing’s… wrong…”
That only heightened his anxiety. “Roy, get in here!” There was no answer. Dick paced frantically as he got on the comm. “Grace? Yeah, see Roy over to my tent. And tell everyone to get packed, we may have to leave. No, I don’t care. Good, thanks.”
***
It took a great deal of threatened violence to pull Roy away from a “native ceremony” that looked made up on the spot, judging from the amount of nudity and ceremonial alcohol it required. He and Dinah compared tattoos and said “WHITE SAND CAPPUCINO!” at the same time, which caused Roy to pronounce her the genuine article in a slurred voice.
Roy sobered up on the flight home, a one-way trip in Zinda’s spiffiest Aerie… number nine. The reality grind of the four-dimensional fuel source tightened Dick into a travel-sized bundle of nerves, full of anxieties and regrets. What was wrong with Barbara? Was she leaving him? Was it Brainiac again? Was she leaving him for Brainiac?
Get a grip, Grayson. Brainiac’s a villain. Barbara’s a nice girl, she wouldn’t date villains. Only there’s that Brainiac from the future that’s a good guy… Brainiac 5, that fucking homewrecker…
“Are we on a plane?” Roy asked, hung over.
“Yes.”
“Is the pilot wearing a tiny black miniskirt?”
“Yes she is.”
“Oh, thank God it’s a woman.”
Dick stared out the window. Maybe it was happy news. First time for everything. Maybe Barbara could walk again. Maybe she was angry because she was so eager to wrap those legs around him and… maybe Brainiac 5 was there while he wasn’t.
“Roy, you know Brainiac 5?”
“Snooty kid from the future? We’ve met… like… six times. Each from an alternate timeline. He’s pretty much a prat in every single one… even the one where he’s doing Supergirl… how can you be a prat when you’re doing Supergirl? …I’m talking about a very mature Supergirl, not, you know, Superlolita like we have. Seriously, that girl has the hots for you and if you take pictures, you can go to jail for it. Just thought I’d warn you.”
“How is it that you sound more drunk when you’re hung over than when you’re drunk?”
“It’s a gift.”
Dick got up to go to the cockpit before Roy could harass the holographic stewardess anymore. He slid into the co-pilot’s seat, where Zinda favored him with a big smile.
“Hey, little bird. How’s it flying?”
“Same old, same old.” Dick buckled up. “So, you know anything about the big emergency?”
Zinda pushed her cap up. “I haven’t heard anything. Maybe it’s just a surprise party.”
“My birthday’s not for months yet.”
“You really have no patience whatsoever.”
“She could be in trouble,” Dick reasoned.
“Well, we land in thirty. You can find out then.”
“Landing?” Dick smiled nervously, his best puppy-dog eyes shining at her. “I was kinda hoping you could drop me off.”
***
Dick dropped his wadded-up parachute silk in the hamper as he entered the Clocktower. “Honey, I’m home!”
“She’s waiting for you at the airport,” Kory said. She was in the kitchen, dressed in a morning gown and stirring ingredients into a bowl.
Dick’s finely honed detective instincts picked up two things. First, nothing edible could be produced out of the ingredients she was using (he didn’t have the heart to tell her that it was bananas and not banana peels that were meant to be eaten) and second, she knew her way around the kitchen.
“So, how long have you been staying here?”
Kory gave him a ‘how did you know’ curl.
“You’re wearing Helena’s slippers. If she’s willing to part with those…”
“Barbara insisted on putting me up here. She can really baby you when she wants to.”
“Why would she want to?” Dick took the bowl from her just as she was juggling it, a stalk of celery, and a knife. “You don’t have a disease or something, do you?”
Before Kory could answer, Barbara had barreled through the door.
“I thought you were at the airport,” Dick said.
“Yes, and you don’t want to know the price I paid to get back here so fast.”
“Hiya Dick, hiya Dick’s special groin friend!” Misfit said, riding on the back of Barbara’s wheelchair like a child on a shopping cart. “I don’t suppose I could interest either of you in DARK VENGEAAAAANCE!?”
“Perhaps later,” Kory said diplomatically.
“What’s Kory sick with?” Dick asked Barbara. “Is it curable? It is curable, right? If it’s incurable, I can go into the future to when mankind has developed a cure.”
“Dick!” Barbara tried to interrupt.
“Or we could find a Lazarus Pit… just point me at Ra’s and I’ll beat it out of him!”
“Dick, Kory’s not--”
“--going to make it,” Kory interrupted. She sat down heavily. “It’s a tumor, Dick.”
“Oh God! Can we… excise it?”
“Not for several months. It’s still in its larval form.”
“You have a larva?” Dick repeated, aghast.
“I thought she was just preggers,” Misfit said, a hand over her mouth.
Barbara drew an escrima stick and threw it into Misfit’s face, knocking her out cold.
“Daaaaaark vengeanceeeee…”
“She’s… pregnant…” Dick wiped at his forehead. “I need to sit down.” He did. On Barbara.
“So, what do you want for Christmas?” Barbara asked before she shoved him onto another chair.
“It’s… mine?”
Kory bobbed her head.
“I need to sit down,” Dick said.
“You are sitting down.”
Dick stood back up. “How did this happen?”
Misfit weakly lifted a hand. “I know this one…”
Barbara grabbed another escrima stick before Kory snatched it out of her hand.
“You remember the anniversary?” Kory asked him, waving the escrima stick for emphasis.
“Yeah?”
Kory used the escrima stick to make a series of gestures so deeply pornographic that Barbara blushed and covered Misfit’s eyes.
“We brought you back…”
”We brought you back,” Kory interrupted Barbara, “because I need to know if our child is going to have a father.”
“Child.” Dick gulped. “Shit. This is a lot to take in.”
“It’s a yes or no question.”
Dick looked at Kory. He drank in the sight of her, then pulled her into a tight hug.
“Of course she’ll have a father, Kory. I will be with you every step of the way.”
“And me too,” Barbara said. “She’s a third mine.”
“The baby?” Dick asked.
“Tamaranian thing.”
“I have to sit down again.”
Kory lowered Dick into a chair.
“I need time to think,” Dick said. “And something for the headache that just hit me.”
“Aren’t you happy?” Kory asked, maybe mock-cheerfully.
“I’m a lot of things at the moment.”
A moment of silence. Dick felt like he’d fallen into a dream, but everything was proceeding as clock-precise and analytical as a crime scene. This was real. This was really happening. There was no time to think. He’d sort it out later, if later ever came.
Dick looked back at Kory and pressed a hand to her cheek.
“So, how are you feeling?”
“Famished, actually. If I could get back to cooking…”
“Yeah, sure… I’ll be on the balcony.”
***
“I give it a week. Dick’s little Nightwing No More act. One week.”
The dart flew in, striking the bullseye dead center. Roy took a shot and threw another one without looking. It hit the back of the first dart.
“Show-off,” Dinah accused.
Roy pulled the darts out of the board and threw them into Dinah’s table, landing just shy of her drink. “Your throw, pretty lady. Show me what ya got.”
Dinah popped a peanut in her mouth. The bar was loud with redneck rock and bellowed conversation, but it was authentic. It had history; jukeboxes with nothing from before the 1980s and pool tables with cigarette burns on the wood finish. The beers weren’t watered down either. If only the bathrooms were clean, Dinah would’ve called it heaven.
As Roy stared at her, Dinah tossed back another peanuts and then popped the darts from the table. She threw the first over Roy’s shoulder, hitting the rim of the dartboard.
“Now imagine the fate of the free world had been at stake,” Roy said disparagingly. “Then where would we be?”
“I’d just tell everyone it was Helena’s fault.” Dinah aimed for another throw. “Next round we see who can take the dartboard down by yelling at it. That fair?”
Roy grabbed her wrist. “Your form’s wrong.”
“I think my form’s pretty damn good, actually.” Dinah ran a hand down her side, ending by slapping her own rump.
“Like this.” Roy changed her grip on the dart, then pantomimed her throw, in and out, until the entire motion was one smooth pistoning. “One week, over/under?”
“What, you want to bet? There’s no need to be so nervous.”
“I ain’t nervous. Don’t lean when you throw, it puts a bad kind of spin on the dart. I’m just… bemused. My best friend is, at the moment, completely pussy-whipped and it will provide hours of amusement in the weeks to come.”
“It’s not like that. Dick’s got some serious shit on his plate.” Dinah threw. She hit just outside the bullseye.
“Like what?”
“When he wants to tell you, he’ll tell you.”
Roy pulled the darts again, put them back in Dinah’s hand. Seductively he closed her fingers around them, clasping her hand in both of his. “Are you sure I can’t charm it out of you?”
Dinah smirked. “You’re blocking my shot, arrow-boy.”
Roy sat back down, pouring himself a new shot. “Five says you don’t hit it.”
“Bastard.”
***
It took him a few days, but one night Dick made love to her. She’d known he would from the moment he crawled into bed, unsettled and jittery, then tried to get asleep and couldn’t, then spent a few moments debating with himself whether to touch her. Barbara took the decision out of his hands, rolling over and touching his face, once, taking a moment to just be intimate and tender before he began stripping her. Not that he wasn’t gentle, but he was in a hurry and so was she.
Dick stopped mid-unbuttoning to kiss her, got so engrossed in it he got sidetracked. Barbara finished taking off her own clothes, started on his. There wasn’t much to take off and she was more than ready. It was the subtlest transition from kissing to something more. He sunk inside her, deeper and deeper, having to pause between kisses to pant in air as he exerted himself. He always fucked like that when he was upset, forceful and fast and competitive.
She plateaued, reached the summit where she knew it couldn’t get any better, and laughed as she clung to him. Barbara was tense under him, tightly strung and dreading the end. She wouldn’t have minded staying like this for hours. Dick buried his face in her breasts, not biting or licking but just holding himself close to her, and they stayed that way until he came, that weird liquid feeling she felt distantly.
She faked an orgasm, could tell she’d fooled him once more. It wasn’t that he didn’t do it for her, but since the incident vaginal intercourse rarely did it for her. Dick would take a few minutes to breath and then he’d finish her off with fingers or mouth… it made little difference whether he thought it was the first or second time. What was a brief moment of climax compared to holding him close, hearing his heart slow to an even keel, feel his arms around her as he feathered his scarred knuckles over her body?
“One more?” he asked, already running his fingers down her stomach.
“You know what I like,” she said, kissing his jaw.
Then the phone rang. By the cutesy ringtone, his. He snatched it up angrily, checked the caller ID, groaned. Barbara rubbed his shoulders as he answered it.
Dick had taken a job in the Gotham PD. Barbara’s father had pulled some strings, bumped him up to detective. Practically a desk job… no firefights or daring raids, just good old-fashioned detective work. His first week on the force and already Barbara could tell he was good at it, even if it wasn’t as satisfying as personally knocking a creep’s teeth loose. But he was a victim of his own success. Apparently, a body had just been found and Dick had gotten the call.
He didn’t go on patrol as Nightwing anymore, either. Barbara didn’t know quite how to feel about that. She was sure he didn’t either. Sure, he suited up for emergencies, but he spent less and less time in that world and more time in hers. Hers and Kory’s. Hers and Kory’s and the baby’s. Barbara wasn’t sure how to feel about that either.
Dick flipped his cell-phone shut and got out of bed, walking naked to grab some clothes. Barbara watched him, too aggravated to enjoy the view.
“Won’t take that long. I’ll just file the paperwork, be back in an hour and two.”
“And in no mood for love,” she said.
“Tomorrow evening. We’ll go out, see a movie.”
“And Kory?”
“She can come along.”
“No, I mean she might feel left-out. Because she’s not coming.”
Dick sat down on the bed as he buttoned his shirt. “One of these days, we’re gonna have to have a talk about boundaries. You two say you were comfortable living together when I wasn’t here, so what’s changed?”
“Nothing. I’m being nice to her.” She tied his tie for him.
“I love you.” He kissed her quickly and was out the door, a pair of black socks in his hand.
Dick left the door open on his way out and Barbara was in no mood to get all the way out of bed to close it. She did enjoy the plateaus he brought her too, but without a climax she knew she wouldn’t get any sleep.
If Dick knew about the dildo she kept in the false bottom of her bedstand drawer, alongside the taser and the Batarangs, he never said anything about it. It was big and black and vibrated nicely. Helena had gotten it for her at the bachelorette party, and though Barbara could’ve punched her at the time for being so uncouth, she had to admit it was prescient. Being married to Dick had a tendency to leave her hot and bothered and the dildo worked much better than her fingers.
She heard the front door slam and the corresponding beep as the security system locked up. With a wicked smile, Barbara pulled a jar of KY jelly from the bedstand. That Dick knew about, and never seemed to get tired of. This month’s flavor was orange. Not that she ever tasted it. It felt cold and slimy as she rubbed it between her legs, but quickly warmed. She almost came off, just massaging it into her folds. But no, she had to prolong it, drag it out just a little to get the big finish. Dick was a master at that; Barbara didn’t have the patience. She’d always found it a little curious how their sex life always found new ways to opposite their regular lives; just proved they were a good match, as far as she was concerned.
Barbara buzzed her clit with the vibrator, finally finding some relief from its near-painful engorgement. Her entire body throbbed in symphony with the vibrator, like it was the wand conducting an orchestra. Already she felt something stirring in her chest, her breasts heaving and her breath quickening and the sweat clumping her hair together in sticky rivulets. Soon, perspiration drenched her body. She could almost feel how her dream lover would touch her, his grip sliding over her, her scent enflaming him. Or her…
Sometimes she liked to think of Dinah, just for that taste of the taboo, the forbidden. Dick was fine, but as long as she was using her imagination, why not replace thick legs with slim, fishnet-clad ones or a muscular chest with pert breasts?
Barbara moved the massaging vibrator up and down her body, steering carefully clear of her sex. Her breasts were more sensitive anyway; she drew the tip of the vibrator in slow circles around an erect nipple and let the fantasy play out, starting at Dinah’s sweet smile and not stopping until she reached full, wanton debauchery.
She didn’t pant as she was aroused, she gasped. Deep breaths, deep and drawling, like she was running out of air. And of course she’d seen what Dinah looked like, beneath those scanty outfits that made the point almost academic. Sometimes, Dinah’s body made her remember herself. She’d wanted to grow up and be just like Dinah, but her legs were thin no matter how she tried to exercise with them, her body a bit filled out by her sedentary lifestyle, starting to line and sag just a little with age. Dinah was still so youthful, a wish fulfillment fantasy in every sense of the word. And as much as she loved the gluttonous fervor or delicate caresses Dick made love to her with, Barbara liked to imagine Dinah would just know exactly what to do, would fuck her headstrong and reckless, would not be afraid to give her exactly what Barbara wanted because that was what Dinah wanted too. Like Kory had.
And finally, she abandoned herself completely to what she was doing and let her fantasy pass into a surreal, perfect, natural world. Barbara knew how Dinah would touch her, knew exactly at the pace she’d set as she (Barbara slid the vibrator inside her, felt the lustful throbbing that filled her body overflow) fucked, knew how Dinah would smile and laugh and whisper dirty, beautiful things in Barbara’s ear even as she nibbled at the pink lobe.
And Kory watched through the parted door, restlessly rubbing her hands up and down and under her clothes, not moving herself toward orgasm but simply sharing in Barbara’s exquisite moment. Her nipples poked against her clothes and her golden skin was flush with exhilaration. Her own breathing was tightly controlled, with just a note of hoarseness to its timbre.
She felt Barbara’s orgasm, felt it pass through her like a full-body massage, relaxing and refreshing her to share in it. For a moment, Kory debated with herself whether to enter or leave Barbara to the night. Even after the weeks they’d lived together, she barely knew the woman. Barbara was cordial, polite, and exasperatingly cold. Typical Gotham. But if Dick loved her, then there must be something there.
Kory let a few minutes pass, letting the arousal and excitement drain from Barbara’s heated body, and then she entered. Barbara’s eyes went wide at the sight of Kory. Her bedsheets were drawn up to her waist; she pulled them up to cover her cleavage as well. Kory smiled with only a touch of patronization.
“Relax, Barbara. I won’t judge you. I too… take matters into my own hands?”
She demonstrated, lighting up a starbolt and dispelling it.
“As you might guess, my means of discharging energy requires quite a bit more… privacy.”
Kory stepped closer to Barbara, whose mouth was open with amazement and whose eyes were terrified. This close, Barbara must’ve noted Kory’s arousal. X’Hal, she could probably smell it.
“When I’m away for long stretches of the day? It’s not just because I know you value your privacy.” Kory sat down on the bed, serpentinely reclining beside Barbara. “I think of you, at times.”
“Thanks,” Barbara said insincerely.
“I do wonder why you felt the need to fulfill yourself after fucking Dick. Your sex sounded most energetic.”
Barbara closed her eyes. Jesus, she’d been listening? Then again, we weren’t exactly quiet… “Listen, Kory… not that it’s any of your business, but sometimes it helps to make Dick think I’ve had an orgasm, even though I haven’t.”
Kory blinked, confused. “Dick doesn’t make you come?”
“He does, just not all the time.”
Kory sidled closer to Barbara, brushing her breasts against Barbara’s arm. “But you came then.”
On that night. “Like I said, not all the time. That was… very special.”
“Thank you,” Kory beamed. She rested a hand on Barbara’s thigh. “You know, if Dick ever leaves you unfulfilled, I would be more than happy to step in.”
“I think I’ll stick with the vibrator,” Barbara said, trying really hard to be polite.
“Your loss. It does look like quite a pleasure. You must loan it to me sometime. Wouldn’t be the first cock we’ve shared, now would it?”
“Kory, I’m really tired.”
“Okay.” Kory tucked Barbara in, wiping the plastered hair from her face and pulling the bedsheet up to her chin. “Is there anything I can get you? Water, teddy bear, butt plug?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Alright then.” Kory leaned down to kiss Barbara sweetly on the forehead. “Thank you for giving me a child. And think about my offer.” She grinned. “Trust me, I’m a much better lay than Dinah.”
As Kory shut the door behind her, Barbara wondered just how acute Kory’s hearing was. After all, she was certain that she’d maybe only moaned Dinah’s name under her breath.
“Jesus, that Koriand’r is a fox,” she said aloud.
“Thank you,” Kory said from down the hall.
***
Another day, another dollar. Barbara was right; after that crime scene Dick was in no mood to even talk to someone. It was one thing coming at it from behind a mask, but as the hours weighted in and you talked to the victim’s family… It was nothing like fighting the Scarecrow or putting out a fire. Nothing at all.
He hated this, the teeny disappointments he left Barbara with, the little flies in the ointment that spoiled their perfect marriage. It reminded him far too much of when he’d been shot in the gang war, and how whenever he reminded Babs of her past as Batgirl, of their past, inside she would simmer until finally she had exploded. Broken it off with him, just like that.
It hadn’t been a good time for him.
So he had to tip-toe around her, be perfect, which she deserved, of course… but it was tiring. It was really fucking tiring.
Gordon patted him on the shoulder, took him to his office, gave him a little speech and a fifth of scotch. Both helped. Dick went back and checked out the victim’s boyfriend, who had two counts of arson on his record. They pulled him in for questioning and he broke almost disappointingly easy. Dick knew where to poke, where to prod, the angle of attack in all things. Arson, domestic abuse, murder… it all wrapped up pretty neatly.
“Hey, Maggie, got a minute?”
Maggie Sawyer looked up from the bubbling water cooler. She checked her watch as she took a sip from her cone. “You’re in luck, I’ve got three.”
Dick leaned against the wall nearby her. He looked around, making sure the hallway was devoid of cops, then said “Can I ask you something?”
“If you hurry.”
“It’s about family. You’ve been here a while, how do people manage it, having kids, all that?”
“Me, personally, I took a maternity leave. I can see how that wouldn’t work for you.”
“Yeah, I saw the photo on your desk. You get to spend a lot of time with your daughter?”
“When my ex-husband doesn’t have her, sure. It’s all about balance. You can’t get sucked down in work. This job’ll eat you alive if you let it. You just gotta keep in mind what’s important.”
“What about the marriages that don’t work out. Where’d they go wrong?”
Maggie quirked an eyebrow. “Someday you’re gonna have to tell me what’s got you so skittish. I suppose what sinks relationships around her is the same thing that sinks ‘em anywhere. Take your father-in-law, for instance, he’s a lot like you. Good cop, all about duty. He let the job get to him, started fooling around on his wife, so she packed it in. He’s a great cop, and I’m glad to call him my boss, but… I wouldn’t want to live his life.”
Dick thought of Bruce, and his father’s continual warnings not to go down the same path. “I know what that’s like.”
“Not that you have to worry about that. Just keep your priorities straight and it’ll be smooth sailing.” She smiled. “Toby and I are still together, means there’s still hope for you breeders too.”
Dick took lunch and was a bit surprised when he found Kory waiting at the front desk, reading What To Expect When You’re Expecting. She was dressed demurely by any standard, a long wool coat, sunglasses, a cap. Must’ve been stifling.
As soon as she saw him, her face lit up. She put a bookmark in and shoved the book into her purse.
“Kory,” Dick exclaimed, greeting her with the customary hug. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d take you out to lunch. What were you planning on eating?”
“Depends on what the vending machine had.”
Kory shook her head.
***
“I notice you and Barbara are making love again.”
Dick paused with his sandwich halfway to his mouth. Now he knew why Kory had insisted on a private booth.
“Well, yeah. That tends to be what people in love do.”
“Ah.” Kory looked away.
She’d barely touched her fries. Dick nudged the basket toward her promisingly.
“You’re wondering why… you’re not invited?”
“Yes.”
Dick put his sandwich down.
“Is it because I’m getting fat?”
“No! No, no, no… It’s complicated.”
“When isn’t it?”
“Barbara wouldn’t be comfortable with it, for one thing.”
Kory frowned. “She was comfortable with it on your anniversary.”
“That was supposed to be a one-time thing. Having an actual… repeated… thing…” Dick gestured helplessly. “It would be kind of like a relationship, you know?”
“But you wouldn’t mind?”
Dick sometimes really wished he could lie to Kory. “Barbara has a point. It would complicate things.”
“But, if I helped, maybe Barbara could have orgasms!”
With a deep sigh, Dick took a bite of his sandwich, washed it down with his Coke, and looked at Kory. “Okay, hit me.”
***
Fortunately, there was a year-round Valentine’s store that specialized in the fantasy that people would want to go through the rigmarole of Valentine’s more than once a year. I must be a sadomasochist, Dick thought to himself. Although it did make Kory curiously happy to play yenta.
“You’re sure Barbara will like these?” Dick asked of the bouquet Kory had heaped into his shopping cart. “Because I think I heard her say she was allergic once.”
Kory sniffed them. “They smell fine to me. Now, where are the…” She grabbed a bottle of wine. “Oh yes, this would be absolutely perfect for romancing me.”
Dick took it from her to check the vintage. Staring very intently at the label, he said “But I’m not romancing you.”
“What works for me will work for her. You have a type, Grayson.”
“I think you have projection issues.”
“Nonsense.” Kory grabbed a heart-shaped box of chocolates. “You should get Barbara this, I love chocolate. It’s so very… Earth. Sweet and sweet and sweet.” She smiled and rubbed Dick’s cheek. “I know, I know, but I really am happy for the two of you. And maybe, in time, the three of us…”
“Kory, I’ve gotta warn you, I don’t think Barbara is going to change her mind.”
“Would you have thought she was bisexual before your anniversary?”
“I don’t think she’s… I mean… okay, obviously she’s not a zero on the Kinsey Scale, but I would’ve noticed—“
“Just like you noticed her fake orgasms? Having experienced both, I’d say you’d have to be blind to miss the difference. And deaf.”
“Her spine was damaged,” Dick said. “It’s enough that she feels anything.”
“Not for you, though.” Kory plucked a single rose from a flowerpot and gently ran it down Dick’s jawline. “You want to make her happy. Like you made me happy. And that’s why you’re going to accept my help. The moment you walk back through her door, every single move you make will be foreplay. Dinner, then dessert.”
“And what do you get out of it?”
“In the morning, I get to see the face you make when you’ve had really great sex. It’s very adorable.” Kory paused and grabbed another bouquet. “Look at these. Green flowers. They match our eyes, mine and Barbara’s.”
She put the other bouquet back.
“I suppose I should just feel glad that you’re comfortable with talking to me this way,” Dick said.
“What way?”
“Never mind.”
***
“Barbara, could I borrow you for a moment?”
Barbara looked up from her book. Kory was hanging her coat on the hall tree and generally being vivacious. She flounced her way to Barbara, who begrudgingly set her book aside.
“Yes, Kory, what is it?”
“I need to get you away from the dining room long enough for Dick to prepare a romantic dinner.”
“Oh?” Barbara scratched her hair, smiling gratefully. She liked the sound of that.
“Yes. Follow me.”
She went into the computer room and sat down. An awkward silence settled on her, interrupted once by muffling cursing from the kitchen. Kory smiled wider.
“Want to compare scars?”
“No, thank you. Are you sure Dick’s okay?”
“He’ll be fine. So, how do the cameras work? I notice you have all the rooms under surveillance.”
Barbara switched the main monitor to a view of the kitchen. Dick was dumping spaghetti into boiling water and had splashed some on himself.
“It’s part of the defense system,” Barbara explained.
“And the camera in the shower?”
“That’s for Dick.”
They shared a rare smile.
“So, how does it work?” Kory asked.
Barbara showed her. By the time she was finished, Dick was still cooking. As unromantic as it was, Barbara wished he would just order in.
“He’s planning to have sex with you after dinner,” Kory said. “I showed him how to find your g-spot, so you should have a very nice orgasm without resorting to cunnilingus.”
After a long pause, Barbara finally arrived at “…thanks…”
Kory beamed. “My pleasure.” She pulled her legs up onto her chair like she was settling in for some girl talk. “Your husband is very handsome. He could be a model.”
“Yes, I guess he could.”
“He’s put on some muscle since he led the Titans. Gained some more scars, too. I think I prefer him this way. He’s much more… war-like. Passionate. Do you think he’s excited to be a father?”
“I guess… yeah, sure.”
“That’s good.” Kory blinked. “I did not think this would take as long as it is.”
“I noticed.”
“Would you like a massage to pass the time?”
“No thanks, I’m good.”
“Sex, then?”
Barbara cringed. “Kory, I know we’ve been through… a lot, but we’re not that close.”
Kory looked confused. “Don’t you want to be?”
“Not particularly.”
Kory was crestfallen. She was used to being beloved wherever she went. Men wanted her, women wanted to be her, but also wanted her… X’Hal, some men wanted to be her. Barbara’s prudery seemed awfully frightening. The poor woman had summoned up the courage for one measly threesome and was now retreating back into her shell. How sad for her. How sad for Kory, that Dick had fallen in love with her. If only Barbara were more like Donna…
“It’s not you,” Barbara said consolingly, patting Kory on the knee. “I’m not a lesbian. And I’m just… really happy with Dick. I don’t want to jeopardize that by introducing an unstable element into the mixture.”
“But didn’t you enjoy…”
“Yes, but… I enjoy chocolate, too, but that doesn’t mean I eat it all the time. You get what I’m saying?”
“I can’t have sex with you and Dick again until your next anniversary?”
If Dick only knew that this woman was only dense when she wanted to be… Barbara again reminded herself to play nice. It wasn’t Kory’s fault and God only knew Barbara herself hadn’t been the best relationship material before she and Dick had finally tied the knot.
“I mean that what we had was very special, but sometimes things are special because they only happen once. Hence, once in a lifetime. What we had was once in a lifetime.”
Kory nodded slowly, processing. “Alright.” She smiled a knife-twisting smile. “But you’re not uncomfortable with the fact that Dick’s had sex with me?”
“Not at all.”
“Good.” She leaned forward in full gossipy-dishing mode. “Because he doesn’t mind at all that I’ve had sex with you.”
While Barbara’s jaw was still dropped at the sheer verve and sensuality Kory had put in that sentence, Dick appeared in the doorway.
“Dinner is served.”
***
The sex was fantastic. If Barbara’s toes could curl, she was sure they would. She just wished that there wasn’t the niggling doubt… the unshakeable sense that every time Dick closed his eyes and thrust into her, he was picturing Kory meeting his plunge, writhing under him. But that was just her own insecurities talking. Dick loved her and nobody else.
And as Kory watched on the closed-circuit monitor, licking Barbara’s dildo and knowing she could still taste them both on it, she delighted in the rapture that both of them were thinking of her. It was only a matter of time that their relationship could revolve around her before it was sucked down.
Kory forced her orgasm to coincide with Dick and (she grinned) Barbara. It felt divine. She saved the file to a DVD, taking it with her back to her room. When she went back and entered Dick and Barbara’s bedroom, the sweat plastering her nightgown to her body had mostly cooled. They were asleep in each others’ arms, looking absolutely darling.
Kory kissed Dick’s brow to thank him for his gift, then ran a green flower down Barbara’s body. She pressed the stem into Barbara’s hand, careful not to prick her with one of the thorns. Finally, she put the dildo, still wet with her gift, back where she had found it.
Dick mumbled in his sleep, like he was having a nightmare. The decision facing him was taking its toll. Choosing between the life he’d known and the life he could know. That was another thing Barbara could never understand, Kory thought, the allure of that old life, the bonds of friendship and family that pervaded the Titans and later the Outsiders. Dick would get over it, though, and Barbara would come to understand.
Until then, watching the video didn’t make Kory a voyeur or anything.
“Good night, my loves,” she said, shutting the door behind her.
***
The nightclub was jumping. Dick was picking up the tab and the Outsiders were living it up. Barbara and Kory had come with, although Kory limited herself to a single dance with Grace before retiring to critique the wild club fashions with Barbara. Grace and Anissa were doing things on the dance floor that would be illegal in most of the southland, and the rest of them were trying to live up to their example. Roy was the exception, sequestered away with Dick in a smoky corner of the club. The two of them nursed Heinekens, bought on Roy’s dime.
“I got Kory pregnant,” Dick said. “Threesome with Barbara. That’s why she’s living with us.”
Roy paused for a moment before clapping Dick on the shoulder. “Mazel Tov! She's not a supervillain! Good on ya! You could’ve have picked a better woman to knock up, no offense to Barbara. But it’s been nearly a month and the others are getting a bit restless. They’re wondering when we’re going to hunt down another baddie.”
“Oh?” Dick was lost in thought. “Oh, yeah. I uploaded some material on Queen Bee to your PDA. Right up the Outsiders’ alley.” He took a drink. “I’ve been thinking about it… what kind of father I’d be.”
“I’ve been there and… chee-zus, what a mindjob, eh?”
Dick stood, his back to Roy; from the slant of his shoulders, finally ready to unburden himself of the weight that’d been pushing down on him all night. “I’ve gotten used to the idea. Being a father. Having a family. Being a husband, really, in a way I don’t think I was before. And I’ve made a decision.” He turned to Roy slowly, as if his head would fall off if he moved it too fast. “I’m resigning as leader of the Outsiders, effective immediately. As my last act, I’m appointing you interim leader until and if they want to elect someone else. Nightwing is finished.”
The words hung in the air. Like a fire they raised the temperature of the room, crowding out everything else that could be said. Roy fixed Dick with an implacable stare of betrayal and shock, mingling together to ask a simple question: Why? Dick was unable to bear his look.
“You can’t just quit!” Roy said insistently, already starting to yell.
“I can’t not.” Dick was up on weak legs, picking his way over to the wall. The one solid thing he could grab hold of. “We just spent three weeks running around Africa playing commando. Is that worth missing my daughter’s first steps? Her first word? Is it worth her missing me?”
“Look at me!” Roy said, his jaw almost bursting with the effort of holding in his words while Dick spoke. “I’m a dad and I still find time to save the free world.”
“Your daughter nearly got sold into slavery,” Dick said quietly.
Nearby, an eavesdropping Kory folded in on herself with every shouted word between her friends. Barbara took her hand.
“Are you calling me a bad father?” Roy asked, incredulous.
“Of course not…”
But Roy could read the unevenness in Dick’s tone.
“Are you calling me a bad father!? Because,” Roy said, with the dreadful quiet that meant he was really angry, “I know for damn sure you’re going to make a better father than me. Your kid has nothing to worry about, whether or not you’re on a team.”
That was his big gun, his A-argument. He wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone else at any other time, but Lian would’ve been better off if Dick were her father. Roy was sure everyone else already knew.
“You say I’m a better father than you,” Dick repeated, as quiet as ever. His voice didn’t have the same tense, barely held anger that Roy’s did. It was just… quiet.
”You’re going to be!” Roy shouted.
“Ever think that’s why I’m quitting?” Dick delivered the words gently, as if to ease the evisceration.
It took a moment for Roy to come back from that, a moment in which Kory couldn’t take any more and ran off into the dancing mob. Barbara watched her go, envying her. She didn’t have to stay.
“Call me a heroin addict,” Roy said at last. He was so quiet Dick had to strain to hear the words, so only the last two words jumped out at him.
“What?”
“Come on. Call me a heroin addict. Beat me up a little. That’s what you do these days, isn’t it? ‘Father of the Year’?”
A bit of the fire was back in Dick’s voice when he spoke. A bit of the Outsider. “There is no correlation.”
“I don’t know you anymore, man!” Roy overturned their table, spilling out glasses and all the detritus of the night. The first casualty. “This place, this wife, this kid… it’s not you, man.“
Dick was speechless. He didn’t say anything even when Barbara approached them.
“I think you’d better leave,” she told Roy. Meaning get the fuck out.
“Dick, I’m sorry. Babs…”
“I need to be alone with my family, Roy,” Dick said. “Please.”
“Right.” Roy nodded. “I’ll go round up the team. We’ll leave mommy and daddy and mommy to it.”
Dick wanted to call after him when he left, but he wanted more to fall down on his knees and let Barbara put her arms around him. It was presumptuous of him, but he thought he knew a little of how Barbara had felt when the bullet had severed her spine. She must’ve known that she couldn’t go back to the way things were. He just hoped that the little thing growing within Kory would be half as fulfilling for him as the mask Barbara had constructed was for her.
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The Other Wife