Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/50653. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage Category: Multi Fandom: DC_Comics Relationship: Nightwing/Starfire/Robin, Dick/Kory/Tim Character: Dick_Grayson, Koriand'r, Tim_Drake Additional Tags: First_Time, Threesome_-_F/M/M, Nonmonogamy, Loss_of_Virginity Stats: Published: 2010-01-13 Words: 5537 ****** Best Man ****** by Rubynye Summary Visiting family and Tamaranian wedding customs. Notes Challenge: [[info]] petronelle's "It's_a_Tamaranian_Custom" challenge (submissions_listed_here). Warnings: Slash, het, threesome, and what's that wonderful phrase? "Content some readers may find disturbing." I know how old I think Tim is here, but decide for yourself how old he needs to be for you to read this. Spoilers For/Based On: The storyline leading up to The New Titans 100. Set the night before the wedding chronicled_here. Beta Reader who deserves All Praise: [[info]]jamjar Title: Best Man Rating: NC-17. Thoroughly. Fandom: Comics Pairing: Nightwing/Starfire/Robin (Dick/Kory/Tim)   She has really impressive breasts. Tim feels guilty for thinking that. There's a lot that's impressive about Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran: her stature, her smile, the battle-plans she comes up with over dinner, the way Dick glows a little whenever he looks at her. Kory's an impressive woman. Tim would have liked Kory for Dick's sake, but he liked her for herself from the moment she used peas to represent battalions of soldiers. Or maybe it was the first time she bounced a joke off him, and he actually got it and teamed up with her in teasing Dick, and Dick gave them both a look that was half terror and half pride. Perhaps it was when she put her hand on his shoulder and said, "I am glad Dick will have family at our wedding." Tim likes Kory, and he really respects Starfire. He watches her and Dick together, holding hands as they talk about the wedding tomorrow, and wonders how much Dick has told her about how Tim became Robin, how much he's told any of the Titans. Would they be so friendly if they knew he used to keep notes on them all, as part of following Dick? It's almost a little unreal to sit beside a woman he watched from a distance for years, but then it never stops being a little unreal every time Dick smiles at him. Much of Tim's life these days feels more or less unreal, not least this extended family of heroes who seem quite willing to accept a new Robin into their ranks. He's been thinking for too long, staring at his steak; someone's going to notice soon. He looks up and Kory's golden cleavage is right there, barely covered by her soft red dress. He's getting a crick in his neck from constantly tilting his head back. When Tim gets his gaze up to where it should be, Kory is smiling. She's always smiling; at Dick, who smiles more often around her than Tim has ever seen him, or at Alfred, who returns her smile a little wistfully. Her smiles at Tim are wide and friendly and possibly a little knowing. Telepathy isn't listed among her powers, but Dick has mentioned that she learns languages through touch, and smirks when he does. Perhaps Kory can learn other things that way as well; she does touch Tim a lot, on his head and his arms and his hands. She touches everyone, and her hands are very warm, like something that's been sitting in the sun for a long time. And she has really great breasts. Tim hadn't even thought he was particularly into breasts. He bites the inside of his cheek and smiles at Kory. At her face. Alfred excuses himself after dinner, and shortly thereafter Dick kisses Kory goodnight. She looks a little surprised; Dick says, "it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride the night before the wedding," tousles Tim's hair, and takes off, leaving Tim standing beside Kory, who is tall and golden, smells warm and spicy, and is going to marry Dick in the morning. "I'm exhausted," Tim says, faking a yawn. Actually, he can't sleep. Normally he'd be online or doing homework at this time of night, waiting for everyone to go to bed so he can become Robin. None of the books he brought appeal to him, and with his pulse racing and his thoughts this scattered he completely fails to meditate. He spends a very long five minutes memorizing every crack in the plastered ceiling before his willpower crumbles and he jerks off in the Titans' guest bed; gasping, he thinks about Kory's breasts and Dick's high-cheekboned face buried between them, and comes groaning into the pillow. At least he's not so far gone he can't make the tissues land in the trash bin. He could go for another round, or several, but that would probably leave him limping and sore. Instead Tim curls up, closes his eyes and tries to think of nothing. When Kory floats into his room about a hour later and sits on the side of his bed Tim has no idea what to think. "Robin, are you awake?" Her hand on his hair is long and gentle and warm. Her hair waves and ripples a little, though there's no breeze. "I'm up." Tim looks up at her, and her green eyes are glowing, just a little, but noticeable in the dark room. She's wearing one of Dick's T-shirts, and it's pretty tight on her. Tim wishes she could call him by his name, but Bruce had barely agreed to let him accompany Alfred in the first place, and had specifically instructed him not to tell anyone his identity. All things considered, he's lucky he doesn't have to wear his mask the whole visit. "Will you come with me?" Her hand is even warmer on his face. Tim wonders what this is about, if it's something Dick's little brother should be involved in, and nods beneath her hand. Kory grins and grabs his wrist, pulling him up out of the bed, and flies them out of the room. The Tower whips by in a dim blur, up one hallway and down another, and Kory sets Tim down in front of the door to Dick's room. OK, this is getting complicated. "Uh," Tim says, but Kory puts a finger to her smiling lips, picks him up again under one warm smooth arm, and opens the door. The room's pretty dark, but Tim can see Dick lying on his back, arms crossed behind his head, a sheet diagonally across his body. He doesn't look any more asleep than they are. "Cover his eyes," Kory whispers in Tim's ear as she flies over, depositing Tim at the head of the bed. Dick's head is between his knees; in boxers, Tim is about three seconds away from completely embarrassing himself. As he puts his hands over Dick's eyes he tries to think of snow and blood and his pimpliest classmates, but all he can think of is Kory's warm skin and the way Dick's face feels, his eyelashes brushing Tim's fingers. "Surprise," Kory announces unnecessarily as she swings a long leg over Dick, who just smiles and says, "Didn't I say it's bad luck for me to see you till the wedding tomorrow?" "You can't see me, Robin has your eyes covered," Kory replies sweetly. Dick pulls his hands out to reach up for Tim's shoulders. "So he does. Hey, kid." "Hey," says Tim, before he can't speak at all. He suspects Dick isn't wearing anything under that sheet, and his heartbeat is accelerating. Kory just beams at both of them, planting her hands almost beneath Tim's knees as she leans forward. "I'm so glad a member of your family could join us, Dick." "Join us? You mean Roy didn't send you two to get me for one more try at that bar crawl?" Dick is starting to sound as confused as Tim feels. His chest is really bare, and disappearing under Kory as she leans lower still. "Of course not," she says, as if it's obvious. "This is a perfect opportunity for r'hael, how could we pass it up?" "For what?" Dick's hands are tightening on Tim's shoulders now. Kory sits up, puts her hands on her hips and takes a distractingly deep breath. "R'hael," she explains, "the Tamaranian custom of honoring a love-match and demonstrating its unity by instructing a young adult in the ways of bodily love. It's usually practiced soon before a major ritual such as a wedding or a birth, so tonight is very appropriate." What? Tim's mouth falls open. Is he dreaming? It doesn't feel like he's asleep. "What?" Dick yelps, pulling Tim's hand off his face, and Tim tries not to feel Dick's fingers across his pulse as he watches Dick stare at Kory, who's smiling as if she's never thought of a lie in her life. "Are you serious?" Dick asks, but he sounds like he knows the answer, and shakes his head. "Of course you are. Kory, this is--- I appreciate the thought and I'm sure T-Robin does too, but---" Disappointment hits hard, which is ridiculous. Yes, the idea's really hot, and it's really difficult not to have an erection right now, but he can't do this, right? "Uh, yeah, thanks, Kory, but I should be going---" Lifting his other hand off Dick's face, Tim moves to climb off the bed, except that Dick hasn't let go of him, and is looking up at him with blue eyes that are wide and... speculative. Kory's green eyes glow more brightly above her pout; apparently she and Dick have had this particular discussion before, or ones like it. "Dick, a marriage on Earth means we can no longer share physical love with anyone else, or so you have told me. So what better time is there than now? Besides, you both want to do this." Tim can feel his brain starting to melt, and he can feel Dick's stare, though Dick says, "Kory---" She huffs impatiently. "You always do this. All of you. Why do you always deny your feelings?" Okay, yes, Tim has wanted Dick since before he knew how, but still... but Dick's hand is warm and now moving on his shoulder, and Tim can't look away from his eyes. "Do you want to stay, Robin?" Dick asks, very quietly, and his hand slides down Tim's arm enough to push up beneath the sleeve of Tim's T- shirt, fingers on his bare skin. That seems like a clue as to what Dick wants, which is really fortunate to have because Tim doesn't think he could lie looking straight into Dick's eyes. He nods, but Dick just raises one eyebrow further; that's not going to cut it. So Tim clears his throat and croaks "yes." Dick's grin is wide and bright and uncomplicated for a moment, becoming a rueful smile as he turns to Kory. "I still... sometimes I think I'll never understand Tamaranians." "You have the rest of our lives to understand me," Kory says, clearly triumphant, and she leans down and kisses Dick. Now both their heads are between Tim's knees, and he stares down at the gently rippling carpet of her hair as it falls along and off her back, and then at Dick's legs where the sheet is rucked up. Tim has always liked Dick's legs, which are long and sleekly muscled. He really can't stop himself anymore from getting hard, not now, not when he can hear them kissing. Of all the adventures Robin might have had--- Kory stops that train of thought, stops pretty much all thought in Tim's head, by draping her fingers over Tim's hip; it feels like the cloth isn't there anymore, her hand is so warm. Did he just moan? He must have, because they're both looking up at him now, and Kory is grinning like a cat with two birds. Tim feels his face flood with heat, and he's so hard he could break something with it, and maybe that something is his brain. Dick squeezes Tim's shoulder, runs his hand down Tim's arm to his hand and tangles their fingers. "Get down here," he says, his voice low and a little rough. Tim shivers and nods, and falls pretty gracelessly down beside Dick, and Kory reaches out and pulls them together. They've both got arms around him, his arm is across Dick's chest and the other is wedged beneath his body, and Dick is just staring at him like he's something new. Maybe new and good. Definitely good, when Dick kisses him. Tim has thought about this, but he hadn't let himself picture it; there's no way he could have accurately imagined it, the way Dick's mouth presses his, Dick's breath on his cheek, the way it tingles into his bones. Dick's tongue flicks, flexing and warm, against Tim's lips, and Tim realizes he hasn't been moving, he's just been feeling, but now he knows what he wants to do; he grabs Dick's shoulder and tilts his head further and kisses him back, parting his lips. The way Dick tastes… He tastes like how he smells, how he looks, how he feels. He tastes warm and a little sweet and alive, and he laughs into Tim's mouth and pushes him up by his shoulders. "Whoa," Dick says, breathing just a bit harder, pushing Tim up against Kory; Tim realizes he was leaning over Dick, kissing him hard, and that Kory has taken her top off. Um, nipples. "Too much clothing," she insists, pressing herself to Tim's back as she tugs at his T-shirt, and Dick laughs again, warm and easy and maybe Tim can even relax. "You always say that," Dick tells her as she pulls it off; Tim can feel the look between them like a laser beam past his ear. Then Kory licks his ear. Her tongue is hot and wet and it's all he can do not to shake. "So, how should the instruction begin?" she murmurs, her arm long and tight around his waist. Instruction? Right. If Tim were Dick he would say something about it being the best class he's ever had. If Tim wasn't too busy staring at Dick, who smiles and shakes his head, and says, "You're the instructor, Kory. I'm just a teaching aid." Kory's laugh is low and wild as she slides across Tim's back, nestling Tim between them, her hair curling up and over them all. Dick pushes the sheet off, and no, he's not wearing anything under it, and he looks even better naked than his suits suggested. Their arms are intertwined beneath him, and Tim knows if he says anything right now it's going to be something infantile like "wow", so he just keeps his mouth shut. Which was the right decision, because Kory says, "You're so quiet;" she cups Tim's jaw in her long-fingered hand, turning his face towards her, and kisses him. If being quiet gets him kissed like this... Kory's lips are full and soft, but she doesn't kiss softly. Tim's head tilts backwards over someone's arm and she just pushes harder, licking his lips and stroking his mouth with her tongue, and she tastes as spicy as she smells. Beside them, Dick is unusually still, just breathing. When he sighs softly Kory reaches across Tim for his hand, and maybe she does have touch telepathy, because Dick shifts against Tim's side and leans over him, kissing his ear and Kory's forehead. "My turn," he whispers; she pulls off Tim's mouth, and they kiss over him. That's, well, kind of mind-blowing to watch, especially when Kory nips Dick's mouth and Dick shivers and growls and bites her back. Someone drags off Tim's boxers, and there's a hand on his hip and one on his chest, and he's so distracted it takes him a moment to figure out which is whose. They break their kiss to look at him, and Tim can't imagine what his expression is, but when Dick sees it his eyes heat up and his grin goes toothy; Kory slides down beside Tim, draping a long, long leg across both him and Dick. "Hey, Robin," Dick says, as if he wants to say "Tim," and kisses him, harder and slower than before. He chuckles into the kiss when Tim jerks, hard, because Kory bites him. Tim's hand is buried in Kory's hair, rich and soft and curling all around it; his other is flat over Dick's shoulder blade, and when he moves it a little his fingertips brush a line of scar, so he does it again. Kory undulates against Tim's side, hot and smooth, as she bites and licks his shoulder and his neck; she's growling, and he can feel the sound echo in the pit of his stomach. Dick strokes his chest, hand flat and rough over his skin, back and forth across his aching nipples, and there's a moan building in the back of Tim's throat. Fingers trace across his stomach, lower and lower, and when Kory moves Tim can feel her breasts drag over his skin; it's all he can do to keep up with Dick kissing him and not collapse into a lump of throbbing nerve endings. He wants to be present for this, to remember it. He wants--- Kory bites Tim hard over his pulse. He doesn't doubt she could draw blood, and the image should be frightening instead of thrilling. Dick pulls off Tim's mouth to bite his ear, and down along the other side of his neck, and he doesn't bite any more gently than Kory does and Tim wouldn't want him to, even though he's trying and failing to worry about hickeys. His breathing is noisy and ragged and Kory growls in his ear, and he might just come from this without anyone even touching him. Tim's hip prickles as Kory strokes it. Dick raises his head and looks the question at Tim, and when Tim manages a shaky nod he lets go of Kory's wrist; she leans over to bite Tim's lips as much as kiss him as she curls her hand around him. It feels hot, it feels incredible, and Tim can feel his eyes rolling back in his head. He groans way too loudly as she jacks him, as Dick strokes his chest, and Kory licks his bitten lips and pulls off his mouth. Tim can feel them watching him, almost a pressure on his skin. It makes him want to put his hands over his face, and at the same time as much as anything it's what makes him come, so hard he can't even see for a few moments. As soon as he can, he blinks until he can focus on Dick's surprised-looking smile and Kory's chin and shining eyes, because she's smiling at Dick. Dick is smiling at Tim. Tim tries to catch his breath and completely can't. Kory laughs, a growl underneath, and dives across Tim, knocking Dick flat on his back, and--- oh. It's not that Tim hasn't read magazines and textbooks, and there was that video, but it's different when it's for real, when the room smells like sex and he can taste it on the back of his tongue; it's different when it's Dick with his eyes closed and his hands on Kory's hips as his body arches up to her, Kory with her wide bright smile and her breasts bouncing as she rocks herself down onto Dick. Tim doesn't know if he wants to lean on his elbow and watch with every bit of attention he can muster, or slide off the bed and somehow slip out of the room unnoticed. It's still difficult to think. It'll probably always be difficult to think around either of them, after this. Dick's hands slide, one up to Kory's waist, one down her thigh and off to grab Tim's wrist and drag him closer. "C'mere," Dick mumbles, his lashes dark on his cheekbones; when Tim moves Dick grabs the back of his head and kisses him so hard their teeth click. Kory laughs, breathless and wild, and Tim can feel her rhythm through Dick's body, and then he can feel it through her hand on his shoulder. "Let me have him, Dick," she says, her voice a low sweet growl that wouldn't be out of place in a fight. Dick makes a noise that's half moan and half protest, his fingers tightening on Tim's head, but then he lets go, and Tim gasps as Kory tugs him upright. He really could have kept kissing Dick for a few years, but when he turns to look at Kory.... how do round green eyes without pupils look so calculating? Why is it so reassuring that she does? "Come here," she says, tugging and lifting, and arranges Tim in front of her, facing Dick and straddling his waist. He can feel her hot and sleek and a little sweaty all down the length of his back, and if he pushed his head back it would be between her breasts, and that's just... "Here," she says, pulling his hand between them, and, wow, she's wet. "Feel the pulse of our lovemaking," she tells him, and a tendril of her hair curls over Tim's shoulder, and his mind is officially blown. Because she's wet all over his hand, and her spicy-musky smell is so strong he can taste it, and Dick is right there under his hand. Dick is staring at Tim, staring at them both with eyes as wide as Tim's must be. Kory is moving, behind Tim and around Dick, and Dick is thrusting and shaking, and this whole thing is.... "What do you think now," Kory puffs into Tim's hair, one silky breast brushing Tim's cheek, "about seeing your betrothed the night before the wedding?" She's teasing Dick, and he smiles and groans and ripples beneath them and replies, "It's such bad luck;" his eyes are falling shut, eyelids sinking further on each thrust. Dick presses his hand into Kory's waist, and she pushes back, Tim can feel it, he can feel everything. She lets go of his wrist to wrap her arm around him, tweaking his nipple as she slides her hand across his chest; Tim's breath catches, he can feel his mouth fall open, and Dick's sleepy-lidded eyes flare as he watches, groaning a little through clenched teeth. The look on Dick's face.... Tim flounders after thought, shifts his hand slightly, and presses his thumb lightly against the slick hooded bump; Kory's reaction feels like the whole world shaking around them. "Yes, yes," she growls, grabbing Tim's jaw and tilting his head back as she curls down to kiss him, and he can't keep his eyes open. Dick is groaning continuously now, curses and their names and things Tim can't even understand; then he can't hear anything as Kory screams into his mouth, her arm around him squeezing tight, her hand clamping tight on his jaw, and Tim can feel her come, feel her squeezing around Dick, feel it all. Dick is rolling his hips, thrusting hard, rocking them both, and he reaches up and grabs Tim's wrist, dragging him forward. Kory lets Tim go, leaning back on her hands and really driving against Dick, who shoves three of Tim's fingers in his mouth and sucks them, hard and noisy, and gives this little hitching moan as he comes like he's seizing. Tim has to hold onto him, just to feel him shake, just to keep him from shaking apart. When Tim can make himself let go he gets a hand beneath himself, pushing his weight off Dick's chest; Dick's eyes are closed and he's breathing hard, and Kory is purring above them. Tim looks up, and she hardly looks tired. He would be afraid, but he's not really one to talk; he doesn't know how he's hard again, except that he completely does, considering everything he's just seen and heard and felt. Considering Dick's hand, stroking up his arm and shoulder and neck, over tingling bites and up to his face. Tim can feel not-quite-bruises from Kory's fingers, throbbing beneath Dick's fingers. "Mmmm," Dick hums, and smiles, and Tim has to kiss him because he can; Dick kisses him back, slow and warm, and that sweet peppery musk must be how Kory tastes, and it makes perfect sense and stuns him at the same time. Kory leans down to plant an elbow on Dick's other side, her hair and her arm and her leg all draped across Tim, and it appears to be time for cuddling. Not that he wouldn't mind coming again, but let's not be greedy, Drake. Kory kisses Dick's forehead and Tim's; Tim pulls out of the way and tucks his face against Dick's shoulder, a bullet scar beneath his cheek, and does not thrust his hips against Dick's stomach as he listens to him kiss Kory. This was an incredible night, and eventually Tim is going to return to his guest room and actually sleep. Sometime after as he gets out from between Kory and Dick, from being surrounded by all this warm skin, which really doesn't need to happen anytime soon. This "hug" concept may have something to recommend it. Then Dick laughs, and Kory sits up, but Dick holds onto Tim with an arm across his back. "Having fun?" he asks, and Tim can hear the smirk; Dick's other hand is on his ass, and Tim tries to say something appropriate--- what's appropriate in a situation like this? --- and can only whimper. "What do you want me to do about it, Robin?" Oh, God. Tim looks up, and Dick's smiling, his mouth wet and red, his eyes dark. Kory plays with Dick's hair, running her fingers through it, and watches them with an open smile and observant eyes. By the time Tim gets his mouth open he's looking at Dick's face again, at his smile; he stammers, "your mouth," and he didn't mean to say that, but Dick just grins. "All right, then, little brother," Dick says, and the heat in his eyes make Tim shiver. He shivers again when Dick rolls him onto his back, the muscles of Dick's shoulders moving under his hands, and this is really going to happen; Kory is right there, kneeling over Tim, cradling his head as Dick leans down and kisses him, his mouth and his cheek and the hinge of his jaw. "You feel so great, you know that?" Dick murmurs over Tim's collarbone, and Kory reaches up and folds her hands around Tim's, pulling them down with the backs against her thighs, stroking his palms with her thumbs. He's not sure if she's holding his hands or holding them down, and he's not sure it matters; Dick is licking his nipple, and the flexing heat feels far more different from fingers than Tim would have expected. "You feel---" Tim tries to reply, but he doesn't have words for how they feel, both of them with him between them. He doesn't have words and he doesn't have thoughts, and when Dick's tongue wetly flicks his belly button the sensation flares all over Tim's skin till he chokes on a moan. It's too much to process. Dick pushes Tim's leg up as if he were helping him stretch, and wraps his hand around the side of Tim's hip, holding Tim still as he pushes his mouth down and sucks him in, and Tim's brain fragments into a thousand pieces. It's a good thing Kory bends down as he arches up, muffling him in a kiss, because otherwise the whole Tower would have heard that shout. The mental image of the Titans running in, expecting some sort of nighttime attack, helps Tim get a bit of control, and makes him snicker through his nose. Kory must think he's laughing because he's happy--- and that's not inaccurate--- because she laughs as well, kissing him so hard his head dents the mattress and he has no breath left to laugh with, then easing off and biting the tip of his nose playfully and probably not hard enough to bruise. If Tim concentrates he can open his eyes, he can look up at Kory and the way her breasts are swinging, and if he curls a little, he can watch Dick sucking him. It's not that seeing it makes it any more real--- how could it possibly be more real than Dick's mouth, his laughing talking smiling mouth, tight and wet on him?--- but it's another layer, and somehow focusing on Dick's closed eyes and the way he's moving and the wet sounds of it is helping Tim not go up like a firecracker. Apparently he's got too much control, and it's not like Dick needs his entire arm to lean on. When he strokes Tim's balls Tim falls back to the bed, groaning; he strokes lower, and Tim desperately wants to watch, and he just can't, his back insists on arching instead. Kory sucks in her breath above him as Dick pushes gently but firmly with what feels like one damp finger. "Let him in, Robin, let him love you," Kory murmurs, and Tim desperately wishes they could call him Tim, but it's because he's Robin he can have this. Kory squeezes his hands, and Dick does something with his tongue and pushes in and Tim heard that scream reverberate; he can feel the soreness in his throat, can feel Dick fucking him with his finger, rough and amazing and deeper on each stroke. Tim gulps air and consciously thinks about relaxing, as Kory croons something wordless and strokes his wrists. Dick is inside him and around him, and Tim's full and he's burning and… Tim hasn't allowed himself to imagine this, because he's wanted to, but he's dreamt it, hazy and indefinite and never failing to make him wake up sticky. Those dreams are going to be really precise and detailed now, and they might have Kory in them, and Tim is never going to want to wake up from them, from this. Especially not when Dick does something that sends a jolt through him from the inside, then another and another, each more wrenchingly wonderful than the last. Tim's read textbooks and guides, he knows the technicalities of what Dick is doing to him, but all he can do is thrash his head and thrust against Dick's hold on his hip and clutch Kory's hands as he comes, burning up his spine, so hard it feels like his bones are melting. His brain melted awhile ago, and ran out his ears, because it's definitely gone. Tim blinks up at Kory's face blurry over him, her eyes two large green haloed lights; he knows he must look just as stunned and sated as he feels, but when he tries to smile his face is slack and heavy. Dick licks him once more and it hurts, it makes him shudder and gasp with a terribly obvious aftershock, and even so part of Tim doesn't want Dick to stop. It's worth it, though, when Dick shifts up the bed and settles beside him. Kory's smile is going in and out of focus, and Tim aches where his bones used to be; he's completely wiped out, but it makes sense, after tonight, after that. Laughing quietly, Dick strokes sweaty hair off Tim's forehead and kisses it, and Tim gives up holding onto consciousness as Kory winds herself around them both. "I'm glad your family is here," Kory says, soft and a bit wistful; Dick sighs and hugs them both tighter, and Tim can hear them kissing as he falls asleep.   *******   The next morning Tim wakes up in his guest bed, wearing only his boxers. If he thinks a moment he can remember Dick kissing Kory goodnight, rolling them both out of bed, and cupping Tim's cheek before tousling his already disheveled hair. Actually, Tim remembers that part pretty clearly, though he can't quite recall how he got back to his room. He'll figure it out later. Sitting up, Tim finds himself kind of pleasantly sore, a bit like after a long patrol with a lot of kicking involved, but more localized. He rubs the bites on his neck, winces, and smiles. And yet... he's neither as cheerful nor as weirded out as he would have thought he'd be. The shower feels strangely intense, as if Tim's skin is still sensitized all over; as he combs his hair he stares at himself in the mirror, trying to figure out why he doesn't look any different and why he thinks he should. He'll have to button his collar carefully; one of the hickeys on his neck has turned really dark, purple fringed with red. Is it one from Kory or from Dick? That makes Tim remember: Dick, eyes impossibly wide, staring up at Kory, whispering, "It's bad luck..." Tim shakes his head to dislodge the memory. That was last night, and he knows even better these days how different the night can be. Today it's bright and sunny, blue sky outside the window, and Dick and Kory are getting married; Tim is going to stand beside Alfred as part of Dick's family, and the next time he sees them after this he's going to smile. Even so, unease prickles the back of his neck as he picks up the ordinary suit, and he lays it back down in favor of the one tailored to conceal the Robin costume. It seems ridiculous to wear his uniform to a wedding, to Dick's wedding, but... The knock at the door is probably Alfred. "Master Tim, are you up?" "And nearly dressed, Alfred. I'll be right out." Tim rolls his mask and tucks it into one pocket, tucks the lightweight cape into another, and takes a breath; as he does his tie he adjusts the smile on his face till it's convincing, then turns towards the door. Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!