This story takes place at approximately the same time as "Repercussions" and is the sixth installment of my "Emerald Wings" series.
Special thanks to 'Rith and to MEL for their help and unflinching support.
"...And Reactions"
By Casey
How long he had sat there, watching the waves lap up onto the shore of Titans Island, he couldn't say. He lost track of time after the first two hours had gone by. Finally, as the sun rose over the Manhattan skyline, Dick Grayson decided it was time. Brushing the loose dirt and sand from the back of his jeans, he stood and walked towards the entrance of the "T" shaped building.
{Let's get this over with...} he thought.
As he walked, he breathed deeply the early morning air and wondered who would greet him. Toni, Roy and Donna were all staying at the Tower, but deep down he wished that Garth would be the first to hear about it. He wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe out of some perverse fit of jealousy over Tempest's marriage to Dolphin? Seeing the look on his friend's face when he realized what he could have had would certainly give him at least some small bit of satisfaction, wouldn't it?
{Come off it, Grayson...}, he smirked. {What possible chance could you and Garth have had? I mean, the guy's cute as Hell but he lives in the middle of the ocean!}
Reaching the doorway, he pulled a Titans ID card from his wallet and held it up to the red light blinking ominously overhead. When the light turned green, Dick held his hand up against a metal plate next to the doorframe. He felt the warmth of the scanner glide across his hand and then heard a tiny "pling!" before the door slid open. He took a deep breath and entered.
As he made his way down into the lower depths of the Titans' Headquarters, Dick thought about what had caused him to make this impromptu visit. Only a few hours ago he had been lying next to his sometime lover Kyle Rayner, Green Lantern, in Dick's Bludhaven apartment. Then, a mental summons from J'onn J'onzz soon had Kyle racing away from their bed to the JLA Watchtower, leaving Dick alone and curious about the reason behind it.
{Not to mention horny...}
"Dick?"
The sudden sound behind him caused him to turn, hands already clenched into fists. Seeing the beautiful face of Donna Troy however, all bundled up in bunny slippers and a light blue terrycloth robe, made him unclench his fists immediately.
"Donna! You're up!" he smiled, secretly hating himself for being disappointed that it wasn't Garth.
"Uh-huh" she replied, stifling a yawn as she placed a kiss on his cheek. "Everything alright? It's not like you to be at the Tower so early, especially in street clothes."
Following her into the kitchen area, Dick glanced down at his attire self-consciously and rubbed the back of his neck as Donna began preparing a pot of coffee.
"Yeah, everything's fine. I just...needed to talk, I guess...."
Immediately, Donna stopped what she was doing and looked up worriedly at him. She had known Dick Grayson for years, and for him to admit that he needed to talk was something that didn't happen very often. She instinctively kicked into "mother-mode".
"I knew something was up! What is it? Is Batman riding you again? Or Roy? Bludhaven PD getting to you? Did something happen with Tim??"
Dick smiled and threw up his hands. "Whoa! Whoa! Slow down, Wonder Chick!"
The use of Roy's annoying pet name for her made Donna stop and stare menacingly at her friend, hands firmly on her hips. "That was so uncalled for, Boy Wonder."
"Ouch. Touché...." he winced.
She continued to stare daggers at him as she handed him a cup.
"I'm sorry, okay?", he offered with a smile. A mocking "Hmph!" and toss of her head was her only reply. "Seriously, it's nothing like that", he continued undaunted. "I just needed to bounce some things off you guys, that's all."
As Dick rummaged through the cabinets looking for the sugar, Donna began to notice her friend's unusual body language. His thoughts seemed to be in another world, unsure of himself as he moved about, barely making eye contact with her. This was not the confident, assertive Dick Grayson she was used to seeing. Despite his attempts to put her at ease, something had definitely happened, something that had affected him deeply and she was worried about him. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind, she hugged him tightly.
"Dick, what is it?"
Gently, he eased her arms from around his neck and turned to face her. Eyes lowered, he sighed heavily and held her hands. Absently, he ran his thumb over the ring finger where her wedding ring used to be. They had been through much, these two, and he damned himself for hurting her like this. Still, he cared for her too much to be anything but honest with her.
"Donna, are you...." Damn, this was hard. "Are you interested in anyone?"
For a moment she was taken aback, surprised that the subject of her love life could cause such anguish in him. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Dick, I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at..."
"Well," he continued, releasing her hands and jumping up to sit on the counter. "I know that you and Roy have pretty much cooled off and the two of you are just friends now..."
"Mm-Hmm", she answered, still puzzled as she poured them each a cup of coffee.
"Where is Roy, anyway?" he asked suddenly.
"What? Oh, he and Toni took Lian to visit Grant for the weekend. It's just you and me." She put down her mug, smiled knowingly and folded her arms across her chest. "Now don't change the subject."
He grinned at her easy acknowledgement and dismissal of his tactic.
"Okay, okay...What about Kyle?" he asked, somewhat sheepishly.
There. He had said his name. Finally, it was about to be over.
"Kyle?? Dick, Kyle and I have been over for a long time now. We still talk once in a while, but we're friends, that's all."
{ThankGodThankGodThankGod} he thought.
"Besides, last I heard, he was seeing Jade. Why?"
"Well, I kind of thought that, but I wanted to make sure..."
"Dick, I'm confused. Why the big concern over my relationship with Kyle? I mean, I know you guys have become friends since you started training with him, but......."
Dick could see the realization suddenly dawning on her as her mouth hung open and her beautiful blue eyes went wide. He wasn't surprised. Donna knew him better than most people, and she was far from a stupid woman. It rarely took much for her to guess what was on his mind, and this was no exception.
"They're getting married, aren't they?"
"They are?!?" he exclaimed, jumping down from the counter. "I mean, no! No they're not!"
"Dick, it's okay! I'm happy for them!" she beamed. "Kyle's a sweet guy, he deserves to be happy!"
"No, Donna, you don't understand..."
"Does the JLA know? I've got to call Diana!"
Frantically, he followed her into the living area, cursing her Amazonian speed all the way, until she finally stopped and turned, throwing her arms around him.
"You know, you are so sweet for worrying about me like this, but, really, I'm okay with it."
"Donna, please, let me finish...!" he begged as she hurried towards the phone.
"I mean, the only thing that could make me happier would be if you had said that you and Kyle were together!"
"That's what I've been trying to tell.....What did you say?"
The dumbfounded look on his face made her laugh as she put down the receiver and smirked at him. "Gotcha."
"You...You knew???"
"Well, not right away, she answered, throwing her arms around his neck, "but I saw the signs. I've just been waiting for one of you to get around to telling me. You know, with the exception of Roy, you two are the most frustrating guys I know!"
Dick smiled ruefully as she led him to sit on the sofa. "I meant to tell you, but..."
She smiled warmly at him as she curled her feet under her. "It's okay, sweetie. I forgive you."
"I guess I was just afraid of what you would think. I didn't want to hurt you..."
"Hurt me? How? I'm glad you finally found someone! I don't care who it is, as long as he or she makes you happy!"
"Well, I didn't want to disappoint you. I mean, I've never had a relationship with a guy before..."
For a moment, her thoughts flashed to Joey and the gossip that inevitably followed Dick's closeness with him. Then, to Garth, and the stolen glances she thought she had caught at various times throughout the years. She decided not to mention either of them.
"And after Wally found out..." he continued.
"Wally? Wally knows?" she asked, a pained expression on her face.
Dick glowered. "Yeah. It wasn't pretty."
He proceeded to tell her, as tactfully as he could, of their teammate's finding him and Kyle in Dick's bed together and the subsequent battle that ensued. She listened thoughtfully, wincing at certain parts and openly angry at others. Finally, when he was finished, she reached over and took his hand in hers. When she spoke, her voice was heavy with sympathy.
"Dick, I'm sorry you and Kyle had to go through that. You know how Wally is; typical straight arrow mindset...Um, no pun intended," she smiled. "But he's your best friend. He'll come around once he sees how much you guys care about each other."
"Well, when he does, I hope he clues me in..."
"What do you mean?" she asked. "I'm confused. You mean you don't love him?"
Dick took a deep breath and stood, walking to the window. He stared at the sparkling water below as he replied. "I-I don't know."
His eyes narrowed at the bright morning sunlight as she joined him at the window, resting her head on his broad shoulder. "Yes you do."
He turned his head towards her, inhaling the sweet raspberry perfume of her hair as it tickled his nose. "I do?" he asked incredulously.
"Mm-Hmm. You're just scared. You're scared, and you're trying to deny your feelings, just like you always do. That's one of your few faults, Dick; you tend to put off your own happiness too much. It's actually pretty annoying, sometimes." He felt a light pat on his shoulder and smiled at the joke.
"You've really gotta stop hanging out with Roy..." he laughingly admonished.
"What attracts you to Kyle? Besides his cute bubblebutt, I mean..."
His face reddened. "Donna!"
"Oh, c'mon! Like you haven't noticed??" she asked, eyebrow raised as she resumed her position on the sofa.
"Wellll...Yeah...I guess...Y'know, I really don't want to talk about this with you!" he laughed nervously.
"So tell me and I'll leave you alone! What attracts you to Kyle?" she insisted.
"I dunno....His sense of humor, I guess. His playfulness, his openness. But it's funny; underneath all that is a real sense of loyalty and duty, y'know? When I first met him, I thought he was a real obnoxious jerk, but now that I know him better..."
"...You see the other sides of him", she finished. "I know. Kyle's a bit goofy and childish sometimes, but he's a lot deeper and more reliable than anyone would guess. He could never make it in the League if he wasn't."
"Yeah, exactly. Although I have to admit that his childishness is kind of...cute...sometimes, too." He blushed again.
"And there's certainly nothing childish about his body!" she grinned broadly.
"Donna!!"
"Sorry, couldn't resist. Dick, you've always been attracted to exotic, adventurous people. I'm sure that Kyle's adventures and his more emotional personality are attractive to you, too. But, you know this isn't going to be easy and before you go any further with this relationship, you have to make a decision. If you don't, it'll wind up tearing you apart. Do...you...love...him?"
She stared intently at him, her blue eyes locked on his own. Try as he might, he couldn't avoid her gaze. "Well?", she asked, leaning closer, her soft voice encouraging.
"...Yeah. Yeah, Donna, I do."
"Thank Hera! Finally!"
A broad smile appeared on her face and she threw her arms around him once again, the force of her body knocking them both off the sofa and onto the floor. They both laughed hysterically at that, unable to catch their breath. As he laughed, Dick felt a sense of relief. Finally, he had said it aloud. The emotions that he had been denying himself to feel all this time were finally released. And, best of all, he didn't feel quite so alone anymore. He suddenly realized that he couldn't wait to see Kyle again.
Long seconds passed before they were able to stop laughing and sit up. When they finally did, Dick leaned back on his palms and smiled at the woman beside him.
"Thanks, Donna" he said simply.
"Anytime" she answered. "But don't get too happy just yet..."
"What do you mean?"
"You've still got to deal with Roy!" she laughed.
"Oh, God." He slumped back onto the floor, covering his eyes with his forearm. "I am so doomed..."
To be continued...