Damian's pov:
I have my arms folded across my chest. I stare at the steel door. She's been in there for a while.
I watch in anticipation as the door opens. Cora leans against it with a hesitant look on her face. I notice the way she doesn't look at any of us in the eyes.
"You can come back in now." She says quietly. My heart pulls and I get the overwhelming urge to just pick her up and take her away.
We follow her into the cell room. I see Quinn sitting politely on her cell bench, just like earlier. She seems almost like a different person from the woman who was causing havoc just a few hours ago.
"Gentlemen. Thank you for joining us." She speaks, her Boston accent is muted but can be heard.
"Is there something wrong?" Father asks. I search Cora's body language for any clue of what's going on. She's just as reserved as earlier, but definitely tenser. She's standing in between us and Quinn.
"No. I have come up with a makeshift treatment plan. But it's only the first session so I can't be certain of anything yet. Trial and error will happen." She says professionally.
"We all want what's best for Cora. What's the treatment plan?" Father asks. Cora starts fidgeting with her fingers. I notice some paint at the base of her neck from earlier. I thought she would have washed it off by now.
"I've recommended group therapy. You and your family would participate. I'm well aware that most of your kids have had similar experiences, so it should be beneficial for all involved." She says as she looks over the paper she has on the clipboard.
"You may have a point. But none of us are liscenced psychiatrists." Father opposes. Group therapy with them?
We're all cynics! Except for Grayson and Cora. Not to mention we have so much trauma and so many issues individually, I think pooling them together may cause a black hole.
"I'm not suggesting you all try to go about it like professionals. Talking to people we trust and people with similar experiences can be healing on it's own." Quinn says with a knowing look.
"You called us all the way here to suggest that Cora talks to us? We may not say everything but we already do that." Drake says. I don't know enough about therapy to agree or disagree, but he makes a point.
"So ya weren't shocked when she told me about her knee injury?" Harley asks with a smirk. Her accent slips through solidly. I see Cora tense up more.
"I am right here guys." She says quietly. She has her arms crossed as she grips her arms. Her eyes are aimed downward.
"Beloved, what do you think?" I ask, speaking up for the first time. She glances up at me and then back down.
"I think it might help. I know it could end really badly, like with Jason's matching scar, but it's worth a try. I mean unless you guys don't want to of course. Talking about our feelings doesn't seem like something anyone wants to do and-" she rambles.
"Cora." I cut her off gently. She looks up at me. "We want to help you. If you think it might help then that's enough." I assure. She nods quietly.
"One thing, before you go." Harley says. "You're name is Damian, correct?" She asks.
"Yes." I state. Where is this going?
"Great. If I eva find out that you hurt her, I'll bust out of this cell just to hunt ya down. Mmkay?" Harley threatens, leaning forward. Why does everyone think I'm going to hurt her?
"If that's what you're waiting for, you'll be waiting for a long, long time." I state, narrowing my eyes. She grins.
"And Cora, sweetie, if ya eva need to chat you know where to find me." Quinn says, turning her attention to Cora.
"Okay. Oh, by the way, um, can I ask you a question about Ivy?" Cora asks. I raise an eyebrow. Where did that come from?
"Go for it kiddo." Harley smiles.
"Does she always control when plants grow? Or does it just happen sometimes?" Cora asks. I blink. Out of all the questions she could have asked, I was not expecting that one.
"Sometimes they just grow when she's pissed. I woke up to a field of roses outside my door one time." Harley says casually.
"Cool." Cora replies. As concerning as her apparent interest in villains is, I'm happy to see her more relaxed.
We leave shortly after that. It's around 1 am and even I feel tired. It's been a stressful night.
Cora yawns beside me in the car. She's probably exhausted. She leans her head on my shoulder. It doesn't take long before she's asleep.
"So are we calling in Jason and Dick for the group therapy?" Drake asks quietly.
"I'll call them in the morning. Whether they show up is up to them." Father replies. Oh goody. And me and Cora have school tomorrow. Fun.
We make it home quickly. I carry Cora up to her bed before collapsing into mine. I just want to sleep.
I don't dream tonight. Not that I can remember, anyway. It seems like I blinked for a long time and then woke up to my alarm.
I peel my eyes open and drag myself out of bed. The sun shines annoyingly bright. I get dressed, my mood as gloomy as I wish the weather was. I leave my room to go see Cora.
I knock on her door and she opens it with a bright smile. It feels like a weight off my shoulders. I see her tie undone and I smirk. I should probably teach her how to tie that someday. Today is not that day.
"Good morning, Dami." She greets.
"Good morning, Dear." I say, starting to tie her tie. I glance up at her to see her face is flushed red.
"Did you just call me 'Dear'?" She asks, her voice sounds small.
"Yes, I did." I say, realizing it just a little too late.
"Oh." She pauses. "I like it." She looks down at my hands tying her tie.
"I'll use it more often then. Are you ready?" I ask, feeling a little flustered myself. She nods, grabbing her backpack from behind the door.
We walk in a semi-comfortable silence. The awkwardness disapating once she speaks.
"So, we didn't have english homework, right? I feel like I'm forgetting something." She says.
"We don't have any homework. Maybe you're forgetting something else?" I question. She scrunches up her face in thought.
"It had something to do with you but I just can't- oh I got it!" She says, her face brightening. I raise a brow at her.
"What is it?" I ask curiously. Her face freezes and falls just a bit.
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something." She says nervously. That was a very quick change in demeanor.
"Alright," I say as we get into the limo. She fiddles with her fingers, much like she did last night.
"I asked Jason if he would train me." She states.
"Why Todd?" I ask. She lives in a house with 3 other martial arts masters and she chooses the one who lives across town? There's something bigger here.
"Well, he's a skilled marksman, right?" She says. Does she mean, that she wants to learn to shoot? Guns?
"Why would you want to learn marksmanship?" I question. We have a literal wall of weapons and she wants to learn to use a gun?
"I, um, I want to be able to use a weapon. I wouldn't mind learning to use a staff too, but I thought it would be a good idea." She explains quietly, looking at her lap.
"Beloved, if you want to use a weapon there's plenty other options." I say, thinking of my katanas.
"I thought you might say that. It's not that I don't want to learn how to use other weapons, but I don't think I could use something like, maybe a knife, if I needed to." She says, her voice sounding small and tight.
"Alright, so maybe a staff, or a sword, or a bow." I suggest. She fiddles more.
"I'd like to use a staff, but I couldn't use a sword or a bow." She says. I feel myself get a little bit antsy at this point.
"Why not?" I say firmly. She tenses up and I immediately regret my tone.
"They're sharp, Damian. They cut." She emphasizes with a tone to mirror mine.
Suddenly it makes perfect sense. She wouldn't be able to use them without extreme amounts of empathy or even trigger. Guilt eats at my heart. I should have just accepted what she wanted to do. It's her choice anyways, she was just letting me know.
"I'm sorry." I say, my throat tightening. She sighs but the tension leaves her.
"It's alright. I should've just got to the point." She says tiredly. My eyes narrow.
"No, I should have just accepted your choice. It's not my decision." I say firmly. She looks up at me.
"It's not but I know how you and Mr. Wayne are with guns. I had to tell you and I should have just made my reasoning clear." She says, her voice strong.
"You didn't have to. You don't answer to me, you can make your own decisions." I rebuke. She shakes her head.
"It's only right. I mean we're dating, I should tell you stuff like this. Especially if I know you won't like it." She explains.
"Whether I like it or not doesn't depict if you do it or not. My opinion doesn't affect your choices." I state, crossing my arms. She crosses hers.
"But I care about your opinion. I could still do it no matter what, but then I know you wouldn't be happy, and then I wouldn't be happy." She says loudly.
"All I want is for you to be happy. If learning to fire a gun does that then I should be happy." I fire back.
"Children." Pennyworth calls from the drivers seat. We pause.
"Sorry, Alfred." Cora says. I just keep my mouth shut.
"As far as I can tell, there's no reason to be fighting. You had a civil conversation and then found something to blame yourselves for when neither of you were in the wrong. Disagreements happen. Resolve them and have a good day at school." He lectures.
"Wait what?" I say, looking out the window. Sure enough, we're outside of the academy.
"Um, alright. Thanks for the advice Alfred." Cora says, unbuckling her seatbelt.
She opens her door and walks around. I'm a little stunned, but I do the same. She waits for me and we walk in a heavy silence all the way to English.
We take our seats silently. After a long moment I see her pull out her phone. She starts typing and I pull out mine. A message notification blinks onto my screen.
Cora
Hey Damian?
Damian
Yes?
Are we okay?
I frown. I greatly dislike the fact that we had an argument, but I despise the fact that she's now concerned for our relationship.
Of course.
Nothing could change that.
Certainly not a disagreement.
I hear her let out a breath quietly. She looks up and sends me a smile. I smile back. I feel better now.
I love you💛
I love you too🖤
I breathe my own sigh of relief. How does Grayson do this? I hear about his spats all the time but that 15 minutes of silence felt crushing.
As the bell rings I find myself making a silent promise. I won't argue with Cora like that again. Like Pennyworth said, disagreements happen. But arguing because of them feels horrible and I refuse.
The class continues as normal. Lesson, work period, free time if we finish early. I usually doodle or text Cora during that time of day. Today I doodle because I need to think and she's still working.
She wants to use guns. I understand her reasoning, but that doesn't mean I enjoy the thought of Cora using something inherently lethal. I use Katanas because they're what I'm the most comfortable with, but I am well aware of how lethal I can make them.
She said she also wants to learn to use a staff, which doesn't concern me nearly as much. I can always teach her that instead of how to use knives or katanas.
My opinions shouldn't affect her choices. So instead I will simply pray that Todd isn't a bad influence on her and she won't gain a taste for headshots. I trust that she won't kill anyone on purpose, but accidents happen. Perhaps a different shape of target?
The bell rings, snapping me from my thoughts. I collect my things and stride to Cora's desk where she's doing the same. She looks up at me with a shy smile.
I offer her my hand silently. She takes it. I hold onto her tightly and she does the same. We don't say anything, but I feel the comfort in the silence anyway.
Math passes in the same manor. I finish my work just as quickly as it's given. Occasionally I'll watch Cora doing the same. I'm thankful that she's intelligent.
I am aware that many people who struggle with their grades can gain resentment to those with higher grades. I don't see that being a problem with her. Not only is she intelligent, she's a graceful loser.
I once accidentally split her lip during a sparring match. I panicked and she just smiled at me, saying something about kissing it better. She ended up still giving me the tally as I got her ice.
After this class ends we walk down the hallway hand in hand again. Our hands are intertwined in a vice-like grip. I don't mind one bit.
"Inside or outside today?" I ask. It's the first I've spoken since our argument.
"Let's sit inside today, we haven't done that in a while." She decides.
We make our way into the noisy room. I hear the volume lower as we do. I lead us to our usual table. She sits beside me instead of in front of me.
"So, you are okay with what I said earlier, right?" She asks quietly. I almost didn't hear her over the remaining chatter.
"I'd rather you didn't follow in his exact footsteps, but if you want to learn then I will support you." I say. She brightens and then pauses.
"Wait, by 'exact footsteps' do you mean, like, unaliving people?" She asks, whispering close to me. I smirk at her word for it.
"Yes. I trust you to not do it on purpose, but I am well aware of how easy it can be." I say meaningfully. She nods sharply.
"I'd rather not have to use it on anyone, so it's mostly just in case." She explains.
"Mostly?" I question, concern crowding my head. She shrugs.
"It could become a hobby too. Like sparring." She says casually. I shake my head to get rid of my lingering thoughts. I keep forgetting she's actually an innocent and dislikes causing harm. She fights too well for that to fully sink in.
"Hey Cora! Damian!" I hear from beside us.
A head of bright blue hair walks towards us with Kaidan in tow. Mikelson, I think.
"Hey guys! Do you two wanna sit?" Cora offers. I was right.
"Sure, if you don't mind." She says, looking almost directly at me. I nod slightly and she sits down. I don't mind the fact that I intimidate her.
"So how are you two love birds?" Kaidan asks. I roll my eyes. People need to stop calling us that.
"I'm good. Dami?" Cora asks
"I'm alright." I inform. He nods enthusiastically.
"Sweet. I was a little worried with the rumors floating around." He says, digging into his lunch. I narrow my eyes.
"Rumors?" Cora questions. I see Mikelson give her a look. Kaidan freezes.
"Well, someone said that you had some big fight earlier. But I mean, we didn't believe them because you guys are just so, perfect." Mikelson says flippantly.
Cora's face goes red and she slowly looks at me. I place my hand over hers and she seems to relax only a little bit. She turns back to Mikelson.
"We, um, we did have a small disagreement, but nothing like a fight. I didn't even think people would be able to hear us." Cora says timidly. Kaidan looks at me with both pity and fear. It's an odd look.
"Oh. Well, every couple dissagrees every now and then. Like she said, they're rumors and they're not too convincing anyways. Don't worry about it." He says, trying to ease his own awkwardness.
"I wasn't worried. Our business is our business. Hyperboles and speculation don't change anything." I say confidently. He huffs out a small laugh.
"Sure it doesn't. Not like this school is full of vultures waiting to get with either of you at any chance." He says sarcastically. I narrow my eyes at him but he doesn't flinch. Mikelson does.
"Wait, either of us? I get Dami, but I'm only in the spotlight because of him." Cora says in confusion. I actually pause, turning my head slowly to look at her. It seems the other two have expressions similar to mine.
"What?" She says, wiping at her face.
"Ignoring the fact that you called him 'Dami', you are aware that you're a catch right?" Kaidan asks.
"As much as I agree, be very careful with your next words." I say with narrowed eyes. He puts his hands up in surrender.
"I'm not fishing bro." He says easily. I may be aware of his blatant crush on Mikelson, but I don't take chances.
"Anyways, yes. You're attractive, and sweet and funny. As a human being with eyes, I can say anyone would be lucky to have you." Mikelson says in serious tone.
"I mean, I guess? I wouldn't say lucky because I am a person with like, a lot of flaws. But obviously I'm datable." She says, picking at her food.
No. That's not going to stand. She can't say that and get away with it. How dare she be so casual when saying such lies?! I tilt her face towards me and she blushes just a little bit.
"Cora Sanchez you are the most intelligent, caring, gorgeous, courageous and genuinely interesting person I've ever met. I am the luckiest boy in existence simply for having known you." I state firmly, looking directly into her honey eyes.
Her face goes bright red and she just stares back for the longest moment. She blinks rapidly and I think she might start crying until I see her lips spread into a grin.
"Damian Wayne, you have got stop flirting with me like this. Because if you don't I will tell everyone what a softy you are. You're talented, and witty. You are kind and sweet. But the only lucky thing about you is your knack for getting out of trouble. It's not luck that you're with me. I'm with you because I want to be." She fires back with absolute adoration in her eyes.
My face breaks into a smile and my cheeks feel warm. I give her a small kiss and she kisses back just as quick. We grin at each other, mine actually coming close to hers.
"Now that we're on the same page, did you already finish the geometry homework?" She asks after a long moment. I chuckle loudly.
I love this girl. So, so much.