This is so stupidly fluffy don't expect this from me again, I think it took a year off my life

Quiet moments were near impossible when you were heroes. It seemed like every five minutes the world was ending or your own private world was falling apart and buckling under the pressure. Dating civilians led to more heartbreak than not, even being friends with civilians was just as hard when you were showing up with unknown bruises and limps. The relationships you built internally with teammates and other heroes were really the only ones that would go deeper without the guilt of putting someone through knowing you. Of course, there were issues with dating heroes. If you broke up, you risked tearing apart a team if you couldn't keep it professional and even together if you got too attached then you'd make a decision that cost lives just to make sure your partner was alive. You had to watch your lover run head-first into battle and you couldn't pull them back or tell them to stop because you were right behind them doing the exact same thing. All of that made it seem useless. Like there was no point in building relationships if they were doomed to fall apart either by death or things simply not working out. 

Yet moments like this made it all worth it to Kori. 

They'd decided to give the team the morning off so they were afforded a lie-in for the first time in a blue moon. It was Dick's idea oddly enough although it hadn't been for his own benefit despite the bandages that were wrapped around his torso. The team had been on an emotionally heavy mission, his own injury not helping with the mood, so he decided that they should have some mental health time. Whether they took it or not could be up to them but he was setting the example by actually following his own rule. 

Kori had been rather proud of him although she couldn't believe her eyes when she woke up and saw him still there sound asleep. She watched his face carefully, drinking in how the small amount of light from the window draped across his features. As alluring as it was to fall back asleep, she didn't want to miss this quiet moment when he was actually resting and she could get a good look at him without him pulling back to hide behind a joke. She shifted carefully so she could see him better and went about taking in the small details of his face. 

There was a faint scar over the bridge of his nose that he'd had since he was little. It wasn't even from the vigilante business but rather a rogue trapeze bar swinging back and hitting him in the face. He said as painful as it was, the memory was good in hindsight. He'd always be reminded of the time his family circled around him and helped as best they could. 

There was a deeper scar that ran from the right side of his chin up to the middle of his cheek, interrupting his full lips and lifting them apart slightly. He'd got that one when they were teenagers after a close call with Slade's blade or perhaps it was a warning from the villain for what he was capable of doing. Maybe it was just so he'd have a permanent reminder of the apprenticeship. Kori shivered at the memory and quickly went back to studying the acrobat.

The skin beneath his eyes was dark from countless sleepless nights although she couldn't remember a time when he was without them. She doubted anyone other than Batman and Alfred had seen him without those dark circles. Sleep wasn't something he was particularly good at which she never thought was possible. Who can be bad at sleeping? Dick Grayson apparently. With a history of sleepwalking, night terrors and insomnia it was a miracle he was still asleep now without issue. She glanced over his shoulder to look at his nightstand and smiled softly when she saw his sleep medication was there. He very rarely took it for fear of being needed in the middle of the night but it explained how he was sleeping and she couldn't help but feel rather proud of him for looking after himself.

His hair was getting longer. Curlier too as he stopped straightening it and let it recover from the years of damage he'd done to it trying to make it match others. She preferred it long and curly even if having a head of rugged flowing locks wasn't exactly work-friendly. She could always braid it for him. Kori wondered if he knew that she liked it long so he kept it that way, similar to how he noticed what smells she liked and wore them more often than not. It wouldn't be all that surprising. Maybe it was only kept long because he'd been so busy lately. It seemed every minute of his time was caught up with his family, his team or his solo career. She wondered how much he missed Bludhaven. How much did he lose when his apartment was destroyed? She'd noticed now that he kept things dear to him in the nearly indestructible panic room so she supposed he lost quite a few important things that you couldn't simply buy back. 

Cautiously, Kori reached out and tucked some hair behind his ear. He didn't stir at the feeling so she guessed that the medication he was on had really knocked him out in conjunction with the regular medicine he was taking for the pain. She wondered if she should wake him up so he could take the various amount of pills he needed every day but decided against it because he needed as much sleep as he could get. If she was wrong to do that, she'd take the blame for it later and the consequences that came with it. 

Her eyes drifted down his face onto his neck where she frowned at the scars there. They were puffed up a little and she noticed that they caused him discomfort when it got cold. Enough people had tried slitting his throat, strangling him or garroting him that the skin there was marred with each attempt. He'd joked that it was so scarred that it would be considered cosmetic surgery if anyone managed to get through them. She didn't find it funny. Kori tested her luck and brought her hand from his hair down to his neck, delicately rubbing her thumb over the bumpy skin. He sighed in his sleep, making a little noise that was adorable whilst his eyes remained closed. Sort of like when a cat knows it's being pet but is much too sleepy to wake up yet enjoys the touch anyway. She moved slightly so her hand rested on his shoulder. It was then that she belatedly noticed the shirt he was wearing wasn't his own but rather one of hers. It hung a little loose on him and it was fairly old so the design was faded. Kori couldn't help the smile. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead softly, drawing out a confused hum from Dick. 

"Kori?" he asked, his words slurred with sleep.

"Go back to sleep," she replied quietly. He said something under his breath before shuffling over and wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her close. He pressed kisses against her skin lazily before hiding his face in the crook of her neck. 

"You're warm," he mused, sounding quite content. "Cuz fire?"

"Perhaps. Either that or you're cold," she replied. 

"Mhm maybe." She circled his waist with one arm and kept her other arm free so she could play with his hair, barely hiding her grin when he let out a content sigh and leaned into her hand. "How long you been awake for?"

"Not long." Kori didn't actually know how long she'd been studying her boyfriend. "Are you going back to sleep?" There was a long pause where she thought he'd fallen asleep again but he let out a quiet sigh.

"No. Just... I like being close to you." He pulled back a bit so he could look up at her, his blue eyes still a little distant from sleep. "Have I told you how pretty you are lately?"

"Every chance you get. Have I told you how pretty you are?"

"More than enough." A mischievous look overtook his features and he bit down a smile as he quickly hooked a finger underneath her bonnet hem, pulling it out a bit to stretch the elastic before letting it ping against her forehead.

"Hey!" she griped, poking the fatty part of his hip. He slapped her hand away playfully and tried to do the same to her. "Don't you dare, Richard Grayson." He just grinned and continued to poke her, eliciting her to do the same to him. 

The pair of them giggled as they fought playfully as though they were teenagers again, twisting and turning until Kori eventually straddled his lap and had his wrists pressed down against the pillows with enough force to keep them there but not enough that he couldn't shake her off he wanted to. He didn't want to though. They stared at each other in silence before bursting into giggles at the sudden intensity of their eye contact.

"We were having such a peaceful moment."

"It got too sappy," he replied. She rolled her eyes, leaning down to steal a kiss. He leaned into it but pulled back to hiss in pain. 

"Dick?"

"Think I might've stressed the stitches. Nothing bad though," he reassured her quickly. Narrowing her eyes, Kori pushed up his (well her) shirt to look at the bandages. The blood that stained them was dark and it was dry so she guessed he was right about it being nothing more than stressing them. "Told you."

"Forgive me for not believing you," she replied sassily. "We should change these soon." He shrugged, turning so he could kiss her arm. "You're awfully clingy this morning."

"Touch-starved man wants to be touched? Shocker."

"I spoil you rotten with touch, you know that."

"But I haven't woken up with you in a long time and I went home for the weekend," he defended as though he had to convince her. She released his wrists and moved her hands to hold onto his shoulders, squeezed her thighs, and then pulled them both over so Dick draped over her. Then she locked her arms around him and peppered his face with kisses. "Spoil me rotten huh? You make it sound like you don't love it."

"I never said that."

"Maybe I spoil you by letting you touch me all the time." She lightly bit his shoulder to get back at him. "Hey, none of that. I've got forced celibacy until these stitches come out."

"I think there are a few steps between that and this." He glanced away, his body tense. "You can just say you don't want to. You're always allowed to say no." He looked back at her and nodded with a smile. "I apologise for pushing."

"You were teasing, it's okay. I just wanted to keep it like this. It's not a sex day, you know?"

"I understand."

"I'm so glad you do."

They remained quiet for a while, enjoying just being near one another. Kori let her hand trace over the scars on his arms and the ones that peaked out from beneath the collar of his (her) shirt. 

"Do you think this one will scar?" she asked, referring to his recent injury.

"Probably."

"You're running out of room for them." There was a silent plea for him to stop getting them beneath the observation even if both of them were aware that wasn't really something he was capable of doing. 

"Do you wish you could get them?" he asked.

"Scars?"

"Yeah. You've got basically indestructible skin and even then, it doesn't scar as often as mine does. Do you wish it did?"

"Sometimes. I think they tell stories without saying a word. You look like a hardened soldier. Yet they sometimes give the wrong impression. You're really a big softie."

"I am not! I'm a hardened soldier of justice mind you. My name holds weight on the street."

"So does your ass."

"I do enough squats for it," he joked before turning pensive. "Do you... actually no, I'm not asking that."

"What? I want to know."

"No, you don't. It'll ruin the mood." She moved to cup his face with her hands and tilted his head up slightly so they could hold eye contact, then put out her bottom lip in a pout. "That's evil." She whipped out the puppy dog eyes too so his fate was sealed. "Ughh," he groaned in defeat. "It's just- how do I phrase it?" He thought carefully before settling on a word. "Do you think you'll still love me as much as you do now the older I get?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know that we've got different biologies, that you guys don't get as old as fast as humans. Do you think you'll still love me as much as you do now when I get older? When I'm all wrinkly with grey hair and a hearing aid probably from standing next to so many explosions?" It warmed her heart to think he'd been wondering about that far in the future although it also broke her heart to think he'd assumed she'd slowly fall out of love with him.

"I'll love you until the day I die."

"I think I'll love you even after that. With my family history, I'm assuming I'm coming back again."

"I hope you don't have to leave in the first place," she stated, unable to stop the small waver in her voice. Dick wasn't weak, she'd never think of such a thing. He was strong and far too brave for his own good. Yet he was so horribly and humanly vulnerable. He couldn't take the hits that she could and bounce back up again and it was difficult heading out to every mission knowing that something she could survive without issue could be the very thing that ripped them apart. 

"I've lived this long, haven't I? I feel like I've hit the age where it's less likely for you to die."

"I hope so," she replied before sealing her wish with a kiss on the lips. She then moved to kiss every bit of him she had access to and relished the giggles she received as well as the blush that coloured his face. 

As lovely as the moment was, they weren't surprised at all by the loud banging at the door interrupting them. They broke apart, sensing that they weren't going to be able to wave off whatever was important enough to interrupt them.

"Are ya decent?" Garfield yelled through the door. 

"No!" Dick shouted back. The alien turned to him confused before he gestured to her bare chest. She looked to the floor and plucked up a random tank top she'd discarded at some point prior, looking at him for approval and receiving a thumbs up. "Okay, now we are!" The door slammed open and their teammates flooded the room carrying various supplies. "What's this?"

"You're on bed rest, it's a mental health day and your bedroom is the biggest. We're having a self-care day. Apparently," Damian explained, although there was a slight annoyed edge to his voice. He climbed onto the bed and situated himself between the couple with a book in hand. "I however will be reading as I refuse to allow Todd to surpass me in our buddy read."

"Whilst the downer does that, we're gonna do facemasks for some reason-"

"-you'll thank me when you're older," Garfield defended.

"-and order from this cool new breakfast bar that opened. Also, Star and I were supposed to finish Below Deck ages ago so we're bingeing that too," Jaime explained further.

"When did you plan this?" Dick asked, watching the teens take their places on his bed with amusement. They had roped Raven and Damian in on their plan so they must have been planning from the moment he announced their day off to give them enough time to convince the pair. 

"And what made you think we were free to join?" Starfire teased. 

"You can do gross couple stuff later," Garfield insisted, already offering hair ties and headbands out to the group. 

"Whose card are we using for the food?" Raven asked as she looked up from her phone.

"Use Bruce's. It should still be on there from last time," Dick offered.

"Are you sure he won't mind?"

"Once Father handed me a hundred dollars when I asked him for a bus fare, I doubt he would notice anything short of thousands of dollars leaving his account and even then he would be slow to act," Damian assured her.