Chapter Text
Kory Anders had just settled into her bed when a tentative knock came from the door of her bedroom in Titans Tower. Rachel Roth slowly peeked her head in the room.
“I’m sorry that it’s so late. I didn’t wake you up, did I?” The girl fidgeted with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “I was hoping we could talk.”
“No, no. It’s fine. I wasn’t asleep” The tamaranean smiled warmly. “Come on in.”
Rachel stayed standing in the doorway for a few seconds longer as if debating if she should leave or stay.
“What’s up, Rach?” Kory asked, getting a little worried. She scooted over to allow the girl room to sit next to her on the bed.
“I was hoping for some advice.” Rachel shuffled over to the older woman and sat next to her.
“Advice?” Kory felt her heart do a little dance. Why was Rachel coming to her for advice? She really hoped she wouldn’t mess this up.
The girl shifted, blushing. “About a guy.”
“Rach!” Kory playfully shoved her with a wide grin on her face, “A guy?”
“Yeah. I’ve known him for a little while and I don’t want to ruin things between us by telling him how I feel, but I really like him.”
Kory had a feeling she knew who this guy was, but wanted to wait to see if Rachel would tell her on her own. She didn’t want to pry or say anything to scare the young girl away; she felt honored that Rachel would even consider coming to her for advice. Though, she supposed that Dick probably wouldn’t be the best person to turn to for dating advice. Sometimes it felt as if the man had no social skills whatsoever.
“Well, do you know what he likes? You could ask him to go see a movie or something but not specify if it’s a date or not. This way you could test the waters before you jump in and tell him how you feel.”
Rachel nodded but didn’t say anything, a look of contemplation on her face.
“After the movie, you could go get a coffee or something to eat.” Kory suggested.
“Yeah. He mentioned a new coffee shop a few blocks away that he really wanted to try. I guess it’s one of those places that makes little designs on top. He said that he wanted to see what a tiger looked like swimming in a sea of coffee.” Rachel told her, a fond smile tugged at her lips.
At the tiger part, Kory knew she couldn’t pretend not to know any longer. Plus, it was painfully obvious how the two teens felt about each other. Apparently, painfully obvious to everyone, except themselves.
“That’s a great idea. I’m sure Gar will love it,” Kory said and watched the younger girl’s face for a reaction.
“Yeah, I think-” Rachel trailed off and wrung her hands. “Wait, you know?”
Kory snorted, “At this point, I think everyone does.”
“Really?” A deep red washed over Rachel’s cheeks and she put her head in her hands.
“I was right about your feelings for him. And I’m pretty sure he feels the same about you.”
“How do you know?”
Kory looked at her incredulously, “Girl, have you seen the way he acts around you? He’ll do anything to make you smile or impress you.”
The two girls smiled, thinking of an incident last week that ended with Gar’s face pressed to the training room floor and Jason standing over him with a victorious smirk. Kory had been standing on the sidelines with Rachel when Gar glanced at the younger girl before challenging Jason to a duel. And the rest was history.
“And if I’m wrong about how he feels, so what?” Kory continued. “He wouldn’t treat you any differently. He cares about you, Rachel.”
Rachel sighed, “I know. I just really want him to like me back.”
“I know,” Kory pulled her into a tight embrace. “I say you give my plan a shot and take it from there. If things seem to be going well, you can either tell him then or you can come find me and we can come up with a creative way to let him know.”
“Thanks, Kory. You’re the best.”
Kory chuckled and tossed a lock of pink hair over her shoulder. “I know. And don’t you forget it.”