Her Name is Mar’i
Author’s note: So after the last Ask where someone asked me to write a Dickkory Drabble, I very much fell in love with the idea of the Titans’ universe Dickkory having a baby Mar’i. This fic is testing the waters (and does not follow the end of season two at all because fuck that noise) to see how people like it. I tagged most of the characters in it even if they don’t necessarily speak. This is a Dick Kory Fic, just so everyone’s on the same page, and does not follow the cannon of my other stories. Enjoy and let me know if you’d like to see more of this cute family!
“Come on! They’ll be here any minute!” Garfield tosses Connor another streamer. The purple and gold decorations remind Hank, Dawn, and Donna think about Garth’s birthday. Somehow it doesn’t hurt as much. Rachel rolls her eyes as she and Rose read on the couch.
“Really, Gar? It’s not like she’ll remember it.”
“But we will, Rae.” Garfield’s ears twitch as the security system beeps.
Dick and Kory walk down the hall, carrying precious cargo. Dick enters the code to the elevator. He glances at his girlfriend, smiling at her. She’s so beautiful he still wonders what she sees in him. Kory’s always alternating between sweet and sarcastic that he’s not sure what to believe when he asks. He does know how much he loves her. That part’s always been easy. The ride up is easy. He rests his hand on the middle of her back, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. They get out in the living room.
“Hello?” Dick pokes his head around the corner to the kitchen.
“Welcome home!” Everyone erupts. This doesn’t bode well for them as a piercing cry fills the room. Kory rolls her eyes and bounces the newborn in her arms.
“Off to a great start I see.” Kory looks down at the fussing baby. She rocks side to side, and slowly the baby begins to calm down. She’s definitely got Kory’s coloring, with beautiful dark skin that makes her piercing green eyes stand out even more. But there’s a bit of her father in her features. Dawn and Donna immediately swoop in on their new niece, Hank just behind them acting leisurely about it.
“She’s beautiful, Kory!” Dawn beams.
“Thanks.” Kory smiles at her daughter.
“What’s her name? I know you two were going back and forth on Earth and Tamaranean names.” Donna asks.
“We settled on a name that has Tamaranean and Earth roots.” Kory looks at her boyfriend.
“Mar’i. Our daughter’s name is Mar’i Grayson.”
“No middle name?” Rachel asks, sneaking a peak at the baby. Mar’i gives a tiny yawn.
“No. We thought that was enough. Especially since on Tamaran, her full title would be ‘her royal highness, Princess Mar’i, First of her name, Heir to the Throne.” Kory snorts. Mar’i stretches out, looking around. “You want to go to your daddy, Starshine? Let’s go see Daddy.”
Kory hands the baby over to Dick. The former Boy Wonder can’t help the smile that spreads across his face as he looks down at his daughter. Mar’i gives another yawn, stretching out more. Dawn smiles, “Never thought I’d see Dick Grayson with a cute kid.”
“She is pretty cute,” Hank offers a finger to the baby. Mar’i grabs it in her tiny fist. “Too cute to be related to you. You sure she’s yours, Grayson?”
Before Dick or Kory can answer, Mar’i grunts and pulls on Hank’s finger. They all hear the loud pop and Hank swears, “Fuck! She just broke my finger!”
His shouting scares Mar’i. She starts wailing, dark skin starting to glow. Kory takes the infant just before Mar’i’s body and hair catch fire. Kory shifts side to side trying to calm her. “There, there. You were just protecting Daddy’s honor, weren’t you? Already daddy’s little girl.”
“She broke his finger.” Donna says slowly. “She’s currently on fire.”
“She takes after her mother.” Dick shrugs. Mar’i sneezes, sending a ball of fire at the wall. “She also does that.”
Donna and Dawn look at each other before bursting out laughing. Donna doubles over, “Look, we were thrilled when you said it was a girl. Because you have a lot of karma to pay for from your playboy days. This just makes it better.”
Dick can’t help but laugh along. Kory manages to get Mar’i to calm down, rocking the baby to sleep. Garfield beams as he holds her. She even opens her eyes to see him. Raven and Rose decline for now, preferring to watch. Mar’i takes an instant liking to Dawn and Donna. Connor doesn’t even flinch when she sneezes a fireball at his face. Krypto licks her little feet, making her squeal. Even Hank gets over the injury and lets Mar’i sleep on his chest for a while.
They hadn’t expected to have her in San Francisco. They’d been living in Bludhaven in his old apartment, but a team retreat brought them back. Kory thought she had more time. Mar’i had other ideas. Their beautiful healthy girl. The team reminisces on the couch about old times while Kory nurses Mar’i. Poor baby is so loved out by 7, that Dick and Kory retire to their room. They give her her first real bath at home. She hits the water with fascination. Kory watches as her boyfriend dress their baby. She’d teasingly tossed a pair of Robin themed pajamas at him, only for them to be ignored on the ground. He talks to Mar’i as he puts her diaper on, telling her about everything she looks at. He’s so gentle with his little girl as he holds her close. Kory sings her a lullaby.
Mar’i sleeps in a travel bassinet while her parents get ready for bed. Dick spoons his girlfriend so they can both watch her. He presses a few kisses to the back of her neck. “What are you thinking about, princess?”
“Just…I’m really happy. She’s got her whole life ahead of her. A life without anyone telling her that she has to be a certain thing for her entire identity. She can just…be Mar’i.” Kory smiles sadly. Dick holds her a little tighter.
“You know it’s not that easy. She’s Bruce Wayne’s granddaughter. Sh—”
“That doesn’t matter. She’s Mar’i before she’s anyone else. She can be anything she wants to be.”
Dick smiles at that. “What do you think she’ll grow up to be like?”
“Given that we’re her parents? She’s already doomed to being unbelievably stubborn. Probably very clever given her daddy.” Kory turns a bit to smile at her boyfriend. He tucks a bit of her hair behind her ear.
“Her mom’s pretty smart too…”
“Smart and clever are two different things.” Mar’i gives a tiny sneeze, a bit of fire jumping out from the bassinet. “She might be a hero. Or she might be a dancer. Or a police officer.”
“Whatever she grows up to be, there’s one thing that I know she will be.”
“Oh really? What’s that, Mr. Grayson.”
“Loved, Ms. Anders. She’s going to be loved.”
“Why do I love your cheesy ass?”
“You tell me.” He kisses her gently. They fall asleep, knowing they’ll be woken up to their daughter’s cries for food in a few hours. If they’re honest, they can’t wait.
