Kori awoke abruptly to the sound of her phone ringing.
The jolt woke Roy up, making him groan at his lost sleep.
Kori winced at that, rubbing her eyes and reaching blindly for her phone. Without thinking, she opened it and brought it to her ear. "Yeah?" she answered groggily.
"'Yeah'?!" the person on the other end echoed incredulously, "What the hell do you mean 'yeah'?!"
Cole.
'Shit,' Kori cursed, quickly putting her hand over Roy's mouth to muffle the noise he was making. She tried to shake herself awake before responding to her brother as calmly as possible. "What's going on, Cole?" she asked, though the drowsiness still clung to her voice.
"'What's going on'?!" Cole repeated in disbelief, "What's going on is, where the hell are you? It's 5:42, you were supposed to be ready at 5:30, remember?"
"Shit," Kori cursed again, this time aloud, "Sorry, I fell asleep, I completely-"
"Kori," Cole groaned, "You promised you'd-"
"I know, I know," Kori interjected, just the slightest bit more awake, "I'll be out in a second, promise."
Cole mumbled a quick acknowledgement before hanging up.
Kori sighed and shook her head to herself, tossing her phone back on the bed before pushing herself up.
The task proved to be difficult, the boneless effect from her crying episode weighing heavily on her with each passing second.
"I have to go, Roy," she sighed, moving to her dresser to rummage around for a pair of shorts to give her some decency, "Cole wants me out there to do that thing and I completely forgot."
Roy groaned in response, trying to force himself awake. "Are you gonna be alright?" he slurred tiredly, "I can try to run interference for-"
"You've done enough," Kori interrupted, "You're in no condition to do anything other than catch up on your sleep. You got on a jet at seven this morning and somehow managed to get back here by, what, 4:00?"
"3:37," Roy corrected sleepily, eyes sliding shut, "Took a plane when I left, landed and took a jet back as soon as you called the first time." He was on the verge of falling asleep again when he heard yet another drawer close. "What are you doing?" he sighed.
"Looking for shorts," Kori replied idly. She opened another drawer, immediately spotting a pair of black gym shorts. "Which have now been found," she added quietly.
Roy opened one eye, sighing once he spotted the shorts she was sliding on. "No, no, no," he said immediately, groaning as he forced himself to get up from the bed, "Not on my watch."
Kori eyed him confusedly as he approached her, stopping her with his hands on hers.
Kori had half the mind to protest when he started pulling them back down but she decided it'd be best to let him have this. She obediently stepped out of the shorts, watching carefully as Roy tossed them onto her bed.
He, then, turned to her dresser, rummaging around until he found a pair of running shorts.
He was purposefully making her show more skin, Kori realized.
She remained quiet as he bent down, holding the shorts so that she could step through each of the legs.
Once both of her feet were in, Roy pulled the shorts up her legs until they were resting snugly on her hips. He adjusted them so that her tattoo was partially covered before bracing his hands on either side of her face, once more demanding her attention. "You're beautiful," he said finally, "Do you hear me?"
Kori only nodded, a hesitant smile on her face.
"You will always be as breathtaking as a sunrise," Roy continued, "Your scars could never change that."
Kori nodded once more, leaning in to rest her forehead on his.
"I love you," he said firmly, "So, so much." A pause. "And nothing could ever change that. We're gonna talk about everything later, okay?" He cupped the back of her neck and braced his other hand on her back, pulling her into a hug. "You have to go," he told her. He breathed in deeply before speaking again. "But, I have something to request of you before you do, while it's fresh on my mind."
"What?" Kori sighed tiredly.
Usually when he used this tone, his answer was something she wouldn't like but would ultimately be good for her.
And she hated it.
"Promise me you'll talk to him," Roy replied, a wary seriousness coloring his tone. He knew she would protest so he kept going. "The only way you deal with this is if you talk to him about it. The decision is yours to make… but it's been five years, Kori. You can't make the right one unless you explore all paths."
"There is no decision," Kori argued, "It's you. It's always gonna be you."
"But there is a decision, sunshine, " Roy sighed, a calm smile on his face. He paused, making sure to look into her eyes before he spoke again. "One way or another, Xavier is always gonna be in our lives. Through you, or through me, or through everyone else around us. You're not gonna be able to handle that if you continue to carry around this turmoil."
Kori attempted to break their eye contact but Roy gently redirected her head so she couldn't.
"You want him in your life, Kori, I can see it," Roy told her, "You have to stop beating yourself up because of it. There's already too much on your shoulders." He paused yet again, sighing deeply as he prepared to say something that would either bring clarity or cross a line. "You're afraid of losing people, but you're also afraid of asking them to stay. Don't do that with Xavier."
Kori's eyes slid shut as his words sank in. She'd always known them to be true to some degree, but she'd never let herself dwell on the idea. Like he said, there was too much on her shoulders. But, now that she was being confronted with it…
"You're right," she sighed, "I'll tell him… something. I promise."
"Kori-," Roy began.
"If I tell him what I told you, he won't understand the same way you did," Kori interrupted, opening her eyes once more, "He'll think I want the same thing from him that I did when we were younger. But, if I tell him I want to start over… if I leave out exactly what that moment at the bar did to me… it'll be better for both of us. Just trust me on that."
Roy was quiet for a moment, searching her eyes "And you promise you'll do this?" he asked, "It doesn't have to be now because I know it's a busy night and Cole-"
"I promise," Kori interjected, effectively cutting off his rambling, "But, I do have to go now. I'll see you out there, right?"
Roy let a smile spread across his face, trying his hardest to make it look less skeptical than he felt. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, sunshine," he told her, "Go on."
Kori stared at him for a moment longer before turning away, sparing him a quick glance over her shoulder before leaving the room.
Roy clenched his jaw, sighing as he dropped down onto the bed. "We should've just stayed in Maui," he muttered tiredly.