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damianwaynerocks · 4 years

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Zuko & the Waynes - Chapter 3

Batfam/ATLA au

Description: Prince Zuko, pre-finding Aang, falls into Gotham City. After being adopted by Bruce Wayne, Zuko finds himself enjoying life in this strange world. Zuko Wayne has a family who loves him unconditionally. Zuko Wayne is a hero, saving the innocents of Gotham City every night. But Zuko soon finds himself at the center of a plot that threatens to destroy not only this new world he's come to love, but also the world he's trying to leave behind.

A/N: okay, so the members of the titans and young justice team are different in this au.

Young Justice: Tim Drake (Red Robin); Cassie Sandsmark (Wondergirl); Kon/Conner Kent (Superboy); Bart Allen (Impulse)

Titans: Dick Grayson (Nightwing); Koriand'r (Starfire); Garfield Logan (Beast Boy); Rachel Roth (Raven); Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle); M'Gann M'orris (Miss Martian)

Chapter 2 | Masterlist

Chapter 3:

"So, you remember the plan?"

"Yeah, we got it," said Cassie into her earpiece, having to raise her voice to be heard over the pouring rain outside. "Don't worry about us, we're fine."

"Good to know," Tim responded into the comlink.

It was the night of the auction. Zuko was wearing a black suit while Cassie was wearing a red dress. Both had their masks on. Kon, also known as Superboy, was sitting in the driver's seat. He was acting as their chauffeur, and was there as backup in case anything went wrong. Zuko rolled his eyes as he heard a slurping sound in his com link, presumably from Tim taking a sip of coffee.

"That was gross," Kon sighed. "Don't do that."

Tim ignored him. "Proud of you both. Remember, if the wrong person gets their hands on the magyntite, not even Superman will be able to stop them." He paused. "No pressure, though.”

"Wow, you're great at pep talks." Zuko adjusted the mask on his face, making sure it hid his scar. "You ready, Cassie?"

"I was born ready," Cassie responded with a grin. "Now, let's go, Henry."

"After you, Larissa." Zuko grabbed an umbrella and stepped out of the self-driving black limousine they'd borrowed from Bruce. He went around to her side of the vehicle and opened her door for her. Cassie looped her arm through his, muttering a thank you as Zuko raised the umbrella above both of them. They walked into the casino.

Just inside, a bouncer stepped in front of them. "How tall is the eagle's wingspan?"

"That means do magic," Tim said through the coms.

"Uh," Zuko's mind raced as he tried to think of a spell on the spot. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" he finally said, and a ball of fire appeared over his closed fist. The bouncer nodded, and unhooked the red rope, allowing them to step inside.It was bright and loud and flashy, and Zuko had to stop for a moment to get his bearings.

"You good?" Cassie whispered, placing a hand on his chest to steady him. "It's okay. Let's just go downstairs, follow me." She gently led him towards the back of this casino. Tim had told them that there was a staircase behind the bathrooms, and the basement was where the auction was taking place.They walked past the doors that said 'men' and 'woman' and opened the third door, revealing stairs going down to a concrete basement. "You okay now?" Cassie asked as they began to descend.

"Yeah," Zuko grunted. "I'm fine." They walked down a dark and damp hallway, a stark contrast to the bright lights and clean floors of the upper floor. The reached a huge room with a wrap around balcony overlooking the bottom floor. Many people, all wearing masks, were crowded together.

"It's about to start, Mr. Henry," Cassie said. "Let's go sign in." The pair walked through the people until they reached the stairs leading to the bottom floor. Arms still linked, they walked down the stairs.

"There's a ton of people here," Zuko mused. "I wonder what they all want to buy."

Cassie shrugged. "Drugs. Artifacts. Who knows."

They made their way to the middle of the throng of people and sat down in two of the chairs. The auction started soon after, and the words the auctioneer was saying sounded like white noise to Zuko. Finally, twenty minutes in, Tim's voice in his ear made Zuko flinch. "Magyntite is next," he said. "Be ready."

Sure enough, the man held up a silver briefcase. "Magyntite!" he yelled. "This drug is like Kobra Venom! Bulk up your muscles, lady and gentlemen. Do I hear... two million?" Zuko raised his hand and the same time another man did. The man glared at Zuko, who did the same.Back and forth this happened, Zuko and this man trying to get the magyntite. In the end, though, Zuko and Cassie got it for $45,000,000.

"Holy crap," Cassie breathed as they walked back up the stairs. "That man wanted to kill you."

Zuko hummed. "He isn't the only one."

Cassie gave him an amused look."Is that so, Sir Henry?"

"Indeed it is, Lady Larissa."

Golden eyes gazed into blue for a second, both having small smiles on their faces.

"Yo, you guys get it?"

"Uh, yeah," Cassie replied, breaking eye contact. "Yeah, we're heading back now."

Zuko's face reddened. He hadn't felt any feeling similar to that since Mai, when he was thirteen. He shook his head to clear it. Don't be stupid, he told himself. Don't even go there. No chance of that happening.

"You good?" Cassie asked, raising an eyebrow under her mask. Zuko cleared his throat and nodded a little too quickly.

"Me? I'm great. Splendid. Never been better!" he babbled. "Oh Agni, I bet Kon is going crazy! Uh, let's go see him!" He linked his arm with Cassie's and half-led half-drug her through the club and out the door.

"And the lovely couple returns!" Kon cheered as Zuko opened the door for Cassie. "I missed you! Tim told me I couldn't listen to my podcast because I had to stay alert so I've been bored out of my mind."

"Oh, poor baby!" Cassie mocked. "Do you need a massage and a nice cup of tea?"

"I do, actually."

"Too bad, Superbrat."

Zuko looked out the window. He missed his uncle's tea.

Only 11 more months.

___

The next morning, Zuko, Duke and Damian were at the table eating breakfast. Zuko was about to put a piece of bacon in his mouth when he felt eyes on him. Looking up, he frowned as he met Duke's eyes. "What?

Duke's eyebrows were furrowed in disbelief. "Dude, it's 7:00 in the morning. Why are you already dressed?"

Zuko blinked. While the others were in their pajamas- Duke in an old t-shirt and shorts and Damian in his silk robe -Zuko was in jeans and a Ralph Lauren button-up, his hair in a topknot. He would've put shoes on, if it weren't for Alfred's no-shoes-in-the-house rule. "I'm used to getting up at dawn and getting ready. It's what I've done for three years."

Duke shook his head. "You're making me feel like a slob, Zu."

"You will not feel that way for long," Damian spoke up. "For I hear Drake coming down the stairs."

Sure enough, Tim walked around the corner, staggering to the table. He was in an over sized black Superman shirt and his boxers with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His long hair was a mess, and the circles under his eyes made it look as though he had been punched in the face. Alfred pulled out a chair beside Zuko, a cup of coffee already in his hand. Tim stumbled towards the chair, looking as though he was about to pass out. He sat down in the chair slowly, and Alfred immediately put the cup of coffee in front of him. Tim blinked slowly, before picking up the coffee and bringing it to his lips.

"Well," Duke chuckled. "I no longer feel like a slob."

Damian wrinkled his nose, scoffing at Tim. "You are a disgrace, Drake. Have some self respect." Tim stared at him owl-eyed in response.

"Just give him like ten minutes," Duke said. "Anyways! So I heard you went on a mission last ni-"

"Master Duke!" Alfred interrupted him sharply. "Might I remind you the rules of breakfast?"

Duke seemed to shrink into himself as he answered in a small voice, "No vigilante talk at the breakfast table." Alfred nodded in approval before going back into the kitchen. Duke turned back to Zuko. "Later."

Zuko hummed in response.

As soon as breakfast was over, Duke ran to Zuko excitedly. "So!? How'd it go?"

"It went fine," Zuko replied. "I mean, we went in, got the stuff and got back in the car."

"That's it? No fights?"

"No fights."

"What about Cassie? Any emotions?"

Zuko coughed, his eyes widening. "What!? No! Don't be stupid!"

Duke laughed. "Dude, you're gonna have to get better at lying if you want to join the business."

"Which could start right now, if you want." Zuko and Duke whirled around to see Bruce holding a cup of coffee. "You've been here for a month. You can fight and you're smart. You're welcome to start training today, if you want."

Zuko's jaw dropped. "Uh, yeah! That'd be great!"

Bruce smiled."Fantastic. Go get changed into something comfortable and we'll start."

Zuko practically sprinted to his room, but before he could change, his phone chimed.

Cassie Sandsmark: good morning doofus

.Zuko grinned in spite of himself.

Zuko Wayne: good morning!

Cassie Sandsmark: how'd you sleep?

Zuko Wayne: great but i don't know if tim slept at all he's barely alive right now

Cassie Sandsmark: sounds like tim

Cassie Sandsmark: so when u joining the hero business

Zuko Wayne: right now,, I'm about to start training

Cassie Sandsmark: YAY TELL ME HOW IT GOES

Zuko Wayne: of course

Training, Zuko decided, was difficult. It'd been a month since he'd started, and while he was improving, he was sore and sick of computers.

"If I have to break another one of Tim's codes, I'll kill myself," he groaned, flopping on to the couch beside Damian, who nodded.

"Every time Drake speaks, I want to kill myself." Zuko eyed him wearily.

"That's harsh."

"Such is reality." Damian flipped to the next page of the book he was reading. "So, your first patrol is tomorrow?"

Zuko grinned."Yeah. I'm so excited." He sat up, cracking his knuckles. "Gonna be a blast."

"Are you finally adequate at lying?"

Zuko winced. "It took me a while but yeah, I got it."

"Good. We cannot have you exposing our secret." He looked up from his book. "Christmas is next month. Pennyworth instructed me to inform you that he needs a list of what you wish."

Zuko groaned. "I have no idea what I want."

"Well, figure it out," Damian replied. "Because if you do not, I'll have to listen to the complaining."

It was the night of his first patrol. Zuko turned to the mirror. His suit was a black kevlar lined jumpsuit with an obsidian utility belt and combat boots of the same color. There was a blue bat symbol across the chest, and a demon-type stage mask of the same color on his face. He looked at the blue gauntlet on his wrist and flexed his arm.

Dick whistled lowly. "Lookin' sharp, Zu."

Zuko grunted in response, but he couldn't stop the corners of his lips from twitching upwards.

"Good to see you suited up," Bruce said as he saw his son. He turned to the Bat Computer and typed something in. "Alright. Nightwing and Robin, you take the east side. Red Hood and Black Bat, you take the west. Red Robin, you take south. Blue Spirit and I will take north."

"You got it, boss man," said Jason with a mock salute. At that, the vigilantes headed out.

"Remember," Bruce began as he and Zuko got into the Batmobile. "Code names in the field." Zuko nodded.

"I won't forget, Batman."

"Good to hear, Blue Spirit."

After a few minutes if driving, Oracle spoke. "Croc is robbing a store on the corner of North and Order," she said. "Blue Spirit and Batman are closest."

"We're on it," Bruce said, and sped up.

They reached the corner in five minutes, and jumped out of the car. "Croc!" Bruce yelled.

A huge reptilian humanoid turned toward the voice, and smiled. "Batman!" he chirped. "And who's this?"

"Blue Spirit," Zuko said stiffly.

Killer Croc chuckled."New kid to destroy? I love that."

Croc rushed him, snapping his jaws viciously. Zuko jumped into the air, doing a flip over the creature. Fire blasted out of his elbow and he punched Croc in the snout as he turned.

Croc stumbled back. "Igniting your elbow to increase the force of your punch? Smart. Not smart enough." He ran towards Zuko again, claws outstretched, moving at inhuman speeds. Zuko ducked under his claws and gave an uppercut with the same advantage into his stomach. Croc was thrown into the air by the force. Before he could land, Zuko sent a blast of fire at him, engulfing him in flames. Croc screamed and fell to the ground, charred and smoking.

"He's still alive," Bruce said gruffly. "Not bad. I'll call Gordon." Zuko's chest swelled with pride, but he simply nodded.

"There's a robbery at the R&D center of Enterprises," Oracle said suddenly.

"Blue Spirit and I are going to check it out," Bruce answered.

"10-4," Dick replied. "Call if you need backup." Bruce grunted in response and, gesturing for Zuko to follow, jumped back into the Batmobile before speeding off.

"R&D?" Zuko echoed what Oracle had said earlier. "What's that?"

"It's the Research and Development Center," Bruce replied. "It's where we store Batman Inc. tech that's still in production."

"Oh."

“That's right. If anyone succeeds in getting their hands on what's in there-"

"-They'll get their hands on everything." Zuko bit the inside of his cheek. "It's fine. We can do this."

A hint of a smile ghosted across Bruce's lips, so small that Zuko wasn't sure if it'd even been there in the first place.

The Research and Development Center of Wayne Enterprises was primarily used to develop advancements in technology. These advancements ranged from more effective cancer treatments to new engines for vehicles.The blueprints listed the building as being eight stories. Unbeknownst to the majority of WE's employees, there was a basement. A basement hidden far below the actual building, so far below than an express elevator was needed. This basement was where the technology for Batman Inc. was developed.

Unlike the secret basement of Falcone's club, this basement was in pristine condition. It had a hospital feel to it, with white flooring, walls, and ceiling.

Bruce and Zuko had just grappled down the elevator shaft was landed at the end of one of the basement's hallways."The only alarm that's been triggered was the entry alarm," said Bruce. "The rooms where the... merchandise are kept have separate alarm systems. Can you tell me what this means, Blue Spirit?"

"The intruder either doesn't know what exactly is down here, or they just haven't managed to get into the rooms yet." Zuko frowned. "Wait, if they figured out this place was here then that means they definitely know what's down here. So then they haven't found the location of the 'merchandise.'"

"And you believe that to be the most probable scenario?"

"Well... yeah. I mean, unless they managed to bypass the alarm system. But that's impossible, this place is un-hackable ever since that incident with Ra's al Ghul. The security system is invincible. Right?"

"Rule of thumb, Blue Spirit," Bruce grunted, raising his arm closer to his face to he could activate his gauntlet. "Nothing is invincible. Everything has a weakness. Some are harder to find than others, but the only thing that is truly invincible is God Himself. And I don't think He would have any reason to break into Wayne Enterprises."

"Okay, but they tripped the alarm when they came in," Zuko pointed out. "So they must not have been able to hack the system."

"Unless they want us here."

Zuko sucked in his teeth. "So that's what you think? This is a trap?"

"It isn't a trap if we know about it," Bruce countered. "Here, I'm pulling up the motion sensors." Sure enough, the holographic screen coming from the gauntlet showed motion in room 121.

"Is that one of the rooms?" Zuko asked.

Bruce nodded."Yes." He and Zuko started to run in the direction of the before mentioned room. "There's very dangerous technology in there. We need to stop this intruder now." The two were sprinting, taking twists and turns through the winding hallways until Bruce stuck his arm out, signaling for Zuko to stop. In front of them was room 121, the door ajar.

"Holy crap," Zuko whispered. "They hacked us."

"They hacked us," Bruce echoed. "And now they're going to pay. Manuever 13. Be cautious." Bruce rolled a metal ball into the room, and it exploded into smoke Using the smoke as cover, Zuko and Bruce dashed into the room.

Using the heat signatures to see through the smoke, Zuko jumped forward, swinging down his broadswords in arc. His eyes widened as they hit air; the person had disappeared."What-" he broke off as someone landed a hit to his spine. Zuko whirled around, kicking out at his attacker, yet his foot hit air as the assailant dodged again.

"A teleporter?" he muttered. A laugh hit his ears, and the assailant landed another hit to the back of his head. Zuko tried to return the hit with one of his own but, of course, he missed.So far, Zuko noticed, they were teleporting closely around him. They were staying in close proximity with him. It would be hard to deduce where exactly they would strike, unless he limited their options.

Zuko stomped on the ground, and a ring of fire flared up around him. The attacker led out a gut wrenching scream as they were caught in the flames.He caught a glimpse of a person in a black suit clutching their arm before they teleported above his head, aiming a dropkick above him.

But Zuko had anticipated this. He grabbed their leg from above and slammed them on the ground. They landed with a crack and coughed.

"You just broke my spine, you asshole," the person wheezed. They were still now, and Zuko could see she was a girl with long brown hair in a wine-colored robe.

Zuko gulped, forcing down the rising panic at the girl's words. "Maybe you shouldn't have tried to break my skull."

The girl shrugged. "Just following orders."

"Who are you!?" Zuko snarled. "Tell me! Who are you and what do you want with this technology!?"

"Well, if you must know," the girl said, pain evident in her voice despite her calm tone. "I am but a servant of The Lady of the Dual Skies."

"The Lady of the Dual Skies?" Zuko echoed. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing's taken," Bruce said as he crossed his arms from where he stood behind Zuko. "Nothing has even been tampered with. You clearly weren't looking for anything here. So what did you want?"

"The Lady does not permit me speaking with anybody but you." The girl was speaking directly to Zuko, not sparing Bruce a glance. "She has something she wishes you to know."

Zuko narrowed his eyes behind his mask. "And what would that be?"

The girl grinned wickedly. "She says she'll see you soon."

With that, a portal opened up under the girl and she disappeared in a flash of purple light.

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peppersonironi · 4 years

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For @duketectivecomics‘s Duke Week Day Five: Leadership (A day late, I know, but I had wifi trouble)

Summary: Nightwing offers Signal a chance to lead a small group for a mission. Duke is wary, but accepts the challenge. He proves to be a rather great leader.

Notes: Takes place after Season Two of Young Justice, and ignores Season Three (I still haven’t seen it, unfortunately).

“So will you do it?” Duke looked over at Dick, who had decided to brave the day as Nightwing in order to ask a favor.

“I’m not sure, Nightwing, That’s your team, and I’m perfectly happy taking care of Gotham.”

Dick pouted and dramatically flung himself over the nearest gargoyle. “You sure? I could really use the help. Don't you want to lend aid to your poor, poor brother?”

“You are literally a billionaire.”

“Ha ha, Signal. You know what I mean.”

Duke sighed and joined Dick beside the gargoyle. “Yeah, I do. Are you sure you need me? Why not Tim? Steph? Heck, even Damian would love the chance to boos those guys around.”

Dick sighed. “I told you, The mission occurs at the same time as one on the opposite side of the world, which I already have Tim scheduled for. Steph is woking a case in Hong Kong with Cass. And Frankly, I doubt the Team would appreciate Damian's … style of leadership. This one is smaller, and less of a priority. I have some of the newbies and more older members on it, but none of them have experience with leading stealth missions.”

“So give one of them the experience!” Duke was getting a bit exasperated. Why did Dick think it would be a good idea to handle a mission on a covert team he'd never even met before?

“It's not that simple.” Dick frowned. “This mission is time sensitive, and delicate. It really does need someone with experience leading it, but all my best people are elsewhere.”

Duke tilted his head, considering. “Why me?”

Dick laughed. “Why NOT you? Seriously, Signal. You handled a whole group of Robins, by yourself. No Batman. You proved yourself, and you've earned respect. I trust you with this.”

Duke considered, thinking through everything Dick had said. “Alright,” He sighed, “What's the mission?”

*****

“Team, I'd like you to meet Signal. He'll be joining you on the mission, as well as over seeing things.” Nightwing stood at the front of the group of heroes, turning to where Duke had just come in from the zeta tubes.

Duke walked forward, surveying the group. “ 'Sup?” He asked, unsure of what else to say.

“Signal, meet Beast Boy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Blue Beatle.”

Duke nodded and extended his hand, “Nice to meet you.”

“I've been waiting to meet you for so long, dude!” Kid Flash said, racing forward to shake Duke's hand. “I've heard all about you, but the dates on when you actively joined the guys in Gotham were murky, and since I couldn't ask Nightwing or Robin – wait, does that mean Tim's no longer Robin? Why didn't he say anything? Unless the history books got it wrong, in which case woah, sorry I said anything – anyway it was a bit of a tricky situation. Of course, I probably could have looked it up on the internet, but that feels like cheating y'know?”

Duke blinked several times. “Um, thanks, I guess? I didn't really think anyone bothered with me.”

“Are you kidding?!” Kid Flash was literally bouncing at this point. “You're one of the coolest bats! You patrol during the day, for one thing, plus your costume is pretty crash. Not to mention you're literally the only meta human Batman has ever let stay in Gotham! Although Black Bat might be one, no one was ever really clear on that.”

“You're a meta human?!” Beast Boy asked, shoving Kid Flash to the side. “Seriously? And you work with Batman?! How does that work?”

Duke laughed. “Yes, I am a meta. No, Black Bat isn't. She's just awesome. And I was Batman's protege before I gained my powers. When we found out, we kinda just rolled with it.”

“Translation,” Nightwing added, “He grumbled a bit before deciding that the rule only really covers Green Lantern.”

“Didn't it always though?” Duke asked his brother.

Nightwing laughed. “Probably. He never seemed to keen on Superman either, to be honest.”

Duke frowned. “Wait, then why did he stop by for tea last week?”

“Wait, he did?! Why wasn't I invited?!”

Duke shook his head and tsked. “Downside to no longer living at the house dude, that's all I'm saying.”

The Team was looking back and forth at the exchange. “Wait,” Blue Beatle said, holding up his hands. “Superman comes over for tea, at Batman's house, which you live in, but Nightwing doesn't anymore?”

“Yup,” Both of the bats said.

Blue Beatle blinked, then nodded. “Alright then.”

“What are your powers,” Wonder girl asked.

“Light stuff, basically,” Duke said. “I can see in several different light spectrums, lets me do a bunch of stuff, like limited x-ray vision. I can also 'replay' what happens in rooms, due to the light residue. I can also see a few seconds into the future.”

Everyone blinked at him.

“Not to mention you can control shadows!” Nightwing added helpfully.

Duke cringed. “Yeah, but that's new. I'm not really familiar with it.”

Everyone stared, except Kid Flash, who just continued bouncing.

“Alright,” Nightwing said after a moment, “Let's get on with the briefing.”

*****

The mission was simple: Infiltrate a high rise owned by Lex Luther in San Francisco, and retrieve information that was being stored on a hard drive. Said drive was only going to be present in the tower for twelve hours, nine of which Lex was also present. Hence the need for a small team, and the precise timing.

The infiltration was scheduled at 1400 hours, after Lex had left for lunch, and before the buyer of the information had arrived. Duke had been given the plans of the building, and multiple suggested strategies. One of these strategies was modified by Duke, and was what led Beast Boy (who insisted Duke call him Garth) turning into a fly in order to get through the vents.

“Are you sure I can't go for something more fun?” Garth asked on the way to San Francisco, “Like a snake? Maybe even a monkey!”

“No,” Duke had said, “A fly is the best option, it's the least likely to set off motion sensors.” At the disappointed face, however, Duke conceded, “You can be a monkey when you open the side entrance.” Garth had whooped in triumph, and Duke had to crack a smile.

Once Beast Boy had managed to get into the building, he made his way to the main security center and dismantled whatever detection systems Lex had in place, allowing Kid Flash (Bart, Duke learned) and Signal himself to make their entrance. The trio made their way to Lex's office, only needing to take out a single guard, and retrieve the hard drive from one of Lex's many (There were like thirty, sheesh) safes in the room. The cracking of said safe took longer than initially planned, but Duke managed to hack the system in time for the guard change. Boy was he glad Tim taught him how to hack.

With the target in hand, they made their way out to the back alley, where Blue Beatle (Jaime, he said his name was) and Wonder Girl (Cassie) were keeping watch. They were almost caught at one point, but Duke saw the guards coming and quickly shoved his teammates into a closet, along with himself. In the end, two guards who were lagging behind on their shift change intercepted them, but Blue Beetle knocked one out, and Wonder Girl got the other.

“Took you long enough,” Cassie said with a grin when she saw the trio returning.

Duke grinned right back at her. “You have any trouble?”

“If these two count as trouble,” She replied, kicking one of the goons.

“Sounds crash!” Kid Flash replied. “How about we get out of here before something blows up?”

Duke frowned. “Why would anything blow up?”

Everyone turned and gave him a look. “You'd be surprised,” Blue Beetle said.

“Better not jinx it, then.” Duke spook, and the team made their escape.

*****

“ - Complete insubordination! Do you know what you did?!”

Duke paused at the doors, looking in on the meeting room where he and the others were supposed to go for their debriefing. Turns out, the other part of the Team was already there, and being chewed out by Batman himself.

“This was supposed to be a covert mission, and you go and get the entire building blown up!” Huh, they weren't kidding about explosions, Duke thought. “You clearly disobeyed the mission parameters, opting instead to joyride with the robots you were sent to destroy! Do you know how many lives you put in danger?!”

“It wasn't our fault!” Tim Drake, better known as Red Robin (Though Duke thought Bart mention that he still went as Robin here? Boy, Damian was gonna be pissed!) told Batman. “The robots got activated remotely, and dragged us along. In the end, they self destructed!”

Batman sighed, and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “I let Kaldur go one one vacation …”

“You can at least acknowledge we got the job done.” Tim said, and Bruce sighed once more. He looked so tired, and Duke could barely hold in a grin. From the scared faces of everyone else in the room, Duke gathered that no one else found it quite so funny.

“Yes, you got it done,” Batman conceded, “But your methods are far from acceptable! All of you need to reevaluate how you-”

“It's almost kinda funny when I'm not the one being chewed out!” Duke turned to find Jaime and Garth standing in the door beside him, the latter of whom had spoken.

“Oh it's definitely funny,” Duke replied. “I've had front row seats to these types of things since I joined the bats. I”m almost never the one in trouble. Surprised it's Tim, though. Usually Nightwing.”

Both of their eyes widened. “Nightwing is the one in trouble?”

“Yup. We – the other bats and I – have a running bet on how long the rants last. B's best record is two hours, fifty minutes, thirty-seven seconds. It was right after Nightwing spray painted the bat-suit glittery pink, though I'm pretty sure Spoiler helped.”

Jaime opened and closed his mouth for a few moments. “Wow.”

Just then, Bart and Cassie showed up. “Are we late for the debriefing?” The latter asked.

Duke shrugged and pointed into the room, where Batman had moved onto a rant about aerial combat and unneeded fuel. “Nope, There's is running late.”

The group turned and went back to viewing the scene before them. After another fifteen minutes, Batman said. “I have another team coming in soon for debriefing, so let's hope that they were at least partially competent.”

Duke thought that would be as good a place as any to make an entrance, so he brought his fist to his mouth and coughed a bit.

Everyone turned slowly to find the grinning group standing at the doorway.

“Signal,” Batman said, and Duke knew he was relieved, “Did you just get back?”

“We've been standing here for twenty minutes, B. Seriously, your lecturing skills have not gone unpracticed.”

Batman sighed, putting his fingers on the bridge of his nose, not a sight unfamiliar to Duke, but from the gaping mouths, Duke was pretty sure no one else thought anything about the exchange was normal. “Please tell me your mission went well?”

“Without a hitch,” Duke replied grinning. “We got in and out easily. Had a tad of trouble with hacking the safe, but we got it open.” Duke turned to Tim, “Thanks for those lessons last week, they really paid off.”

Tim grinned “Welcome. Wanna continue when we get home?”

Duke nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Were there any complications?” Batman growled.

“We took out three guards quietly, and avoided two more that I saw coming right before they turned a corner, but other than that, no.”

Batman glared suspiciously down at Duke, who only smiled. “Any explosions?”

Duke frowned. “What is it with this team and explosions?” Batman glared some more, “Calm down B, no explosions. Everything was quiet.”

Batman nodded. “Good job, Signal. You dropped off the target with Nightwing, I assume?” At Duke's nod, he continued, “You get head back to Gotham, then. Finish your report in the cave, and finish up your patrol if you want. I'll make a note on the file if we ever need you again.” He paused, and looked critically at Duke. “Would you?”

Duke looked back at Garth, Jaime, Bart, and Cassie, who were all nodding their heads furiously. “Sure,” Duke said, “Why not?”

#dukeweek2020 #duke thomas #the signal #Young Justice #Nightwing #Beast Boy #Kid Flash #Wonder Girl #blue beatle #leadership

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brucewaynehastoomanykids · 4 years

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Jealousy

Some days, Damian hated being a Teen Titan. Most of the time, it was because the responsibility of both the team and his work with his father in Gotham was difficult to balance at times. But sometimes it was because of something completely different.

He hated Garfield Logan.

Not because he was better than him, not because he annoyed Damian--

Okay, maybe that, too.

But it was mostly due to a reason not many would expect to come from the boy wonder unless they knew him well, which wasn't that many people: he hated the way he would talk to Raven, saying flirtatious comments to her in hopes of earning her attention.

Damian knew he wasn't exactly in the right to feel this way. After all, Raven confessed her own feelings towards Damian just a few months ago, and have been dating in secret ever since, to avoid Bruce's wrath, if it came. Still, he couldn't help but feel his blood burn every time it happened. To make things worse, Raven, being the passive person she usually is, just takes it, and sometimes even sarcastically goes along with it, most likely just to get the green boy off her back. Plus, it did make it not as suspicious of her real relationship.

Still, it killed Damian on the inside.

Normally, he could just sit there and take it, sometimes even ignore it, but today things had gone too far when Damian heard the sound of his girlfriend letting out a gasp when she was about to be kissed by the boy.

Uh-uh.

"Logan I think that's enough..." Damian said slowly, trying to mask his threatening tone, "I know you're too oblivious to see when someone is only toying with you for their amusement, but I had thought you'd notice after almost three weeks of your idiocy."

"Why do you care, Rob? Oh, I get it! You're just upset you can't get some--"

"Because you were?" Raven chimed in, arms crossed. "Damian is right, you know, I was being sarcastic."

"What, Rae?" Garfield turned around to look at his teammate. "You played with my feelings...?"

"It's not playing with feelings when she obviously was sarcastic and you just didn't notice, dude." Jaime said, who was laying on the couch reading a magazine. "Honestly Gar, I think the only one who didn't notice was you."

"No, he's right, I shouldn't have done that." Raven said. "I'm sor--"

Just as she was about to say that, Damian scoffed and marched out of the main room.

"He seems pissed." Jaime noted.

Raven let out a sigh. "A little more than that." She began to follow her boyfriend out of the main area and followed his movements until he finally stopped in his room and began punching a poor pillow to death.

"Damian--"

"What?!" Damian snapped around and glared at the girl for a moment before fully realizing who she was, causing his face to soften. "Oh..."

"I never really took you for the jealous type." Raven noted, setting herself next to him.

"I'm not!"

"Then what was that all about?"

"I just... I didn't like it, alright?" He turned his head away from her.

Raven let out another sigh. "Obviously..."

"Why did you let him talk to you like that?" He said after a moment, snapping his head around to her again.

"If I told him I had a boyfriend, he'd ask questions, if I completely ignored him, he'd get suspicious and ask even more questions, if I shot him down with no other explanation, he'd only try again. I didn't know what else to do. I had hoped my tone would give some sort of hint, but I was mistaken."

Damian believed her deep down, but his stubbornness, as well as his time with his father, have taught him to always question everything.

"I don't believe you," he spat, "not even a little bit! It was always him, wasn't it? You always wanted him, and I was just second best?! Well, fine by--"

Raven had heard enough. She grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in to kiss him. She could feel his anger mellow as he wrapped his arms around her.

Then, Damian got a text from Bruce. He pulled away as his eyes widened at the text.

"Something wrong?" Raven asked, tilting her head.

"Beloved, I'd just like you to know that it was a pleasure knowing you. Also, you should probably make sure your will is up to date."

Raven paused for a moment before hesitantly asking, "Why...?"

"My father knows."

Raven's eyes widened. "Oh shit."

"Exactly."

Another text, this one, making Damian smile.

"He seems to approve of you."

Raven let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "What a relief... On a scale of one to ten, how angry do you think the rest is going to be when they catch on?"

"I believe that mostly everyone will be fine with us, but I think, and dare I say it, part of me hopes such a short scale can't adequately express Logan's level of anger. He deserves to feel my pain." He huffed, crossing his arms.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Still upset about that I see..."

"Yes, but I believe you now."

"Really?" Raven narrowed her eyes. "I kiss you once, and you believe me? Just like that?"

"Why wouldn't I? You were telling the truth..." Damian let a devilish smirk creep on his lips. "Plus, I had already known you were telling the truth."

"So, you threw that hissy fit for nothing?"

"Not nothing, but in a way, yes."

"I hate you."

"No you don't, you love me."

"Sadly."

#dcamu #damirae #dc #dc universe #dc comics #dc heroes #dcfilms #dcmultiverse #damian wayne #rachel roth #rachel #raven roth #raven #damian al ghul #demonbirds

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middleinthenight21 · 5 years

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Ain't that the worst thing you ever heard? Part 3

This is sad for me, It's the end

Thanks to @ravenfan1242 Without your help I could not have done this. Thank you!

If you read stay safe

"Damian Wayne has a girlfriend and she's beautiful."

"It is a pity that Bruce Wayne's son already has a partner."

’’ I ship them so much.’’

’’ Tessa Collingwood and Damian Wayne are so beautiful. God, they look so in love’’

’’ I need someone to look at me like Tessa at Damian’’

Tessa Collingwood was a British actress, mostly known for starring in teen series. Her fame exploded when she participated in a Netflix series about the rampant life of wealthy teens, the series was questionable in many ways, but it powered the careers of its stars; Tessa Collingwood accumulated more than three million followers on her accounts, being a celebrity on Instagram looking beautiful in all her photos. The actress was gorgeous with long fire-red hair, a freckled face and big blue eyes, plus an innocent smile.

The photographs circulating on the internet were taken at an auction, the youngest of the Wayne family holding a glass of champagne out to the crowd, right next to an ice sculpture in the shape of an angel with flapping wings and Tessa Collingwood looked impressive In a red dress that highlighted her hair, she was hiding a smile behind her glass. The following showed a conversation with Dick and the one who was supposed to be the manager of the actress, but the young woman was inclined as if paying attention to something Damian said and smiled.

Conner was jealous and Jaime muttered something in Spanish about the fate of some.

He rolled his eyes.

"What is she like, man?"

He frowned, he was not willing to talk about anything related to the actress, since it could be misinterpreted, especially by his colleagues, who tended to exaggerate everything and if a few simple photos could ignite all that paranoia a few words would probably make them explode. He threw his bag on the living room sofa and ignored the questions choosing to sit down.

Jaime snorted "Give us something. You are being linked to an actress and model, and you are so indifferent" He showed the actress' social networks on his cell phone, as if that cleared his mind. "It's Tessa Collingwood! She won an award for best actress in a drama series. "

He said nothing.

Donna grimaced at the ceiling, she didn’t even know who they were referring to and was thankful that there was at least one reasonable person in the room.

Superboy didn’t stop talking to Garfield about the actress and her presence at the auction, as well as reading comments together and laughing out loud when they called Damian a gentleman, but he refused to continue this conversation.

His older brother sat next to him, crossing his legs with a smirk. He nudged him "Tell them. She kept smiling at you. "

"You too? I let them take a photograph for a single event and they already mad up a silly love story", he growled. His words were tinged with rejection at the idea of all those people getting into his life. Over time, he accepted that some types of relationships are necessary, but if he considered it, it would not be in the public eye. The point was "He had to wear the scarf. "

"And Bruce would have loved it."

Damian said nothing, just grimaced and looked away. The journey from Gotham to Jump City was more tiring than he’d like to admit, plus the auction for the sculpture by Allard, an artist known for his dark style, became famous for his sculptures of smiling demons, tormented angels, and trees with sloping logs; He had been fascinated by the man's work and the details, even though people murmured how horrifying it was.

The event was slow and boring, he knew it would be, but there were responsibilities that came with being a Wayne. Commitments.

"Dick, you have to tell us," Conner insisted. "Is it true that she offered him her phone number as anonymous sources say? "

The man laughed at just imagining it and Damian crossed his arms.

Jaime looked at him as if he had done something wrong.

Garfield kept reading comments aloud and zooming in on the photos.

Troy cocked her head, processing who the actress was and why they cared so much.

Conner bombarded Dick with questions, trying to get as much information out of him as possible. He couldn't believe he considered him a friend, he's an idiot.

"I prefer cancellation."

Each one looked at him. He ignored them by focusing on removing from the packaging of the small statues he bought at the auction, as well as a handwritten book by an anonymous ancient Arab poet., The piece was valued at less than a million dollars and how millionaires are of unknown origin. They had nothing to brag about, but Damian found a value for it, perhaps because he is also an Arab, perhaps because people are stupid, especially those with more superficial money.

His older brother gave him a sideways glance.

"What? " He asked defensively. He put everything heshe bought in his bag, taking care that it was kept in perfect order.

"You've been reading a lot lately."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

He raised his hands, as if stopping an invisible attack.

"No, I didn't mean that, Damian." He shook his head. He put a finger on his chin thoughtfully. "It is just that I have seen you with at least two books in the week. Three days ago, I saw you reading Lovecraft, then Whose Body? or whatever ... "

Garfield looked up from his phone and watched him.

"Who, darling?"

Kory stroked Dick's chest from behind, pressing her chin against the hero's shoulder. Damian pulled away, despising the show of affection from the apparent team leaders, and the entire team made excuses to go elsewhere.

"I have to go bathe with my tongue." Garfield disappeared down the hallways.

The couple laughed. It seemed that they lived in a sugary bubble when they are together, all the time they touch each other and smile every time their eyes connect, once the caresses begin, they do not stop and they are not shy at all ... Damian has bad memories of this.

He left.

He just wanted his bed. After finding his face on the internet and what's on the fingers of so many people who just want to get involved in the gossip of the moment, he wanted to train, use his time productively.

Preparation is a prerequisite for victory.

And he's always ready, but he just wants to sleep.

For some reason, he can't help but start reading this book. That baffles him.

When passing through the kitchen a person is sitting eating a cereal bar and holding a coffee with a pungent chocolate aroma. She keeps a book over her face, covers her expressions and is dressed completely in dark tones., She had on a sweatshirt that is triple her size and one shoulder is exposed, he could only see a vestige of some shorts , since they disappeared in the long sweatshirt and thick stockings.

Her foot moved to the rhythm of an imperceptible melody and her hair was tied back in a high ponytail, leaving strands at the nape of her neck.

She turned the page "If you stay longer there, I will consider you as a stalker, what do you want?"

"And they say I'm rude."

Raven looked up. Her eyes narrowed when she saw him standing at the door, he was not surprised that she did not look excited, since the girl rarely showed her emotions and he was grateful for that. After coming from an event surrounded by teenagers who sighed ion his face, daughters of mayors, granddaughters of businessmen, actresses, models and influencers who took pictures of him on his social networks without asking for his permission.

He had considered suing, but Dick found it unnecessary and his father kept speculating with Selina about the possibility that a black-market gang would steal the pieces. Bruce thinks they collaborate with the Penguin, but he doesn't count them until they arrive.

The best detective in the world.

She puts the book down, but reluctantly does it "Sorry. I thought it was Garfield or Conner. " He bit down on the cereal bar, keeping an eye on Damian. "So, what happened? "

He frowned.

Raven watched him.

She is empathetic, he reminded himself. Sometimes he overlooked that detail, this was one of her powers, that does not make it more tolerable, he did not like that people would look below his appearance; It felt like an invasion of his privacy, it doesn't feel right, but he can't get mad at Raven for knowing too much.

Supreme warriors like us never give the enemy a chance to defeat us, not when it comes to emotions or appealing to feelings. We must get rid of them to rule the world, Ra's Al Ghul was clear. You cannot guide them to a better world, being equal to them.

You will not be useful to me, just as you are.

He pushed Talia and Ra's voice away, as if shaking the dust off.

He sat across from Raven. He watched her silently taking small sips of her coffee, when he met her he believed that she was a person drinking bitter espresso, but she has an insane inclination towards sweets of all kinds; she went to that little sweet shop on Riva Street where they prepare artisan cotton candy and bought those colored candies that she keeps in her pockets, like an amulet.

Damian grimaced when she added a spoon of cream to her coffee and licked what remained on the kitchen utensil. Pennyworth would disapprove of her behavior; he can almost hear the scolding in his head.

"Nothing. "

For a few seconds he struggles to remember her question. If this happened to him in the mansion, his older brothers would mock his face, and he grimaced.

After a weekend at Wayne Mansion living with his brothers and Helena, he was fortunate to be back with the Titans - his thirteen-year-old version would hit him in the face - but his little sister is loud, shaking her fists in the air and she opens her mouth as much as she can, claiming attention only for her, the noise of his brothers adds to it, that combination almost drover him crazy.

He doesn't want to talk about the auction.

"Look." She pulled a package out of her pockets. He raises an eyebrow, because he doesn't think it's anything special. "Son ghraybeh" she tried to pronounce. Raven lowers her voice, like she does when she's admitting something, she doesn't want anyone to hear. "I bought them in an Arab store. "

Damian analyzes one of the cookies. In his childhood in Tibet he had seen these biscuits in the markets of the nearby towns, the masses had almonds, pistachios and all kinds of nuts, but he had never tried them.

He bit into it. The sweet has a bitter flavor charged by spices, it’s an explosion in his mouth and he’s almost transported to those stores, to women covered by hijabs and it reminds him of the music his grandfather listened to during dinners, Of burnt incense, the blue hyacinth that grows as a weed and the Dragon Blood tree that rested in the garden that was extremely cared for, his grandfather had said that it is as old as he is and it’s sap is the color of blood.

Raven smiled, she bit into one of the cookies herself while drinking coffee.

He is not surprised that she had visited Arab stores, since in her spare time she visited bakeries, and that bookstore where the owner recommended novels and would have a reserved seat in the Costa restaurant while reading a book, as well as the ice cream parlor hidden among the luxury stores .

She tried foreign dishes, does not despise any genre of novels and is shocked by the arts. He supposed it was due to her time in hell, but deep down it's more than that; Raven is someone who leaves memories between those streets, measures people's energy and how they impact places. At first, he thought that her powers focused more on magic, such as enchantments, potions and spells, but she is more focused on emotions and feelings, she is different from Zatanna or Constantine.

"Is it true that the Belmont Allard sculptures were being auctioned?"

He set the cookie aside by making a mental note to finish it longer.

"I should have known that you were interested in his works."

Raven rolled her eyes, glancing at her book, her eyes scanning the page, and was drawn to whatever she now has on her reading list. She was quiet, reserved, and would rather sit in the back than walk in the front, but she should not be underestimated, and Damian had seen her vanquishing godlike humans and demons, yet she has a gentle aura. It is difficult to explain.

"Allard is famous. It has a history related to Satan, it is full of treasons, witches and enrichment overnight. "

She Mocked "Typical of pacts with the devil. "

Despite her mocking tone the truth slips.

Damian pulls out the book he bought, it's not flashy, it's dirty and worn. It smells of dust and dry ink, lined by a thick cloth of a dull red hue, it has damp spots and folded corners.

She says nothing but he sees the interest in her eyes.

"It is from an anonymous poet. It is of Arab origin; historians say that the book dates from 750. approximately, which corresponds to the times of an Iranian revolution" explained. "They assume that the author is a wealthy man because of the references to luxury and the elaboration of the work, but they are not sure. "

She stared at the book. He let her analyze it, but she frowned as she turned the pages and her mouth twisted into a grimace, like she was annoyed.

"What's wrong? "

"The book transmits strong feelings" her eyes shine, and she continues turning the pages. Damian raises an eyebrow, waiting for a clearer answer. "It brings me a feeling of longing; it is as if the author had misplaced something or someone" she closed the book. "It's amazing, I never felt this coming from an object" she leaves it.

He frowned.

It doesn't seem like a danger to him.

"Also, I can't read it."

He rolled his eyes.

Almost on impulse he opened any page of the book. The leaves are of a yellowish tone, with the corners eaten by humidity and the poet's pen is small and light, a scribble made of ink that in some places is smeared and he is surprised by the content of the letters.

"What does it say? "

He read in a loud voice. His voice was released, his mother tongue slides through his tongue and it is simple, after speaking English for so long it is even relaxing to speak Arabic, but she was puzzled and confused by his words, she was even happy that she does not understand what he is saying. Despite knowing the language, the words feel foreign.

عظامي المحطمه تتصلح

مع كل تلك الليالي التي قضاينها

حبك سر آمل احلم اموت لحفاظ عليه

التغير من اولوياتي

Despite everything, he prefers that she be the one who listened to him. Damian realizes she is comfortable; he feels domestic and that makes him reconsider what he just did.

The girl bows her head and frowns, she didn’t understand what he just said and struggles to try to associate the words, but the English and Arabic languages are opposite. Raven rests her head on her hand.

"What does it mean? "

Damian Wayne does not make these kinds of mistakes, his grandfather would subject him to abysmal punishment and his mother would slap him in the face, even his father would growl, but the answer is said before he can avoid it.

The translation is simple for him, a custom that he acquired over the years.

"My broken bones are healing with all these nights we spend. Your love is a secret that I am waiting, dreaming, dying to keep" responds. "You change my priorities. "

He looks her in the eye. Her eyes are like the purple tanzanite, a precious stone that Ra´s Al Ghul kept around his finger in a ring, a symbol of his status and power against his enemies; in the end it did no good, even the most powerful person in the world and his kingdom had fallen. Ra´s Al Ghul was no different than Julius Caesar, Tarquin, Darius I, Napoleon or Hitler and what they built.

Now he understood that the stone on his grandfather was a sample, a shell to inspire fear; Tanzania is extremely rare and expensive, its color was a boost to make it so coveted, and it seems imprinted in Raven's eyes.

He is aware of the level of communication they have; words are not necessary. Damian would have turned away, walked away and ignored her presence, he did not like that anyone felt familiar with him., He is a warrior not a sentimental teenager, but after the last few months he had been alone, nobody talked to him apart from matters involving the missions, he couldn't help but measure his actions and keep an eye on anyone who was around, it could be a stalker, maybe a person who hates him, or someone interested in selling a photograph to a magazine.

Damian preferred solitude, he exiled himself while the media storm passed over his head. Long ago he would not have cared, the Titans many times represented being a nuisance, they were open to anyone who told a sad story without caring about their past, but the weight of the distance began to haunt him.

He understood the nature of his character, how difficult it is to establish relationships, and the approach is difficult to deal with. Damian was extremely professional at best, concerned with realistic aspects and devised plans based on data, measured his peers and analyzed each and every action, judged and issued verdicts, disliked being touched by anyone and growled with his words to anyone who treated him like a child to be protected.

What before seemed to him aspects that should be highlighted now are the reasons why he is so hated.

He realized that his skills are a mattress; He was not welcome in many places, many heroes had complained about him and insulted him to his face, but they recognized how good a fighter and excellent strategist he is, not for nothing he is the son of Batman and the heir to the League of Shadows, and that does not mean anything. People on the internet didn't care who he was, what he accomplished, or what his story was. They hate him for the pictures, videos, and comments, and he couldn't do anything. It's tiring sometimes, when people decide to subject you to rejection and there is nothing to do to correct that.

They besieged his castle, forced him to close the gates of the kingdom.

He may not need third-party approval when criminals were loose on the streets, but it doesn't make it more tolerable.

His father told him of the harassment he would receive when he was recognized as the son of Bruce Wayne, but his home was snatched away, burned from head to foot and he had to create a new belief system out of thin air, he wanted to feel like he belonged somewhere. Bruce was right.

His privacy was stolen, he found his face on the covers of youth magazines and invented relationships with strangers based on nothing, he committed innocent people to address him and he does not want to live like this. He hates other people getting into his life, he doesn't have to explain to anyone, or hide, but Damian does.

I despised help, as well as apologies and looks of pity from others.

Raven was silent, and did not push him away when it appeared, she doesn't not care about the cancellation or how the Internet saw the next heir to the Wayne fortune. It was silent, private and intimate.

It is not dependency, it is not attachment based on loneliness or trauma, he doesn't even know where to catalog it. Raven had a breakup recently, although he knew that she is now friendly, that had affected her and he was canceled, tried and sentenced to global rejection, while his civilian identity was compromised, it is not a good combination.

She gulps and looks away. His hands tremble around his book and he almost see her shudder.

Damian stirs uncomfortably and insecure, he wants ...

"Tessa Collingwood talked about you!"

The entire group entered. Kory had ordered food from a local restaurant, and the rest just argued around the news on Garfield's phone, as if this was a gathering of old ladies arguing about the life of a misbehaving neighbor.

Raven raises an eyebrow "The actress? "

Jaime nods.

"She mentioned Damian in one of her stories," Garfield replied. Donna laughed at something, and Conner grimaced rereading the screen. "She said:’’ Me and Damian are just friends.’’

Kory smiled.

"I doubt I was friends with someone I saw only once." He crosses his arms. Looked at the Titans. "In fact, I have known certain people for years and doubt that I would include them on my list. "

Jaime rolled his eyes.

"Do you have a friendship list? Dude, that's absurd."

Conner nods looking at the green teenager, while Donna decided that the adult conversation is more interesting.

"Anyway, this beautiful actress mentioned you."

He hit the table with his book, attracting everyone's attention. "I don't care what it has to do with her." He turned around. "I will be in my room."

Someone called him, it was Raven ...

He stopped, standing at the door with his fists clenched.

He looked at her, while she held the book in her hands and smiled, just a little, as if she had heard an internal joke that only she knew. He had left the book.

So, everything was very clear and he's an idiot because he hadn’t seen it before.

***

Raven was lost.

Completely lost.

Alone and confused in her room, wandering from place to place like a caged lion. She wanted to demand answers, she felt like she was about to go crazy, and it is as if it is slowly killing her, she tries to fight, but she loses the fight as soon as it begins.

She compared this sensation with the previous ones; Raven had experienced love, the one that hurts your heart, the one you justify when you are hurt and you throw yourself into the void, with your blindfold you stumble over stones and ignore the blows, but this is different; born of intimacy, like a secret that grows until it is difficult to maintain.

She had to know.

Oh, Azarath.

She never learns from her mistakes.

Now she talks to everyone except him.

When surrounded by her peers it's easy to keep up, she just focuses on the cakes Kory brought, Donna's fighting techniques she hones in the training room, she even prefers her father's voice in her head to pay attention to her.

If she bleeds, if she hurts not to have it, she would never tell him.

Your love is a secret that I am waiting, dreaming, dying to keep.

Damn the poems of unknown Arab authors.

Raven wants to bury her feelings; burn his perfect face and the dimple rarely shows to others. Maybe he's aware of his own charm and she did something that bothered him, and he's only taking revenge on Raven in the worst way, Damian was vindictive and…

This is ridiculous.

I'm going to kill that boy, witch. You are a whore girl.

She makes a gesture to turn away her father's voice, but he doesn't shut up and she doesn't care.

She is so disoriented, she lives anchored to him like a bird in her blue sky and she has no way to kick him out of her life, she just doesn't want to. She is not selfish, she would never put her desires or her integrity over that of others, but she hates it because she could not have him in her life without compromising their friendship, the level of confidence they have and that feeling of home when they are going through difficult times.

Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.

Now it had taken on a new meaning. There are people who went through her life, were transitory, arrived at a specific moment and continued on, like nomads who left a lost object, and those who stay and fight by her side, accept her without expecting anything in return, they are important, they are family. However, there are others that transcend to the next level, they are like home, places shout their names and even everyday aspects seem valuable.

Raven does not want to despise this, but she is not going to ruin it by confessing her feelings, she felt like a schoolgirl who jumped when she saw the boy and hid in the corners.

Someone knocks on the door and opens it, she discovers Damian's serious face, frowning and holding two coffees. The first rays of the sun illuminate his face, as if blessing his soul and highlighting his tanned skin, and for a few seconds it seems that he knows.

"Good Morning. "

She steps aside, letting him pass. Her voice is monotonous, tired and she considers for a few seconds not to let him in, but it is too late.

Everything seems to be pulling towards him, as if he possessed a magnetic field and was a magnet. This morning he was not wearing his uniform, but a simple plain t-shirt in pastel blue and dark jeans and Nike sneakers, he squares his eyes like when preparing for battle or listening to something or someone who he does not like.

From here she perceives that he is having an internal struggle.

He leaves the coffee glasses on a small piece of furniture and stands in front of the window with his arms crossed behind his back.

"Is Something wrong? "

Hearing a bark and opening the door, Titus enters the room going upstairs to his house licking the pillows and spinning on the mattress. With Damian he was disciplined, obedient, surprisingly submissive, but when Raven is around, she allows him to be playful and mischievous, as if he had never become an adult animal.

Damian had scolded her for being permissive, but in her mind, he was never going to stop being that puppy she gave away inside that box. The animal had been scared, lost and away from his brothers, he trembled when a person approached, and she seemed to see her friend in the animal in a strange way.

Titus was shy and fearful when he arrived. Little by little he emerged from his cocoon to become a loyal and courageous Great Dane.

He didn't challenge him for messing up the bed like he normally would, so she started to worry. She didn't feel anything and that was frustrating, it was easy for Raven to understand people through her magic, although she didn't like what was underneath, but he only let her see what he allowed.

"What wrong? " She asked again.

"People have spoken again. "

Raven grimaced "Is it because of the actress? "

He turned his back on her and the young woman sat on the ground, partly so as not to disturb Titus, to have a better view, partly because she felt closer.

He was still flat, like a soft wave on a lake, and that is not all; it's just the outside.

"A little." He paused. "People hate Robin, people love what Damian Wayne stands for" His face is reflected in the window glass, he is impartial, and he keeps that scowl that characterizes him. "I do not care. My father says that the press is like vultures, but sometimes they are noisy. "

She cannot relate to that.

Raven enjoyed anonymity, she may be a consecrated heroine, and has a couple of victories on her record; people do not stop to talk about her private life, but are interested in the source of her power, her dark and quiet nature, they build and destroy theories, but nothing else.

She was a favorite on YouTube and blog channels focused on mysteries, conspiracy theories, and the paranormal.

She can't imagine what media persecution is, online harassment and what it means to have so many people eager to know about your life, that drove celebrities crazy all the time, some fell into addictions to flee their problems, those who survived cruelly understood the boundary between professional and personal, marked the line and took refuge in their homes, as if they lived in a fortress. Robin was a global trend in social networks, it required many people to achieve this.

Damian had stayed away, holding on to his training and lifting his chin as high as possible, but she knew him; with him not everything is said, it is not what is shown.

"Damian" she calls him because she knows his thoughts are strong right now. She reached for the coffee. She appreciated the warmth of the drink in her hands, it feels real. "It´s okay" she smiled.

He looks at her.

She had never seen that shade of green before. He may not realize his own charm; his face reflected the golden rays, and his dark hair shone in a lighter shade.

Titus now sleeps in bed and his snoring is deep.

He sits next to her in the lotus position and they watch the sunrise together. They do not say anything, they do not speak much, both are people who were touched by tragedy, who face battles while forging their way to adulthood and are not used to expressing their feelings, interpreting silences and supporting each other from a distance with small gestures.

She wants to have better words, be more forthcoming, and offer advice, so they could talk more about his breakdowns. Raven would cleanse his heart if that helps his heartbeat, a word and it would be his.

Damian takes her hand.

His fingers are barely touching, his skin is hard, and that scar that ran like a thick rope over his knuckles is soft to the touch; his fingers are long and shiver, as if cold, but he remains in place; she compares it to a burn and is surprised.

Raven wants to hold onto him, because he doesn't deserve all the hatred, they chase him with torches and spears. She wants to tell him that she regrets him for his past, for all the manipulation, because there was no one to show him love and treat him like a child, who sees him as a person during his childhood and she wants to smooth his wrinkles that were beyond the ones visible. She wants to show the affection that was denied him all his life and tell him that she does not care what they call him on the internet- Either as Robin or Damian Wayne- Deep down, he is only a kind and generous soul, and she is fortunate to see it, even if he is insufferable.

She squeezed his hand. Words are not necessary.

He keeps his gaze on the dawn. His eyebrows tremble and he showed his emotions for the first time, it is like the caress of the wind of a summer night.

Silence.

They are like little children who take too much importance on their clasped hands. There is no lust, nor the typical approach to achieve something, they are two people who are used to being alone, pushing everyone away, seeing the worst in people and being disappointed, betrayed and disheartened, clinging to the other; it is so simple and complex.

He leans his head against hers and leaves it.

At first, she is surprised, but she thinks he is like a scared animal that would walk away in the face of any foreign sound or reaction. It is beautiful, vulnerable and serene, like a new dawn.

Aware of his exhaustion and frustration, this simple action reflects the fatigue of all these months of witch hunting, keeping quiet and holding on his own, she can feel him letting go of his burdens and that mask of indifference is shattered.

Her hair is soft, and his shoulder bumps into hers; He is taller, and his muscles are worked by constant exercise and his breath tastes like coffee.

The scent of shaving lotion reaches her nose, she was aware of that smell and it was masculine, it had a woody touch and she was relaxing.

Can they stay like this forever? In the silence and secrecy of her room with their hands clasped and leaning on the other drinking coffee from plastic cups ...

... And suddenly, this is enough.

***

Raven bought a dress.

That night is hot, and they visit an open bar on the seashore. The music is relaxed, the musicians play bass drums and ukuleles, giving the place a tropical atmosphere; decorated by lights and all the tables and chairs are made of wood, with small floral decorations as centers.

The sound of ocean waves and salty-smelling air was sleepy, almost as if slowly inducing her to sleep.

Kory forced them into a night of mandatory fun, booked a table in a corner under a palm tree, would give them a little privacy, and they wouldn't get as much attention. She sensed that in the place photographs were not allowed was a factor for her to choose it.

The tradition of compulsory fun was installed with the arrival of Damian, she was left justifying small getaways or celebrations of birthdays, anniversaries, certain days of the year.

Raven thanked the team leader- who she considers to be an older sister- since the bar is not very crowded nor does it allow crowds with all those people sweating under the influence of alcohol, but the place is familiar, spacious and quiet. Her powers would not overwhelm her.

"Honey, will you bring us our drinks?"

Dick nods walking towards the bar. The man was wearing a simple T-shirt and shorts, on the other hand, his fiancée looked glamorous in the purple dress with large openings revealing her shapely legs and a plunging neckline.

Garfield, Conner, and Jaime share a conversation with Donna about the dance, but the young woman only frowns when she looks at the musicians.

"It's Latin music. "

Jaime snorts "Don't look at me, dude. Just because I'm Latino does not mean I know how to dance. "

"I'm not the best dancer anymore." Garfield looks with a grudge at Damian, who grimaces looking away.

"I just beat you."

"You break codes and all that, surely you did it with the dance machine. "

Raven snorts, but she's amused.

"That was a long time ago." He looked at everyone. "Can we get over it? "

When Dick arrived he announced that he asked for drinks for each one, but they had a limit of two, because some recently stopped being minors, also in the tower they had rules and arriving drunk is on the prohibited list; for those who are minors there are unlimited juices.

The night is progressing normally, although she sees certain people who are surprised by her colorful group, nobody really cares. They are just a group of friends enjoying an evening by the ocean.

Damian rolls his eyes when Dick starts Kory dancing with a slow song.

"They've been dating for years."

Raven raises her eyebrows, not at all surprised. She already knew.

"I mean long before they became teammates." He gives his whisky a small sip. "When he was a boy, he kept having suggestive calls with her." He shrugs.

"No way! " Conner leans in and opens his mouth.

Jaime contains a laugh.

"Are you seriously surprised?" She didn’t need to be empathetic to know that.

They look at her, but it's Garfield who speaks first.

"Did you know?! " He shakes his head. "Of course, you knew, why didn't you tell me?! "

"I did not mean that. "

"Traci arrived!" Jaime gets up from the table and disappears.

After two years together he is still excited to see her enter the room, Raven got along with the girl, she is pleasant and has a pink aura, used to loving and showing it, she also has Jaime around her fingers.

Raven drinks her gin and tonic, the drink is incredibly sweet and fruity. Her friends raised an eyebrow at seeing her bite into the lemon wedge that decorates the drink, but it's not that she cares, it's probably because she's going for her second fruit drink and sweet alcoholic drinks are misleading.

A boy appears pushed by his group of friends, who laugh giving him sidelong glances and extends one of his hands to dance, he is tall, and his face is youthful, perhaps just after finishing high school. His emotions are strong too, but the one that predominates is lust, she has a moment when images of herself come of kissing him in the dark.

He has too much imagination.

"Would you like to dance? "

She shakes his head, absorbing the lemon juice to the last drop. The scene almost seems funny to her, this boy asking her to dance in front of her friends, among them her ex-partner is present, along with the young man who answered the name of her best friend, who also has feelings. It is funny.

A smile glides across her lips.

The boy stirs uncomfortably without knowing how to interpret her smile, but she continues to shake her head, so he leaves.

"You have low tolerance, Roth."

Raven grimaces "It will pass soon. Alcohol will be in my system for exactly forty minutes and then I'll be like new. "

She calls a waiter asking for a Cuban mojito with that sugar-covered rim she likes so much.

When the drink is put in front of her, it is just as promised and she almost sighs when she sees it. Damian drops his drink, gives her a disapproving look with those green eyes, and she could cry right now because she thinks it's cruel and insane to be around him.

Conner invites his friends to dance wanting to flee from the discomfort. The others continue to join the small group that formed in the middle of the dance floor, Kory and Dick get all eyes, they move well.

Raven sips the drink through the straw. The little umbrella is a hindrance, so she pushes it aside noticing how her fingers tremble, the sugar and the drink mix is not a good match.

Damian approaches, but she moves away.

She should think twice before entering his space.

Raven looks him in the eye. Noting that his expression reflects concern, just as he was ready to scold her, she knows that scowl and he has that plain short-sleeved shirt with the designer's name she can't pronounce and some worn jeans; For someone with so much money, he have not invested too much in his clothing.

His eyes are green as a drink, and he raises an eyebrow. His features are a mix between the Middle East and the West, his Arabic accent is light, as if he had always spoken English and he moves his fingers on the wooden table; remember that morning when their hands touched.

She wants to cry.

"It's not fair."

It's not fair that he so perfect, while she was melting away for keeping her secret just to keep him within her life. It's not fair!

She doesn't want him as her best friend.

He is a magnetic force in the form of a man.

She is attracted to him. It is not a fairy tale, it is not idolatry, just esteem it, the past seems to have been erased by a rubber when they were together, and she is dying to have him.

Random, she's so angry.

Damian grimaces "are you okay? "

"I'm fine. "

That’s a lie.

"Let's go," he says, taking her by the forearm before she finished her drink and takes her to the parking lot without asking. He opens the door of his car, sitting her in the back seat. "Try to get comfortable" He sits down on the pilot's seat and starts the car.

She really wanted to stay.

She rests her head against the headboard and looks out. The highway is fast and distinguishes trees and pieces of the ocean illuminated by a moon.

The lights are off, and there is no music.

She lies down in the back seat.

It smells of leather and that forest fragrance, just like his lotion.

Suddenly the tears slide down her eyes, they are thin. She is angry with herself for being weak, with him and for the life that kept hitting her, a few weeks ago she had been convinced that she is much better alone, lives well and recovers from a breakup, she is not missing anything, then he entered little by little to her life and she wants to push him away, now she just wants him to stay a little longer. A little bit closer.

Raven wants to see what's underneath that bad boy attitude.

He sees her in the rearview mirror "what's wrong with you? "

"Nothing," she says in a broken voice.

Damian raises an eyebrow. Maybe he doesn't care, maybe he's worried she will throw up in his expensive car or she pretends that she cares just so he doesn't make her feel bad.

What doesn't kill her makes her want him more.

He tilts his head she and sees that sharp scar in the corner of his chin catch the silver glow of the moon. This is horrible.

"It's not important what you're upset about."

What?

Damian, the worst adviser in the world.

Yes it is important because it would destroy everything, they would end the reading of books on the roof, visits to Riva street where they would chat in the book store, the shared cafes in their room when they feel too lazy to go up or the weather is not favorable for them and the way he smiles marking that dimple on his cheek, how he held her hand and leaned his head against her. She thinks that if she lost him, she wouldn't do those things again.

Her heart breaks.

She would never walk down Riva Street again.

It is her fault.

It is his fault.

She imagines reading Robert Frost alone knowing he didn't love her, she would visit Riva Street trying to meet again, she would finish the cafes on the floor of her room because she is dumb enough to confess. Damian wouldn't worry about love affairs, he has a purpose and it would be a distraction, a stone in his shoe, he had better judgment, therefore he would walk away first.

He would not give her second glances; in fact, he would despise her for ruining their friendship.

It terrifies her too much.

She cries like a baby in the back of the car.

When they park in front of the tower of the Titans, she does not think twice and opens the door running into the forest that surrounds the home of the young heroes, entering it as if he were chasing her. She can hear the car's engine go off, as well as his desperate call, then the footsteps.

Raven takes off her shoes.

Thanks for the lightness of her dress. She thinks about going through the back door of the tower and locking herself in her room, tomorrow she could say that she was drunk and was not thinking clearly, but now she needs to be alone.

Maybe she deserves it.

She is running barefoot through the woods with her dress catching leaves and branches, just as her hair is now a wind-tossed mess. The moon is a fuzzy point between the treetops and the warm weather does not help.

She runs a hand down her face, ridding herself of the tears that were running down her cheeks.

"Raven!"

She is not a runner, so she is caught by arms before she could open a portal to her room, another country or dimension, she really doesn't know for sure. There are three uncertain options.

Damian pushes her away, looking her in the eye.

"What's wrong? You ran away, the car was moving, Raven."

His hands go up and down her shoulders to her arms, giving her warmth. Then she realizes that she is trembling, like a scared puppy and she is a total disaster.

She wanted to escape to close her fate, because she deserves to be alone and having him close is her own personal torture.

Damian had come to her in moments of vulnerability, when no one was looking, he trusted her more than anyone, he was harassed and hated by people. Damian Wayne was easily associated with actresses, models and celebrities, they took his privacy without his consent, everyone hated or loved a version of him.

He showed her his true self and she paid him by falling in love with him.

He had driven her crazy, begging him to knock on her door or end it all.

It would destroy years of friendship and companionship.

Raven got out of a relationship, that's not how it was supposed to go, she hadn't looked for it.

He looks her in the eye, as if waiting for her to tell him the devastating ending of a novel. He is so close that his mint breath almost makes the tide, his hands are warm as the desert and she has to look away so as not to be consumed.

Her heart beats painfully in her chest.

She ruined her life for not being his.

She wants so much and that is hurting her.

"Tell me."

She digs her feet into the ground, her toes touch the ground and the dry leaves. This is real.

Suddenly, she is angry with everyone and everything.

Tell him! A voice rolled her, almost crying. You're going to ruin everything, says another with resignation.

However, something inside her asks for more, she wants to have him closer and her hands tremble wanting to interlock their fingers; it is as if a spirit had possessed her body and made her ambitious and selfish.

She feels her heart breaking.

Wanting it is bad. Damian doesn't deserve this, but ...

Now or never.

She shouts: "I love you! Ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?"

Time is frozen, like dead. Everything stops.

Damian is silent.

She swallows and clenches her jaw.

She wants to cry.

She has ruined everything.

But he looks up and smiles like a devil.

***

The lights are off when they reach her room, Titus is playing with her sheets and there is disorder.

She stands still, not knowing what to do.

The moonlight is bluish, almost blinding them and everything is silent. The door to her room is open, the kitchen light is dim and she listens to a tune in the distance, she thinks it's the radio that Kory always leaves on.

The tension could be cut by a knife, but it is different.

Raven has passed the effect of alcohol and knows that she has done something that is irreparable, but she couldn't care less, because he smiled and held her hand gently; Damian dropped the costumes a bit, sheltering his feelings and emotions as heshe had been taught all his life, just for her. Nobody else.

He is standing at the door.

He looks her in the eye and there is an unspoken agreement between the two.

Close the door.

Raven is an awkward mess, it will take days for her emotions to normalize, but this time she allows her stomach to spin, her hands to stay inert at the sides of her torso without knowing which position to adapt, and her brain short-circuiting.

All roads had led her to this moment.

Feeling their fear and how confused they are, none are used to showing affection unless someone loves them, but they try. She stands firm.

Damian says nothing when he approaches, he takes her hand gently interlacing his fingers, it is like fire and ice, two forces that collide. It is something so every day, but with him it is as if he left a mark that she cannot erase.

He presses their foreheads and she sigh.

She had been a hawthorn tree for a long time, but now she may be a rose.

He caresses her face, the pads of his fingers running down her forehead, her cheeks up to her neck. It is pure, there is longing and affection, he will not tell her that he loves her too, but the gentleness and innocence of the act is enough to let her breathe out, because they do not need to speak, nor do they require speeches. Love can be declared to anyone, castles are built on the sand with ease only from confessions based on nothing, but demonstrating it is something else.

Raven kisses him on the cheek, presses her lips against the skin, and the fingers he keeps on her neck tremble. His breathing is ragged, as if he was agitated; they were both so lonely, apprehensive, and fearful that this bubble was an illusion.

They cannot make promises now because this is running a thread.

Darkness surrounds them, like a blanket on this summer night. There is no one in the tower, everyone stayed at the bar and they only heard Titus's playful grunts.

Her hands go up his chest and go to the nape. They take it easy, adapting to being this close, and trying not to get the blow too strong to leave them in shock.

She presses her forehead against his cheek.

Her father's voice is strong and threatening, but she contains a smile because it is so ridiculous and funny.

"What does he say? " He whispers.

She looked him in the eyes "My father wants to kill you. "

Damian frowns "And me to him. "

Raven laughs, a loud, clear laugh; she shares his feelings about her father.

"I will have a good relationship with your father," he says sarcastically. His voice is light and attracts her, like bees to honey. "It would be a shame if you spend time with me. "

"It would be," she whispers.

He brushes back a lock of her hair, pressing both hands to her cheeks. He kisses her cheek lightly with the touch of a butterfly and sighs, almost instinctively closes his eyes and kisses her on the corner of her lips, they are like school children experiencing romance.

When they finally kiss, it is soft and delicate.

She has to lean on him not to slip, and her heart trembles with joy, because she has what she wanted for so long. She doesn't know when they crossed the line, when she started having feelings for him, it felt like a thousand years ago.

She in a safe place, she feels like she been waiting a long time to find something like that. This is the kind of love that time does not heal, that makes you sigh and beg for more.

She would ask him to please stay.

In the past she believed that love is painful, that it steals things from you and runs away, like a criminal, but it is more than that.

Kissing in the dark, limbs trembling and hearts pounding, praying this doesn't end. They are a blank page on a desk, which is filled as they go.

Raven strokes his hair, and feels his breath catch.

They stay there and Titus jumps around her, barking and expressing enthusiasm; he is the only thing in the room that is moving.

He kisses her again. This time it is safe, the kiss is slow, and he seems to want to savor this moment and her legs tremble.

His breath is slightly bitter, like whisky, and her lips are ice cold in the drink. It is an interesting contrast to his warm skin to the touch and she realizes how much she wanted to feel each of his scars, she wanted to perceive what his skin is like and the lights change the color of his green eyes, she wants to know what is under his clothes, count his freckles, moles, wounds and scars.

One of the straps of her dress falls from her shoulder.

Her body is new to him, and she is more than willing to get used to it.

Let him have everything; her heart, her body and soul.

***

Damian and Raven talk and agree to have their relationship private.

In front of the titans they are companions, they get along well, but it is not that they revolve around each other, in fact, they hardly speak if it is not for the missions. They try to separate the professional from the personal, they would have nothing in front of the others, but they look in private corners. No one knows what is between them.

They do well.

Damian has already been exposed to the media, they had gotten into his life and he was hated by everyone for his attitudes like Robin, but when they are together that does not matter. All the drama queens and the noisy ones muffle their voices and the statements of celebrities approaching him lose their meaning.

He doesn't care what is said in the tabloids.

He thinks the Titans are suspicious, but not that there was enough evidence, and none are willing to answer the questions or pay attention to suspicious glances. Nobody asks Damian, but his brothers are an exception, after all, they didn't learn from the best detective in the world for nothing and sometimes he thinks it's a curse to surround himself with his family.

He thinks Alfred and his father know but ignores them.

They are not a sentimental couple, nor do they go out too much, only on missions or compulsory fun dates, to walk in the park with Titus, although they rarely go together, since they fear finding the photos on the internet; they prefer to be in the room, have breakfast on the roof of the tower, lie next to each other without speaking, they could read together or hold hands and Damian prefers to enjoy her company when no one is around, She is surprised when she feels light waking up by his side in the morning or by entering her room after a mission.

Damian walks to her room with Titus following in his footsteps.

He goes through the room where the group watches a movie, Raven is not there, so she assumes that she must be in her room probably because they are watching a horror movie and it is not that the girl is a fan of horror movies that include Blood and uncensored deaths, the group barely notices as they are thrilled by the butter knife murder scene.

He opens the door and is surprised.

She is reading in his bed, wearing a shirt that she stole from his closet and never returned, and shorts made from gray fabric. Now she wears a plain Dolce and Gabanna shirt for sleep, as if the designer's brand was nothing.

Her short hair is strewn across the pillow and she is focused on the letters in that book.

Titus jumps onto the bed, licking the girl's face, she suppresses a smile, and looks up to see him lock the door securely.

She pet the dog "Hi. "

He quietly walks over to his computer, pulling a document Drake had sent him out of the recycle bin that contained a report with a couple of errors. His father instructed him to correct the mistakes since his brother had overdosed on coffee or something.

she is probably feeling his apprehension.

From his bag where she carries his pet's leash, water bottles, the muzzle and a part of towels, she extracts a cotton candy wrapped in a plastic bag, it looks like a pink cloud.

When he saw the vendor in the park, he remembered how she had that insane obsession with sweets and his mind began to associate her with caramel, soft and extremely sugary flavors. Sometimes he doesn't understand how she can tolerate eating a whole cotton candy.

She smiles at him and takes it in her hands. He sits on the bed, and she spreads her feet using his lap to support them; Damian looks down as if asking why he did that, but he just lets it go.

Raven eats the cotton candy, while smiling as she tries to push the dog away. Finally, the animal licks her fingers absorbing the sweetness, and she laughs.

He tries to focus on correcting the report, but her laugh distracts him.

"I'm trying to finish," he declares, but his gaze is no longer focused on the screen.

She puts a piece of cotton candy in her mouth and smiles. She doesn't answer him, but she looks sorry for interrupting him, heshe knows it's not her fault, but she didn't impose rules on Titus and around Raven he behaves like a spoiled brat.

"Sorry, it's just ..." The dog jumps on top of her and licks her fingers. Damian decides that enough is enough and with just a sign Titus settles near his feet. The girl grimaces picks up the book and opens a page. "Is that the report they called you so much for? "

He nodded.

Gotham City.

The Penguin robbed the city bank, between the streets ...

Raven shakes her hand and opens her palm. Now heshe is sitting next to her, she bumps her shoulders against his, she is small and their palms touch, she thinks she wants to interlace her fingers, but she puts a piece of cotton candy in his hand.

"Eat a little."

He is transported to the first night of mandatory fun when he hated being with the Titans, he did not belong because he knew everything there was to know, he was the most intelligent, disciplined and the most brutal fighter in the world, but nothing else and that is precisely what he lacked. He did not have any social skills, it was never clearer than in that amusement park, he had thought that his mistakes were great, he did not deserve that any of these people accepted him.

Raven had gotten closer; he didn't even know why. She offered him cotton candy ...

Just like now.

Shit. His father would kill him.

He closed the computer and set it aside. Damian eats the cotton candy, he still doesn't like it, it melts in his mouth and it is pure sugar, it is gooey, and his throat warms up, as if he had ingested a liquid at high temperatures.

He draws her in and sits her on his legs.

Raven is slim and diminutive, not muscular like Kory or Donna, but possesses the body of a runner, although both know she is not exceptional in sports, she prefers her magic. He surrounds her waist, and she rests her head against his cheek, as she likes to do when they hug.

She keeps her gaze on her book and turns the pages.

Read:

With his back to the sun, another day ends in this abandoned town.

You have a wish list:

-Know the city.

-Build an aviary for those little birds that roam your yard looking for food.

-Risking for someone and that it turns out well.

…

Damian laughs wryly.

"What? " She asked, looking him in the eye.

Raven pulls back a little but adjusts the position so that both legs rest to one side.

"You were drunk when you confessed. You took a chance. "

She buries her head in his shoulder "Don't remind me. "

She is embarrassed. He Finds this charming.

"It went right."

Raven stiffens, and looks him in the eye, but Damian is smiling because he can't help it and he likes to see how certain answers surprise her. She puts those eyes that he only sees when he smiles at her, it's like she's melting inside, struggling to hold back a sigh; He has seen her do it before they started dating because Damian Wayne is not a fool, he is still the son and heir of the best detective in the world, and he was taught from a young age to measure personal body language; It is adorable.

Maybe he still slips.

He strokes her hair, tucking one of her locks behind her right ear.

They looked into each other's eyes.

"Yes." She kisses him, sighs against his mouth, and Damian interlocks his fingers giving her a soft squeeze. "I did something right. "

His grandfather and mother would be scolding him, an Al Ghul did not hold his partner as a delicate thing and allowed himself to be kissed without a purpose, even his father who had lost the ground to the Gotham cat would give him a disapproving look, it is dangerous to establish a personal connection with your teammates, but none knew and to be honest, they were not interested.

In fact, no one knows for sure.

The diamond sparkles on her forehead.

"My father still wants to kill you."

Of course, yes.

She changes position now sitting face to face, strokes his chest until she stops at his heart and stays there. He really doesn't understand how he came to this, he didn’t expect to find love, nor in a million years would he think about being in this position, but he won't run from this. All the voices from his past scream in his head, but Damian stays.

It is so unexpected.

Damian hates when something doesn't go according to plan, because he usually has it all coldly calculated, if it doesn't work then he would have a backup. As the future leader of an organization, his life was designed, as Robin, he has to be prepared for everything and being a Titan, he took on the hard work, the aspects that others would not take care of, everything was perfected. This is out of his hands.

"I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this"

Raven smiles and they kiss.

All the murders, all his past, all the pain and confusion, the hatred and the persecutions are nothing compared to her.

End.

#damirae #fanfiction #damian wayne #raven #damian x raven

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calixddm101706 · 4 years

Text

Different You. II

..........THE NEXT DAY.........

Damian called the entire team to the common room to tell them the news.

Raven was kind of worried because Damian never called a meeting if it wasn't urgent. Like Batman gave us a mission or something.

Once everyone was present, all eyes were on the boy wonder.

"Why did you call is Damian?" Kori asked waiting.

Damian took a deep breath then started,

"I am leaving the team." He said unfazed, the team on the other hand were shocked to their very core, gasps filled the room. 'What?'s and 'Why?'s covered the room.

Raven was shocked, Why? What's wrong? Did we piss him off? Why is he leaving? She thought endlessly.

Damian heard all the questions towards him, he felt like he was standing in front of paparazzi.

He raised a hand to silence the voices of his team, "This is not because you have pissed me off or annoyed me endlessly. It is because I want to try what a normal life has to offer. I will dearly miss this team and everyone. You were good colleagues. Thank you for everything." He said trying his best to hold back tears.

Once Kori heard his reason her confused expression turned into a happy one. This is the side he was hiding.

The entire time he was with the Titans, the Tamaranian princess has watched this young man grow.

From that cold broken boy she met to this extraordinary young man, this was probably because of Raven. She helped him develop all throughout his years as a member of the Titans.

"As much as I will dislike seeing you leave this group, I know this is the best for you, and I know you will accomplish great things, Damian. I am proud of you." Kori said with a warm smile.

Damian just nods with a smile, he appreciated her response to this matter. Gar speaking brought his gaze to the team.

"Yeah dude, we will definitely miss you." Gar said with a smile.

"Yeah hermano, we will miss your annoying attitude." Jaime adds.

"We will definitely miss you boy wonder, especially Raven." Jon says smirking then turned to face the said empath.

Raven just blushed when Damian's gaze went to her. She knew they were waiting for her opinion on this.

"I......WE will miss you." She says, watching what she says, making sure she dosen't show her true intentions.

What was her true intentions?

She hated it, she would never admit it, but she liked the boy wonder, probably even loved him. She didn't want to be away from him.

She wanted him, here, with her.

But she also wanted what was best for him, and this was the best for him. So she decided to go with it, not even thinking about the pain and sorrow this will give her.

Damian just smiles back and nods, also happy with her response.

"You should go pack." Donna suggests. Damian nods then walks out of the room, leaving a still slightly shocked team in the room.

Once he was done packing he left his room, taking one more look before finally closing the door. He headed to the elevator, but couldn't help but reminisce the memories he created in this place.

Just thinking about these memories made him tear up, but his cold exterior covered that up.

Once he went out the front door, he saw the entire team there, waiting for him. He raised an eyebrow, he was shocked and confused why they were there.

"We are here to bid you farewell." Kori said with a smile, tears formed in the corners of her eyes, even though he was an irritating at times, Damian was family to her.

"Yea dude, you don't think we are just going to let you leave without a proper goodbye." Jon said. Damian nodded in understanding.

"Very well then, although I have one more thing I would like to say." He said causing the Tamaranian and everyone else to look confused.

"Don't make this team sloppy without me, do your best, don't fail, and train." He said with a smirk, causing some light giggles around.

Raven suddenly went forward to the front of the group, which instantly catches Damian's attention.

Raven looks back to give Kori a look, she understands then nods, "Okay team, we have training to do." Kori announced, the team nodded then followed her back inside, all except Raven.

"So......." Raven didn't know what to say, she can't just spit out 'I love you're out of nowhere.

"I will miss you." She admits, he flashes her a warm smile.

"Me too, I would definitely miss our morning tea." He replies, causing the mage to chuckle.

"Oh yeah! Wait right there." Raven ordered as she ran inside then got something.

She came out again but with Titus in her hands, Damian raised an eyebrow at the sight, "I think you should keep Titus." He suggests.

"No, you should keep him, to remember me by." She says handing him the dog, but he refuses.

"No, you should keep him, you need him more than I do, and plus, I will never, ever forget you Raven." He admits with a smile, causing Raven to blush crimson red. Raven puts Titus down then the said dog ran inside the tower.

Their gazes locked, they were just staring at each other, enough words were said, their eyes said everything.

They were lost in each other's eyes that they didn't hear the sound of the Batmobile heading their away.

"Hey guys!" Dick shouted, his head peeking outside the vehicle. His voice snapped the two out of their staring.

"I should get going." Damian said gesturing to the black car infront of them. Raven nodded them whispered a "yeah" before walking back slowly to the door of the tower.

Damian gets in the passenger seat, but before the doors slide open, he takes one last glance at the tower.

Then his gaze trails down to the empath waiting for them to leave.

He gives one final wave to Raven before the door slides close.

The engine started then it took off, Raven just watched as the boy she liked, go farther away from her.

That was a year ago, now the Titans were doing pretty good, they have been doing their missions well. But every now and then they reminisce moments with the former boy wonder.

Raven heard that he also quit being Robin and went to Gotham Academy. Sure she was happy for him, but she really missed him.

So when Dick said that they were going to visit Damian she was freaking jumping in excitement, not infront of the team though. She also decided to bring Titus, so he too, can reunite with the former Robin.

Now she was here, in the common room, waiting for everyone to appear, she was excited and nervous.

Would he still remember us? Did he forget about me? Her thoughts were all over the place.

The team appeared from the doors, causing the empath to immediately stand up from her seat.

"Somebody's a little excited to see you know who." Donna said with a smirk, she earned a death glare from the half demon.

"Dick said that we can go there now, Raven can you teleport us infront of the front door of the Manor?" Kori asked the mage. She nods.

The team surrounds Raven, waiting for her magic. She puts her arms out then chants her usual spell.

Black magic envelopes the team, and less than 10 seconds later, they appear in front of the Manor.

They look around to make sure they are at the right place, and once they saw Jason Todd on top of the stairs leading to the front door they knew they were.

"Hey Teen Titans!" Jason shouts, they just wave back.

"Why are you guys here?" Jason asked, "We are here to visit Damian." Kori said.

"Oh yeah, me too. I haven't seen demon spawn on like a year or two." He says with a grin.

Damian being called 'Demon Spawn' angered Raven but she chose not to do anything about it.

The huge doors opened to reveal the infamous Alfred Pennyworth.

"Welcome everybody, please do come in." He greets formally.

Jason and the team walked in, Jason was looking for things that changed during the time he was away, but also just admiring the structure. Same for the Titans, they were admiring the design of the household.

"Titus!"

They were cut out of their thoughts when a familiar voice was heard and Titus ran pass their feet.

They followed where the dog was headed to, their gazes follow the dog up the staircase, and what was waiting at the end was no other than....

Damian Wayne.

"Hey guys! How are you?" He asks while rubbing Titus' head.

This shocked the team and Jason to their very core, his voice was filled with............

Happiness.

Raven couldn't explain the sight that was looking at, Damian Wayne, showing his emotions?

Their gazes follow Damian down the stairs, their faces still wore a shocked expression.

"Hey! Gar!" He greets then hugs Gar, the green boy was shocked, but returns the hug.

He hugs now?! Raven thought.

He went next to Jaime, but does something differently, "Hey Jaime do people irritate the scarab?" He asks.

"Why?" Jaime asked back, confused.

"Because I can see that they are BUGGING him." He answers, then bursts out in laughter.

"Oh my God." Jaime replies. Once Damian noticed that everyone wasn't laughing he stopped then raised his eyebrow.

"What? Oh come on! That was funny!" He says looking back and forth to each member of the team.

Raven still couldn't belive the sight, This is a whole new Damian. This is probably what normal did to him. He was filled with joy and playfulness. He is literally Gar. This is new Damian. Damian Wayne reborn. She thought to herself.

He goes next to Donna, Kori, Jon, and finally Raven. Once he reaches the empath, he quickly wraps his arms around her.

"I have missed you Raven." He says, his lips beside her ear.

He pulls out of the hug, then faces everyone. "Anybody want cookies? I just baked some." He said pointing at the kitchen.

This new Damian scared Raven, her legs took control, she ran out the front door, to nowhere headed.

Her movement got everyone's attention. "Raven! Wait, where are you going!" Kori yells, she gets no response, Raven just continues running.

"I'll go after her, you guys enjoy the cookies." Damian said, his tone filled with worry.

The team nodded, then Alfred led them to the kitchen.

Damian went out the door and followed the direction Raven went.

Her path led him to the household's garden. He looked around then he found who he was looking for, sitting at a wooden bench.

He walks to the bench to see Ravem looking down at the floor, he knew she knew he was there.

He sits beside her, still no movement from her end.

Silence took over the space between the two.

A few minutes before Raven decided to break it.

"How's your school?" She asks, she didn't know what else she would say. For her, this was a whole another Damian, one she didn't know.

She didn't know his interests, he was a different boy. But yet she still had feelings for this different boy.

"Pretty good, I have some friends, good grades, a few fangirls." He says with a joke to lighten the mood.

"How is normal treating you?" She asks, "Pretty well, I have been enjoying this peaceful less powers life." He answers.

"But I have been missing my old life too, not so much, but I miss it." He admits.

Raven finally moves her head, which causes Damian to do the same. Their gazes locked, amethyst met emerald.

"Look, I'm sorry I ran out. I just....." She tried to find the words to express herself.

"I just was just scared." She admits looking away to the green grass.

"Scared?" He asks confused, "Scared of what?".

She decided to just admit everything.

"I was scared because I saw this new you. Playful and happy, and not that I don't want to see you playful and happy." She says and adds the last part in a hurry before he gets the wrong idea.

"New.....me?" He asks, still confused.

"Yeah, you've changed, Damian. You were not the boy I saw left the tower a year ago. You are a different......well you." She clears up, his confusion goes away, and gets replaced by something positive.

"Listen Raven," He says, causing her to take her gaze off the grass and to his eyes once again.

"I may have changed my behavior and personality, but I assure you, that I am still Damian Wayne." He says with a smile.

She just listens closely on what he had to say.

He hesitates to talk but gains the courage to do so.

"The same Damian Wayne who was once heir to the throne of the league of assassins, who was once Robin, and a Titan." He says, but his tone said that he was restraining something.

He looks away from her gaze.

"The same Damian Wayne who still likes you." He confesses.

Raven's eyes widened at the sudden confession.

"Okay so, yeah, I'm still me, and I like you, Raven." He said facing again her face, gazes attached.

Raven just have up and let her emotions take over, she grabbed him by his shirt then pulled him to her.

But gazes weren't the only thing that attached, lips too.

They shared a passionate kiss in the garden.

They kissed a few minutes, but pulled away needing air.

A comfortable silence takes over but gets broken by Raven.

#damian and raven #damian wayne #damirae #raven roth #damian x raven #robrae #demonbirds #robin

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xaphrin · 5 years

Text

Haunted

@chromium7sky - I have LITERALLY no idea if this is good, or if you even like it, or if this is what you’re looking for, but I had SO MUCH FUN writing it, and there’s probably more in store.

Here’s an AO3 Link

- - -

“I… made a mistake.”

Raven lifted her eyebrows and looked over him, her lips curling up at the edges. Perfect Damian Wayne, making a mistake? Never. Blinking, she leaned against the door frame leading into her shop, and stared at him. He was quite a sight in front of her, the dingy lights of midnight in Gotham lighting up the space behind him, rain pouring down into his eyes. Something about the shadows in his eyes was making her uncomfortable, like there was a secret he was trying to tell her without saying anything at all.

Raven crossed her arms over her chest and looked down the darkened alley, seeing one of her regular customers stop and stare at her and Damian before moving on, pretending to look somewhere else. She didn’t really blame him for running away, Damian had shot up like a weed in the years after she’d left the team, and his massive form nearly blocked out the entirety of her entry door. In the flickering street lights and neon signs, he probably looked like the kind of nightmare that haunted you forever.

She sighed and tilted her head to the side, watching him. “And what do you expect me to do about it? I thought you were handling this all on your own.”

His lips twitched and he looked away, shame coloring his cheeks. “I need a favor. A big one this time.”

“Of course you do. That’s all I’m good for anymore, isn’t it? Favors you’re too anxious to ask Constantine for.” She puffed out her cheeks, trying to control the sudden burst of anger flooding her. At the end of the alley, a transformer sparked before going out, bathing them in the inky shadows that stretched their spindly fingers towards Raven.

Raven took a deep breath and let it out slowly, it wouldn’t do her any good at all to be angry with him, even if she wanted to. She stood there, trying to weigh her options as her eyes searched his blank expression. Honestly, she had already done far too many favors for him in the past few years, and he was getting close to maxing out his quota. But still… their long (and very messy) history kept her from immediately pushing him away from her and out of her life - again.

He would always be her weakness, and that was something she was going to have to accept.

A long moment passed between them, uncertain if she should move forward and let him back into her life or not. But, she knew the answer. She knew exactly what she was going to do the moment she saw him in front of her shop door, eyes pleading with her like he was some kind of beaten pet.

“Fine.” She flicked a lock of hair out of her eyes and sighed, taking a step into her shop, motioning for him to follow her. “Come on in. Let’s take a look at you and see what we can do to fix whatever you did.”

She waited until he was standing in the small, open space in the middle of her shop before she flipped the lock on her door and turned the sign hanging on the door to closed. Damian shed his jacket and set it on the counter, looking around the shop, as if intrigued by all the bottles of tinctures and tonics on the wall - bits of magic carefully enclosed in glass and steel. He reached out and touched a display of chintzy love charms next to the cash register. They lost all the magic within a day, but the high school girls who came into the shop on a dare usually bought them for fun.

“Why are you here?” Raven sighed and took a step towards him, her eyes narrow. “You made your point loud and clear last time we saw each other.”

“That’s not-” Damian looked at her and sighed. “Raven, however you interpreted our last… meeting-”

“Fight. It was a fight, Damian.” Raven bit back a curse and glared at him, halfway tempted to open the lock on her door and shove him back into the alleyway. Her patience was wearing thin, he had to have seen that. “And you kicked me out of the tower, in case you need a reminder of what happened. The minute Kory left and you took over the rest of the team, you cleaned house faster than anyone expected.”

“I didn’t clean house, and I wasn’t trying to kick you out. That was never the intention. I was just worried about you. You were upset and you were growing volatile.” He seemed to realize that was not the right thing to say, and he glanced away. “I didn’t mean-”

“Volatile? I was growing volatile? For fucks sake, Damian, you were changing everything around me! Everything changed. Kory and Dick were leaving, Gar was talking about going back to the Doom Patrol, Jaime already had one foot out the door, and Conner and Cassie were already picking out new recruits. I was just getting used to having a home and having stability, and having you as my best friend. And then everything was changing all around me so suddenly.” She looked away, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to bring her temper down and keep herself together. She didn’t want to be reminded of her last days at the tower, those wounds were still fresh even though years had passed. “I didn’t need a leader, I needed a friend to tell me everything was going to be okay. I needed you most of all, and you practically told me to pack my shit and leave.”

He winced and ran a hand over his face. “I was young and stupid. I didn’t… I thought being a leader meant control, Raven. I thought that if I could keep a short leash on everyone, we would work better and smarter and I was wrong.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, lifting his eyes to hers. “I was wrong, Raven. So wrong, and I know that now. If I could go back and make everything right, I would. I would do whatever I could to fix this. To make you see that I should have never betrayed your trust.”

Raven heart ached, somehow feeling empty and full at the same time, and she felt herself immediately disarmed. Her eyes searched his face, the years between them suddenly disappearing, and she sighed, her fingers running over his jaw. She felt a scar near his ear, an old wound she remembered him getting from a mission when they were still a new team. Damian looked into her eyes, and his head tilted to the side, almost as if he were leaning into her touch.

“We’re past that, Damian. You can’t fix something that happened in the past, you can only move forward.” She pulled her hand away and let silence settle over both of them again. There was a slow rumble of thunder in the distance, a warning of an oncoming storm. She pushed her hair out of her eyes again and sighed. “At least it’s nice to know you’re still around. I haven’t gotten any notice from you in three months. I thought you might have died.”

He shook his head and looked at her. “It’s… it’s a bit more complicated than that.”

Raven crossed her arms over her chest, staring at him. “How so?”

He shifted and sat down in a chair near the counter. “It was a… it was a mission gone wrong.” His eyes lifted to her own, expression softening around the edges, and for a moment it felt like he was seeing right through her and into her soul. “It wouldn’t have gone wrong if you were there. You always had a way of keeping up pulled together.”

That stung after what they had just said to each other, but Damian had never been tactful, so she chose not to take it personally. She pushed her hair out of her eyes again and shook her head. “I left that life years ago, Damian. Civilian life suits me now, and I don’t think my skills are exactly what they used to be. So, if this is another attempt to get me to come back to the team, you’re fresh out of luck.”

“I’d hardly call selling spells and potions civilian.” He arched an eyebrow and stared at her, a strange emotions filling his eyes. “You’re one of the most powerful sorceresses I know, Raven. Even if you only use your powers to cure limp dicks and heal broken hearts.”

“I do more than that.” He was baiting her, trying to get her to admit that she didn’t like this life. Well, he was wrong. She was perfectly happy in her little shop selling what little she could to people who needed it. She pursed her lips, and angry heat crawling up her neck. “You’re not exactly helping your case, Damian. Get to the point.”

“The mission went sideways. The rest of the team is fine, but I’m…” He trailed off, looking away. “I’m not. I’m not okay.”

She leveled another stare at him, her eyes sweeping over his face. He turned and met her, keeping his expression blank. Raven took a step towards him. “So what happened? Why are you here now? And why didn’t you go to Constantine?”

“It’s… it’s probably better to show you.” He sighed and shoved up the sleeve of his shirt, staring into her face as he presented his bare arm to her.

No. Not bare. Scarred.

Raven’s eyes fluttered, and any animosity she was trying to hold onto easily dissipated as she stared down into the very specific scar on his forearm. Black lines wove like sinister vines over his deep, olive skin, following the paths of his veins. Her fingers reached out and she traced the ragged edges of the mark as it webbed in opposite directions from the puncture wound in his arm, towards his wrist and his elbow. It looked painful and invasive, and Raven knew that her anger towards him needed to be shelved for the time being. Right now, Damian was her friend and he needed her help.

“Damian, this is…” Her mind was racing and she looked up into his face, her fingertips feeling the heat rolling off his wound. He smelled of his usual spiced soap, but under that there was the lingering perfume of death starting to cling to him. “You’ve gotten worse. This wound isn’t fresh.”

“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his head and looked away. “Yeah, I know. I had tried to fix it myself, but… I’m not a sorcerer. And I couldn’t go to grandfather… he’d make me…” Damian trailed off, closing his eyes. Something slithered down his spine and he looked away. “Nevermind.”

“I see why you didn’t go to Constantine.” Raven pulled Damian’s sleeve back down over his arm, cocking her head to the side. “He would have put a stake right through your heart, love.” Raven made a poor attempt at John’s accent, which only earned an annoyed glare from Damian.

“You’re not exactly helping my case.”

“I’m exactly explaining your case.” She ran her hand through her hair and shook her head. “Damian, you know better than to get messed up with these things. Reversing this isn’t going to be easy. It’s going to take me weeks to get this stain out of you… and I don’t know if I can. You waited too long to reach out to me. Maybe if it was a new wound, I could help easily, but this… this is deep. It’s already taking root in you.” She mentally counted days and weeks, trying to calculate how long it had been. Her eyes flicked to his face again, watching flecks of gold sparkle in his deep green irises. “Have you…” What was the appropriate way to ask if he’d drank blood? “...quenched your thirst yet?”

He gave her another flat stare, lips pulling back in an almost-snarl. “No. I’m not an idiot. I know better.”

Whew. Well, at least they had that going for them. Thank goodness for small miracles. As long as he didn’t drink human blood, he wouldn’t turn just yet. They still had a chance to fix this before things got out of control, but their time was running out. She knew why Damian hadn’t come to her, but they should put their old conflicts aside. She let go of a sigh and leaned back from him, regarding him carefully. “Come on then, let’s see what I have to at least keep the effects at bay. I can at least stabilize you while I work through a cure.”

She motioned for him to follow her, leading him through a side door and into her small workspace behind her storefront. A sterile, white light hung overhead, and jars and containers of raw materials were stacked neatly on metal shelves, some things inside the glass shifting towards Raven as she passed by them. One particular box on a bottom shelf moved slightly, catching Damian’s shocked stare.

He made a face. “You keep a dead cat in here?”

Raven sniffed. “Brahms is insulted by that, you know.”

As if realizing he was being talked about, Brahms opened his one eye and slowly lounged out of the box before jumping up onto Raven’s work table, his stump of a tail flicking. Raven scratched behind his notched ear and checked the still-healing scar along his belly, leading back to where his left hind leg had been. The scar had stopped oozing a few days ago and was now the pale pink of fresh skin. He was definitely getting better.

“Someone hit him in the street outside, I just brought him here to heal.” Raven turned and pulled a few things off the shelves, chewing on her lower lip as she flipped through a book on her table. It was lucky she had all the ingredients she would need. The spell to cure him was going to cost a small fortune for all the ingredients, but at least this would keep the curse at bay for a little while longer. “He stuck around after I patched him up, and I don’t mind the company. In spite of his appearance, he’s sometimes relatively sweet.”

“I can see that.”

When Raven turned back around, he found Brahms rubbing up against Damian’s hand as Damian scratched under his chin. For a brief moment, Damian’s face seemed to lose its tension, and something almost like calm filled him. It was probably the most calm Damian had felt in weeks. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and Raven felt her heart turn over again. Brahms didn’t really like other people, but he had somehow warmed up to Damian instantly. Raven stood there and admired the scene for a few moments, pretending not to notice when Damian caught her stare.

She set the ingredients down on her worktable, and Brahms jumped down, weaving through Damian’s legs a few times before disappearing through another door that lead upstairs. Damian watched her as she worked quietly for a few minutes, mixing a few things together and muttering a spell under her breath. The spell was a familiar one - to keep curses at bay, and she found her mind wandering through the familiarity of it all. Damian stood next to her, and for a while it felt like old times back at the tower - both of them working together, enjoying each other’s quiet company. It felt… comforting, like something she had been missing for a long while. As angry as she was at Damian, she still appreciated his presence.

“I’m sorry.”

Raven’s hands stilled against her grinding wheel, and she turned to look at him. “What?”

“I’m sorry.” Damian’s voice was still, and he pressed his hand against the table, leaning closer to her. “For what happened at the tower. It was my fault and I… I thought I knew what was best then. I thought I knew what was going to make us a better team, and I didn’t. I didn’t know what I was doing at all, and I couldn’t admit it to myself or to you at the time. So, all I did was mess everything up, and I… I don’t know how to make it up to you. I don’t know how to fix it, except tell you I’m sorry a hundred times over.”

“You’re apologizing and admitting to your mistakes, so that’s a start.” Raven cocked her head to the side and offered a thin, teasing smile, looking at him from beneath the shadows of her eyelashes. “You’ve got a long way to go, but at least you’re headed in the right direction. It’s more than yesterday.” She turned back to her work. “Now, hush. I’m trying to concentrate on saving your life.”

Damian shook his head, but a small smile tugged on his lips. He stayed quiet until Raven finished her work, his presence still welcoming and comforting.

“Here. This won’t cure you, but it will keep you stabilized until we can figure out a permanent cure. I have a few ideas for where to start, but I’ll need to do some more research.” She handed him a bowl of something thick and syrupy, like black ink coating the inside of the bowl. “Drink all of this.”

His lips pulled back in a grimace and he sniffed it. “I don’t think I can drink this.”

“Well, I don’t have cinnamon flavoring, so you’re going to have to make do.” She paused, a slight flush working up her neck as she realized she remembered that cinnamon was his favorite flavor. It had been years and she still remembered little details about him. Damian lifted an eyebrow and she turned away, ignoring whatever feeling was twisting in her chest and putting things back on the shelves. She listened to him try and swallow as much as he could, sputtering between mouthfuls.

There was a slight pause and she looked back at him. “Do you have a place to stay tonight?”

He forced down another mouthful and coughed, wiping at his mouth. “N-no. I was going to rent a hotel room.”

“Mm.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Stay with me.”

The air grew heavy and Damian stared at her, eyes wide with surprise. After they had just spent the better part of their evening being angry with each other, she was inviting him to stay the night. It was probably a bad choice, but having him next to her reminded her how much she liked having him around. Raven winced as she desperately searched for a sensible explanation, shoving unused herbs back into their respective canisters. “Hotels are busy places filled with easy prey. It’ll keep you from being tempted, and I can keep an eye on you overnight, and… and Brahms seems to like you. He’s an excellent judge of character.”

He paused, another sound of coughing filling the small space. “You don’t think it’s ironic that you named your cat Brahms?”

“In all fairness you’re the only… night creature I’ve met.” She turned around and watched as he wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand again, avoiding her stare. “I’ve never seen anyone else with the same curse as yours. And I thought it was fitting of a cat who somehow defied death.”

“Mm.” Damian set the now empty bowl on her work table. He rested his hands on the table and swallowed air, obviously weighing her offer. Finally he lifted his stare to her own, cocking his head to the side. “Alright, I’ll stay.”

“My apartment is small and I only have one bed.” Why did she have to blurt that out?

He lifted an eyebrow, as if not sure why that mattered.

“Just so you’re aware. I don’t have an extra guest room. You’ll have to sleep in the armchair.” Raven ignored his expression and made her way to the back staircase, motioning for him to follow. “It’s nothing fancy, but Roy told me it’s comfortable enough. So, you should get a fairly good rest, especially if you’re tired enough.”

Damian made an odd noise in the back of his throat, as though that news upset him. “You’ve had Harper over?”

Raven nodded, glancing over her shoulder at him, but he avoided her stare. “And Tim. And Conner. And Cassie. And Gar. And Jason. And Dick and Kory. And Babs. And Steph. And Cass. And Garth. And-”

“I get it.” Damian growled, the sound rough as it escaped his throat. Shame seemed to color every part of him, and his head dipped in something akin to embarrassment. “I haven’t exactly been… social these last few years. With anyone outside of the team.”

“They’re not usually social calls, if that’s what you’re thinking. Kory and Dick maybe, but mostly my apartment is a safe haven for people who need it… or who don’t feel like they can go to John… or Zatanna.” Raven unlocked the door at the top of the stairs, and Brahms ran inside, followed by Raven and Damian. She flicked the light on, bathing her small studio in a soft glow. “My apartment is a place you can come if you need help. It’s how its always been.”

“You have… books.” He glanced around the apartment. “A lot of them.”

She glanced around the space, noting that nearly every wall was filled floor-to-ceiling with bookcases, each one shoved full of books. Most were tomes and scripts she needed for her work, but some were admittedly for pleasure. “I need most of those for what I do downstairs. There’s the chair.” She motioned to a large armchair shoved in the corner across from her bed and covered in blankets and throw pillow, with a plush ottoman in front of it. “The bathroom is to the left of the kitchen area. You can change and shower if you need to, I’m sure the trip was hard on you. I think I have one of your old shirts but…” She paused and gave him a once-over, snorting softly. “I doubt it still fits.”

Damian looked down at himself, as if he wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about. How could he have not noticed how big he’d gotten? Was he that oblivious? He glared for a moment, as if insulted before cocking his head to the side, suddenly realizing something. “Why do you have one of my old shirts?”

“You gave it to me on a mission…” Raven turned to her stove and set the kettle on the heat. “I never had a chance to return it to you.”

Damian snorted, obviously not buying her story. “You had plenty of chances… you just chose not to.”

“So?” Raven glanced at him, a dark blush staining her cheeks. A few years ago she might have felt shame at clinging to her past, but now she realized it was part of who she was, and it was important to her to remember the home she had. If Damian found fault with that, then that was his concern, not hers. She looked away again, ignoring the sudden weight in the room. “It was comforting, and after a while it became a way for me to remember the home I had before.”

Damian dropped his jacket onto a kitchen chair and wandered into the rest of her studio apartment. His steps stopped and he snorted, staring at the bed. “You have a king size bed.”

“And?”

He turned back towards her, his face blank. “You’re telling me that you have a king size bed, that takes up most of your bedroom area, and you still make your guests sleep in an armchair?”

“Not all my guests.” Raven smirked as she pulled two mugs out of the cupboard, setting them on the counter. She could afford to tease him just a little. “Steph usually sleeps with me. Sometimes Tim. He likes to cuddle.”

Damian glared at her, but she ignored it. “There are extra blankets stored in the ottoman if you need them.”

There was a long stretch of silence and she heard him pull out the blankets, setting up his space in the chair. Finally, Damian spoke again, still curious about the guests that stayed over. “So… you just have people over whenever?”

“Whenever they need it. Or whenever my services are required.” Raven poured near-boiling water over the tea in the mugs and turned back to him. “And you definitely need it.”

Damian looked at her. “But Tim sleeps with you?”

“And Steph.”

His lips twitched, his thoughts racing. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, as if there was a question building on his lips that he desperately wanted answers to. “So, do you…? With Tim or Steph?”

“That’s none of your business, now is it? You haven’t seen me in years, and I’m a grown woman who is perfectly capable of making her own choices in life.” She gave him a teasing smirk, telling more secrets than truths, and walked over to him, shoving a mug of tea into his hand. “Lavender and chamomile. It’ll help you sleep tonight, and it’ll get the taste of the spell out of your mouth. I know it’s not pleasant.”

Damian took the tea cautiously and drank it. There was another stretch of silence and Raven pulled back the covers of her bed, Brahms finding space on the pillow beside her. She glanced over at Damian, her eyes curious. Damian looked uncomfortable and dejected, and she could sense something under his skin - something like jealousy and regret and sorrow and the roots of their friendship from Raven’s time at the tower. It all swirled together, a mess of emotions and feelings that he wasn’t sure how to contend with, and he struggled with understanding them and himself. Raven couldn’t find fault with that, not when he was working so hard to at least try to be better. It was a start, he just had to keep trying.

“Just because you said you’re sorry it doesn’t absolve you of what happened at the tower.” She sighed and sat down across from him on the edge of the bed, looking into his face. He didn’t turn away from her, and she took that as a sign to continue. “I’m still mad at you. I want to forgive you, Damian… but it’s not easy, and you have to give me time. I’m still healing, and you come back into my life after years of being out of it and… and it’s hard. I’m helpless when it comes to you. I thought you would have learned that by now.”

Damian sighed and set the mug of tea down next to him. He looked for a long while like he wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind. Something was warring inside him, and he wasn’t sure which side of himself he should be on. A minute passed, and then two, and finally he turned away, running his fingers through his hair. “It’s late. We should… we should get to bed.”

Raven nodded and disappeared to the bathroom to change, when she came back Damian was already curled up in the armchair, his head tilted back as he started to drift to sleep. She stared at him for a long moment, her eyes drifting over his too-big-for-the-chair form, stretched out in an uncomfortable position with one foot hanging off the ottoman. Her heart turned over and she knew that she probably shouldn’t torture him any longer. She sighed and walked up to him, pulling the blanket off his chest. Damian opened one eye and glared, but Raven was unfazed.

“Get in bed.” She motioned to the bed behind her. ”And take off your trousers, you look ridiculous and uncomfortable.”

He blinked, a flush staining his cheeks. “I thought you-”

“Only Roy has to sleep in the chair because he’s handsy in his sleep.” She sighed and shook her head. “Everyone else is welcome in my bed. It’s why I got a king in the first place. Steph kicks in her sleep, and a full wasn’t enough space to avoid it.” Her legs hurt just thinking about it. “So go on, take off your pants and get into bed.”

Damian slowly undressed the rest of the way, and Raven tried not to admire his backside as he bent over. Tried, and failed. Miserably. All those years of training had definitely done wonders. She flushed and looked away, crawling into her side of the bed to pull the covers over her shoulders. Brahms found his favorite spot on top of her head, and Damian finally sat down on the other side of the mattress, dressed in nothing more than his boxer briefs and his undershirt. She flushed again and rolled away from him.

“Just stay over there on your side of the bed.”

She waited for a response, but there was only silence. When she glanced over her shoulder, he had already fallen into a deep sleep. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she backed up a few inches so that her back was brushing against his chest. His familiar warmth and scent of spiced soap filled her senses, and for a few minutes she felt like she was somewhere else. In a time before she had left the tower.

“You should stay on your side of the bed too.”

Raven flushed and moved to pull away, but Damian curled a hand around her waist, drawing her back into his chest. Raven stilled, her cheeks flushed as she stared into the inky darkness around her. Brahms readjusted so that he was sitting on top of both of their heads. For the first time in a long time, Raven felt… safe and comforted, and her eyes grew heavy as Damian’s fingers tangled in the folds of her t-shirt.

A long silence stretched between them, and she had almost fallen asleep when she heard Damian murmur into her ear.

“So… did you? With Steph?”

Raven smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

He scoffed, his breathing heavy. “Not really.”

“Liar.”

#damirae #demonbirds #still working on filling requests #but if ya'll keep making them so good #it's gonna take forever to get through them

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disregardcanon · 6 years

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end of year writing meme for 2018! feel free to piggyback if you’d like to and please tag me if you do! i’d love to see what everyone did ficwise this year :)

Total Stories Written: 31

Total Words Written: 122741 Average Words Per Story: 4,000 Shortest Story: femme fatale 389 Longest: born to live, made to die wip currently at 20,826 Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted?

less for sure. i wrote more original stuff this year (i got 20k done for nano! woop!) but over all i didn’t write as much. i’ve been busier and there’s been a lot more happy stuff going on outside of school, so that’s good.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write most?

pairing: snaibsel from number of stories, tododeku from how many words were written about a pairing

genre: um. is “coming of age story/gender bend” a genre because i wrote that the most

fandom: bnha

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?

well i didn’t even know that spop was a thing in january so rewrite would have been a surprise except that it’s so up my alley that i would just look at and say “that tracks”. maybe all the bnha gender bends? i would have been shocked that i made myself ship kacchako when i first started bnha in june probably Did you take any writing risks this year?

i started a long fic for fma that i’m still working on, which is pretty big for me. i also started a series about gender bent bnha characters, which is pretty controversial. Do you have any fanfic or general writing goals for the new year?

finish up some more of those bnha gender bends, finish the bnha yj crossover, and hopefully finish more original fic.

From the past year of writing, what was your… Best story of this year:

born to live, made to die has to be it. everything has just kind of come together in that one and i’ve grown so much as a writer working on it.