#RaeTim

[flyingkiki]

Curiosity (7/?)

We all need more #TimRae moments. Enjoy! :) 

Raven woke up with a strangled gasp and blindly stumbled out of her bed. Swaying unsteadily and feeling a wave of nausea hit her, she inhaled deeply. Despite the cool dawn air, she felt her body burn underneath her camisole. Inhaling unsteadily, she desperately tried to forget fire suffocating her and hot marble angrily burning into her back. Her mother’s name was like a song whispered by disembodied voices over the hot flames.

Purple eyes closed and she released a long breath she did not know she was holding. Looking at her arms and legs, she warily checked for any signs of the marks of Scath. Standing in the middle of her room, Raven tried to calm her erratic breathing and desperately scrambled to ground herself.

Her toes curled into the plush carpet and she silently tried to push away the haunting memories of her mother. Breathing in slowly, she felt her heartbeat slowly steady but her emotions remained wild and angry inside of her. Black energy snapped at her fingertips briefly before disappearing as she inhaled sharply.

This damn cult was fraying her nerves.

Raven looked at her bed with a look of displeasure. The bedsheets were untucked, her blanket had tumbled down to the floor, and her pillow was dangling over the edge of her bed. Her eyes slid towards the alarm clock and she frowned. 2:45 in the morning. She barely got any sleep.

With her emotions so tightly wound, Raven knew sleep would not return any time soon. Sighing softly, she marched towards her closet and decided to blow off some steam. After changing into a pair of shoes, a sports bra, and gym shorts, she silently walked through the manor listening to the quiet noises the old house offered. In the distance, she could feel the manor’s occupants still asleep in their own rooms.

The Batcave was dimly lit as she entered through its secret entrance. The cave was alive with the quiet hum of machines and computers, and Raven silently thought how impressive the whole setup was. Cyborg always was jealous of the Batcave setup, despite their advanced setup at the tower.

Flying down towards the center of the cave, she landed in the middle of the training ring. Dropping off her towel and water bottle, Raven fished out her phone that she tucked into her shorts and walked up to the sound system. A little music would help her nerves.

Just as she finished typing up and activating her training course, a few notches higher than what she would usually go for, loud rock music filled the Batcave. Stretching her body over the growing the growing thumping of rock music, she watched as holograms of robots shot up from the ground with varying weapons and bodies that towered several feet above her. The training system was similar to the one they used at the Tower where holograms could still touch and inflict damage on them.

As the loud beat of rock music steadily grew and climbed towards its crescendo, Raven jumped back into the training ring. The loud, angry drum beats filled cave, and Raven found her mind automatically slip into fight mode as a mass of fighting hologram robots lunged at her.

For training at the tower, Dick had them work on their hand-to-hand combat skills often. While Raven heavily relied on her powers during most of her fights, she quickly picked up combat skills from Nightwing. While it was nowhere near like her meditating, Raven discovered that hand-to-hand combat helped when her emotions were too wired.

And she hated to admit it, but she desperately wanted to perfect her fighting skills to save her from Dick’s constant complaints how sloppy she was with some of their weapons. She never was a fan of Dick’s criticism.

Easily punching out some of the holograms and dodging swipes from swords, Raven neatly turned on her heel and delivered a kick to a robot that tried to attack her from behind. The simulation was faster than the level she worked with back home, and she gasped for breath. Punching a robot, she jumped over the stumbling form and threw another one over her shoulder.

This is okay, she assured herself, as she narrowly missed a sword swipe just close to her throat. She felt the adrenaline rush through her and relished the momentary high of the fight. Anything to keep her mind off her mother, the cult, and Trigon.

One of the hologram ninjas jumped at her and swing his katana at her, Raven inhaled sharply and dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way. Scrambling towards the weapons stand, she grabbed one of the bo staffs and sharply twisted her body to deliver powerful blow to her opponent. The music switched to a fast metal song, filling the cave with loud drum beats and heavy electric guitar riffs.

That you've always counted on, What's your goal, to save your soul?

Dropping low, Raven dodged a punch and swiped the bo staff under her opponent’s feet. Jumping away, she twisted again and delivered several more blows to her coming opponents. Feeling her emotions angrily thump in her veins, Raven watched as a few more holograms appeared in the training ring. Her emotions roared. Somewhere in the angry fog of her mind, she could hear the whispers of chanting.

You better run, You better run, you better run, 'Cause the stars are falling from the sky,

Grunting, Raven felt heat consume her and she punched one of the holograms angrily. Twisting, she easily met blow after blow with her bo staff and deflected punches. Clinging desperately to the heat of the fight, she tried to erase the smell of burning flesh that seemed to claw its way back into her mind. Arella.

You always want to be someone, But life's a game of zero sum,

She felt a punch draw dangerously close to her torso and she gasped. Raven felt hands grab her and pull her back onto the altar. It suddenly felt like an onslaught of hazy memories that seemed to grab her by the throat and she inhaled sharply. She took a misstep and felt the bo staff swing in the wrong way. One of the holograms knocked her off her feet, a punch she did not feel, and she landed roughly on the ground. Raven watched breathlessly as a sword swiftly came down on her head.

You better run, You better run to be someone, It's time to do or die...

There was a loud beep signaling that the simulation was over. The loud metal music was winding down too, ready to switch to a new song. Inhaling unsteadily, she sent out a spark of her magic and the music died. Lying breathless on the cold training floor, Raven dropped the bo staff next to her with a loud clatter and she stared blankly up at the grey and brown ceiling of the Batcave.

She felt the satisfying ache of her body as she draped her arm over her eyes. This somehow helped tame the emotions that angrily gnawed against her being.

“It would help if you twisted your leg and hips just a little bit more to reel in a stronger blow,”

Raven inhaled softly pulled her arm away from her eyes. Turning her head to where the voice came from, she spotted Tim up on the railings above her. She caught his curious gaze and stared at him. Feeling his concern and curiosity push against her, she blinked. “How long have you been here?”

Leaning over the railing, Tim watched her. “Long enough to see you punch the shit out of our combat training system.”

Raven hummed softly and sat up. She knew Tim would want to ask questions. Ignoring how his eyes swept over her body, Raven stood up and walked towards the bench where she left her things. She felt his gaze burn into her back. Grabbing her water bottle, she drank some water and eyed Tim out of the corner of her eyes walk down to the training ring.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Raven turned around at his question and watched Tim pick up the bo staff she dropped.

“Nightmares,” She replied. Picking up her towel she wiped her face and neck before wiping off her arms and stomach. She caught Tim watching the towel mover from her arms to her stomach and when she felt the slight shift of his emotions towards her, she quirked her lips lightly.

“Again?”

She shrugged. “Yeah,” she caught his calculating stare and tilted her head. “Why are you up so early?”

“I wanted to get an early start on some research I’ve been working on,”

Raven hummed. “At 4 in the morning,”

Tim watched her putter around the training ring, returning some of the weapons she used. From where he stood in the middle of the ring he could see her muscles move softly with her movements. He didn’t bother to suppress the emotions that stirred within him. With her back turned to him as she returned some arnis sticks, he caught sight of a long scar run over the swell of her left hip. Tim blinked when Raven looked over her shoulder and caught his wandering eyes.

Tim chuckled softly and crossed his arms over this chest, still holding the bo staff. “Better than beating up all of our holograms since 3 in the morning,”

Raven turned around and eyed him with a surprised look. “How did you know?”

He tapped his watch. “We get alarms when someone enters the cave,”

Raven let out a small huff of laughter. “Of course.” She walked up to him and curled her finger around the bo staff he was holding with the intent of returning it to the weapon’s stand. When Tim refused to let go of the staff, she looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

“So, the music?”

Knowing that he would not let go unless she satisfactorily answered all his questions, like the nosy little nerd that he was sometimes, Raven dropped her hands and sighed. “I like how music helps me with my emotions, especially when I’m keyed up pretty badly.” Running her fingers through her messy hair, her purple eyes locked with his light blue ones. “The playlist is Garfield’s. I copied his, I’m surprised I like his choice of music, really.”

“I see a lot of Dick’s fighting style in your moves,” Tim commented, tilting his head to the side and allowing some of his hair to fall into his eyes. She blinked up at him, Raven wanted to brush his stupid hair away. “With some variations,”

“He taught me some capoeira, judo, jeet kune do, and escrima. He likes to make sure we all know how to do hand-to-hand combat in case our powers don’t work,” Raven shrugged. “He likes to crawl up our asses if we don’t do well in combat, so I try to practice. Dick is annoying when he handles our training runs, honestly.”

“I bet,” Tim grinned. Straightening, he eyed her curiously. Tapping the bo staff with his fingers thoughtfully, he pressed forward. “So, did you want to go for another round? I could teach you how improve your bo staff techniques,”

Raven frowned. “I know how to use it,”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t say you didn’t know how. I know you could do even better,”

She knew what he was doing as she watched him move a step closer to her. He knew about her dreams and Tim was helping keeping her distracted. Feeling the familiar push of his emotions, she nodded. “Fine,”

Tim grinned and pushed the bo staff into her hands. “Excellent,”

Raven watched him jog off to the side of the ring and grab an extra staff for himself. She blinked as she saw him take off his shirt, leaving him barefoot in his black sweatpants. She pursed her lips as she stared as the scars and muscle move across his ridiculously chiseled back. Was this necessary?

“Ready?” Tim called.

Raven barely even had the time to look up from appreciating one scar disappeared into the dip of his back and into his sweatpants when he charged at her. She had the foresight to deflect his attack with her staff and grunt at the impact. “Hey!”

There was a glint in Tim’s blue eyes that bordered dangerous and amusement at the same time. Of all the Robins, Raven knew that Tim was the no fuss kind. Highly calculating, an excellent planner and strategist, and always several steps ahead in battle. While she knew he was holding back to a certain degree, Raven stumbled back as she took into the brunt of the blow.

“Always be on your toes, Raven,”

She watched him in mild annoyance twirl his bo staff before crouching down low. He sounded like Dick. Taking a step back, she readied herself for another attack. He lunged forward again and swung a series of strikes and kicks her way.

Raven frowned and tried her best to deflect all his attacks. Over the years, Tim had mastered the use of the bo staff. His training background also put him to an advantage. Trying to find an opening for her to land a strike, Raven frowned in concentration as she narrowly missed a swipe.

“You’re keeping your left side wide open, Raven,”

Raven frowned and tried to spot an opening in Tim’s attacks. She knew he had an advantage over her after studying her fight earlier. Diving into an offensive attack, she let out an annoyed grunt as Tim easily deflected her blow.

Taking advantage of her momentum, Tim struck her bo staff and sent it clattering loudly to the ground. Swinging his body around her, her grabbed her body and slammed her back against his chest and trapped her in place with his bo staff firmly pressed over her arms and chest. A little thrill of excitement jolted down his spine at the press of her body against his.

Not the one to give up easily, Raven struggled against his hold. But the more she struggled, the firmer the Tim’s bo staff pressed against her body. She felt it painfully press against her rib cage. Grunting, she tried to swing her weight to kick his feet under him but with Tim’s height and weight he seemed firmly planted to the ground.

She felt his warm breath against her neck as he pressed his face next to hers. Her body tingled at the whisper of a contact. “I told you your left was open,” there was an amused lilt in his voice.

Frustrated at loosing, Raven huffed and tapped his right thigh in surrender. “Fine,” she mumbled.

Chuckling, Tim loosened his hold around her and allowed her to step away. Tilting his head in amusement, he could practically feel her annoyance. Tossing her his bo staff, he smiled. “C’mon, let’s go through your katas,”

Where Dick was high strung and commanding in training, Tim was calm and patient. He watched her smoothly flow into different stances. While she felt his gentle press of attraction against her, he was focused on teaching. Keeping a respectable distance from her, he adjusted her arms gently and corrected her shoulders.

Raven however will admit that her attention did shift momentarily as she watched the muscles of Tim’s arms move slowly as he adjusted her wrist gently. Her focus broke briefly without her permission and she eyed the long scar running along his forearm as his fingers curled around her wrist.

Catching her curious gaze, Tim paused and his lips lifted slightly. “That’s a souvenir from the Joker,”

“Oh,” Raven inhaled softly and she felt her cheeks warm, embarrassed that she was caught staring. Her stance faltered and she wanted to drop the kata all together, but Tim hummed and ignored her. Stepping dangerously close into her personal space, he held on to her wrist and raised her hand again. He gently placed his other hand onto her lower back and guided her back into the correct stance.

“He was running around with an axe. I was 14, young, and pretty stupid,” he said, his soft voice hiding a chuckle. “I’m lucky that he wasn’t able to chop it off,”

Raven pictured a young Tim in his Robin suit and the Joker with his axe. She did not have encounters with the Joker, but from what she heard sent shivers down her spine. She wondered what it would be like to actually fight him, especially at 14.

She heard Tim hum softly. She blinked and felt Tim’s hand slid down her arm and gently push her elbow in. “Up,”

She felt the shift of energy from him as Tim moved closer and his fingers practically burned into her back. The pads of his fingers pressed gently into an old scar and she shifted involuntarily into the press of his hand.

Tim knew that he was threading very dangerous territories as he felt the mood shift. His gaze dropped from her arms to her face, to the flush that spread across her cheeks, to her slightly parted lips as she leveled her breathing through them. The warmth of her body next to his stirred so many emotions in him. To say that he didn’t want to kiss her would be a flat out lie.

Feeling his emotions press into her, and her own emotions greedily respond to his, Raven looked up and caught Tim’s long gaze. Swallowing, her gaze dropped to his lips and back to his eyes. “Did you want to try another round?” she asked, her lips lifting just a little bit.

If she was being honest, she wasn’t sure what she truly meant by that. She recalled Tim’s long kisses last night by her bedroom door and it would be nice to be kissed again.

Tim inhaled deeply, the smell of lavender tickling his nose. He dropped his hands around her and took a step back, his lips curling into a smile. “Sure.” Feeling the atmosphere shift around them again, he watched Raven walk away from him and drop into a fighting stance.

“Ready?”

Tim grinned. “Are you ready to lose again?”

Raven tilted her head and her eyes were bright in the light of the Batcave. It was 4 in the morning and here they were dancing dangerously around each other. A thrill of excitement slipped down her spine at the emotions that lapped around her. “Well, I had a good teacher. I’m sure I won’t lose this time,”

Tim swung his bo staff around him and they slowly circled each other. He eyed her in amusement. “Oh?” He clucked his tongue. “Are you sure?”

A smile threatened to cross her lips. “Something tells me you’ll lose,”

Tim snorted a laugh. “Please,”

“Cocky doesn’t suit you,”

Tim laughed and easily deflected her attack as she lunged at him. He watched her move, surprised how fast she corrected her stances from earlier and copied some of his moves. Jumping away, he went into offensive and swung several attacks her way. Tim was impressed how she quickly she defended herself and snuck in some attacks of her own.

Spotting that her left was still open, Tim faked an attack and then quickly maneuvered to her left with the intent of sweeping her legs under her and delivering a strike to her shoulder. But he blinked in surprise as Raven easily dodged his attack and seamlessly copied his move.

Taking the opportunity, Raven easily slipped out of his reach. Using her body, she delivered a punch across his shoulder making him drop his staff. Satisfied at Tim’s surprised reaction, she twisted her body and used the momentum to swipe her staff under his feet. Dropping her own staff, she lunged forward and pressed her hands into his shoulder and tackled him to the ground.

With a loud thud and grunt, Tim landed on his back. Squinting through the sharp pain, he tried to catch his breath and looked up at a smug Raven. Purple hair fell into her eyes and her hands pressed into his biceps barely curling around the defined muscle. Leaning over his prone form, straddling his hips, she offered a smug grin. “Your left was open,”

Tim let out an unsteady laugh as he tried to level his breathing. He tried to move his arms, but Raven kept them firmly in place. Looking up at her, he made a face. “Ha, ha, very funny.”

Raven titled her head in amusement and pressed her hands further into his biceps to prove her point. “Told you you’re going to lose this round,”

He gave her an unimpressed look. “Cocky doesn’t suit you.”

Her purple eyes twinkled. “Oh?” She clicked her tongue the same way he did earlier.

Done with the teasing, Tim quirked his lips and suddenly shifted his hips upwards causing her to tumble into his chest. Ignoring her startled yelp, he twisted his legs around hers and easily rolled them over to the ground. Using his upper body, he pitched forward and pressed his body against hers, trapping her body against the floor. His hands curled around her wrists and held them on either side of her head.

“You were saying?” Tim’s voice dropped dangerously low.

Her emotions roared and it felt like her body was on fire in the most delicious way possible as she felt nothing by the warm press of Tim’s body against hers. Raven inhaled sharply, staring up at blue eyes that held a storm of emotions behind them. His breath fanned over her face and she could faintly smell his familiar scent of sandalwood. Her emotions purred in anticipation as she felt him lean in closer.

“That was a cheap shot,” she whispered.

They were dangerously playing with fire. Tim was sure Bruce would beat his ass if he’d walk in on them now. But here they were and everything between had shifted last night. And they both wanted this. There were no excuses for taking notes. Just this tangle of emotions. This very tentative and delicious game they now were playing. His fingers tightened around her wrists ever so lightly as he felt her shift underneath him and her body brushing against his in the most tantalizing way. Her small frame pressing against his sent desire pooling low in his body. “I told you to be on your toes,” Tim said.

Raven still felt breathless and dangerously close of tipping over whatever edge they were dangling on. She hadn’t felt like this in years and she was hungry for more. There was a beat of silence between them, as they just stared into each other’s eyes. “Hmm,” she hummed softly and her gaze dropped to his lips as he dropped his head closer to hers.

“Maybe we should try another round?” There was a hitch in her voice.

It was the invitation they both were waiting for. Letting out an unsteady breath he was holding, Tim swooped down and caught her lips in a long and searing kiss. Releasing her wrists, he cupped her cheeks and hungrily drank her soft sigh.

Raven knew she toppled over the edge the moment his lips touched hers. Her hands flew around his shoulders, the pads of her fingers dipping into hard flesh and seeking some kind of anchor as she felt herself falling. She whimpered softly as heady emotions teased her and she found herself chasing after them, wrapping her own emotions around his and pooling them low in her belly. She groaned softly at the hungry press of his lips against hers and Tim tilted her head to offer better access.

Her kisses were intoxicating and Tim was sure he could drink her sighs and whimpers for the rest of his life. Pressing into her, his tongue swiped against hers and he listened to her whispered moans. It felt like his body was burning against hers with the dangerous press of her curves and her wandering fingers. He groaned softly as she shifted against him, her hips brushed against his and it took all his self-control not to press forward.

Biting her lower lip, Tim’s right hand slipped down and ghosted over her rib cage before palming the dip of her hips and sliding over the sweaty flesh. He chased after her soft whimper and found himself wrapped in a haze he did not want to emerge from. His fingers dug into the soft flesh of her hip and he groaned low in his chest as she shifted against him again. Pressing a long kiss against her lips, his fingers slid dangerously low on her hip and whatever haze that seemed to have fallen on them consumed them completely. Fingers danced over her hip bone and teased the garter of her shorts.

Yes. Raven’s body purred, emotions tingling. She could feel him pressed against her, just right there. She shifted her body, humming softly at the dangerous touch. Curling her fingers into Tim’s hair, she –

A lightbulb exploded above them.

Purple eyes flew open and Raven inhaled sharply. She looked up at stormy blue eyes and watched as Tim pulled away slightly but did not peel himself off her. Breathlessly, they stared at each other trying to fight through the haze of emotions. Swallowing tentatively, Tim inhaled unsteadily and dropped his forehead against hers.

“Hi,”

Raven blinked and watched a flustered smile grow on Tim’s face. She felt his fingers twitch around her hip. She let out a softy, breathy chuckle. “Hi,”

“I – ah,” Tim blinked, trying to get his bearings in order. He inhaled unsteadily. “I’m sorry. I got carried away,” His cheeks flushed.

Raven tried to fight off a smile. “It’s okay,” she quirked her lips. “I don’t mind.”

“Oh.” His thumb absently stroked her hip and he continued to stare into her purple eyes. He could see her eyes dance with a myriad of emotions. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered and watched as her already flushed cheeks reddened even more.

Tim’s emotions were warm and gentle as they pressed against hers. She smiled and mumbled a soft “thank you.”

Somewhere in the Batcave a clock dinged softly signaling it was 5 the morning already. Tim slowly, albeit reluctantly, pulled away from Raven. Bruce would be coming down soon for his training and their current state was definitely not something Tim wanted Bruce to walk in on.

Moving into a sitting position, Tim released Raven and gently pulled her up across of him. Taking in her disheveled look, he felt his insides stir. He swallowed the possessive thought that he did that to her. Running a hand through his sweaty hair, he let out a long breath. “I think it’s time for a shower,” he said. He paused and quickly backpedaled. “Separately.”

Raven laughed, the sound bright in the Batcave and Tim was sure he could get used to hearing her laugh more. It was a rare treat. Settling on her knees, she tipped forward and used his right shoulder to keep her balance, she pressed her lips briefly against his before pulling away with a soft laugh. Her emotions fluttered.

She hadn’t really planned that this mission would take such an interesting turn of events. But Raven was definitely not going to complain either.

“I like you, Tim Drake,” she whispered.

[xaphrin]

RaeTim, college au?

“When was the last time you slept?” 

Tim looked up to see Raven standing in front of him, her hands splayed out over the library table. There were bags under her own eyes, but Tim was pretty sure his were probably worse. Especially if she was asking him. He ran his fingers through his short hair, and tried to down the rest of his trenta-sized coffee, but found it completely empty. Shoulders sagging in defeat, he stared at the book in front of him with contempt. A few moments passed and he grunted out a response that had no words.  

“That’s not an answer, Tim.” Raven reached under the cover of his text book and slammed it shut on Tim’s fingertips. She stared at him before taking his text book away, tucking it into her bag. “Come on, let’s get you some food and get you to bed.”

Tim glared at her, pursing his lips. “I’m not a child.”

“Well, you’re not acting like an adult either.” Raven huffed out an annoyed breath and motioned to the door. “Besides, the library closed and you’re somehow still here.” She paused and shook her head. “Look, I know we’re not exactly… friends.”

That was an understatement. Tim lifted an eyebrow, waiting. “And?” 

“But you can’t keep doing this to yourself. It’s not healthy.” Raven’s expression turned soft, almost concerned, and she tilted her head to look at him. There was a weight that settled between them, and she seemed to turn her thoughts over in her head. “I’d rather set aside our stupid rivalry and at least get you a sandwich or something. We can go back to fighting each other tomorrow, after you’ve finally slept.” 

For a moment, Tim wanted to fight with her. He wanted to argue or say something or tell her how much he was pretty sure he hated her. At least… he thought he hated her. She had helped him in bio-chem, and she had bought him coffee on more than one occasion, and they studied together a lot, and he liked texting her in the middle of the night, and-

He stopped, swallowing all of his thoughts that were bubbling up into the front of his mind. He was too tired to keep a good handle on his self-control. It would be easier to just… not feel anything right now. Tim wet his lips and finally nodded, knowing that right now it would be easier to give in than to fight her. 

“Okay.”

Raven offered him a thin, soft smile. “Alright. Come on… there’s a new place I’ve been dying to do to. Apparently they fry a potato and shove it in a tortilla with sour cream and cheese.”

Tim grimaced. “You eat like junk.”

Raven laughed and pulled him out of the library. “Says the boy who lives on coffee and ambition.”

Tim just blushed. 

[caramellish]

RAVETIME RAETIME RAVETIME RAVETIME. Sorry, i've been watching that video. RIP RAVETREE.

[flyingkiki]

Curiosity

Been obsessing over Tim and Raven lately. There are just a handful of stories on them online. Felt the need to pitch in and add to the list, hopefully create a stronger interest in the couple. 

Indulge me. Couldn't help myself.

####

Tim watched her, intrigued by her silent movement around the Batcave. Her movements were graceful as she followed Bruce to the computer. She seemed calm, despite the rather ugly fight earlier. But despite her calm exterior, he could see she was on alert and slightly wary of her surroundings.

At the back of his head, Tim found the graceful sway of her movements captivating. Deadly, he reminded himself, but captivating.

Tim blinked and tried shaking his head a bit. Perhaps he hit his head too hard earlier. This was not the time to think of Raven as, well, captivating.

Tim had only met Raven a couple of times. The Titans were Dick’s team and had their own missions to run. They were called in just a handful of times in the past for some overly complicated-end-of-the-world type of missions that required every super to assist the Justice League. She kept mostly to herself and the rest of the Titans at most occasions. He knew who she was though and what she was capable of – he read her file years ago. Tim had to admit that despite having read everything about her, it still felt like she was a mystery to him (hence, captivating). Now that she was here in the Batcave on her own, without the rest of the Titans, his curiosity in piqued. And true to his form, Tim always wanted to learn about new things.

As he watched Raven throw an amused smile at Bruce over her shoulder, he briefly wondered if everything he read and heard about her was true. She didn’t look all too deadly and stoic and, err, gloomy half-demon (as Gar would put it). Raven made a face, ran her hand through her purple hair.

“Fuck,” Raven breathed, her voice barely above a whisper but it carried through the cave.

Tim raised an eyebrow, curious. It wasn't everyday he'd hear her curse.

Raven shrugged, clucking her tongue and it seemed like she was exasperated. Cocking her hip to the side and resting her right hand on it, she used her other free hand to wave it at the huge computer screen in a dismissive motion.

“We should be done with the sweep and expulsion of all demons within a week or two,” she said briefly throwing a look at Tim over her shoulder. She looked up at Batman, and frowned. “Sorry, I can’t run purging sessions nightly, that takes too much out of me. We need to locate where the cult might summon some demons next and it might take some time,”

“There’s a cult?” Tim asked.

Raven sent him a wry smile, almost apologetic. “There’s a wanna-be Church of Trigon cult here. They’re trying to summon Trigon,”

Tim looked alarmed.

“My father is gone, don’t worry. We destroyed him six years ago. What they’re unwittingly summoning are his offspring from his dimension,” Raven supplied.

“So,” Tim began, stepping up next to Bruce and looking at Raven curiously. “Your…”

Raven rolled her eyes. “Brothers,” She sighed. “Unfortunately.”

“We’ll keep track of the cult’s movements in Gotham so we can plan our attacks ahead. You can also prepare whatever is necessary to stop them from opening any other portals to their dimension,” said Bruce, his eyes never leaving Raven as he spoke. “The cult is not a major threat to Gotham, as they appear to not really know what they are doing, but the demons they bring in cause a lot of damage and have hurt civilians. This needs to stop,”

Raven nodded. “Agreed.” She looked around the massive Batcave and she eyed caped heroes curiously. “Dick said I could stay here while we work on this case?”

Out of nowhere, Alfred appeared, standing over them by the second floor landing of the Batcave. He offered Raven a small. “Master Dick has requested a room for you, Miss Raven. It’s wonderful to see you again,” Al offered.

Raven smiled, looking up at Alfred. “Thank you, Alfred,”

Bruce nodded, pulling off his cowl and sighed. “Perhaps we should call it a night,” he began. He threw Raven a look that suspiciously looked grateful – a rare site. “Thank you for helping us,”

Raven offered him a crooked smile. “Always glad to get into a fight with my family,” she shrugged.

After bidding everyone a good night (good morning? It was 3 am), she flew up to Alfred and the two disappeared out of the cave, murmuring between themselves.

Tim heard a soft chuckle through the hallway Raven and Alfred just disappeared through.

Tim tilted his head to the right and eyed the empty doorway curiously faintly wonder how interesting it would be to work with Raven for the next couple of days. It would always be interesting to know more of her --- and add to her file, of course. Notes, Tim reminded himself. Notes.

Oh, boy.

[flyingkiki]

Stay

Hi, @ravenfan1242​. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. did i have fun writing this one. 

—

Seeing Raven at the Gotham City gala was a surprise. Granted, the gala was held at the national museum, so it might have held some level of interest for Raven. At first, Tim wasn’t sure it even was her, but the purple hair and eyes, and those deadly curves, were pretty much a giveaway.

Tim barely paid attention to the two businessmen talking to him. He hummed occasionally at the right places in the conversation but kept his blue eyes trained at the woman across the ballroom. As socialites, politicians, celebrities, and business leaders milled around the grand ballroom in their flashy dresses that would put any other MET Gala to shame, Raven was dressed in a flowing black sleeveless dress that dipped so dangerously low in her back. For a brief moment, Tim was entranced watching Raven’s back enticingly move as she slipped from one painting to the next.

Raven, for her part, seemed perfectly oblivious to the whole drama around her and instead kept her focus on the priceless art pieces hanging on the walls.

It had been a couple of years since Tim had seen Raven – maybe at Dick’s wedding? Most of the Titans had moved on with their lives, each taking on different paths in their superhero journeys. Garfield, Dick and Kory remained with the Titans, working to train young superheroes. Victor had been accepted by the Justice League. Raven, he heard, had moved out of the Titans and taken on a more civilian life. But he did hear Constantine and Zatana talk about her on occasion.

“So, I’m saying if we can just adjust our forecasting a little bit, we won’t have to worry about not reaching our targets,” one of the men droned on.

Tim paused from nursing his scotch when Raven turned on her heels and headed towards the bar. As she turned, he was 100% sure she glanced in his direction out of the corner of her eyes. A small smile played on her lips as he continued to watch her grab a champagne glass from the bar and make her way to another corner of the room.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” not bothering to wait for their replies, Tim left the small group and set to find Raven in the crowd.

He found her behind a woman dressed extravagantly in a gown that could only be described as a candelabra – it had glowing candles! As he maneuvered himself through the crowd, Tim looked up and caught purple eyes staring directly at him. It really was Raven.

“Careful,” he heard her soft voice over the ambient music in the ballroom. Her eyes held an amused twinkle as she watched him squeeze through a couple of more extravagantly dressed couples. “I saw one of those dresses leak water,”

Tim chuckled and briefly looked over his shoulder at the dress in question. The woman was dressed in something akin of a waterfall with water dripping down her train. “Ah. That must not be comfortable,”

Raven took a sip of her champagne and Tim felt like she was measuring him up with her deep purple stare. Tim tried to distract himself just a little bit, by stuffing his free hand into his pocket. He’s be lying if he didn’t say that Raven had always intimidated and intrigued him just a bit. Her presence when they were growing up always held a deeply mysterious note on her and it always had him staring at her on occasion, wondering what she was thinking.

“Rav-”

“Rachel,”

Tim blinked and stared at the purple haired woman. “Ah,”

Raven offered an amused smile. She extended her hand, briefly looked over to some curious women and men who watched Tim Drake talk to some random woman at the gala. “My name is Rachel Roth,”

Tim grinned. Of course. Hurriedly pulling out his hand from his pocket, his warm hand engulfed her small, soft hand. “Tim Drake,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you,” his lips quirked and he dropped his voice just a little. “Again,”

Raven offered him a soft smile. “How have you been?”

Tim shrugged dismissively. “So, so.” He said and pointed at the glass door leading to the balcony, motioning for her to follow. “It’s been pretty busy at work, Bruce has been unforgiving when it comes to dishing out work,”

Raven chuckled softly and followed him out onto the balcony. She walked up the stone railings briefly surveyed the cityscape they could  see from where they stood. “I’m pretty sure you’re the only one Bruce trusts to do the work,”

Tim grinned and stood next to her, folding his arms over the railing and turning to her. “Am I hearing a compliment?”

Raven glanced at him with a mildly amused expression. “Well, Damian is still a kid, Jason is doing god knows what where, and Dick has his family priorities,” she hummed. “You are the only one,”

Tim stared at Raven as she leaned in to him ever so slightly with a teasing look. He laughed loudly, and shook his head in amusement. People were so vastly wrong about Raven, he mused. She was full of surprises. “Hey!”

Raven wrinkled her nose when Tim nudged her shoulder with his teasingly. “Just saying as it is,”

Tim took a swig of the last of his scotch, his insides warming slightly – either from the alcohol or Raven’s light teasing. He turned to her, eyeing her curiously. “How have you been? It’s been a couple of years,”

She shrugged lightly and took a tiny sip of her champagne. “I’m about to graduate next week with a literature and history degree,”

Of course Raven had gone to University. That’s what she’d do – always thirsty for new knowledge. Tim was impressed. “Literature and History? Wow. Must be interesting,” he said.

Raven looked utterly pleased as she turned to him. “It is. I’d be lying if I’d say I didn’t have a lot of fun going over some Latin scripts and early civilization records,”

Tim smiled as he watched her lips. “We have a lot of old Latin books and some other antique books at the Wayne library if you ever want to see those,” he said, tilting his head in her direction.

Raven’s eyes widened just a little bit and she raised a teasing eyebrow at him. Leaning in just a tiny bit into his space, just a little so she could catch the scent of his musky aftershave. Sandalwood. “Isn’t it a little bit too early in the evening for you to invite me over with your library, Tim?” she teased softly, her voice holding an amused lilt to it.

Tim felt his insides warm again in a very familiar way. He blinked and felt just a tiny bit flustered but he also knew she was just lightly pulling his leg. Or was she? He refused to move out of the way as Raven leaned into his space teasingly. Two could play that game.

He sent a playful, sly smile and leaned into her space just a fraction of an inch. He met her amused stare with his own. “Never too early,”

Raven’s cheeks colored slightly and her stomach warmed not because of her champagne. She watched as Tim calmly leaned on the stone railing, long hair falling into his eyes which she admittedly wanted to brush away from his face. His lips quirked into a deeper amused smile and she had to look away, lightly flustered. She smiled and looked at him through the corner of her eye as she took the last sip of her champagne. “We’ll see,”

Tim chuckled an kept his close spot next to her, feeling more at ease with her. This side of Raven he liked. “I didn’t know you went to Gotham U,”

Raven shook her head. “Finishing at NYU,”

Tim grinned. “Always the smart one,” he paused and looked at her curiously. “So what brings you to Gotham? You didn’t come here just for the gala, right? Because, I know I’d rather be anywhere but here,”

To corner of her lips raised. “Bruce leave you all alone here?”

Tim shrugged. “Bruce left for Paris this morning for a business event and had me come here. I feel like he did it on purpose,” he said. He turned and looked down at her amused expression. Was she always this tiny? He tilted his head towards her again and offered a small smile. “Besides, I got pretty good company now, so coming here wasn’t so bad after all,”

“Really?” he could hear the amused tone in her voice. Her smile grew just a little bit.

“Really.”

“Well, I guess we’re lucky the ticket I bought yesterday from this guy outside the museum was legit. He looked very shifty,” Raven propped her chin on her hand as she looked thoughtfully at Tim.

Tim eyes widened with amusement. “You got your ticket yesterday? From some random guy off the street?”

Raven shrugged nonchalantly. “Seemed like a good idea at the time,”

Tim raised an eyebrow and watched Raven in the soft evening moonlight. Light spilled over her shoulders, giving her a soft glow as she looked at the cityscape in front of them. He was reminded again how beautiful Raven was. Tim swallowed at the thought. “Raven?” he gently prodded as a brief silence fell on them.

“My mother was from Gotham,”

Blue eyes widened and he leaned a little closer to Raven unconsciously. He didn’t know that. “Really?” his voice dropped a little lower. He eyed Raven curiously. “So you…”

Raven tilted her head in his direction and shot him brief glance. “I just honestly wanted to see what Gotham is like,”

“But you’ve been here before.”

Raven offered him a small smile. “Maybe I just wanted to see Gotham through regular eyes?” She said. “I’ve been going to some places my mother liked when she was growing up here. I wanted to see Gotham through her eyes,”

“That’s beautiful,” Tim stared at her, taking in her bittersweet smile. A slight breeze swept over them and he watched her short purple hair tickle her chin. He felt like he found more than her story beautiful.

Raven’s cheeks colored slightly and she looked at Tim. “The museum has been closed since I got here and I’m leaving tomorrow evening. Getting into the gala was the only way for me to see the museum,”

“Always the one with a smart plan,” Tim teased. He chuckled when Raven rolled her eyes at him. “How do you like Gotham?”

Raven looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to think of an answer. “I like it,” she replied. “It’s a really busy city but also a lot quieter than New York or Jump. There are so many things to discover in the city and everything seems to be surprisingly well curated. It’s a bit more mysterious with its secrets,”

Tim looked at her impressed.

He briefly looked at her lips and suddenly had a deep desire to be closer to her. He shifted closer, his elbow brushing up against hers. He leaned into her a bit more, he faintly smelled her soft perfume of vanilla and fruits. “So, uncover a few more secrets while you were here?” he asked.

Raven looked at him and felt herself warm again at the sight of his amused blue eyes. She felt the warm push of Tim’s emotions against her own. Glancing briefly at the amused smile on his lips, she stared into his blue eyes and shot him a rare smile. “Maybe.”

Tim smiled. Pushing himself away from the railing, he stood up straight and smoothly plucked Raven’s empty champagne glass out of her hands. He met her raised eyebrow with a smooth smile. “I know it’s not Gotham’s most important sight to see, but, would you want to leave this place and get some coffee?” He paused. “Or tea?”

Raven felt her face warm as she stared at Tim. She thought of her options and faintly wondered what would happen if she left the party with him. A small smile grew on her lips as her body warmed at the possibilities. She cocked her head a little and nodded. “Okay,”

Tim’s smile widened and they stepped away from the railing. “Let’s go.” His hand slipped to the small of her back, fingers fanning over the naked dip of her back. The touch sent tingles down his arm and he briefly glanced at her.

They weaved their way through the crowd. A few curious glances shot their way. Slipping out of the back entrance of the museum, they headed towards Tim’s car. Raven lightly teased him for not having a driver around (“How very un-Wayne of you.”) to which he laughed loudly while fishing for his car keys in his pocket. Raven decided he had a nice laugh.

“Any preference?” he asked while pulling on his seatbelt.

Raven settled into the passenger’s seat and shrugged. “Surprise me,”

Tim hummed thoughtfully and pulled out of the parking lot. The drive was mostly comfortably silent, with Raven just asking for the names of places they drove by.

They soon found themselves a little way out of the city center, at a small café with colorful tapestries and trinkets. The doorbell tinkled as they entered and they shared amused smiles when they earned curious stares for their full gala attire.

Raven slipped ahead of him, her hand briefly touching his elbow, and he watched as walked up to the display counter. Tim will admit that he fell back just a little bit, to admire Raven’s slow walk towards the counter in her gown. She looked absolutely stunning. He faintly wondered what he was doing with her now – and how an utterly boring evening gala turned into an evening of coffee with one of the Titan’s strongest heroes.

“Coffee, right?” Raven asked, when Tim stepped up next to her with his hands stuffed casually into his pantsuit pockets.

“Right,” he answered. He pointed at one of the Ethiopian brews and asked for a slice of cake for them to share. Raven got a cup of tea.

They shuffled their way into one of the empty corners of the café and settled next to each other. Raven looked around the café, before crossing her legs and allowing one of her hands to drop on the table while they waited for their drinks. “This is a nice place,”

Tim tried to not stare at her thigh that peeked out of the long slit of her gown as she crossed her legs. “They serve pretty good coffee,”

Raven titled her head. “Interesting turn of the night,”

Tim turned his body just a fraction of an inch closer to hers. He felt like there were a million and one ways to answer that statement, each one more dangerous than the other. He wondered if it was the right time to do so. “Better than at a stuffy gala,”

Raven smiled. “Better,”

Their orders arrived and they thanked the waitress. “Do you still see the others?” Tim asked after they each took a sip of their drinks.

“Once in a while. I saw Dick and Kory last month. And few months ago I helped them out with work,” Raven shrugged. “I stay in touch mostly with the old team. I barely know the new kids.”

Tim nodded. “So you graduate next week. And then?”

“Yeah. I might want to travel a bit and then look for a job. There are a couple of universities that offer some research posts that I’d like to try out,” Raven explained.

“Gotham University has a pretty solid history department,” Tim grinned.

Raven laughed. She propped her elbow on their table and placed her chin into her palm, sending him a teasing smile. “Are you trying to make me stay?”

Was he? He felt his insides flip again, silently amazed to see this side of a playful Raven. Perhaps he did want her to stay. She always did intrigue him. Chuckling, he fluidly leaned closer.  “Maybe?” He heard her inhale softly and his gaze briefly fell to her lips. He dropped his left arm behind her chair, trapping her between their table and his personal space. “Do you want to?”  

Raven would lie if she would say she didn’t want to. As she stared at Tim, with her emotions purring inside of her, she embraced the soft, now familiar push of his emotions. A sly smile slipped on her lips, and she stared into his eyes as she leaned away. “Maybe.”

There was a pregnant pause and they both stared at each other, knowing that they had slipped into something dangerous – but undeniably welcome.

Tim smiled, looking a little bit satisfied and he pulled out of her space. He pulled his arms back to him and picked up his coffee mug for a drink. “Good.”

They slipped into an easy conversation until they finished their drinks and polished off an excellent slice of cheesecake. Raven decided to call it a night once the barista started cleaning the display counter and they were the last customers in the café. Tim led them back outside, hand still easily sliding down to the small of her back, guiding her towards the door. Raven leaned into him slightly.

Once they settled back into his car and Tim pulled out of the driveway, he cast her curious glance. “Where are you staying?”

“At the Grand, down 5th avenue,”

“Okay,” Tim took a turn and they fell into a heavy silence. Tim glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and tapped the steering wheel thoughtfully. He wondered if he’d see Raven again.

The car stopped at an empty stoplight. Raven turned to him, feeling his emotions push against her. She smiled as he turned his head curiously. She titled her head, eyes dancing. “Do you think I could see the Wayne Library?”

Heat dropped into his stomach and Tim fully turned to her. His grip on his steering wheel tightened. Did she? He swallowed. “The Library?”

Raven laughed, leaned into his space just a little bit. “You said it had old Latin books. I’m curious.” Her purple eyes sparkled as the stoplight turned yellow.

A wide smile grew on Tim’s lips. “And it’s not too early in the evening now to invite you over?” he teased.

Raven rolled her eyes and she pulled away with a chuckle as a car behind them honked loudly. The stoplight had turned green for a while now. “No, it’s just the right time.”

Tim let out a soft laugh and quickly turned back to the road. “Okay,” he whispered, a smile on his lips as he took a turn towards Wayne Manor.

They were silent for the rest of the drive. When they arrived at the manor it was past midnight. Tim led her through the maze of hallways, silently wondering how the evening was turning out – and how it could potentially turn out. He gently took her elbow and guided her into the last room, pulling her into the giant library. He stepped away from her, mumbling he’d be right back, and turned to switch on the lights.

“Oh,” he heard Raven breathe as the library became alive with lights. He had left her in the middle of the library, standing right under the grand chandelier. She looked breathtaking, bathed in the soft yellow glow of the library in her gown. Tim had to stop and admire her – one of the many times that evening.    

“It’s beautiful.” Raven looked around her, taking in all the grand bookcases that lined the walls.

“Yeah,” Tim stared at her.

Raven paused and looked over her shoulder, catching Tim stare at her. Her heart beat against her chest. What was she doing? She smiled at him. “Where’s the Latin section?”

Tim blinked and blushed, slightly embarrassed for having been caught staring. “This way.” He led her to one of the bookcases in the other end of the library. As they walked, he smiled at her wonder. “I like spending time here when I visit the manor,”

“It’s amazing,” Raven whispered, her hands sliding over all the spines of books as they walked through the bookshelves.

“Here.” Announced Tim, making them both stop in the Latin section. He waved at the books at either side of them. “All Latin text,”

Raven smiled, stepped past him, her hand resting briefly on his bicep before touching some of the books in front of her. She pulled out one of the books and leaved through it curiously. She closed the book and pushed it back into its space on the shelf. She eyed other titles above her. She raised her hand, trying to reach one of the titles above her head. “Some of these are so hard to find.”

Tim chuckled at her excitement and watched her hand glow with her dark power and the book above them gently fell out of the self and into her waiting hands. He casually stuffed his hands into his pockets and leaned against the bookshelf, watching her leaf through the book. ���Enough to make you stay?”

She stopped leafing through the book in her hands, purple eyes wide and a soft blush slowly blossomed on her cheeks. She breathed in deeply, again taking in his familiar scent of sandalwood. She closed the book and allowed it to float back to its spot above them. She smiled. “Maybe.”

They both chuckled and felt the mood between them shift. Tim pushed himself away from the bookshelf and took a cautious step towards Raven. She smiled and turned back to some of the books in front of her, but allowed Tim to crowd her space.

“Raven?”

“Hmm?”

Purple eyes looked up at him, and he felt his insides warm. Pulling his hands out of his pockets, Tim threw caution into the wind and caved into the dangerous games they had been playing for a few hours now. His warm hand held her forearm, stopping her from pulling another book out of the bookshelf next to them.

“Tim?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Raven looked up at him, his hand practically burning into her forearm. She embraced his emotions as they spilled into hers and she allowed herself to step a little closer to him. Her emotions purred.

“Yes.”

Like the trained superhero he was, his movements were swift. A long sigh escaped his lips and Tim’s hand slipped up her naked arm and held her chin, and in one fluid motion, he dipped down and his lips found hers. They were soft and warm and he drank the soft sigh that escaped her lips at the contact.

Raven felt his emotions crash heavily into her own, and she sighed at the warm contact. Her hands slid up his strong arms, one curling tightly around his bicep for balance as his (or her) emotions sent her into a blind, dizzy spell. Her right hand curled into his long hair, pulling him closer. She moaned softy at the contact and felt herself being pushed into the bookshelf.

Tim felt her body arch into his and he pushed her into the bookshelf roughly as their kiss deepened. There was no getting out of this. He felt her warm body push against his own, pulling him closer and he let his right hand slide down her back slowly, relishing the feel of soft skin. He groaned softly when she opened her lips, giving him more access. He swiped his tongue against hers and he drank her moan greedily.

Tim cradled her head as their kisses deepened. He could feel Raven’s own emotions push against him – perhaps because she was an empath and he groaned as she whispered softly his name against her lips. Taking a step closer to her, he pushed himself further onto her and relished the feel of her body against his. His lips kissed the column of her neck and both his hands slid over her tiny waist and rested dangerously close to her ass. He felt her breathe heavily against his neck as she toyed his hair.

They both wanted this.

Tim straightened slightly, his hips pushing into her own and they both sighed softly at the contact. Tim kissed the underside of her jaw and pushed himself further closer to her. “Will you stay now?”

Raven let out a breathy chuckle and both of her hands slid down his back. She slipped them underneath his black coat jacket and teasingly dipped her fingers into the back of his pants.

“Yes.”

Tim grinned against her neck, his teeth grazing against her pulse which earned him a throaty moan. With one swift motion, he bent down and picked up her left leg and pulled it around his hips. Tim pressed himself into the new warm space between her legs and they both moaned at the delicious contact.

“Good.”

[flyingkiki]

Curiosity, 2/?

Oh, hohoho. I am so gone. These two are giving me tingly happy feelings. We needs to build our TimRae army. 

####

Raven had shitty family members, Tim noted. Not that it needed to go into his files on her because they already established that with her father, but seriously. Her demonic brothers were assholes, to say the least. He grunted as he swung his staff with all his bodyweight into the demon’s back, saving Batman from loosing an arm. But, fuck, man.

Basically, this is what’s happening:

Some cult, an offshoot of the Church of Trigon, has made its way into Gotham. For the past few days, they’ve been haphazardly opening portals and luring in demons into the city. They were under the belief a new lord of the underworld would bless them. Unfortunately, none of the demons that came into the world were demon lords – just angry demons out for some blood.

And, as it later turned out, after a half-sibling who killed their father.

Raven faintly wondered where she got her luck. All she wanted was to have some peace and quiet for the week – things were going surprisingly well in Jump. But no, some assholes had to play church and worship demons. What the fuck. She grunted and blocked an attack from one of the more gnarly demons, and flipped over it. She sent a ball of black energy to its back just as it was about to turn to her, and she watched as the demon skidded across the ground.

Raven briefly looked over her shoulder, making sure Red Robin and Batman were still alive somewhere in the forest clearing. Good, they still were. She faintly wondered if she should take them out for dinner as a peace offering for having to deal with her shitty family. Raven watched them struggle with a bigger demon – did these demons grow over the past few days? She furrowed her brows. Grunting, she turned back to the demon she was fighting and frowned.

“Sister,” red eyes glowed and the demons arms twitched, as it stood in front of her. The demon growled, fangs baring and it looked ready to pounce again.

“I hate my family,” Raven breathed, hands glowing and with a chant let go of a large blast of black energy.

“You killed father,”

Raven’s eyes widened as she listened to the first coherent sentence from the demon. They never really said anything, aside from sister. This was a first.

The demon growled, noting her opening, and pounced Raven. Fangs bared and claws sharp, it made a swipe at the smaller girl.

Raven grunted as she barely dodged the attack. She felt hot claws dig into her back and blood trickle down her side. She inhaled sharply as searing pain flashed through her body and she stumbled away from another attack. This was not good.

“Die,” the demon growled and started to run towards her.

“Raven!”

She faintly heard Tim in the background but her eyes were focused on the demon that was charging towards her. This whole situation was pissing her off. This stupid cult should have never started trying to bring demons into the world. Her brothers should just fuck off. And if she got her hands on one of the cult members, she’d –

The demon yelped as Raven’s soul self rose from her body. Her energy pulsed, anger and frustration running through her system. Her demon brothers should not be here. They should be no where civilians. She growled as her eyes glowed red, and her soul rose higher. Inky tendrils flooded the clearing, crawling over the floor and towards the two demons who were frozen to the stop.

Tim’s eyed widened as he watched Raven turn into her soul self. She rose off the ground, black energy pulsing through the air and black tentacles slithering across the floor towards the two demons. He inhaled sharply as her red eyes glowed, her face hooded and a shadow if a raven looming over her. He had never seen Raven use this kind of power before in battle, his heart hammered in his chest as a black tendril slithered just past his boots and towards the demon he and Batman were fighting earlier.

“Don’t come back,” Raven growled and with pulse of black energy, the demons were engulfed in the black tendrils. There were loud howls of pain and the tendrils crushed the demons into the ground. Black dust billowed in the air before slowly settling on the ground. The black tendrils slithered on the ground for a moment, before retreating back into Raven’s cape. Nothing was left of the demons.

“Raven,” Batman stepped next to Tim, watching as Raven lingered in the air. Her eyes continued to glow red as she stared at the pentagram on the forest floor. She turned to Batman, red eyes furrowed.

“They’re gone,” Batman supplied, waiting on guard for Raven’s next move.

Red eyes blinked and they flashed white. Familiar large purple-blue eyes stared down at Red Robin and Batman and she let out a soft gasp. The black energy around her disappeared and she landed unsteadily on her feet. She sent them an apologetic look.

“Sorry you had to see that,” she mumbled. She glanced at the pentagram before adjusting the hood over her head.

Batman nodded, eyes narrowing as he surveyed the scene. The cult members that summoned the demons were long gone after making a run for it during the battle. His frown deepened. This cat and mouse chase had to stop soon.

“You’re bleeding,” announced Red Robin, looking at the blossoming red patch over Raven’s right shoulder.

She forgot about that. Drawing her left hand underneath her cloak, Raven pressed her hand against the torn flesh. She winced. This might take a while to heal. “It’ll heal,” she said.

Tim frowned. He knew about her healing abilities, but he also knew that the display of massive amounts of energy can slow down her healing process. “Let’s go back to the cave,” he said. “Ride the Batmobile with us,”

Raven made a face. “I’ll fly,” she said and began levitating.

Batman frowned. “You lost blood and your energy is low. Better just ride with us,”

She waved them off and spun on her heels. Like hell was she going to ride a car in a shape of a bat. She knew they’d drive like Dick – like lunatics. “See you at the cave,” and without waiting for their reply, she flew off.

Batman frowned. “Stubborn,” he clicked his tongue.

Tim chuckled. “Seems pretty familiar,”

They arrived at the Batcave in record time and found Alfred making his way down into the med bay of the cave with some medical supplies and a steaming cup of tea. Alfred stopped and watched his two charges jump out of the Batmobile and remove their cowls. “Miss Raven is in the med bay. She arrived a few moments ago and we’ve been working on cleaning her wounds. Some of the cuts ran in deeper than expected,” he supplied as the trio walked towards the med bay.

Tim nodded, long black hair falling into his eyes. Pushing it back, he offered Alfred a soft smile. “Thanks, Al,”

Raven looked up from tending to her wounds. She had peeled off the top of her uniform, leaving her in a utilitarian black sports bra. Her bloodied cloak hung over the end of the bed she sat on. A bloodied sterile gauze was in her left hand, fresh from wiping away some of the blood from the back of her shoulder. “Hey,”

Bruce noticed the bloodied gauze. “Are you alright?”

Raven shrugged. “I’ve had worse,” she said. She thanked Alfred when he set new supplies next to her. “My family doesn’t like me all to much. I can pretty much say the feeling is mutual,”

“Do you think they are after you?” Bruce asked. “The demon you fought looked keen in killing you,”

Raven rolled her eyes. “Most people, and metas, would like to see me gone once they know who and what I am,” she sent a knowing smirk at Bruce, remembering the first time she met the Justice League and asked for help. It wasn’t a warm welcome, to say the least. She shook her head when Bruce continued to stare at her. “Honestly, no. I don’t think so. I’m not really very welcome in the family after we killed Trigon. We’re just dealing with a ragtag team of cult members and blood thirsty demons who find themselves on earth for the first time with no idea what to do expect kill,”

Bruce nodded. He sighed and pushed himself away from the medical cabinet he was leaning against. “Okay,” he began. “We’ll keep our ears close to the ground and listen for any new activities. I’ll coordinate with Oracle and see what we can do,” he said and began making his way out of the med bay. “Rest and get your energy back,”

“Understood,” replied Raven, watching Batman leave.

“Need help?”

Purple eyes slid over to Tim, her stare heavy and calculating. Raven reminded Tim a lot of Bruce, he could barely read her emotions. He eyed the bloodied gauze in her hand and took a small step forward, faintly wondering if he was stepping over boundaries. She was after all, half naked and they barely knew each other. Emphasis on the half-naked.

Raven watched Tim take another step forward, a tentative smile playing on his lips. She could feel several emotions coming off of him – concern, interest, curiosity, attraction. Raven blinked. Tim was so different from all the other Robin’s she met. Dick was a mix of seriousness with a strong intent of proving himself, he was strong willed, guarded, and such a hardheaded asshole sometimes; Jason was a wild mix of chaos and charm, and Damian was, well, Damian. The young boy was practically a storm of emotions. But Tim, Tim of all the Robins was a sea of calm in all of the chaos that goes around them – despite of the amount of caffeine he kept on drinking. She knew that he was the smartest of the Robins; an excellent strategist – she could practically feel how fast his brain works. Yet, he was so different from all the wildly active Robins she knew in her life. This intrigued Raven.

She titled her head and offered Tim a small smile. “Okay,”

Tim paused briefly, surprised that she would let him help her. Nodding, he stepped behind her on the med table and took a look at the three wounds that ran along her shoulder blades. He whistled at the sight of the gaping wounds. “Yikes,” Tim made a face. “Remind me to never get on the bad side of your family,”

Raven snorted.

With nimble fingers, he finished cleaning the wounds and set out to stitch them closed. He noted a few other scars that ran down her back and sides and disappeared into her uniform. He faintly wondered where they were from and what stories they told. These were not in her medical files. He always taught she could just heal herself completely.

“Sometimes, when I’m too tired, my healing process is slower than normal. Sometimes some scars stay,” said Raven suddenly, tilting her head just a little bit so she could see Tim over her shoulder.

Tim paused, blue eyes widening in surprise as they connected with amused purple eyes. His needle hovered close to her skin. “Huh? I –”

Using her good hand, she tapped the side of her head. “You think pretty loudly,” she quirked her lips. “Also, empath.”

“Oh!” Cheeks warmed, blue eyes averted from her amused purple ones and Tim focused on closing the wound on her shoulder. “Sorry,”

Raven shrugged, a small amused smile playing on her lips. “It’s okay,”

Tim concentrated on finishing his patch up job, trying to slow his thoughts down. After a few more moments of silence and after finally, finally, taping the last gauze over the wound, Tim was done. “I’m sure Cyborg does a better job at the tower,” he said after stepping away from the bed.

Raven looked at her shoulder briefly and hummed softly. Cyborg did a better job, but Tim didn’t need to know that. She looked up at Tim and tilted her head. “Thanks for the help,” she said and hopped off the table. She looked at what remained of her torn leotard and wondered if it was even worth trying to slip back on. She let out an exasperated sigh. Just her luck.

Tim watched Raven struggle to put her torn uniform back on. He averted his eyes briefly when he caught sight of her sports bra. Also, abs!

“Oh, wait. Here,” he said trying to hide his flustered voice and quickly turned on his heels, rummaging through one of the medical cabinets. Making a triumphant sound at the back of his throat, Tim turned around and grinned, offering Raven a grey t-shirt.

“I keep this here for emergencies,” he said as Raven took the offered shirt.

Raven chuckled softly and slipped on the oversized Superman shirt on her. She practically disappeared into the shirt as it hung over her body and fell mid-thigh. It was nice and soft, very comfortable. She looked at the worn Superman logo and she lifted an eyebrow at Tim. “Nice merch,”

Tim laughed, desperately trying to ignore how cute (?!?!) Raven looked in his shirt – she looked so small! “We taught it’d be nice to annoy Bruce once in a while,” he said. Blue eyes twinkled. “Jason has a full wardrobe and, uh, boxers,”

Raven rolled her eyes, amused still. “Of course he does,” her lips quirked a bit in a little smile. She picked up her torn robe and nodded at Tim. “Thanks for the help, Tim. I’m going to rest now,”

“No problem. Good night, Raven,” Tim watched as Raven walked out of the med bay, movements slow and graceful. As he watched her, he quickly squashed down any thoughts of how good she looked in his shirt. Tim swallowed and looked away, instead focused on putting away all medical equipment they just used. Notes, Tim, notes. Raven’s healing process is slower when she is drained. May leave scaring when healing slows down. Scars dip down the small of her back and tiny waist – oh god.

“Good night, Tim,”

Tim paused from returning the antiseptic and saw Raven pause briefly at the doorway and glance at him briefly before slipping through it. Tim blinked.

So much for taking notes, Tim.

[flyingkiki]

Curiosity 3/?

Despite her calm (she was calm, not stoic and emotionless as most would describe her, Tim realized), Raven would show small bursts of emotions. Tim noted she was generous when showing her emotions when she wanted to. It was intriguing to watch her emotions on free display whenever she’d allow them.

For notes, of course. Raven had free emotions, contrary to her old report. Update report. Good job, Tim.

Mildly amused, Tim watched Raven bounce on her heels lightly, impatiently waiting for her Dirty Chai at a local Starbucks. It surprised him how normal (also, pretty) she could look in everyday wear (short flowing black dress with cat faces). As her bare back turned to him while she looked at the pastry display, Tim caught himself in brief awe at how the small woman next to him could be so, well, deadly.

“Tim?”

He blinked as purple eyes stared up at him with an amused glint. Smoothly hiding the fact he spaced out, Tim stuffed his hands into his jeans and regained his composure.  “Yeah?”

Raven’s lips twitched as she watched him. “I was asking if you wanted to share a lemon muffin?”

Worthy to note, Raven had a sweet tooth. Ah, notes.

“Sure,” he shrugged and watched her return to the cashier to pay for the muffin while he waited for their drinks at the pick up counter.

“Dirty Chai and Americano for Tim!”

Tim thanked the barista, taking the two hot drinks from the counter. Turning around, he caught sight of Raven by the door, paper bag with a lemon muffin in hand. She opened the door for them, engulfing them both in a gust of warm Gotham spring air.

“Thanks,” said Raven, while taking her drink from Tim. They were headed to a nearby park, since it seemed like a good idea that morning over breakfast. Raven had seen very little of Gotham still and the demon threats had slowed down as the week progressed.

“So,” breathed Tim with an amused lilt in his voice as they settled down in one of the park benches in Gotham Central Park. “Verdict?”

Raven snorted and ignored Tim’s inquiry. She gave the park a quick onceover – for a city with a reputation of being dark and gloomy, the park seemed fit into the city’s standard color tones quite well. Trees and flowers had begun blooming in tones of deep green, red, purple, and lavender. Bushes held darker shades of green, and the little pond had darker waters. “Color palette seems pretty much on point,” she said.

Tim laughed and scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Yeah,” he looked around the park, which was still pretty much empty at an early afternoon. “These basically are Gotham’s standard colors,”

Raven nodded and busied herself in splitting the lemon muffin in two. She handed him the other half of the muffin and took a bite from hers. “I like it,”

Tim watched her, curious. “The muffin?”

Raven rolled her eyes. “Gotham,”

“Ah,” Tim watched her for a moment, taking in how surprisingly relaxed she looked. He took a sip from his coffee as he tried to find the right words to say next.

“This is my first time around Gotham,” Raven looked at him. She absently played with the rim of her chai tea. “Richard has never really taken us around for proper sightseeing,”

“But you see plenty at patrols,” Tim took the opportunity to tease. He laughed when he watched her roll her eyes in slight annoyance and her nose scrunched up. Cute. Tim blinked and mentally backpedaled, pulling his body slightly away from her. What?

Raven rolled her eyes, ignoring Tim’s slight panic. “That doesn’t count,”

Tim composed himself and took a bite of the lemon muffin. “We can go around a bit more later, if you want,”

Raven turned to him, watching him carefully. “You wouldn’t mind?” she played with the rim of her chai tea again.

Tim smiled at her. “Nah,” He waived his coffee cup dismissively, nearly spilling some coffee on himself. “Besides, the company isn’t so bad,”

SERIOUSLY?! Tim felt like cringing.

Raven tilted her head and watched Tim for a second. An eyebrow was raised but there was an amused glint look in her eyes as her lips quirked. Who ever said that Raven was stoic obviously did not know her. Tim felt his lips twitch in amusement as they entered what seemed as a stare down. He hoped Raven did not notice his slight panic.

Raven let out a soft huff and shook her head. “Fine,”

They fell into companionable silence as they finished their drinks and muffin halves. A small smile played on Raven’s lips as she watched everything happen around them at the park. While keeping her eyes trained at a couple of squirrels scurry around the bottom of a tree, she could see Tim out of the corner of her eye.

She would be lying if she wouldn’t admit that Tim was nice company – he knew how to hold engaging and intelligent conversations, he wasn’t as of a bossy mother hen as Richard (sorry, Richard), and he was serious and fun where needed to be. Plus, he was good looking – which, while Raven will never openly admit, was always a plus in her book. Jynx and Karen will have a heart attack when they hear this over margaritas.

Also, she wasn’t blind. It was surprising to feel his waves of emotions at times. And while she was sure that Tim was the Robin with a calm sense of emotions, she was surprised (and, well, flustered) at the push of emotions from him. It wasn’t her fault really – he really did think and feel quite loudly. Too smart, way too much overthinking for his own good. Raven glanced at him briefly before turning back to the squirrels. Not that she also minded the attention, because a part of her, the Raven dressed in deep red robes seemed to enjoy it -- and well, she did too. She chalked up the attention to his interest of learning new things – and probably because he was one of the nicer Robins.

“So there’s a bookstore around the corner,” said Tim, pointing in the direction of the store with his half-empty coffee cup. “Or we can check out this antique store, I think you might like,”

“What makes you think I’d like antiques?”

Raven turned to him fully again, her head titled and a delicate eyebrow raised. Tim faltered, eyes widening and completely caught off guard by the question. He could see she was amused by the now familiar way she quirked her lips and how she slightly narrowed her eyes. She was teasing.

Raven liked to tease. And it was adorable. Tim blinked. Oh, god.

Tim swallowed and felt a blush creep on his cheeks. “Ugh,” Tim scrambled for the right thing to say, while feeling slightly embarrassed by being caught off guard by her. How did she do this?

Raven rolled her eyes at him. She stood up, dropped her empty Starbucks cup and napkin into the trash bin next to the bench. “C’mon, where is this store?”

Tim scrambled to stand up next to her, pleased with how things were turning out. Dropping his cup and napkin into the trash bin as well, he turned to her. “You DO like antiques,”

They began walking down a path in the park that lead to the north exit. Raven shrugged absently, while looking around the path they were walking along. “I like a finding knickknacks,” she sent him a brief glance. “Also, you never know when you might find a cursed item,”

Tim’s brows furrowed, alarmed. “Cursed?!”

“You never know,”

Unfortunately, (or fortunately) they didn’t end up finding any cursed items. They did however find an old Batman action figure, which Tim had bought for her. (“Why would I want THAT?” Raven looked at the toy Batman in disdain, his plastic cape had a few chew marks on them – whether they were human or not, she wasn’t all too sure.)

They tried to drop by the bookstore Tim mentioned earlier, but when they arrived it was already closed. He noted that she looked a tiny bit disappointed as she peered in through the window, curiously taking in some of the books on display. “We can come back some other time,” suggested Tim.

“Yeah, okay,” Raven nodded and tucked the chewed up Batman doll under her arm.

“Dinner?” Tim suggested, tilting his head towards the direction where ever dinner was. It was nearing dinnertime; Raven was surprised how fast time went by. “There’s a diner a couple of blocks away, we can walk there, if you like. I used to go there a lot when I was a kid,” supplied Tim, again vaguely motioning towards a general direction to the left.

“Lead the way,”

“So, favorite book?” Tim asked casually, stuffing both of his hands into his jeans and briefly glancing down at Raven as they were walking towards the dinner. Was she really that short? Tim blinked at the thought.

“Oh,” Raven breathed. She looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to think of a book that would top the list. “That’s hard,” she mumbled. The sun was slowly setting, casting a soft orange glow over Gotham – a nice contrast to the dark tones the city always held.

“Charlotte’s Web,” she finally answered after a few more moments of thinking.

They stopped at a stoplight and Tim looked at her with mild surprise. He was expecting some ancient literary masterpiece or tome. “The children’s book?” he asked, while they were waiting for the light to turn green.

“Well, it’s an adult-appropriate book,” replied Raven. She rolled her eyes when she still felt Tim’s curiosity. “It was one of the very first books I got as a child from my mother,”

“Oh,” Tim stared at her, as she offered him an unreadable expression. He knew her history well – and what happened to her mother. Everything was in her file. It felt like they were crossing a delicate subject.

The light turned green, and people around them started to cross the street. Raven’s eyes slid back towards across the street and began walking. Tim quickly followed her, stepping up next to her.

“It’s been a long time since I read that book,” Tim finally said.

“It’s a really nice book,” Raven nodded. “When I first moved here, a lot of the themes in the book made so much sense.”

“Do you still have a copy of the book?” asked Tim curiously. He silently pointed towards the entrance of an old diner, signaling that they were near.

Raven shook her head. “No. I lost everything when Azarath was destroyed,”

Tim felt like dick to have even asked. Of course she didn’t have a copy. Everything she owned was gone because of the asshole of a father she had. “Right, sorry,” he mumbled. They reached the diner and he opened the door for them.

“It’s alright,” Raven shot him an assuring crooked smile over her shoulder as they both stepped through the doors. She surveyed the diner – it looked like a pretty standard old diner with booths and old tables that probably had seen better days. With the early hour of dinner, there were still just a few dinners around.

“Here,” Tim placed his hand on her back and guided her towards one of the booths in the back. He forgot her dress was backless and was surprised to feel smooth warm skin under his hands. He felt the movement of her muscles as they moved down the rows of booths. He fought whatever feelings that came to mind – thinking how nice the touch felt. Because it did. It felt nice. Comfortably nice. It took a lot of will power not to fan is entire hand over the small of her back.

Tim dropped his hand, finally, finally, once they reached one of the booths in the back. While trying desperately to settle his emotions, he grinned at Raven as she surveyed the diner. “Verdict?”

Raven propped her other elbow on the table, cradling her chin in her open hand. She glanced around before looking at Tim. “Why do I feel like we stepped into a murder mystery set? And it was one of the waitresses who committed the crime?”

Tim grinned, leaned back into the lumpy booth and stretched his legs under the table. He accidentally hit one of her legs. She frowned and nudged his leg, but barely budged. He grinned at her annoyed look. “It’s nice, right?” he said, ignoring another shove from her as his feet crowded her space.

“Hi, Tim!” One of the elderly waitresses came up to their table carrying two menus. Smiling brightly at Tim, she handed the menus over to them.

“Hey, Sue,”

“I’ll leave the menus here for a bit and I’ll be back when you two cuties are ready to order,” the woman nodded, smiled brightly and quickly headed back to the main counter.

“Come here often?” Raven asked, with a slightly amused raise of an eyebrow.

Tim laughed sheepishly and nodded, absently rifling through the menu that never had seen any changes in recent years. It was a menu he memorized by heart. “Kind of,” he replied. “I used to come here often after school when I was a kid. Brought Bruce here a handful of times, so people kind of remember me because of Bruce – it’s hard not to not get recognized when you’re with Bruce,”

“Or when you’re Bruce Wayne’s adopted son it seems,” Raven mused, briefly looking to the side of the diner where a few curious eyes looked their way.

Tim made a face. “Let’s just order,”

Raven shook her head and turned to the menu. Her eyes widened when she saw the number of options. “Do you know what you want?”

“There are some pretty good options,” Time said. He gave watched as Raven’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration, trying to get through the menu. “Here, I’ll order for us. I promise it’ll be good,” he said, sliding his hand over the table and holding her menu, effectively making her stop reading it as if it were a novel. With his free hand he waived Sue over and he smiled brightly at the woman.

“You know what you guys want?”

Tim nodded. “Yeah,” he said while closing his menu. “Could we get two cheeseburgers, with a side of pickles. And chili cheese fries to share?” His eyes slid over a bewildered Raven. “And one chocolate milkshake, a cup of coffee, and save us a slice of pumpkin pie for later,”

“You eat trash,” Raven frowned after Sue had left them. “Alfred will not be pleased,”

Tim tutted. “What Alfred doesn’t know, won’t hurt him,”

When their meal arrived, Raven had to agree it was a good cheeseburger. Where she complained that these were bad calories, he quickly retorted that these were calories that they could easily burn during that evening’s patrol. Raven nudged his foot in annoyance.

It was evening when they finally left the dinner and made it back to the spot near the park where Tim parked his car earlier that afternoon. As Tim was turning on the engine of his car, he briefly glanced at Raven as she stared out the window with the chewed up Batman action figure in her lap. “You had a good time?”

“Clogging my arteries?” she asked.

Tim tipped his head in her direction and laughed softly, pulling out of the parking lot. “Yeah,”

Raven nodded and turned back to the window. “Yeah, it was nice,” she paused. “Thanks,”

They fell into comfortable silence as Tim drove them back to the manor. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Raven just stare silently out of the car window. Her gaze seemed a little distant as she watched the scenery pass by. It amazed him how easily Raven could fall in and out of conversations and how giving she was of her attention and time. The Titans were lucky to have Raven on their team and as their friend.

The longer he spent time with her, Tim had to agree that Raven truly was captivating. He was curious what else he could discover from her. For notes, of course.

[flyingkiki]

Curiosity 4/?

It happened so quickly, Raven wasn’t sure where the fire started or where it ended. It was just everywhere. It was scalding hot – consuming her whole. She felt it crawl painfully into her body – burning her bones and just searing her spirit. She felt it burn its way into her soul.

She felt her body being painfully pressed deeper into hot marble, the pentagram underneath her burning into her back. She could smell the familiar stench of burning flesh – her flesh. It burned through her uniform and branded her. She knew the brand inside the pentagram – the rune painfully familiar. It pulsed and the heat consumed her body whole.

The runes of Scath burned painfully into her back.

Panic bubbled over and she tried to scream. Scath. No!

The heat of the flames burned her throat and her whole world seemed to press down on her. She couldn’t breathe; she couldn’t scream. It felt like something was hold her throat tightly, claws digging into her neck. Pain ripped through her body as the heat burned through her and constricted her throat. She could barely see through the inferno.

She could hear chanting over the roar of flames and she struggled to find where it was coming from. She felt fear rip through her body, as the heat intensified. She needed to get out of here – where was here? She felt her body being pressed into the hot marble further and she wanted to scream.

“Arella,”

“NO!” Raven woke up with a loud gasp, jerking awake painfully and she struggled to kick away her blanket in her haze of confusion. She sat up, gasping loudly and she quickly surveyed the room with wide, panicked eyes. Pale fingers curled into her bedsheets Raven tried to regain her footing as she realized she was at Wayne Manor.

Okay. Good.

Beads of sweat rolled down the side of her face, and Raven let out a long shaky breath. She was at Wanye Manor, she reminded herself again. Her heart still beat frantically in her chest and she desperately tried to calm herself.

She stumbled out of her ridiculously comfortable bed and her unsteady stance was a welcome grounding from her dream. Raven breathed heavily and in a burst of panic, she slid her hands up and down her back. No marks. No Scath.

“Damn it,” Raven breathed loudly, closing her eyes and letting her hands drop to her sides. This was the first dream in the longest time since her 18th birthday so many years ago when they fought her father. Everything felt eerily familiar. Damn this stupid cult.

She needed to clear her head. Sleep wasn’t an option right now. Glancing at the clock – 3:11 a.m., Raven sighed and headed towards her door. She needed to do something – or else she’d combust. Quietly, she opened the door and silently padded through the dark hallway. Her bare feet sank into the plush carpet she felt comforting. She was here, walking through Wayne Manor at 3 in the morning, and she was not on some ceremonial table being sacrificed to her father.

Raven realized she had entered the Wayne Library when her feet touched the cold wooden floor. The room was chilly, significantly colder in the sporadic Spring evening/dawn weather. Raven learned it was raining outside when she heard the rain through the large floor to ceiling windows of the library. A cold draft slipped up her bare legs and Raven shivered slightly. Of course the weather had to match her nightmare. Taking a night flight was out of the options.

The Wayne Library was pitch dark, save for whatever moonlight and lightning that filtered through the window. The library was Raven’s favorite place, offering books all of the genres, languages, age periods, and rare books Raven wanted. She faintly wondered if Bruce would mind her visiting on occasion just so she could use the library (and get away from Gar) once her mission was over. She silently padded through the library, feeling small against the huge bookshelves that loomed over her.

Her heart was still beating frantically as she reached one of the reading corners she and Tim had occupied that evening. Books on demonology were scattered on the reading table. She sighed softly and decided that she might as well spend her time here for a bit, just to settle her emotions. As she passed the table, she spotted a grey Gotham University hoodie hanging precariously from one of the chairs. Probably Tim’s.

She absently picked up the hoodie and slipped it over her head. It was still cold at the library and she regretted leaving her room in just a pair of shorts and a flimsy tank top. The hoodie was insanely comfortable as it settled over her body, dropping down to her thighs and over her hands. She was enveloped in the familiar scent of sandalwood and cinnamon. She breathed in deeply, feeling her insides warm and she calmed down significantly.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she sat down on one of the couches. She sighed softly, sinking into the comfortable leather and tucked her legs underneath her. Dropping her head against the armrest, she blankly stared at the table in front of her.

What did those dreams mean? Her fingers on her right hand absently fiddled with a loose strand on Tim’s sweater. She swallowed, as the flames jumped back into her memory.

She heard her mother’s name being called over the flames.  A chilling thought slipped through her body, and she felt her stomach roll. That was how her mother was given to Trigon – how the cult sacrificed her to her father. She hugged herself tighter and thought of her mother and what a horrible, painful experience that was.

A soft sob escaped her lips and she buried herself into the soft cushions of the couch. Her mother should have never gone through that horrible ordeal. Never.

The cult will pay.

*

“Raven?”

Raven inhaled sharply and her eyes flew open quickly, her senses on high alert and her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Her right hand glowed in self-defense, ready to attack. She scrambled into a sitting position, her neck hurting from having fallen asleep on the couch. Dawn broke through the windows, illuminating the library. She quickly realized she had fallen asleep at some point after absently trying to read a magazine (Home Gardening) to settle her mind.

“Why are you sleeping in the library?”

Raven looked up at Bruce, as he stood a safe distance away from her by the reading table. He knew better than to try to wake her through contact. She sighed softly, hear head throbbing slightly from the lack of sleep. She must have slept for an hour. She ran her hand over her face, trying to push away any last remnants of sleep – no point of trying to catch some sleep now.

“Sorry,” she whispered, sitting up on the couch and dropping her bare feet on the floor. She looked up at Bruce as he returned her gaze with a calculating look. “Couldn’t sleep last night,”

“You didn’t look very comfortable when I came in and saw you,” Bruce noted.

Raven titled her head as she looked up at the older Wayne. “Nightmare,”

Bruce’s brows furrowed. “Nightmare?”

Raven contemplated how much she should tell the man or if it was even important to do so. “My dreams about my father aren’t really pleasant,” she mused, a wry smile playing on her lips.

“Should we be worried about your nightmare?”

Raven shook her head. Her toes absently curled under her as she silently thought about it. Was it a warning? “No, not really,” she said.

They stared at each other for a moment before Bruce nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Just let us know if anything changes,”

“I will,”

Bruce was about to leave, when he stopped himself and turned back to the curious Raven. “We, I, appreciate your help,” he said carefully. Bruce titled his head a tiny bit in her direction. “I know this whole situation can be unsettling. I appreciate you coming here and helping us address the current situation with the cult.”

Raven offered him a wry smile. “Like I said, always a pleasure to fight family,”

Bruce gave her a small smile. “The Titans are very lucky to have you on the team,”

It was odd to have a light moment with Bruce or Batman. For the most part of the week, they only talked about work. Raven did notice how much of a father Bruce could be (despite the obvious fact that he had all his children running around in leotards and fighting crime at a very young age – not very stellar parenting skills right there), but she did notice that Bruce cared – in his own little ways. He seemed just a tiny bit different from the Batman that she met when she was a child, begging for help from the Justice League. Serious AF still, but kinder a few notches.

“Thanks,” Raven nodded, feeling just a little calmer now.

“Alfred will have breakfast ready soon, you should join us whenever you are ready,” Bruce said as he was about to leave her.

Raven mumbled her thanks and watched the man leave. “Bruce?”

He paused by the doors of the library and he turned to her, eyeing her quizzically. “Hmm?”

Raven’s lips quirked just a tiny bit. “Thank you,” They stared at each other for a brief second before her lips lifted into an amused smile. “Also, nice pajamas,”

Bruce let out a low chuckle and it seemed like he rolled his eyes in exasperation. He looked down at the comfortable black shirt (which probably cost more than her monthly paycheck) and grey sweatpants with tiny little Superman logos dotted all over. “These are a gift from Jason,”

Raven titled her head, clearly amused. “Of course they are,”

“See you at breakfast, Raven,”

She nodded and watched the man leave. She felt slightly relieved that he didn’t bother to probe her further about her nightmare. As she stood up, she decided that it was just that – a nightmare. Nothing more for them to read into.

Raven slowly left the library and set out to follow Bruce for breakfast. It was a Sunday which explained why Bruce was walking around in Superman pajama pants and not his normal business suit in the morning. It still felt slightly surreal to Raven to see Batman so, well, human.

“Good morning, Miss Raven,” Alfred greeted her as she stepped into the dining room.

“Good morning, Alfred,” Raven offered a small smile at Alfred before silently shuffling towards her seat at the table. She nodded at Bruce as she approached the table and absently took in the beautiful spread of fruits and breakfast treats on the table. She silently wished they had an Alfred back at the Tower (though, she did love Victor and his pancakes and waffles mornings).

Tim walked into the room, stifling a small yawn. “Morning,” he mumbled, still sleepy from a long night of patrolling and chasing demons. He felt more aware, and significantly more awake, when he watched Raven pull her chair out. She looked incredibly small today, in the oversized hoodie that spilled over her hands as she held onto the chair in front of her. Tim knew that it was horrible bad manners to stare but for the past week of being with Raven, it was a common occurrence of his now – he couldn’t help it.

“Good morning,” Raven turned to him, bed hair still evident. He could see the print Gotham University on the front of the hoodie and felt his insides warm unexpectedly. That was his hoodie.

“Good morning, Raven,” Tim made his way to the table, still watching her and taking in how the hoodie looked on her. He briefly caught sight of her bare legs and feet, and he was glad the table obscured most of the view now. Damn did she look cute in his hoodie. Tim tried to settle his emotions because this was definitely not how he should be thinking about his brother’s teammate. Especially while she was here for work on a mission trying to stop a cult dedicated to her father – looking adorable in his wretched too-big-hoodie looking like it was the only thing she was wearing right now and they, they… – oh, god, his clothes looked so good on her. Gah. TIM JUST STOP. He should really stop hanging out with Jason.

Dick was going to kill him. Or Raven – whoever came first once they learned how he thought about the deadly female Titan. Remember, deadly. Just notes – update her files, that’s it.

He downed half of his coffee in one go, hoping he’d preoccupy his mind with scalding coffee and potentially just drown himself with it. Both seemed to work.

Raven looked at Tim curiously feeling his soft push of emotions against her own. She noticed his curiosity and intrigue – laced with attraction again. She caught his eye briefly and she quirked her lips just a little bit. These Robins were curious little birds and she felt warm inside.

“Pardon me for saying, Miss Raven,” Alfred caught everyone’s attention at the table as he appeared next to Raven with a pair of fluffy white house slippers and gently dropped them next to her chair. “The next time you decide to fall asleep in the library, you can get some spare blankets in the storage room down the hall. The library can get really chilly at night,”

Raven colored and she shuffled her feet to slip into the offered house slippers. “I’m sorry, Alfred, for the trouble,”

The old man smiled kindly. “No trouble at all,”

Tim eyed her curiously. “You slept in the library?” His eyebrows furrowed. “But we decided to end research last night when said you were tired,”

“When you fell asleep at the table,” Raven corrected. She rolled her eyes, amused and took a sip of her tea. “It’s nothing. Just had a bad dream, woke up, and ended up in the library,”

“Bad dream?”

Raven shrugged her shoulder dismissively. “Nothing to be worried about,” she assured.

“Did anything come up from your readings last night?” asked Bruce.

“Nothing that we don’t already know about,” she titled her head a little bit. “But,” she motioned for Tim to hand over this BatTablet. He handed it to her a little confused. Raven fiddled with it a bit, tapping the screen a few times. “This morning, I got in touch with Constantine,”

“At 4 in the morning?” Bruce looked impressed.

Raven shrugged. “Constantine owes me. Anyway, the pentagram at the ritual sites all have the marks of Scath,” she showed them the picture of one of the pentagrams they took a photo of and zoomed into the crooked ‘S’ in the middle. “When Tim and I read through some demonology texts, a common practice is getting branded or promising yourself off to the cult. We were so caught up with the idea of them being just a ragtag team of cult followers that I missed the possibility of them actually having a sense of order,” she explained.

It made sense to earlier this morning as she reflected about it at the library. Maybe that was why she dreamed about the ritual sacrifice, and all those old memories of her father resurfaced, because there was an actual sense of order in place. Maybe they were not just a fanatic little church after all – they actually knew how to summon demons, so it only made sense that they should have some set up that could lead them to the church.

“When the Church of Trigon first organized, members would get branded with runes and the symbol of Scath, my father. It would show your commitment to the church. My mother had one branded on her,” she paused and placed the tablet on the table. She looked at the two men across of her, and faintly wondered if she should continue. “I have the same markings, unfortunately,”

She pulled down the collar of Tim’s hoodie and showed them an old burn site right below her left collar bone. The scar burn was raised against her pale skin and one could barely see black lines peeking out of the puckered flesh. “I tried to burn it off I when first got them during my 18th birthday,” she sent them a wry smile. “I quickly realized that didn’t mean I was off the hook from being my father’s portal,”

“You’re saying that these cultists have the same markings?” Bruce looked doubtful. “We already tried making scans at the Watchtower, nothing came up,”

Raven adjusted the collar around her neck. “Maybe there are variations,” she shrugged. She picked up the BatTablet again and pressed the screen. “Or we need to look more closely on the ground. Sometimes, because they are so disorganized in organizing themselves, they don’t get picked up on the radar. And that’s how most little cults and magic users operate – we don’t organize in large groups,” she shrugged. “Salem Witch Hunt, never again.”

“Constantine said that there is an underground club for metas and magic users in the outskirts of Gotham,” she showed them the picture of an old, abandoned warehouse. “It is charmed, so humans cannot spot it. It’s off the grid, I haven’t heard of this one in Gotham, but places like these are pretty common among magic users. We have one in Jump. These places rarely allow humans to enter the clubs,” she looked at Bruce and Tim. “Constantine told me that he had a contact I could get in touch with who might know someone from the cult, or if we’re lucky, someone from the cult could be at the club. Constantine will send me details later this afternoon. I can go tonight and check out the club,”

Bruce frowned and stared at Raven thoughtfully. “Just for intel gathering, nothing else,”

Raven nodded. “Intel only,” she paused. “I’d rather not cause any trouble in club filled magic users and other beings,”

“Take Tim with you,”

“I’m going with you,”

Raven frowned at them, growing slightly frustrated and she closed the tablet. “Didn’t you guys catch the part where it’s an metas-only club?”

“I don’t want you to go in alone. We do this together. Find a way for you to bring Tim into the club. We’ll have a briefing later this evening before you leave. End of discussion,” and with an air of finality, Bruce seemed to successfully end the discussion.

“Understood,” Raven nodded. She knew better than to argue with Batman.

Satisfied, Bruce nodded. “I’ll see you both later tonight,” he said to them before leaving the breakfast table.

“Raven?”

She felt Tim’s worry and curiosity press against her. She looked at him, blue eyes shining in emotions she could not quite place. “Let’s talk about what’s going to happen tonight later,”

Tim frowned. “Is this a good idea?”

Raven sent him sly smile. “Let’s just figure out how to smuggle you in as my human pet or something,”

Tim felt his ears ring and his stomach roll. That did not sound like a good idea – or did it?

[flyingkiki]

Also, i think I am accepting requests? 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ TimRae and GarthRae for now because these two are in my system right now 🤤🤤🤤🤤, making my brain go into overdrive. But if there are other requests, I can try to work on them. Promise. Ughhh. Writing Raven is so much fun. Also, will take on smut. Becauseeeee 😳😳😳😳