#or Raven ogling a shirtless Dami

[xaphrin]

What Wakes in Shadows - aka: “I love you, you dumb idiot.”

“Fuck.”

Damian thought the bass of the warehouse around him was going to burst his eardrums. It was annoying and it was so loud he was sure Metropolis could hear it from six hours away. The flashing lights whipped around him and the smell of alcohol, dirt, and sweat practically burned his skin like acid. Disgusting. Who came to these things? Oh. Right. Gar and Raven. Idiots. He looked around the warehouse and glared at a few girls whose stares wandered a down the length of his body - he was not interested. His arm twitched more out of habit than anything else. It was like the echo of the brand was still there, leaving an echo of Raven where he didn’t expect her.

Why in the world had she made that deal with Blood? Jesus. She was so fucking stupid.

His anger rose and he whipped his head around the dark warehouse, still looking for her. Where the fuck was she, and why in the hell did she let Gar drag her to a place like this? Fucking hell. He ground his teeth together and ran his hand through his hair as he elbowed someone out of the way, looking through the dark shadows and glowsticks. When he found he he was going to throttle her. A girl pressed against him, dragging her tongue along his ear, and he shoved her out of the way.

“Consent.”

She pouted, her pupils high from whatever she was on, and wandered away. Damian rolled his eyes and wiped at his ear with his sleeve, still scanning the space for Raven. He saw her across the dancefloor, talking to someone who wasn’t even making eye-contact with her - his eyes were completely glued to her chest. At least pick a good guy, Raven. Geeze. Damian felt possession rise up like a poison, threading through his whole body until it felt like he was going to burn up in a shower of flames. He pushed through a group of dancers and over to where she was standing.

Raven blinked, her eyes wide. She looked from the idiot to him and tried to say something. “Dami-”

“We’re going.” His hand wrapped around her wrist and he looked around for another exit, pulling Raven along. “Say goodbye to this asshole, and let’s fucking leave. I don’t have time to deal with your shit right now.”

“Damian.”

He ignored her protest, pulling her out of this sanctuary of bass and noise and into the sickly scent of rain and rusted metal outside. It was pouring now, the dirt lot turning into a thick mud that caked the soles of his shoes. Honestly, he couldn’t care right now. He was so damn angry at her for doing what she did. Blood? After he told her not to? She was testing every inch of his patience, and he wasn’t entirely certain he wouldn’t kill her by the end of the night. The bass still pounded in the back of his head and he glared at her, anger ripping through him.

“Fuck, Raven.” He shook, clenching his hands into fists. “What in the world were you thinking?”

She blinked, as if she was struggling to come up with something to say. “Gar was with me.”

“Not about that!” He wanted to punch something, and realized why Jason preferred the raucous release of guns to the subtle style of a sword. It was cathartic to watch something fucking blow up when you were this angry. Damian released her wrist and shoved the sleeve of his shirt up, showing her his bare arm. “This. You… you promised me. You promised me that you weren’t going to Blood, but this is gone and I… I know what the fuck you did. I’m not stupid. Fucking hell, Raven. Do you even know what you’ve done?”

“There wasn’t a way to fix it!” Her voice sounded panicked and she looked up at him, swallowing air. “We looked! We looked for months, Damian… I got… I got desperate. The longer we dragged that out, the longer it would take before we found an answer, and the more your soul and your magic would be pulled into me. I didn’t want that. Not for you. Not when-”

“What did you promise him?” He pushed her against his car and glared down at her. “What in the fuck did you promise Blood? Because he doesn’t do favors, I know.”

“I… it’s… I don’t know.” Raven looked away, pulling her thin jacket closer to her. She shivered. “He said he would collect when he was ready. But… there weren’t any real terms of repayment discussed.”

“Fucking….” Damian felt that anger rip through him again and he glared at her, wishing he had the powers she did. At least he could have blown something up.  “You… you’re so goddamned dumb.” He ran his fingers through his wet hair, nearly ripping out the strands. Did she even know? “Do you even know what you agreed to?”

“He can’t touch me in Azarath. It’s another dimension, and the monks will protect me there. I… I figured I would be safe when this semester is over.” Raven looked up into his eyes and shifted, her face sad. She looked as if she had been turning this thought over for a while, uncertain how the ending would play out. She chewed on her lower lip, and that… that wasn’t helping. She didn’t need to look vulnerable when he was so damn angry at her. Raven pushed her wet hair out of her face. “I figured after how I royally fucked everything up this past year, the monks would never let me free anyway. I would need to stay there until my end finally came.”

That made him even angrier, and he nearly punched out his own window he was so mad. How in the world could she be so damn selfish? His eyes narrowed and he set his jaw with a click. “So, that’s it? You’re just going to fucking leave? Just… just leave me here?”

“You don’t like-”

“I fucking love you, you dumb idiot.”

Raven’s eyes widened and she pulled back, her hand pressing against his chest. He watched as she swallowed, unsure of what to say next. “W-what?”

He growled at her and pushed her against his car, not even trying to hide the rush of emotions inside him. “I don’t repeat myself.”

He watched as the rain spilled down her face, wetting her hair and pouring down her face. She was gasping, swallowing air, her hands shaking against him. Raven shivered, and she looked up into his eyes. “Kiss me.”

He didn’t even pause to question his own actions before his mouth was on hers, pushing her against the side of his car. He wanted to yell at her, wanted to tell her how fucking stupid she was, wanted to tell her how much he didn’t want her to return to Azarath - he wanted so many things. But instead he wrapped his arms around her and pushed her tight against his car, his fingers burying into her hair. Their lips slid against each other, rain pouring down, the scent of mud filling his senses, and he murmured her name between kisses.

It was cathartic, but he still wanted to punch something - or at the very least, destroy something. He tilted his head to the side and deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding along her lower lip as he tasted every bit of her. His hand found her tights and he dug his fingers into the thin fabric, ripping holes. He really should buy her new ones, this was the third pair he ruined making out with her.

“Damian…”

He shivered, and before he knew what he was doing, he dropped to his knees in front of her, ripping her tights even further. His breath was a ragged thing, ripping into his lungs as he smelled the scent of her wetness mixing with the earthy smell of the rain. He wanted her. He wanted her more than he ever let himself feel, and… and he should have realized this fucking months ago. He should have known what he wanted before this became such a complicated mess.

His fingers pulled the edge of her panties to the side, exposing her, and Damian slid his tongue along the length of her. She tasted almost sweet, mixed with rain and his own desire, he thought that he could probably gorge himself on her if she let him. Raven gasped and her hand threaded in his hair for just a moment before she groped for the handle of his car. It popped open and they fell back into the backseat of his car. Damian had barely had the good sense to shut the door before he found himself over Raven again, his hands pulling down her underwear and tights, tossing them under the front seat.

Raven pushed him into a sitting position before she crawled into his lap, her fingers digging into his hair.

“It wants to be free.”

Damian glared up at her as he pulled her closer, his fingers spreading her and finding her clit. She tightened around him, and he felt some iota of pride at knowing how weak she was for him. Almost as weak as he was for her. “I’m in love with you, not your demon, so try to keep it contained.”

Raven shivered against him, and her hands fumbled against the zipper in his jeans, sliding over the head of his cock. Damian sucked in a breath, trying to last at least a little longer than the last time she had touched him this freely. His head tilted back against the seat, and he looked up into her eyes. His fingers threaded through her hair and he pulled her tight against him, his mouth desperately seeking hers. Every kiss felt like it was a stitch, sewing them together. He wanted to be part of her forever, and he wanted her to be part of him - the way they had been before she had made that stupid deal with Blood.

“Raven.”

Her eyes slid closed and she pressed her forehead against his, swallowing breaths until she calmed down. “Sorry.”

He closed his eyes and slid his hands down her back. “Don’t fucking apologize. You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

Raven pulled back and blinked, her eyes wide.

“I don’t have a condom.” He rolled his shoulders and took a shaking breath. “And I’m guessing you probably don’t have one either.”

“Oh.” Her face burned and she scrambled off him, pulling her skirt back down to her knees. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” He sighed and leaned back into the seat, looking out at the dark sky. He shouldn’t have been so damn eager to get to her. He should have at least come prepared with… something. Damian rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “Let’s…. Let’s cool off before we do something we both regret.”

“I… I can’t get pregnant.” Raven looked away, shame coloring her face. “It’s… ah… when I was younger, the monks thought it would be best if the spawn of Trigon didn’t have spawn of her own. So… I… I don’t exactly have the equipment for creating offspring.” She paused, glancing back at him. “If that’s what you’re worried about, anyway.”  

Damian stared at her, eyes wide. They did what to her? And she still wanted to go back? “Raven…”

She shifted, pulling her skirt down further. “I was young. I don’t really even remember, so… no loss right?” She took a shaky breath and looked out the window they had fogged up, her voice quiet. They both looked at the condensation running down the glass, taking slow, ragged breaths as they tried to understand just what happened between them. Damian’s hand tightened next to him, and he swallowed air as he tried not to think about Raven’s bare thigh pressing against his own.

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Let’s go home.”

Damian looked at her, knowing his face was unreadable. A long moment passed between them before he shook his head. “No.”

Raven blinked, but stayed silent.

“No. Not tonight. I don’t want to go back to the dorms tonight.”

“Then… where?”

He licked his lips and looked at her, expression dark. Choices pooled in the back of his mind and he desperately tried to search for the right one, but he already knew the answer. He didn’t even know why he tried to create a response that didn’t exist. He took a shaky breath and looked over at her, watching her eyes as they searched his own.  

“We’ll find somewhere, but I… I want you with me.”