#summerofbatgals

[dyketectivecomics]

Summer of Bats: “Meeting Batdad”

not so much Meeting, but how i def imagine the first like, Serious Conversation Starting haha (but a bonus on who I think actually calls him Batdad outta the kids)

...

"You all call him 'B'," Raven observed, "Does it stand for Batman or Bruce?"

"It stands for Bitch." Dick, Jason and Barbara all said it in unison. The same scathing tone, the same hard inflection on the word. Raven could feel her girlfriend's disdain for the term, and for the equal amounts of conflicting emotions that she knew her brothers and her mentor held for Gotham's Dark Knight. They had the longest history with Bruce, after all.

Tim and Stephanie both laughed, and Duke nervously chuckled alongside them before they each gave their own answers.

"It stands for Boss for me, personally," Duke admitted. Tim seemed to think on his answer a moment before shrugging his shoulders and saying, "Batman. B is just quicker to say."

Steph waved a dismissive hand in the air as she went into further detail. "It was Batman when I was Spoiler, and then Boss when I was Robin... Now it's Bitchman." She gave a decisive nod before repeating, "Definitely Bitchman."

From across the room, Damian tutted and muttered something under his breath before stalking off with Titus following close by his side. Dick almost moved to follow after him, before Cassandra caught his eye. A quick warning or reassurance that the youngest bat didn't need or didn't want to be followed.

Which was when Raven finally turned to her girlfriend, curiosity aglow in her eyes.

"And what about you, love? When you use 'B', what does it stand for?"

It was Cass' turn to wave a dismissive hand now, her face growing slightly pink as she tried to turn away.

As her brothers and friends goaded her, however, she eventually confessed in a small, voice, "Batdad."

Jason and Dick let out the loudest and longest overly dramatic groans. The rest of the group was a bit more forgiving with low laughter and a few teasing remarks. Raven reached over for the bat's hand, and held it up to kiss along her knuckles.

"That's positively adorable, my love."

...

Bruce had met the empath before, however briefly that had been, some years back. She'd been a member of his eldest son's team of heroes, after all. And despite their falling out at the time, and despite his best efforts to fool himself, he was a concerned parent. He'd learned some of the barest of details about each of Dick's teammates. No matter how briefly they may have been part of his team.

Who knew that it would take so much time, and so many odd relationships with his other children, for them to finally get to know one another.

After all, despite all outward claims, he was not nearly as asocial a creature as he strived to be. Somehow or another, it seemed he'd met every damn one of the metahumans and heroes that roamed the earth. And now one of those heroes was dating his daughter.

They all sat in companionable silence for the longest time. The Batman gauging the Titan and the Titan taking in the Bat's mood. If it wasn't for the obvious blinks and quiet sips of tea to break the stillness, one would think the two were engaged in a staring contest, or battle of wills.

Although, if you were to ask Cassandra, the latter wasn't too far from the truth.

She cleared her throat carefully, gaining her father and girlfriend's attention.

"Raven is... studying to become a... doctor," she said, nearly sighing in relief as the tension finally started to break between the two.

"My father was a surgeon, you know," Bruce supplied, "And Wayne Enterprises continues to fund scholarships for certain specializations... Have you considered-"

And just like that, the weight was being lifted, dissipating as Alfred brought in another round of biscuits.

[squiddybeifong]

Day 2: Waffles

[dykerachelsummers]

summer of batgalpals:

babsrae weekend, day one -> libraries

[sasamdcu]

Too Many Dads

Rating: 16+ Fandom DCU: Pairings: Cassandra Cain/Raven/Harper Row

Archive of Our Own

For The Summer of BatGalPals. I was super busy all July and am only now getting around to finishing some of these.

July 3rds General Prompt: “Meeting batdad”

Raven groaned as Dick made a fourth pass over her makeup and outfit. Ever since she had let it slip that she was going on a date he and Kori had hounded her relentlessly for details. They bickered like an old married couple about what she should wear and how she should style her hair, advised her to drink or take drugs in moderation and worst of all gave her a speech about the safety of procreation that went far too long. The birds and bees demonstrated with the help of Beast Boy did not help. It began to feel like Dick was more invested in this date than she was at this point.

“Alright, I think we’re perfect!” Dick finally confirmed before packing up his makeup case.

“You’re going to blow them away.”

“I can blow you away right now if you want.” Raven grumbled though Dick didn’t seem to notice.

The one saving grace about this whole fiasco was that her partners weren’t fairing much better. Occasional messages and cries of help came through her phone culminating in a string of Snapchats showcasing Harper and Jason devolving into a literal fist fight over the best style of leather jacket. Tim had apparently tried calling in a ringer since he didn’t know much about punk outfits himself and he wanted to focus more on trying to get Cass to wear a proper dress.  It looked like he might be regretting that.

“Oh look at the time! We’d better hurry if we want to make it to Gotham by five!” Dick dragged Raven along to his ‘borrowed Bat Mobile'.

“Remind me again why I don’t just portal to Gotham?”

“Because I need to return this car as well and you love a good road trip.”

“I don’t.”

“Well you will after this! You like show tunes?”

“We are not listening to Wicked the entire trip.“

The doors of Wayne Manor swung open as they approached to reveal Tim and Jason, both clad in slacks and sweater vests waiting. The unnerving display caused Raven to begin to question Dick’s own sweater vest ensemble. While this wasn’t an out of place outfit for Dick with the three in coordination something seemed clearly off.

“Hey there Dick, good to see you.”

“Likewise Tim.”

“How was the trip?”

“Fantastic, we listened to Wicked for the first half and Bye Bye Birdie for the second!”

“Little too on the nose there don’t you think?” Jason asked.

“Not at all, the perfect show tunes for a road trip if you ask me.”

“It was a nightmare.” Raven cut them off before they could continue farther.

A bizarre little shuffle went on as Dick shook first Tim’s hand then Jason’s before they were guided inside. Raven had been to the Wayne mansion a handful of times before with Dick, it was how she had met Cass and Harper after all, somehow though the majesty of it all wasn’t overwhelming. The opulence reminded her of Azarath and of home.

The four of them traveled down the main foyer into a small guest seating room on the left. Inside Raven momentarily forgot all about the weird way the boys were acting because there was Harper and Cass and oh boy was Raven having a gay moment.

Jason and Tim seemed taken aback as well. Raven wasn’t surprised, instead of the outfits they had been getting them into earlier the two were sporting nothing but light workout gear. Harper was in nothing but a skeleton motif tank and loose black shorts while Cass was in skin tight shorts and a black sports bra with attached bat eared hood. If you asked Raven they looked amazing. The toned muscles and various patterns of scarring telling her just how much trust they had in her and how comfortable they were in showing her so much.

“What happened to our planning?” Jason just sank in despair. "I thought we bonded through that brawl."

“You guys got so worked up we were ready like five hours early. We got bored and went for a workout.” Harper shrugged.

“Comfier.” Cass added.

Jason simply wandered aimlessly out of the room, as if his whole world had come crashing down around him.

“What’s up with him?” Raven asked.

“Oh I told him if he helped me dress up Harper it would impress Barbara.” Tim flashed a momentary shit eating grin before becoming rigidly serious again and locking eyes with her. “But onto the real business.”

“Ahem.” Dick cleared his throat. “You two ladies better look after my girl here. Treat here right you hear?”

“What? No, no, no, your girl needs to make sure she treats Cass and Harper right!” Tim countered, upset that Dick had usurped his moment.

“I’m the adult here and I’m going to make sure Raven is treated how she deserves!”

“Well I’ve been teaching these two for years now and I need to know that they’re going to be in good hands!”

Raven felt a small tug at the bottom of her dresses skirt. Turning she found Cass holding one finger over her lips for silence and Harper looking ready to bust a gut. Motioning Cass lead the two quietly out the door, leaving the two siblings to bicker behind them.

“God I can’t believe what dorks they are.” Harper laughed once they were out of earshot. “Do they really both want to be dads that badly or something? And Jason! Oh my god I can’t believe I managed to convince him to wear that stupid sweater vest.”

Cass and Raven snickered with her.

“At least you two got to change into something more comfortable, Dick and Kori made me take a five hour car ride in latex. This stuff doesn’t breathe you know.”

“It’s worth it.” Cass pulled Raven into a side hug, burying herself into the empath’s side and stealing a quick kiss.

“Yea, honestly it suits you a lot. Looks super cute and you don’t even notice the fact that it was probably bought from some kink store.”

Raven was dressed in as Kori described it a ‘Latex Galaxy Print Emily Dress’. A simple black latex dress with blue, purple and red galaxy print swirls across the chest portion, short puffy shoulder sleeves a somewhat short skirt and a high almost sailor collar, finished off by an O-ring attached right in the center.

“Uhg” Raven groaned. “I let Kori pick it out but didn’t take into account her lack of tact and understand when it comes to certain social customs still. A pretty dress is a pretty dress is all she said. Though I have to admit her matching the galaxy design with your hair was a stroke of genius.”

Raven ran a hand through Harper's hair before pulling her down for her own kiss.

“Again, you hardly notice it looks kinky or anything. Either that or I’ve just been spending too much time around the local capes and hoods. Have you seen Cat Woman’s outfit? The dress really doesn’t stand out that much in our line of work.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“So, we have a surprise for movie night.” Cass beamed at her pushing Raven to raise an eyebrow in interest.

“Oh?”

“It’s an anime. I’ve finally gotten Cass fully into anime, and now it’s your turn.” Harper laughed.

“As long as it’s Cass picking that’s fine with me, the last time it was your turn to pick we ended up watching that god awful Lance and Masks.”

The three settled down together in one of the side rooms, a massive TV adorning the far wall and one large comfy couch for them to quickly pile onto. Raven let Cass guide her in between herself and Harper. While they’d definitely had movies night before this was an entirely new situation for Raven. Previously she had always been off to the side while the lovebirds cuddled. She could definitely get used to this though, something about the way the two of them embraced and held her just made her feel so safe and warm. Harper pulling her almost on top of herself and Cass spread out all across both of them kept her in such close proximity it was almost impossible to tune out their feelings of affection that washed over her like she was being dipped in a warm comfortable bath. It was pure happiness.

Bruce was tired. He had finished his patrol late the night before and hadn’t had time for sleep before dealing with the various Wayne enterprises that required his attention. Refusing to take a day off he had just finished his second night straight of patrols and was running on fumes when he made it back to the mansion.

Upon arriving the first thing he found was Jason passed out in a patio chair dressed like what Bruce could only assume was an attempt at Mr. Rodgers. He didn’t want to know. In the foyer he found Duke scolding Tim and Dick both also dressed in outlandishly PBS father figure style outfits. He had to blink a few times and then go double check on Jason to make sure he was seeing everything correctly. Those three wearing matching outfits was not a good sign.

Checking in on Harper and Cass who he’d heard were opting to spend their weekend at the mansion for once instead of at either Harper or Stephanie’s apartments was delighted to find all three girls snuggled up fast asleep together on the couch. A large comfy blanket sprawled out across them.

“Wait.”

It didn’t take the world’s greatest detective to realize that something didn’t add up, namely the number of people in the pile. Silently he went through a mental checklist of who all was there. There was Harper and Cass yes. But the third girl was someone he didn’t recognize. It wasn’t Stephanie, or Barbara, or Carrie or Kate. Not Violet not Harley(thankfully.) not Selina and not anyone else that sprung to mind.

Rubbing his eyes he wandered into the kitchen where he found Damian eating breakfast and Alfred putting on a new batch of coffee.

“Oh thank you Alfred, I definitely need that today.” He groaned as he plopped down into a seat at the table next to Damian.

“I think what you need is a good sleep sir.” Alfred replied but began grabbing a third cup nonetheless.

Bruce hummed to himself a moment in thought.

“We didn’t adopt any new kids recently have we?”

Damian and Alfred looked at him in confusion.

“There’s a third girl with Harper and Cass. I don’t recognize her.”

“Ahh. That would be Miss Raven.” Alfred turned back to the coffee maker. “No, she is simply here as a guest, from my understanding those three have begun dating. She’s one of Dick’s Teen Titans.”

Bruce nodded in acceptance.

“Okay good. I was worried we would need to renovate and add another bedroom.”

“I’m pretty sure that won’t be a problem.” Duke said around mouthfuls of toast. “Looks to me like they’ll be sharing a bed anyways.”

And that was not what sleep deprived Bruce needed to be thinking about right now. Anything would have been better than his children's relationships, god a Joker attack would be better.

“And do you know what’s going on with?...” he let the question die out.

“On second thought I’ll ask Dick what they were doing tomorrow. Alfred please ignore my earlier request for coffee and cancel my eight o clock, I believe we should still be able to reschedule to tomorrow for that. I’m going to go get some rest after all.”

“Of course sir.”

“Have fun at school Damian.”

“Tch.”

Yea. Bruce definitely wasn’t dealing with whatever else all of this was until tomorrow.

[squiddybeifong]

Day 3: Communication

[squiddybeifong]

Day 1: Team Player

@ravensflockofrobins

[squiddybeifong]

Day 3: Glasses 

Bonus super tiny ficlet under the cut:

--

Babs let out a little sigh as Raven cuddled up against her side. Through the lens of her glasses Azarath’s sky was speckled with stars, their thin glows flickering like fireflies on top of the cloudless night.

Her skin was abuzz, prickling her skin and wrapping her nerves up in a bundle. Raven’s warmth on her side was soothing enough, but the magic all around her; the steady, pulsing undercurrent of supernatural power that permeated every inch of Azarath. It wasn’t like the silky slide of Raven’s powers against her skin as the empath let herself feel the pounding heart and ease of mind that came from cuddling with her lover, or even the unsteady sensation of the planet floating under their bodies. It was odd and exciting and new, like the tingles that came with their first kiss or the sweat of adrenaline that a mission brought.

A brief kick of wind made the Azarathian’s cloak flutter as it billowed back, her wheelchair’s handle creaking at the pull. Raven paid it no mind, her hand moving from the impromptu flowers they had picked to rest above the dip on her shirt. Pale fingers slid along the freckles on her collar, languid as Babs let out a quiet sigh.

The redhead’s voice was soft as she lifted her chin, smiling as Raven leaned in to kiss her cheek. Her glasses jerked up as their cheeks pressed together, one of her lens arching up to cover an eyebrow. Babs drummed her fingers along her girlfriend’s waist, her other hand squeezing their intertwined fingers as they rested on her stomach.

Green eyes closed as Raven kissed her skin again, this time on a patch of freckles just above her jawline. The Bat smirked, “I thought we were gonna stargaze?”

Raven shifted, not seeming to mind the wild way her hair was strewn over the blanket. She partially leaned up on her side and lazily ran her fingertips along the freckled collar again, her violet eyes tender as she gazed at her love, “I am.”

Babs didn’t even try to bite back her smile. She nudged her girlfriend’s nose with her own, her voice impossibly quiet in the tiny space between them, “You’re a lovestruck dork.”

The empath nuzzled closer, “I am.”

[squiddybeifong]

Day 3: Shenanigans

the best april fool’s jokes are the ones that come back to haunt you almost 4 months later

[squiddybeifong]

“You do know I’m not a doctor, right?”

“Not yet.”

[squiddybeifong]

Meeting Batdad

@ravensflockofrobins 

Summer of Bats is here!!!

--

Dressed more for casual than business, Raven fought the urge to rock on her heels as she stood outside of Bruce’s office. She fidgeted with the buttons on her sundress’ pockets and took in another deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. 

Beyond that pristine wall there was a growing sense of relief from the two administrators at the meeting coming to a close and Raven reached out to fiddle with the office plant, her breath catching in her throat as the door opened. The shine of the ‘Bruce Wayne’ placard gleamed in her eyes as the two men strode out, a full folder in each of their arms. 

Letting the air out of her lungs, Raven murmured a quick, calming “Azarath, mentrion, zinthos” under her breath and settled herself in the center of the doorway. She bit back a groan at the fact that Bruce could somehow look just as intimidating without the fursuit and didn’t even try forcing a casual grin. She knew he’d see through it anyway. 

Bruce raised a brow at her, sitting up straighter in his chair. His hands folded atop his paperwork and the empath ran a tongue over her teeth, “We should talk.”

Sapphire eyes were all-knowing and unsurprised at the day’s turn of events, “About you dating one of my children?”

Her brows jumped and a teasing curl lifted her lips, “I know you didn’t adopt her, but are you making it official?”

The billionaire tensed a bit at his wrong guess, letting out a snort a second later to cover his mistake, “It’s Steph?”

Raven closed the door behind her as she glided over to his desk, sitting in one of the leather seats across from him. The ex-Titan felt the hint of a genuine smile come over her face and teased, “Someone give you the wrong intel, Mr. Wayne?”

They’d never had a chance to talk as casually as this before (because whoo boy, Dick did not like any extended interaction with the man when he was still Robin and medical school meant it was hard enough meeting the other batkids), but Raven knew that they wouldn’t have too much time for sizing each other up before the surprise came in. Still, she could see that his mistaken information was going to weigh on him, so the empath lounged a bit in her seat, “You can ask.”

He raised a brow, “Does Cass know?”

Raven let out a little chuckle and ran a hand through her hair, “It’s a pity that you didn’t even assume she’s dating both of us.”

Bruce stared at her for a long minute. Used to silence and glad for a tiny reprieve to think over her approach, Raven let him be. After another few seconds an exasperated sound rushed out of him at the most glaring flaw in their plan, “Did they honestly think you were the best choice to break the news to me? This is the first time we’ve really met.”

A pale hand waved in the air, “Cass is your favorite, we know. But we figured what with the whole element of surprise and all that…” Her eyes flicked to the window just behind him and another sigh slipped out of the businessman, “Don’t tell me they’re outside.”

Raven shrugged a shoulder and blew a kiss to her girlfriends, showcasing her magic-encased hand, “There’s a strong possibility.”

“We’re on the seventeenth floor.”

The mystic raised her palm another inch and Bruce looked at his silver thermos, watching the reflection of his daughter and mentee wave at him through the window. However he refused to turn around and take his sights off the superpowered woman, as ridiculous of an introduction as this was. 

Raven smiled at him and stretched to mimic his pose, her elbows on the edge of the desk and her fingers lacing. “I don’t know how much Dick has told you about my time on the Titans,” She started. Her indigo eyes seemed to darken to nearly a violet as she glanced out the bay windows again. Bruce noted the way she seemed to perk up at whatever encouragement the two Bats must have been giving her and Raven gave him a half-smile, “But my cooking’s been getting better!” 

“So,” The demoness aimed a small grin his way, “I’d like to invite you and my loves to dinner at my apartment. For a more formal introduction.”

“To you dating my daughter.”

“Dare I say… daughters?” Bruce simply blinked at her (is it possible to make a blink look so deadpan?) and she immediately amended, “Yes.”

He didn’t answer her. Instead, the billionaire glanced over his shoulder at the two hanging from the window washer, knowing that Raven’s magic was preventing any mishaps from taking place. Steph gave him two thumbs up and Cass hit him with dreaded puppy-dog routine and the batfather let out a sigh at their urging. He turned back to Raven and extended the olive branch even further, knowing exactly what Cass would have told her to make for dinner. 

His lips split into the closest thing to a grin, “Don’t tell a soul I said this, but Alfred can never get pan-fried salmon just right.”

Just as he thought, Raven perked up even more. Her smile didn’t widen --he couldn’t help but wonder if her empathy picked up on how much he knew-- but the mystic pushed her glasses up her nose and grinned back, “Then you’re in luck.”

Bruce nodded at her, his attention briefly flicking to his phone as the alert for his next meeting rang out, “I’ll see you three at eight?”

Through the windows he heard the two whooping at the relief on the empath’s face and Raven tittered with them, “We’ll be ready.”

[dyketectivecomics]

Summer of Bats: BabsRae Weekend - “Glasses”

actually the first one i had wrapped up, and possibly meant to take place towards the end of Averting Disaster.... y'all enjoy!

...

"Be honest," Barbara started, peering over the edge of her laptop at the Titan facing her on the other end of the couch, "Are they prescription or are they for the aesthetic?"

The empath gave a derisive snort, and the hacker laughed at the sound.

"You have demon eyes right? Do you really need the glasses, if-?"

"That's just the thing, my demon eyes," Raven explained, placing her bookmark to keep her spot on the page before setting it aside. "They overcompensate for a lot of things. I'm crazy farsighted, which doesn't exactly help with keeping the page clear when I want to enjoy a good book."

It was Barbara's turn now, to squint suspiciously at her girlfriend.

"Just how far can you see, then? If you'll pardon the pun, what the hell does it mean to have demon eyes, anyway?"

Raven gave a roll of her eyes as she answered the question, selectively ignoring the Bat's antics. "I've never measured it out, per se, but I've been known to pick up a few details that Dick usually missed at some of our crime scenes. And I've always been able to see in the dark... as you well know," she gave a cheeky grin as Barbara felt her face go flush.

She gave the Titan's legs that were entangled in the blankets beside her own, a gentle slap, tutting her disapproval for the impromptu flirtation.

"And yet, for all the good they've done us," Barbara said, turning back to the computer in her lap, "They can't seem to help us solve this mystery..." She glanced up again to air another question, only to be met with a pair of indigo, bespectacled eyes that had nearly closed the distance on this small couch they shared.

The empath was mindful of the laptop, careful to shut it and remove it from Barbara's hands with a gentle flick of her wrist, encasing it in her aura to find a home beside her book on the coffee table. With that last obstacle out of her way, she perched herself carefully over the librarian's legs, arms straddling her sides as she leaned in close to Barbara's face. Still slightly flush from before, now she could feel the red returning to her cheeks in full force as the empath's eyes glanced between her own and down to her lips.

"Tell me, Babs, what do you see in my eyes..."

They fluttered shut before the hacker could dare to answer, as lips met in a soft kiss.

[squiddybeifong]

Day 1: Libraries

Are y’all reading the bits and pieces of Book Ends (but esp this one) by @dyketectivecomics? bc they’re amazing and you should def get on that

[squiddybeifong]

Polka Dot Dress

StephRae Weekend Day 3: Eggplant vs Amethyst

@ravensflockofrobins​

--

Steph let out a sigh as she gazed up at the cracked remains of the moon, its form still as dark as fresh blood. The sides of her vision were tinted with the blues and yellows and reds of the domes around them and she tilted her head as she tried to find the man on the moon but he was split in two, the edges of him fallen away to burnt craters. 

Her lips tilted down as she tried to remember the last time she properly saw him. The attacks happened while she was on patrol and the moon was the one bright spot in Gotham’s sky, overshadowing the bat-symbol that the commissioner flashed. Just how many days had it been since the launch? She’d lost count weeks ago. 

A tiny part of her wanted to ask her only solace in this world, but she didn’t want to pry. Especially not when things were finally calm enough that they could sleep the night uninterrupted. 

Raven stirred next to her, weakly sitting up and wiping the dried blood off her hands. Whether the last of her empathy allowed her to feel Steph’s worries or not, she let her temple rest against the blonde’s shoulder. The demoness took a deep breath, their physical contact enough for her to really feel Steph’s disquiet. She licked her dry lips, feeling a crack on the side of her mouth, “8 months, 3 weeks, 6 days and about 17 hours.” 

Violet eyes flicked to the sky, the corners of her mouth quirking down in a not-quite frown, “18 hours if we’re this close to sunrise.”

Steph let out a sigh at her words. She blindly reached for the mystic’s hand and tugged it to her face, kissing the pale knuckles. Raven softly hummed, closing her eyes as they sunk into silence. After a beat she spoke up, “Stephanie…”

The blonde kissed the cracked jewel in the Azarathian’s head, murmuring against her love’s skin, “You’re the only one who calls me that.”

Raven opened her eyes, “I’m the only one around.”

“Well, yeah,” A humorless laugh escaped and Steph sat up a bit straighter. Her fingers tightened between Raven’s, “But even before all this mess. Most called me Steph.”

“Most?”

“Alfred used to…” Her words trailed off into nothingness as the pain of her loss reared its head again. The mage bit the inside of her cheek and tugged on her lover’s shirt, bringing Steph down into her arms as they lazed on the grass. They sat in silence for a while under the dying pine’s branches, the moonlight flickering past the needles and lighting up their faces as the two took comfort in each other’s presence. 

Steph shifted, tucking her face into Raven’s neck as the ex-Titan broke the quiet, “I miss them.”

Her voice was raspier than usual. Sapphire eyes closed as the mage kept talking, “I’m glad you’re still here with me but I just--” Her face stayed stoic even as she squeezed her violet eyes shut, “I miss everyone so much.”

“8 months, 3 weeks, 6 days and 18 hours and you’re still not used to feeling this much, huh?” Steph went quiet after her own joke, her humorless chuckles fading in the air. Raven’s fingers brushed her knuckles and their hands slid together. The blonde fondly gazed to the east, where Gotham used to be. She knew that Raven was back to staring where the Titans set up their camp and murmured into the air, “Think they’d ever let us come back?”

Raven shifted, uncomfortable at the prospect, “Do you even want to?”

The back of Steph’s head pressed against the tree, “I’m not sure anymore.”

--

Raven was silent as she looked to the west, where the Titans patrolled. The blue dome was ominous as it contained the entirety of the western coast and the demoness desperately wondered how everyone was doing. Were the Titans getting along in their research on this situation, how the birds who roosted in her room’s window were doing, how her kids were fairing without her there. They loved Victor almost as much as they loved her, but her arms ached at not being able to carry them to bed after training. 

Her fingers curled into a fist at the thought of the Toddler Titans and she hastily urged her mind to more mystical ideas, like whether or not Zatanna in San Francisco when the attack happened and if Zachary had even been able to make contact with her. She thought about the rest of the Justice League and its allies, wondered if they were anywhere close to finding some breakthrough in who did this to their planet and how to reverse the shields that separated them.

Sighing, Raven tried to steady her breathing as she glanced at the sky. Steph hadn’t been gone more than half an hour but she still fretted. Even though she had no idea where their clearing was direction-wise, the Titan could pinpoint exactly where Jump CIty lay within that dome. She knew the Bats who had once called Steph family were directly opposite, but she couldn’t bear to look their way.

Not quite a Titan, not quite a Bat; abandoned, left for dead, their inclusion labeled a weakness despite whatever benefits they could have brought to their families’ attempts at survival; sure, the shields would’ve collapsed had they been let in, but with this unknown keeping everyone on edge the civilians couldn’t afford that kind of risk. Now they were just two peas in a pod, weren’t they?

Her fingers curled in and out of a fist. She felt blood slipping down her palm and Raven sadly stared down at the discoloration where hairline cuts hadn’t healed properly and mud had dried and flaked off her skin more times than she could count. She thought of Steph and the scrapes she would inevitably come back with and let her hand glow blue. 

Another prong of sadness; they’d lost so much, and yet the Titans refused to let her stay, refused to use what was left of her healing abilities if it meant she would be one of them. 

The demoness’ nose scrunched up and she shook her head. That was being too harsh. Sure, she certainly wouldn’t have hesitated at the cost of letting someone back in, especially when their powers were diminishing as steadily as hers were, but that didn’t mean their reasoning wasn’t sound. 

To them she was family and a valuable, integral member of the team, but what was her safety compared to the safety of the entire west coast?

Especially as her control on her father’s influence weakened, at least the shield would save most of the world from the immediate effects. Violet eyes shut at the thought and Raven pulled her knees up to her chest. With Steph by her side she could stave off her demons for a little while longer, but what would happen when they finally caught up to her? 

Her sixteenth birthday felt like ages ago, but that support system had been whittled down to just one. If Trigon returned, if he commanded her to destroy the already destroyed planet she called her home, what then?

Would Steph survive?

Raven bit the inside of her cheek so hard she tasted blood. When a buried part of her tittered at the taste her eyes snapped open and she spat it out. Pulling some of the grass underneath her legs she chewed on a strand, keeping her mind and her every-increasing urges calm. 

That seemed to be getting harder and harder to do when she was alone. Raven swallowed the blade, let her shoulders slump and started munching on another one. She’d ruled out Trigon as the cause of this attack ages ago, but perhaps she could--

No. 

The voice in her head was her own, but it mimicked the all-too familiar tone of boundless confidence and righteous fury. The empath slowly closed her eyes at the thought of her favorite alien, her lips still warm and her ribs still healing from their last hug and their only kiss what seemed like decades ago. 

Violet eyes opened again. Kory had told her that they’d reunite one day and there was nothing Raven wanted more than to have Steph by her side when she did so. A derisive snort erupted out of her; to even consider dealing with her father was ludicrous. Kory wouldn’t approve, the other Titans wouldn’t, her kids wouldn’t and she was sure as hell her Bat wouldn’t either. 

Raven reclined back until her head rested against the scratchy bark of the tree. She hoped Steph would get back soon.

Because all she could think about was the one question that refused to leave her mind: if she sacrificed herself, would it even matter? The Bat needed her Titan as much as the Titan needed her Bat. 

An awful knot twisted in Raven’s stomach at the thought of leaving Steph alone; or worse, of Gotham taking her back after all this. She ran her hands over her short hair, her mind aimlessly wandering from one thought to the next as she considered whether or not she should just shave the choppiness off already. Anything to keep her mind off what her life used to be and bring her back to the few bits of happiness that she clung to.

Azar, what a fucking mess. 

--

Balancing to keep the textbooks and notecards from falling, Nightwing casually reclined on her bed. He pouted a bit as Raven held up a hand and gave him a look, “No.”

He let out a lazy laugh, hissing as it pulled at his bulletwound. Raven leaned over him, her hands glowing as he chuckled out, “I literally haven’t said a word.” She flicked another, deeper deadpan look his way and he tapped at her temple, “And emotions don’t count!”

The empath let out a snort at that and shoved the sleeve of her hoodie in his mouth, glad for the minute of silence as she took the bullet out. Focusing on closing him up, Raven drawled out the obvious, “You’re preparing to meddle.”

He shook his head, “I just happen to think y’all’d get along well.”

Raven blinked at him, absolutely refusing to respond to that contraction. Dick grinned and held up a finger, getting right to the thick of it, “You two both love waffles.”

When the goth’s head tilted he made a peace sign, “Aaaaaand you both have purple uniforms.”

A brow raised when he didn’t add anything else. Try as she might, it was hard to not break her stoicism as he held up his palms, their bond letting her know that he’d said what he thought was most important. Had her empathy not been busy holding back any pain from disturbing the bird, Raven could only imagine she’d enjoy whatever high he was on to think that that was enough. 

Her shoulders shook as she held back her amusement, “Really? That’s it?”

The mystic’s favorite acrobat stuck out his tongue at her tone. Dick put the back of his hand to his forehead and let out a mock-gasp, bemoaning to an imaginary audience, “How inconsiderate!”

She had half a mind to flick his wound but Nightwing dramatically slumped onto her bed, lamenting out before she could, “And here I was thinking about taking you to this new waffle-based food truck to meet her. But I guess not…”

Raven sighed. 

Two nights later she was on a rooftop, fiddling with her rings to keep her sane as she waited for the two Bats to show up. The night wasn’t too busy but the food truck across the street was and the empath wondered if she’d have time to meditate a bit. Before she could consider it, she felt the unmistakable pulse of Dick’s aura and turned to get a glimpse of him through the smoggy Gotham air, spotting an eggplant-colored cloak swinging by his side.  

He was excited as he waved at her and she clung to Spoiler’s somewhat calmer aura as they landed next to her perch. 

Nightwing’s smile was somehow wider than his arms as he spread to motion to his favorite half-demon, “And here she is!”

The teenagers dropped their hoods, their brows jumping as they got a good look at each other. Steph looked a bit starstruck at the sight of her and then very mortified as Dick wrapped an arm around her, loudly (read: obnoxiously, as only an older sibling could) smooched her temple, and introduced, “Spoiler, this is Raven. Raven, this is Spoiler.”

Raven didn’t feel the need to keep up her stoicism as she softly smiled at the blonde. That smile became the closest thing to a smirk as Dick waggled his fingers to get her to come closer and she rolled her eyes, “We can ignore him, if you’d like.”

Taking a relieved step forward, the fighter tossed her hair over her shoulder, “Thank god for that.” A lazy chuckle slipped out of her as she held out her hand, “Spoiler.”

Raven shook her glove and smiled wider at the emotions that bled through, not sure how much credit she’d give Dick when they did end up being friends. “Raven. I heard you wanted to try out this place too?”

“It’s a great place to make friends,” The acrobat piped up. He put his hands on his hips and rocked on his heels, quickly mumbling out the corner of his mouth, “Ormaybemoreifyoutwo’reintoit!!” 

The mystic flicked him with a zap of magic. Her pointed look was less pointed with the way Steph was watching, her bemusement seeping into the air and mingling with Raven’s own. A gray finger pointed at him, “Meddling.”

Nightwing pointed back, “I mean, you never know what might happen, right?” His brows jumped and Steph jerked a thumb over her shoulder to where the food truck’s crowd was dying down, her smile mischievous as she teased to the Titan, “Wanna ditch him?”

Dick sputtered out a “Hey!” and Raven laughed.

--

They’d found what must have been a lake. Rusted car skeletons and overgrown bushes surrounded the little oasis and the lack of trees could be as much as a detriment as an advantage, but neither of them cared. 

Their hearts were still frantic after the close call with that fire so both stayed quiet, going about their usual routine. Staying in eyesight, Raven went west and Steph went east. If there’s water, find a tree stump and tie off a net. If there’s any barrier of trees, scout them out and build small fire pits near their entrances. If there’s any usable remnants of society, scour through them. 

Once the area was secure, Steph found herself sitting on the lake’s edge. She heard but didn’t react to Raven quietly striding up next to her. Her eyes did snap open at the crinkle of a chip bag and she turned to stare at the demoness. A flabbergasted sound erupted out of her and for the first time in too long Steph threw her head back and laughed. 

The blonde slumped against Raven’s side, not even attempting to smother her incredulous giggles, “Where the hell did you find funyuns in the middle of the apocalypse?”

Raven tilted her chin towards the westernmost side of the clearing where the abandoned shed lay, “There’s a whole swath of them in the shed. The cans on the floor are banged up and some are leaking, but these were the only things on the shelves.” Her nose scrunched up as she munched another and offered the bag to her only friend, “They’re stale but edible.”

Steph hummed as she took one from the family sized bag. She got ten chips in before the insanity of everything got to her. Another laugh slipped out of her and she let her head fall back. The sunset was warm on her face as she murmured, “This is weird. I’m not going crazy, am I?”

Raven licked the onion dust off her fingers, “We both probably are.”

“Well,” Steph lazily rested her hands on Raven’s shoulder, nudging the Titan’s cheek with her nose. Raven turned to her and let their foreheads touch, her breath hitching as Steph spoke, their lips so close that they brushed, “At least I got someone to go crazy with.”

Her hand came up to cup Raven’s jaw, urging her down into a kiss that the mystic eagerly accepted. Letting the funyuns fall to the side, the mystic pulled Steph as close as she could, nearly toppling over as the blonde wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Giggling into their kiss Raven hugged her back, desperate for the barely-there tingle of emotions she could feel emanating off the Bat.

As her fingers tangled in the fighter’s long hair she knew this was wrong just as well as she knew that Steph knew. Admittedly, Raven could ignore the muddy shore they were sinking into but, empathy or not, she knew they were kidding themselves. Sighing, the demoness pulled back an inch, her breath washing over the blonde’s face, “We should stop.”

Steph nodded, surging forward for another kiss. She ran her fingers through the short inky hair and murmured against Raven’s lips, “We probably should.” 

Still, she sighed into the demon’s mouth and pulled her closer, tilting her head back as dark gray lips left hers to trail down to her jawline. Her fingers fluttered up and under the collar of the mage’s flannel, leisurely tracing the frayed bra strap underneath. The Bat hoped that would be the end of things but then Raven was noting from the column of her throat, “Everything’s all fucked up, isn’t it?”

Blue eyes closed. Steph let out a quiet moan as Raven pulled her into her lap, one hand steadying on her thighs and the other running through her hair. Pale fingers caught in the knotted mess of her blonde curls and the worry that she’d been keeping in her heart spilled out, “I don’t know whether or not we’re rebounds.”

Her words were quiet in the air. Raven’s mouth slowed and she started peppering butterfly kisses along Steph’s neck. The demoness let out a heavy sigh then leaned up to peck the blonde’s chin, “I think we are.”

Steph ran her fingers over the short hairs on the empath’s nape. Her sapphire eyes were worried yet incredibly calm, “Do you mind it?”

Raven tilted her head and kissed her again, sweeter than all the others before, “Not for now.”

--

Steph tugged the cloth firmer around her mouth, fighting the urge to rub at her eyes. She refused to look back towards Gotham, unsure if she could keep her face steady at the sight of the shield that kept her out, at the shine of the city that she had been pushed out of. 

A part of her understood their reasoning. But knowing her exclusion made sense was an entirely different matter from watching the rest of the Bats turn from her. Cass and Tim had been the most reluctant, but she knew they couldn’t risk it. 

Her throat was dry and her mind was clear. What was her safety compared to the safety of the entire east coast?

Sapphire eyes squeezed shut and Steph took a calming breath, trying to keep it together. The blood-orange dome over this section of the country was nowhere near as full of magic as the one over Gotham; it dangerously buzzed whenever she got more than a mile near it, but there were no cracks within its magic and the people stuck inside were huddled near the cities.  

Her fingers tugged on her hood to keep it steady over her face. The sunset was less than an hour away and she didn’t know where she’d stay the night; judging by her surroundings she’d gotten at least to Indiana, if not to its border with Illinois. That was good for now, especially if the great lakes were omitted from the attacks like the oceans seemed to be. 

As the sun sunk into the horizon Steph spotted a sign, its arrows leading her towards the abandoned parking lot for Charlestown State Park. The walk wouldn’t be too far and hopefully this park had a ranger’s station. Her knees nearly buckled at the idea of sleeping in an actual building in who knew how long but the Bat shook her head, keeping her wits about her as she forced herself into a jog. 

She’d yet to see any wild animals and most of the people outside the domes had probably already perished, but she couldn’t be too sure. All the tools she had left were a few batarangs and her grappling hook; Spoiler snickered to herself as she rounded the corner, she had more than enough.

There were a few trucks and a lot of minivans in the parking lot and she immediately set about breaking into the only one with a stick-figure family on the windshield. A goldmine awaited her: few water bottles, some long-stale but still edible fruit snacks, half a box of granola bars, a new box of Spongebob band-aids and a full bottle of hydrogen peroxide. 

Before she could capitalize a crack! sounded from the other end of the parking lot and the Bat instinctively dropped to the ground, crouching near the tires as she readied herself to fight. 

The shadows seemed to be darken around her, but that was probably the exhaustion playing tricks on her eyes. A quiet gasp preceded someone roughly calling out her alias, “Spoiler? SPOILER!!!”

Steph stood, two batarangs clenched tightly in her fists. Her fingers twitched as she stared at the cloaked person on the opposite side of the clearing; she knew that cape. Amethyst, so similar yet completely different from the tattered eggplant one she currently donned. 

Then the woman tossed her hood back and all suspicion was gone. 

A horrible, wonderful flood of relief surged in her stomach. The blonde’s lips trembled, “Raven?” 

--

They had skirted in between the two domes that bisected the midwest, taking the long way through Illinois and Wisconsin until there was an unnatural edge. Glancing back from where they’d travelled in the last few months, Raven sighed at the knowledge that the Chequamegon-Nicolet national forest was a solace that they couldn’t linger at long. 

Violet eyes fondly ran over the trees that had hid them and she reached to grab Steph’s hand, motioning to the two trails that would take them due west or due east, “I’m guessing that’s the way to Superior and Lake Michigan is over there.” 

The demoness tugged her Bat closer and pecked her temple, “Which one would you like?”

“Lake Superior’s bigger,” Steph’s voice and her face were hopeful at the idea. She tugged Raven down for a quick peck, knowing that her lover felt her relief at finally having a set plan, “Let’s try that.”

So, destination in mind, the pair set off; as usual, all they encountered were ghost towns and abandoned cars. Any wildlife stayed deathly silent as the two once-heroes made their way through, same as they had since the domes first appeared. However, the padlocked warehouse not a mile from the lake’s shore was an oddity.

Sapphire eyes blinked up at the building. Spoiler drummed her fingers on the tire iron tucked into her belt, “Think we’ll get lucky?”

Raven clicked her tongue and motioned for the blonde to go ahead, “Might as well find out.”

It took a few swings, but the padlock gave way and Steph let out an incredulous snort as she swung the doors open. Dust and cobwebs greeted them, showcasing unsteady aisles of plastic bins, waterproof tarps, some poorly made candles and metal bookshelves that somehow had yet to rust or collapse. 

Not quite a bunker and not quite a lightly-ransacked store, but it was more than enough. 

Steph put her hands on her lips, squinting at the dark corners. She took a few steps forward and got a proper look at the place, “We should split up. Check that no one’s around while there’s still light.”

She turned back to Raven as the demoness shrugged out, “Makes sense. I’ll go left.” She tugged on the end of Spoiler’s cloak, her lips quirking up at the corners. Steph raised a brow and Raven grabbed her hand, squeezing once, “Kiss for luck?”

The Bat tried to give her a deadpan look, but she supposed her smile was preventing it from working. Steph stepped up next to her and quickly pecked the empath’s cheek, “You dork.”

Raven stole a proper kiss, “Your dork.”

Her violet eyes were reassuring as she winked and started towards the left side of the warehouse. She called over her shoulder, “Shout if you need anything!” and smiled at the obnoxiously loud kiss that the blonde blew towards her back. Her attention easily slid to the maze of sealed bins in front of her and Raven eyed them as she stepped past. 

Relief flooded her at all the tools that she could pinpoint during her walkthrough: lanterns whose batteries had probably run out, seeds that may or may not still be plantable, wooden chairs, metal utensils, about ten cast iron pans.

A brow raised at the sight of a mountain of clothes left aside. Humming at the thought of mending their uniforms’ frayed patches, Raven crouched down to get a better look. Mothballs and dust were aplenty, but most were still wearable for at least a few more months. “Not a lot of clothes we can fit in here,” Raven quickly rummaged through the sides of the pile, her nose wrinkling at the sheer amount of denim jackets she was uncovering. 

Her head snapped up at Steph’s cry of “I found cans!” and she slipped, her head tilting as her palm landed on satin. Raven carefully pulled out a child’s sundress from the fray. The demoness softly ran her fingers over the soft material, smiling at the purple polka dots and the lacy bow around the waist. The pattern was nearly identical to Melvin’s favorite pair of pajamas and her heart twisted at the thought.

Raven jumped as Steph let out a snicker behind her, “Having fun?”

Violet eyes were a bit sheepish as she held the dress to her chest. The blonde plopped down next to her and hid a laugh with a kiss to the shoulder of Raven’s amethyst cloak, “We shopping now?”

“Maybe.” The once-Titan’s voice was wistful as she held the dress up again, a quiet sigh leaving her. Steph took a moment to watch her girlfriend, taking in the obvious shifts of emotion on her face. Regret, fondness, sadness, love, guilt, admiration; something undeniably maternal.

Sapphire eyes flicked to gray lips as Raven bit the inside of her cheek. An impossibly small smile formed and the empath turned to her, “You know what they remind me of?” 

The Bat slumped against her side, knowing that physical contact was probably the best course of action. Steph wrapped one hand around her lover’s arm and the other came up to pet the satin, her question floating into the air, “They?”

Raven perked up at the embrace and tapped one of the polka dots, “You remember that show Steven Universe? They look just like Amethyst’s gem.”

Steph let out a lazy chuckle, running a hand through her hair. The scent of the lake still clung to them, permeating through the dust; it reminded her of some of those family vacations Alfred planned and her stomach rumbled. Remembering what she found during her walkthrough, the blonde admitted, “I was thinking eggplant slices myself.”

Raven hummed, “I can see that.”

Taking the conversation where her hunger wanted it to go, Steph ducked her head and kissed the sliver of neck exposed from the rip in the demoness’ collar. The lightness in her voice came as naturally as breathing, especially at the way Raven cooed and inched closer, “Hey, did you know canned eggplant’s a thing, apparently? ‘Cause there’s like a year’s worth stuck under some empty gas containers over there.”

Quickly folding the dress, Raven pressed it to her chest. Feeling nostalgic, she pecked Steph’s forehead, “It’s been a while since we got to sit dinner, huh?”

--

“Steph...” Cass’ face was crumpled up as she got the hero’s attention, her eyes wide and worried as she stared out past the transparent dome. She thought about all that could be done and all that couldn’t, worried over the choice that she had made and agonized over how her best friend would fare.

Not knowing what to do, Cass let out a quiet, “I’m…” 

Steph closed her eyes as she waited, knowing that her far-off hope wasn’t going to come true. Mahogany eyes watched the despondence curl the blonde’s shoulders and the words rushed out, “I’m so sorry.”

She thought of the sheer amount of vulnerable civilians within and hugged her arms around herself. Spoiler crossed her arms, not wanting the dancer to beat herself up over this, “It’s okay.”

“That’s a lie.” 

Cass looked as if she wanted to say something else, but decided against it. The two stared at each other for a minute. When the silence became too much Steph brushed some of her curls back, letting out a humorless laugh, “The others aren’t even gonna say one last goodbye?”

With the way the Bat glanced to the left, she could only suppose at least Tim was nearby. And while it was nice to know that someone else was there it wasn’t good enough, not when she was getting abandoned like this. Frustrated at the situation and the glassiness of her eyes Steph roughly ran a hand through her hair. 

She took a calming breath and grunted out as nonchalantly as she could bear, “It’s getting dark. I gotta go soon. Find shelter, y’know?”

“Right.” Black Bat wrung her hands in front of her chest. Steph watched how the bat symbol rose up as she took a deep breath, “Please…” Cass opened her mouth then shut it. She took another breath, the air shakily rushing out with her pleading, “Don’t die.”

A lopsided smile curled her lips, “I’ll try. Just… just help B fix this shit as soon as possible, alright? It’s gonna be weird not having you around.” 

Steph’s sight flicked to just over the Bat’s shoulder. She put up her hood then smoothed the domino mask over her eyes as she gave her almost-girlfriend a warning, “Civilians coming in on your 7.” 

Black Bat slid her mask back on, the stitches’ frown covering her own. Her fingers hesitated for half a heartbeat then she signed a quick, I’ll miss you.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Steph closed her eyes, “I’ll miss you too. Make sure Tim doesn’t go crazy again, yeah?”

Nodding once, Cass put her hand against the shield. It’s magic hardened around her palm and crackled dangerously when Steph tried to mimic her. Spoiler forced a smile, knowing that it did nothing to keep the brunette from seeing the tears slipping down her cheeks, “I’ll see you soon?” 

Cass’ mask didn’t move. 

Steph quietly sighed and wiped at her cheeks, “Yeah. Figured so.”

--

The sky was an odd mix of sherbert above them and gravel in the distance. Pastel shined down on them as they sat in the warehouse’s wide open doorway and if she strained her ears and ignored the faraway crash of the waves on the shoreline, the demoness could just barely pick up on the approaching thunderstorm. It’d probably hit them within a day, but with the unknown effects of these domes on the environment that knowledge did little to calm her mind.

Instead, she focused on the three things that she desperately needed and seemed to finally have for good: stability, safety, and Steph. Her cheek rested on the blonde’s temple as they sat and her eyes closed, enjoying the last of the sunset’s rays. 

“We could stay here,” Raven quietly observed. Even with only an inkling of her powers she felt the wave of Joy as Steph let out an agreeing laugh, one that carried over the afternoon heat. It seemed that the empath was making her smile more and more the longer this apocalypse went on and both were really enjoying the fact.  

Under her Raven’s shoulders shook with her own titters, but neither could help it. 

As their laughter lessened to giggles, Steph laced her fingers through the mystic’s warm ones. She looked up at the taller woman and rested her chin on the edge of Raven’s shoulder, a small smile on her face. Despite how shitty this end-of-days was, the Bat knew that being this comfortable wasn’t simply a result of their isolation.

Her heart thundered as she spoke the words, but Steph wasn’t nervous as she spoke, “I love you.”

Raven’s brows jumped at the confession, but her face softened. She pulled their joined hands up to her mouth and pressed a kiss to Steph’s knuckles, being careful not to touch the dried blood that had yet to be washed off. 

The mage hadn’t been able to feel so freely before, at least not without a few electronics blowing up, but she absolutely knew what she felt. And what she felt for her Bat was as strong as any emotion she’d ever experienced before, “I love you too.”

Steph grinned and raised up until their noses touched. She was a bit breathless and very restless as she eagerly kissed the love of her life, “Yeah?”

She wrapped her arms around the mystic’s neck and all but bounced into her lap. Teetering, Raven cupped her cheeks and kissed her again, giddy as their foreheads rested together, “Yeah.” 

As they fell back onto the blanket, fully appreciating how a familiar dance had become so brand-new now that they knew, the sunset’s heat got weaker and weaker on the warehouse’s thin roof. Neither woman noticed; they’d grown accustomed to how quickly night fell with the shields blocking the light and tonight would be no different --not when they had far more pressing matters to experience together.

Later, the moon was the main attraction in the sky as the heroes lounged out on the blanket again. Giggling, naked and exhausted, they didn’t bother getting up from their spot in the doorway to watch as the stars fought to shine past the magical light pollution. 

One minute of silent, contented cuddling turned to two. Then ten, then half an hour had passed before the words bubbled up in the empath’s chest. 

"You've been quiet," Raven murmured. 

Steph closed her eyes even tighter and snuggled even closer. She wondered how much of her emotions her mage could feel but pushed the thought away. The blonde pecked just above where a mosquito had bitten the side of Raven’s neck, "Just thinking."

There was another few seconds of quiet and Steph knew that her body language must have given her away, empathy or not. Raven's sad little smile came out in her voice, "About love? Or Gotham?" 

Steph's lips trembled and her empath shifted to lay on her back, being careful as she moved so that their skin didn’t stop touching. Gray fingers ran through her messy curls, sliding easier than normal with how damp everything still was. Raven breathed in once, twice, "It's fine to think about family often. Azar knows I do too."

“I had a daughter, once." Steph didn't know what made her blurt that out. Before she could quickly --instinctively-- play it off as a joke Raven moved, but only to scratch at her scalp again, running her fingers through the length of her curls. At the silent gesture blue eyes closed and an unsteady sigh escaped. Her fingers drummed just under the curve of her demoness’ ribs, nervous. 

Years of worries threatened to bubble out; used to the feeling, the Bat pushed them down just enough to think them over before she spoke, "She'd be five, six now?” She hid her face and ran the pads of her fingers over the mage’s buzzcut. “I wonder if she’s still out there.”

Raven’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. Steph heard her run her tongue over her teeth before she suggested, “We have that dress.”

“The one with the polka dots?”

“Yeah. The amethyst ones.”

Steph snorted, a tiny smile on her lips as she buried her face deeper in the crook of her girlfriend’s neck, “They’re eggplant, but continue.”

“Mmhmm, well,” Raven brushed aside her bangs and kissed her forehead, mindlessly wondering for not the first time how Steph survived with such long hair. “I’m sure she’d love it.”

“Bruce said she’d ‘never want for anything’ right before I gave her up. I don’t know if they’d be in Gotham, but not all of the cities were covered. If someone near an edgepoint took her in, then maybe--” 

Steph couldn’t finish her thought. Raven kissed her temple again, her eyes opening as she did so. Even without the sunlight, the dark clouds were obviously rolling in quicker than she first supposed. She let out a hum and murmured, “There’s looking to be a storm.”

She turned to half-spoon, half-pull the blonde on top of her. Raven kissed just under her earlobe, her fingertips following the tingle of goosebumps as they shivered down the Bat’s spine. The mystic smiled, “The lake might flood. If we start packing up now we could leave in the morning, try to track her down.”

Steph clicked her tongue. She raised up and kissed the demoness’ chin. Her hand cupped her face and as she ran her thumb over her cheeks Raven saw how the fighter was holding back her hope, “I don’t even know her name.”

The mage moved her fingers from the goosebumps to the curve of her lover’s lips. Reassurance filled her voice and brightened her smile as she reminded, “I didn’t know yours but I found you.”

She turned her head and kissed Steph’s palm. The blonde ducked her head, jumping to another train of thought before she could get charmed into having expectations. “You don’t seem the mom type.”

Violet eyes slowly blinked, “I’ve had some practice.” The thought of the Toddler Titans sent a bolt of ache through her chest, but Raven knew they were safe with her once-family. She tried to ignore her pain and focus on Steph, “Plus, I’d have you.”

Smiling down at her girlfriend, the Bat considered her idea. They’d need to think of a full plan later but the fact that there could be a plan was making her heart swell. Certainly she didn’t have any expectations just yet, but simply being able to talk about this, about her…

A happy, relieved, tiny sound bubbled out of the blonde, not quite a giggle but close enough. Steph half-crawled a few inches up to kiss her love, repeating the only constant she knew from these last few months, “And I’d have you.”

The air was damp and electric with the obvious warning of rain. It clung to their skin, tingled their injuries and energized the space between them. Their track record was encouraging; how likely was it that a depowered half-demon in California and a crime-fighter in New Jersey could find each other? Surely just as likely as them tracking down one little girl. 

And in that promising energy Raven could make one of the easiest guesses of her life. 

From the dyes in their cloaks to the polka dots on that dress, there was only one idea in her mind for what their daughter was probably called, knowing their luck. Raven loudly smooched her love’s cheek to keep her shit-eating grin from being too obvious, “I bet her name’s Violet.”

Steph let out a snort, palming the side of her face as she tried to keep her laughter at bay. She leaned back and pressed a kiss right above the demon’s heart, “Since when do you make jokes?”

[dyketectivecomics]

CarrieRae Weekend -  Day 1: University

quickest of snippets since I'm behind again!

…

“I love you, darling,” Raven said, peeking over the top of her book at her girlfriend, “But if you don’t stop humming that bone song, I’ll be tempted to threaten you with violence.”

“By saying that, aren’t you still threatening violence?” Carrie grinned. Her calculus homework took up most of the table they occupied, a corner of the campus library secluded enough to offer relative quiet, in lieu of taking over one of the study rooms. It seemed cruel to rent the space for hours at a time, when it was usually just the two of them studying together.

“Oh ho ho, is someone thinking of finally declaring a pre-law major?” Raven asked, flipping the next page in her anatomy book. She still hadn’t found the right passage she wanted to site. If her professor insisted on using just an outdated text, she’d throw it right back in his face, with a vengeance. 

Carrie made a face, a twist of distaste and loathing. “I have all I can do to pass most of my classes this semester, babe. I’ll worry about declaring in the fall, thanks.”

“You’re going to have to decide sometime, love. The future won’t wait forever.” 

Silence filled the space as Carrie took a careful sip of coffee from the thermos she brought in. Raven continued flipping pages in quiet, but no longer took in the words as her eyes scanned them.

What an odd and wondrous thing to think about, after all. The future.

[squiddybeifong]

hey, hey @ravensflockofrobins

Guess who dropped a completely completed fic in the middle of the night for Dramatic™️ reasons?

[squiddybeifong]

Duels and Deals

CassRae Day 2: (Pirate) AU

From my pirate au and esp inspired by this post

On Ao3 here!

--

Raven rested against the doorframe and let out a worried hum, her brows furrowing at the way Cass was carefully looking out to sea. The fog was steadily creeping over the waves until the sky and water were indistinguishable apart from one another. Gray eyes flicked up to the sky and her lips quirked down; just barely clear enough to make out the moon, let alone the stars. Hopefully they wouldn't drift into the Bermuda Triangle, although Raven had no doubts that a sailor as distinguished as Cass wouldn't be able to navigate such a trap. 

Her head rose and she just barely suppressed a jump as the short woman murmured, “You look worried.”

Raven turned to her captor and lover. She wasn’t as worried as she should have been, especially with her own ship underwater, but the fog always made her nervous. Shaking her head, the merchant looked back out to sea, “Just thinking.”

Cass didn’t answer to that. Instead the buccaneer strolled over until she was next to her unlikely ally. She nudged Raven’s arm with her shoulder and reminded, “We’re on a pirate’s route.” When all she got was a distracted nod and those gray eyes that she’d been falling for not even glancing in her direction, Cass went on the tips of her toes to place a firm kiss against her lover’s arm. Her words came out muffled, “Pretty unlikely to meet anyone in these waters.”

Raven looked down at the lips still pressed to her shoulder, a soft snort escaping, “The Caribbean isn’t that crowded? That’s news to me.”

“Aside from Ravager and those Blackbeard wannabes we’re the only pirates that have a chance of stealing cargo near here.”

Raven shifted until she was properly facing the Bat. A hand came up to rest on her lover’s bicep, her fingers fiddling with the tied straps, “Yeah?”

Cass proudly shrugged her shoulders, a hint of cockiness in her grin, “All the rest are scared.”

“My father forbade me and all his staff from coming ‘round here. The Bermuda Triangle is too much of a risk, apparently,” Raven’s words trailed off as she leaned down to steal a kiss. Cass eagerly responded, nudging the merchant’s hips back until they were resting against the railing. She let out a groan when Raven ran her hands through her hair, gruffly admitting, “We sail through all the time.”

Pink lips smiled into the kiss, “That confident?”

“Always.”

Gray eyes fluttered open and she pulled away to peck the sailor’s forehead, “I do love confidence on my pirates. Especially when it’s earned.”

Cass snickered at her hint. Tan fingers drummed along Raven’s waist, starting to tug her belt loose, “If Ravager shows up we’ll sink her ship. It’ll be easier than sinking yours.”

“Rude.” Fed up with the teasing, Raven shut up whatever boasting that was coming with another kiss, rougher this time. She let out a hum as she reluctantly pulled apart to breath, their noses brushing as she sighed out, “Your crew is capable enough to navigate without you for a few hours?”

Cass jerked back another inch and aimed a halfhearted, half-lidded glare the merchant’s way, her breath coming out in a huff, “Fuck you for having to ask.”

Raven’s breathless laugh carried over the water, “Yeah you will.” Cass wasted no time in moving her kisses along the merchant’s neck and Raven cooed, her hands tightening in the pirate’s short locks. She tugged on Cass’ hands and urged her back underdeck, towards the privacy of the captain’s quarters. 

--

Raven let out a sigh as Cass flopped down on top of her, the breath turning into a giggle as her lover blew an exhausted raspberry on her collar. In the creaky calm of the cabin they shifted until their legs were entangled and their sticky skin pressed together in the nicest of ways. The two calmed down into silence with Raven languidly running her fingers through Cass’ hair and the pirate listening to the still-rapid thump of her merchant’s heartbeat.

Something in the quiet of the ship’s movement and the warmth of their skin pressed together made her nostalgic and Raven pressed a long, slow kiss to the pirate's temple. She’d never been this affectionate with her past lovers and a lazy grin came to her lips at the thought of falling for a pirate. Aimlessly, Raven thought of her life before she was pushed into this business and of the particular character her lover would’ve probably loved to know. 

Another smile as Raven brushed aside the long bangs that stuck to the brown forehead, her mind briefly wondering how often Cass cut her hair. "My father knew Blackbeard," She languidly spoke up against tan skin. 

Cass' brows nearly reached her hairline and the merchant chuckled at the reaction. Raven moved to her side, her smile widening as Cass whined and moved with her. Once they were all settled she pecked the pirate’s forehead and let her fingertips slide into the dip of her lower back, "I'm actually not sure how Father got all the funds to start his empire, but Edward was in on it. Apparently I met him once, when I was a little girl."

Her Bat looked up, her nose pressing into the pale column of Raven’s neck as she questioned, "Edward?"

"Edward Teach, Mister Blackbeard himself.” A small chuckle rumbled out of her chest, “What a name for such an icon, isn't it?"

“What was he like?”

“I hardly remember. His beard wasn’t as long and Queen Anne’s Revenge was only an idea. I think…” She trailed off and let her lips purse as she thought for a moment. Cass raised herself up on an elbow and tittered at how attractive the semi-pout, eyes narrowed at the ceiling look was on Raven.

Cass pecked her lover’s chin and Raven’s eyes brightened as the answer came to her, “That’s right! Father was the one who helped him get the best material for those burning coils in his beard.” 

The pirate slumped down again, burying her face in the crook where Raven’s neck became her shoulder. The tall woman kept reminiscing, “I think he and my father were both blackmailing the governor and that’s how they met. Father kept enough extra ammunition on Blackbeard’s routes and Blackbeard didn’t try to murder all his crew when they passed through.”

“I’ve got one of his machetes in Gotham,” Cass hummed. 

The merchant let out a gasp, “Do you really?!” 

“When Jason was first starting out we had to anchor for a storm. I forced him to scuba duty once it passed and he found it.” 

“And Captain always gets the loot,” Raven teased.

“Of course!” Cass smothered her giggles with a kiss to Raven’s jaw. She hummed again, thinking of how young she had been back then, “It was my second? Maybe third time sailing the Bermuda.” 

Raven cuddled even closer, her arms enveloping the pirate in a lazy hug, “And here I thought I was bragging.”

“You were, Miss I-met-Blackbeard!” Cass snickered and smushed her face against Raven’s collar. A laughing sigh slipped out of her and she slid her fingertips over the few random scars that littered Raven’s sides. The Bat kissed her neck, “Why’re you telling me this now?”

The merchant grinned into her lover’s hair, “I feel like he’d be proud of me.” 

“Yeah?”

“Mmhmm,” Raven lifted her chin and pulled Cass further into her chest, “Getting so acquainted with the only other pirate that can terrorize these waters as well as he could? He’d be ecstatic.”

That got her a snort and a firm pat on her ass, “You’re not a captive anymore, you charmer.” 

Raven’s hum turned into a gasp as Cass nipped her collar, “But it’s still working, right?” 

Rather than answering the pirate kissed her neck again, flipping them until the merchant was on her back. Raven beamed up at her captor as she straddled her thighs, her brows jumping up as she bit her lip, “Guess it is.”

--

A cannon blast woke them up. 

After a half second of discombobulation, Cass’ breath hitched as she stumbled up and surged out of the bed, grabbing the closest clothes she could reach. She paid no mind to the blankets around her feet and took off out the room, bare in only her undergarments and three different swords. 

It was ordered chaos on the deck when Cass stormed up. She’d handpicked her crew so she wasn’t too worried about their capabilities; sure enough, their return cannonfire sounded not a scant second after she sprinted towards the group of sailors under the boom. 

“Status,” She growled.

“It’s The Renegade, Captain!” Her crew was busy pulling in the sails, “She’s set to ram us if we don’t stop.” 

“Keep her steady, then.” Cass ran a tongue over her teeth as she found that annoyingly familiar spot of white hair on the other ship. Her lips cracked into a sneer at the sight of Rose, “I’ll deal with her.” 

Ravager glared at the Bat from her spot on her ship. Pulling out her rapiers she took off, jumping over boxes and barrels and her own crew as she rushed to where the ropes were. Cass wasted no time in running to the helm of her ship, grateful when the one manning the wheel didn’t need any order to give her his clothes. 

Up in the air, the lookout shouted down at them, “One preparing to swing in due port, seven o’clock!”

Looking up at the alarm, the Bat hastened to tuck her loose shirt into her pants. Once secure in her leathers, Cass brandished one of her machetes and tucked her cutlass in her belt. She handed off her spare machete to her now underdressed helmsman and began jogging towards where her lookout called.

As she ran Cass felt at her weighted sleeves, grinning at the daggers hidden within. 

The sound of rope swishing through the air preceded the thud! of boots landing on her ship. The Bat grinned at her intruder and pointed her machete Rose’s way. Always swords whenever they fought, never guns; they couldn’t fight as ruthlessly or brutally with gunpowder, now could they?

A wicked grin split Cass’ lips and she snarled, “Ravager.”

Rose rolled her shoulders, obviously irritated. Her swords swinging confidently as she growled back, “Bat.”

Neither hesitated to attack. 

--

Raven pulled on her clothes as quickly as she could before jogging out of Cass’ quarters. She took a detour to her own hardly used room and pulled out the pistol she had swiped from the cook a few days ago. The merchant clicked her tongue as she tucked it into her belt, the pieces easily coming together to her; they were sailing the Caribbean and she knew of only one pirate prideful enough to attack other pirates rather than saving her ammunition for looting. 

Hell, she knew her quite well.  

So Raven wasn’t surprised at all when she scrambled above deck to the sight of Cass and Rose trying to kill each other. While she desperately wanted to simply watch them (and who could blame her? Both were ridiculously skilled swordswomen and she was rather intimately aware of how their bodies moved), Raven turned her attention to the crew, her face hardening as she inserted herself into the fray. They’d pillaged many times before but without their captain things were half a step too slow for her liking. 

As the unofficial first mate, she ordered a third to capturing and hogtying Ravager’s men, being wary of any hidden guns. Raven pushed the rest towards the loot and they started the closest thing to an assembly line that she could arrange. 

There was a commotion across the plank as a fire broke out underdeck. The last of The Renegade’s crew cried out for them to abandon ship, sputtering about explosives stored near where the loot was. Raven hastened to expedite the process, roughly commanding the men this way and that. Cass’ crew followed her every direction, tying up the survivors near the boom and sectioning off Ravager’s treasures from the captain’s own until they could be properly checked.

As the last of the Bat’s crew was back on board The Watchtower there was a brief heartbeat of silence, then Ravager’s ship rocked with an explosion, shooting flames and splinters into the sky through the low level windows. Unprepared for the blast, Cass and Rose were both knocked off their feet. 

Ravager’s eye widened as she urged herself to stand. Smoke filled the air as she took in the damage, her rapier loose in her grasp as her Deathstroke flag sunk underwater, “MY SHIP!!!”

Cass used her moment of distraction to stand and burst forward again. Rose noticed half a second too late, spinning as she tried to dodge the fist aimed at her stomach, “You little--” Before she could insult her, the Bat kicked the back of her knee and Rose yelped as the handle of Cass’ machete was thrust into her temple. 

Black swam on the edges of the pirate’s vision and she let out a series of curses as her other knee was kicked out, a groan escaping her as she swayed with the ship as it set sail again. Cass held her blade to her foe’s throat, a triumphant grin sliding on her lips when her crew’s cheer soared into the air. The gurgle of Rose’s ship starting to succumb to the cannonball-sized holes in her hull and the storming stomps of her crew packing away all the loot filled the air, but mahogany eyes didn’t stray. 

Her voice was arrogant, amused at how easy this battle had been and at how visibly frustrated her rival was, “Ravager.”

Rose narrowed one blue eye, her lips curling to a sneer, “Bat.” The defeated pirate’s gaze flicked to her ex-lover as she strode up behind Cass, a bit of surprise and a lot of annoyance filling her face as she spat out the merchant’s name, “Raven.”

“Heya, Rose.” Raven pulled her messy hair back into a bun, ignoring the way Rose glanced at the bite marks on her neck as she put together why she was on the ship. Cass smirked as her captive-turned-lover drawled out, “Fancy meeting you on these seas.”

A grunt was her answer, “Cut the shit, both of you.” 

Cass pressed the knife that much closer to Rose’s skin, two small beads of blood slipping onto the blade as she warned, “Don’t push your luck, Ravager.”

She tilted her chin Raven’s way, noting the opaque clouds headed their way. The Bat grinned as the knowledge of how that tropical storm was going to affect merchants’ routes came to her. Mahogany eyes met Raven’s pewter ones, “Have the helmsman set us on a course towards Antigua. I’ll tie her up and get her underdeck.”

The pirate punctuated her command with a firmer press against Ravager’s throat. Raven laid a sly kiss to her cheek and headed towards the helm. Cass focused all her attention on her rival and raised her chin, “Up, you.”

--

Ravager grumbled as she tried to get comfortable on the wooden boards, the chains digging painfully into her wrists and knees. She tried to ignore Cass’ stoic, shadowed stare on her face but couldn’t keep the animosity off her own features, aiming an ice-melting glare the Bat’s way. Cass didn’t react except to slide her fingertips along her favorite machete’s blade, cleaning it from the stain that was her rival’s blood.

After what may have been a second or a decade, Raven quietly slipped into the room. The staredown abruptly ended as both pirates turned to her; the merchant didn’t falter at the emotions that weighed the room, but she did take note of how they were reacting. 

Her Bat casually rambled to the other end of the room and rested against the wall, glaring holes into the back of Ravager’s skull. There was another layer to their rivalry going on but Raven didn’t put too much stock in it at the moment. For now, she had to make sure Cass didn’t boast too much, although with how irked Ravager looked, she supposed she might have been a few minutes too late. Raven crossed her arms at the sight, her breath coming out in a stern huff, “Rose.” 

Her nose twitching, Rose silently looked up as she was addressed. Cass frowned as the two stared at each other for a solid minute; even though Rose couldn’t see her face, her pride was the only thing keeping her from pouting. She crossed her arms, obviously agitated the longer they went without speaking. 

At the movement gray eyes flicked between the two pirates in front of her. Ignoring that tiniest shred of jealousy on her lover’s face, Raven leaned her hip on the barrel and clicked her tongue as she addressed their captive, “You’re sloppy. What’s going on?”

Rose’s glare deepened. She spat at Raven’s feet, a smirk sliding on her lips at the sound of Cass taking a step closer. Ravager forced nonchalance as she shrugged and ran her chains against the floorboards, “I’m not telling her.”

The merchant rolled her eyes at the tension in the pirate’s shoulders, “You’re not getting murdered from behind. And you know you gotta.”

Ravager scoffed and looked away. Raven gave Cass a look before she could step forward, urging her to wait. A minute passed. Then two. 

Rose’s eyepatch shifted as she rolled her jaw, the silence getting to her. Her pupils were wide and her teeth gnashed as Raven knelt in front of her. Before she could spit in her ex’s face pale fingers cupped her chin and forced that one bright blue eye to meet her gaze. Raven’s voice was a deeper rasp than normal, worried and calculating, “Rose.”

It was obvious on her face how much Rose absolutely despised all that the merchant knew about her life, as short lived as their relations lasted. Her chest heaved and the two words slipped out without her thinking, “It’s Joey.” 

Raven tilted her head, “Is he doing okay?”

The words rushed out again, “For now.” Ravager paused and considered her wording since Cass was listening. Her tongue dabbed at a scar on the corner of her mouth and she admitted, “Dad went on the run and I’m worried that Joey’s gonna get the Grant treatment.”

Recognition filled Raven’s face as the plan laid itself out in her mind, “Hoping to blackmail some governors for his immunity?”

“Already doing it, Birdie. Some of them are stupid enough to let family sail with the merchants.” Rose barked out a snicker, shaking her head as Raven snorted at the news, “I’m making a killing.”

She roughly leaned her head back, just barely catching sight of the Bat in the shadows behind her. That animosity was back and as haughty as ever, especially with Raven so close, “And I don’t need my ship to do it, asshole!”

Raven rolled her eyes and tapped Rose on her cheek, bringing both pirates’ attention back to her. Gray eyes narrowed as the merchant thought of the most obvious arrangement, although it would be quite a bother to get Cass to go along with it. Particularly when it seemed that she was a part of this feud between them. 

Standing, Raven perched her hands on her hips, “I just might have an idea.” Her sight flicked to meet Cass’ and she beamed, “One that’ll help all of us. But mainly me.” 

--

“No.”

Raven blew a raspberry, the sound morphing into a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair, brushing the loose strands down, “C’mon, my Bat.”

Cass shook her head even though it did nothing to keep the flush off her cheeks, “Don’t call me that. And no.”

A brow arched over the merchant’s eye at the stubbornness, “Well why not? It’s a good plan!”

The Bat didn’t dare chance a look at Raven, lest she lose herself, “Teaming up with Ravager in any form is never a good plan. And to believe she’ll tell the truth about the routes? I don’t trust her.”

“But you trust me--”

Cass cut her off, her words a beat too fast to be ignored, “And you trust her.”

The pirate didn’t bother trying to keep up the conversation when Raven went silent. No, all she did was continue sharpening her machete and once one was done, she moved on to the next. The merchant’s stare bored into her back and then a quiet chuckle slipped out into the silence.

Raven’s words held a bite when she finally piped up, all but daring Cass to look at her, “I can see what you mean. But don’t forget, the Caribbean has some marvelous beaches around the ports. I’m sure we three could all squeeze into one of the cabanas if it got us to trust each other more.”

Cass glared at the reflection on her spadroon, not quite sharp enough for her tastes. Her words came out a bit terser than expected, “I’d never deal with her.”

“Surely it’s nothing a little hate loving can’t fix.” Raven beamed at her lover, her stomach flipping at the sight of her captor’s lips pulling into a thin line. Still, she had to be sure. The merchant strolled up next to her and rested an elbow on the wall, lazily watching Cass’ work. “I’m used to acting as an intermediary, if you two need the help.”

The Bat frowned at the teasing, wordlessly going back to sharpening her weapons. 

Raven’s head tilted to the side, disbelief and a lot of charm filling her chest as she realized the pirate wasn’t even going to try to hide her emotions at her little quip. There was a feather of a laugh in her voice and she bluntly asked, “You’re jealous, aren’t you?”

That got a reaction. Cass aimed a pointed look up at her lover, “Pirates don’t get jealous.”

Gray eyes squinted, “I dunno, I’m starting to think that they do.” Raven lazily pulled her hair out of its bun and began combing through it with her fingers, her stare never leaving those pretty pirate features. 

Her face brightened in a smile, “Maybe only when their rival is playing a part in it?”

That smile faltered as she remembered just how tense the atmosphere was when she’d first come to Rose’s holding room and the merchant wondered if she should chance asking what they had said to each other. Especially at the way Rose had glared at her marked neck… 

Physically shaking her head of those thoughts before Pride could take hold, Raven tapped the captain’s shoulder. At the dark look in those mahogany eyes, she wondered how their rivalry had gotten so bad. If she had to guess, she’d put money on Joey and Jason being civil enough to get along, but that didn’t explain all of this hostility between the two swordswomen. 

Cass raised a brow and Raven gave her a small smile, “Can I kiss you?”

Brown lips twitched, but ultimately refused. She knew what one little kiss led to with them. A tiny curl lifted the corners of her mouth regardless and Cass motioned to the cutlass that still needed attention, “I need to finish these.” 

Raven chuckled, “And think over my plan?”

“Maybe.”

“Alright. I’ll go check on what the loot’s shaping up to be,” Raven took a small step forward. A lazy grin formed on her face and she scooted until she was behind her lover, “But first, I’m gonna kiss you.”

Cass clicked her tongue, “I’m working.”

Raven giggled as she spotted exactly what patch she needed to taste, “And you need a matching bite.”

The Bat tilted her head to the left, not once stopping her honing. The merchant snickered as she rubbed her pirate’s sides and tugged down her shirt’s hem, pressing a firm smooch to her neck. 

A happy sigh slid out of both and Raven let one hand come up to trace the shell of her sailor’s ear. “For the record,” She murmured against the dark neck under her lips, “Rose and I never cuddled afterwards.”

Already well acquainted with a raised white scar along the short woman’s pulse, Raven kissed the sunburnt skin once, twice, “And besides that the difference isn’t even close, my jealous Bat.”

Cass let out a curious little hum and her lover decided to ask, “Are pirates fans of verses?”

Raven snickered as the Bat’s movements paused, her head falling back. Their cheeks pressed together and Cass groaned out, “Don’t say you’re going soft on me.”

Tilting her face to peck the raider’s cheek, Raven said, “I was with Rose, but I am yours.”

This time Cass was the one left quiet. The merchant giggled at the dark blush that was taking over Cass’ face and kissed her temple, “Now I don’t know about you, but I think your rivalry is far more fun when I’m not involved.”

The pirate couldn’t argue with that. She let out a small whine when Raven stood and started for the door, pouting towards the tall woman’s back, “You want me to keep it that in mind when I think about your ridiculous plan?”

A gray eye winked at her, “You know I do.”

--

Rose sneered up at Cass when she strode in, her eyes taking a few seconds to adjust to the light seeping in from the open door, “What the fuck do you want now?”

The Bat didn’t answer for a moment, casually pulling up a barrel to sit on. The two glowered at each other for a long minute before Cass broke the tension, “I need to know all that you’ve done.” 

Her rival scoffed, the sound catching in her throat as Cass added, “For Joey.”

She shook her head, ruffling up her long locks and making the eyepatch shift as she snarled out, “Don’t you dare say his fucking name. Why would I tell you any of that?”

Brown arms crossed over her chest and Cass’ chin tilted up, “Raven has an idea that won’t end in you dying on this ship.”

Despite the confidence the Bat showcased, Ravager grinned as wide as she could at what she saw. Aiming for her rival’s now very obvious weak spot, Rose teased, “Aww, she on my side?”

She didn’t flinch when the thrown dagger embedded itself half an inch from her head or when the boot slammed down on the chain that bound her hands, although she did narrow her eyes at the Bat. Rose looked up the most she could, annoyed when her tugging on the chains did nothing to make the pirate slip up. She huffed out a warning, “That better not’ve cut my hair.”

Cass crouched down till they were face to face, her features dark and shadowed, “Do you have any attacks planned?”

Rose clicked her tongue, “Again, why the fuck would I tell you?”

“You’d tell Raven.”

The Bat’s words were as stoic as ever but Ravager knew. She smirked and let out a cackle, her shoulders shaking as she leaned as far forward as she could. Cass narrowed her eyes as their noses nearly touched, her brows furrowing as Rose drawled, “Maybe. Although last time that happened she was tied up in my--”

Same as Raven had earlier, Cass roughly cupped her chin to get her to shut up. She ran a tongue over her teeth and repeated, “Attacks, Rose.” Cass dared a grin at the way the pirate glared at the use of her name, “Any governors that may be after you, any ambushes at any ports? Whatever you can think of.”

Her fingers dug painfully into the eyepatched woman’s chin as Ravager tittered out, “Damn, it must really piss you off that I got to her first.”

Cass completely ignored her, “You have this one chance, Ravager. You won’t die today but if I have to ask again…”

Rose’s eye squinted as she considered her options for a second. Then a rough sigh forced its way out her lungs, “You said Antigua earlier, right? That should be safe. The Bahamas not so much.”

Cass raised a brow at the Ravager, “Why?”

The captive rolled her one good eye, “Mexico’s all up in a tizzy ‘bout the Louisiana Purchase. The gulf is full of military and some of them are lingering near Cuba.”

The Bat’s lips pursed as she thought for a moment. Then she nodded once, standing upright, “Alright.”

Rose’s face scrunched up at the lack of a reaction, “Alright? That’s it?”

“Nah,” Cass yanked her dagger out of the wood and tapped the tip of Rose’s nose with the blade. That signature arrogance was back as she all but glided towards the door and snickered over her shoulder, “Stay put. We’ll get you dinner in a bit.”

She let the door slam shut behind her.

Raven was leaning on the railing when the captain came back above deck. A thick brow raised as Cass approached, “Well?”

The Bat didn’t stop until they were flush together. She reached up on the tips of her toes to kiss the merchant, humming as her hands tugged Raven’s belt until their hips knocked. Pale fingers slid through her hair and Raven let out a breathless laugh against her lips, giggling at the pirate’s eagerness, “Seems you got what you needed?”

Cass nodded once, leaning up for another peck, “We’ll let her stay. Chains on and always supervised.”

“And we’ll drop her off later…?”

“As soon as we set to leave Antigua. I’ll knock her out and we’ll head back towards Gotham.”

Raven ran her thumbs over the pirate’s cheeks, “Thank you. Want me to break the news?”

Mahogany eyes flicked towards the sky, catching the faintest sight of the stars in the sky. The sunset would shield them until night fell, bet she knew well enough where they were. Her crew were more than competent to not slip up, so Cass was confident when she suggested, “Take her dinner when you go. I’ll organize the crew to their shifts overseeing our prisoner.”

Before the merchant could ask, Cass stole one last kiss. She couldn’t keep the smile off her lips when Raven fell into the kiss and she murmured, “If we’re gonna be babysitting for a few days, I’d like to enjoy you plenty tonight.”

--

Once again, a cannon woke them up. Further away than Ravager’s attack had come from, but close enough to startle them out of their sleep. Sighing, Raven let out a “For fuck’s sake” as, once again, Cass shot up out of bed and hurried to get dressed. 

This time she got all her clothes on but she didn’t head to the deck. Raven watched as her lover practically flew out the door, a frown curling her lips as she hastened to prepare herself . 

Cass rushed down to where Rose was being kept. The pirate’s eye went wide as the Bat yanked her up by the front of her shirt. The captain’s voice was furious, “What didn’t you tell me?”

Ravager raised a brow, “Something got fucked up?”

She let out a groan as she was heaved to her feet, her half-asleep legs taking a second to steady under her weight as Cass dragged her by the chains above deck. The Bat paused when she could see the ocean, keeping Rose half-hidden with the stairs. Nodding at how cohesive her crew was coming along, brown eyes zeroed in on Raven and the worried curl to her shoulders as the merchant gazed out to the aft. 

A fleet of five ships was following them, headed by a disgustingly familiar hull. Raven let out a horrified groan as she recognized it, running back to her Bat’s side as Cass stepped up to get an update, “Five of them. Led by Maynard’s Jane.”

Cass narrowed her eyes, “The very one…?”

“That Blackbeard died on? Yeah.” 

They both spun around at the shout of “You set me up!” Now that she could see what the commotion was about Rose’s voice alone was practically murderous, her brows furrowing and making the strap of her eyepatch bunch up above her nose. Before she could attempt to lunge Raven put a shoulder in between the two. She shoved them apart, “I’d rather not see either of your heads hung on her bowsprit.”

“Fuck off, Raven.” Rose shoved her away and yanked a dagger from her side. The crew that gave her water that morning were sloppy and her fury could make her sloppier, but the Ravager paid that fact no mind. She pointed the blade Cass’ way, “I’m sick of you. Let’s finish this.”

Cass snorted and drummed her fingers against her machete’s hilt, “Awful timing, but sure.” The Bat grinned and halfheartedly waved for her lover to stay back. A lazy rumble slipped out of her and she boasted, “We’ll just toss your body overboard, Ravager. No decapitation, I promise.”

“Won’t even make this fair?”

Her dark eyes flickered to the chains that still bound Rose’s wrists and she chuckled, roughly tossing the key her captive’s way. Cass steadied herself and ignored the oddly attractive way Raven pinched between her eyes, all her attention on her now-free rival. The merchant tried to appeal to them, “You guys, they’re less than a knot out we don’t have time for this--”

They ignored her and clashed together. 

Their blades screeched as metal slid on metal. With her height disadvantage Cass slipped and immediately caught herself, shoulder-checking Ravager in the sternum as hard as she could. At the shift Rose took her chance and spun, tossing the Bat towards the center of the deck. 

Cass let out a grunt as she used her momentum to flip over, hissing when her machete clanked to the ground. Rose dove for the weapon and, fed up, Raven pulled out her pistol and shot a round into the air. Gray eyes glared at the two, “ENOUGH!”  

The two stumbled in their attacks at the sound, but the reprieve was short lived. Suddenly Ravager was yielding the machete and Cass, cutlass in hand, was lunging forward again. Their boots thudded on the wood but before they could collide Raven fired a shot in the ridiculously small space between them. 

It skimmed Rose’s shoulder and the white-haired woman’s “What the fuck!” was overshadowed by Cass’ incredulous “You just shot at me!” 

The merchant frowned, “And I’ll do it again! Now both of you, stop it right now!” 

Running a hand through her hair, she growled out, “You two can kill each other another time. And that’ll be after the authorities stop pursuing us!” At her own words Raven glanced around at their surroundings, putting her pistol away. Her heart sunk at the sight of two more ships to their starboard, three to the forward, and the largest individual of the fleet coming up on their port. 

Rose noisily huffed and ran a hand over her face, re-adjusting her eyepatch as her fingers inched towards the spare dagger strapped to the back of her thigh. She met Cass’ gaze and lifted her hands up and away from her body at the cutlass in her rival’s hand, paired with a tan hand on Raven’s hip, all too close to the pistol that the merchant wielded. 

Raven knocked her thigh against Cass’ before she grunted out a simple, “Don’t.” Gray eyes didn’t stray from their pursuers and her lips quirked down, “No use doing their job for them.”

Ravager glowered at the pair, “I’m dying either way.” 

She whipped out her dagger at the same moment the Bat pulled out her cutlass, both of them hesitating when the merchant’s pistol came out again. That hesitation ended when Rose grinned, “Better a duel than a hanging, Raven.” 

Her stare met Cass’ and she sneered, “Let’s get this over with once and for all.”

“No,” Raven pointed the barrel at the eyepatched woman, “Put it down.” 

A begrudging snort slipped out of the pirate but when the pale finger tightened against the trigger she did as commanded. A brow did raise when Raven roughly cleared her throat and glared at Cass from the corner of her eye, “You too.”

Exasperated, Cass tossed her cutlass down. When Raven knocked their hips again the pirate pulled the daggers out of her sleeves and boots and reluctantly set the three machetes from her belt down, adding them to the pile. 

“Good.” Tucking away the gun and kicking the blades behind her, Raven rubbed her chin, “Now that we can be rational, I think there may be another way…” 

She glanced at her lover, took in the multitudes of scars that graced her brown skin and all the ways she'd admired her throughout their voyage so far. Raven bit back a smile and decided to be the most impulsive she'd ever been in her life (and that was saying a lot, knowing how she lived). The merchant glanced between the two swashbucklers and let the corners of her lips quirk up. She leisurely spoke up, as if they were talking about the weather and not their hasty plans to avoid incarceration, “I heard once that you can’t force someone to testify against their spouse if they get arrested.” 

Cass narrowed her eyes at the beginning of the tidbit and Rose scoffed at the end, tossing her hair behind her shoulder. Ravager's mind went to the sheer amount of loot in the cargo (her loot, this ‘captive-alliance’ be damned) and she sneered out, “You expect one of us to leave?”

Humming, Raven shook her head and started pacing in between them, swinging with the ship's steady back and forth. A lazy grin started to curl her lips, “My father is a powerful man. He can ensure that nothing happens to me, lest his whole operation hit a snag."

That got the two pirates to agree for once, if their simultaneous brow jumps meant anything. Rose put a hand on her hip, "Seems like an oversight if you getting compromised brings his whole operation down."

"It won't," Raven shook her head, her lips curling to a not-quite sneer. "But I'm his most efficient merchant across the four continents he trades on. He doesn't want to deal with those minimal losses when I take the fall."

Cass frowned, the tiniest bit of worry slipping into her voice, "When?"

Raven beamed at her, the look turning into a shit-eating grin as she addressed them both, "I’m going to get arrested, the pirate I blackmailed into doing my dirty work will be exonerated, and given that I all but pushed her into doing such crimes my wife won’t have to say a word.”

There was a half second of silence then Cass let out a noisy sigh and covered her face, “No.”

Try as she might, Cass couldn’t keep that undercurrent of curiosity (and, dare she admit, eagerness) out of her voice and Raven’s smile brightened. Honestly, marriage wasn’t the most obvious answer for either of them or their relationship, but that reaction was interesting. The merchant impishly pitched forward, “I know that look in your eye, Miss Bat. You wanna say yes.”

A brown hand came up to cover Raven's lips before she could speak again, “No.”

Cass narrowed her eyes as her love tenderly smooched her palm. Rose crossed her arms and snorted at the blush that was beginning to darken the pirate’s cheeks, “Ugh, she wants to say yes. Gross.”

Mahogany eyes flicked to her rival and hardened, her mind slipping away from romance and back to business. Cass tried to pull her hand away but Raven kissed her palm again as she reiterated, “I won’t deal with her--”

Raven rolled her eyes, half playful and half exasperated, “I'm telling you to deal with me.” Before Cass could argue again the merchant surged on, “You’re the one who captured me. Set me free and you’ll see I find my way back to you.” 

She completely ignored Ravager’s gags as she sidled up flush to Cass’ chest, pressing a warm kiss to a scar on the corner of her pirate’s mouth. The Bat went rigid and let out a groan as pale fingers ran through her short hair, calming the messy strands kicked up from the sea’s gales, “Such an awful idea.”

Raven pecked her once, twice. Her lips moved to kiss the fresh cut on her cheek and a devilish curl shaped pink lips as she teased, “But it’s also an engaging one, don’t you think?”

Rose pinched between her brows at that horrid pun. For not the first time she agonized over what character flaw led to her briefly acquainting herself with Raven, let alone what inescapable weakness allowed for her to be so evenly rivalled with this Bat. A huff escaped her as the two kissed again, seemingly unconcerned with their very-near future imprisonments. “You idiots do know there’s no minister on these seas, 'specially not on a pirate's route,” She drawled out.

Pulling away from Cass, gray eyes were bright and calculating. “Au contraire, my cycloped ex,” Raven singsonged. She held up and waggled a finger, “The captain of the ship the marriage happens on is legally allowed to officiate.” 

She batted her lashes at the brunette that she hoped to wed, “And if the captain is getting married then her first mate can officiate.”

“You’re the first mate, Raven.” Rose was reaching unprecedented levels of deadpan and the merchant took an arm away from her love to poke Ravager in the sternum, continuing on as if the white-haired pirate hadn’t interrupted, “But, if the captain and the first mate are betrothing each other, then the second mate can officiate.”

Cass let out a disgusted scoff, her arms crossing over her chest. By the way Rose’s nose scrunched up, their third wheel wasn’t partial to her idea either. The Bat clicked her tongue and shot a glare Rose’s way, “She will never be second mate on my ship.”

Raven looked sympathetic at their obvious clash but stayed firm, “She’s gotta be, otherwise we all go to jail, if not 'mysteriously succumb to our injuries' during the voyage back.”

Cass narrowed her eyes at her lover, "Why can't one of the crew do it?"

"We can't let anyone besides us three know how young the marriage is." Raven went back to pacing, her fist slamming into her hand as she put her thoughts to words, "Darling, you know I trust your judgment for all the crew, but if we three are gonna be intertwined like this we can't have any loose ends." Her lips tightened to a line, "If they squeeze Rose, she knows that if she confesses she'll go down with us. The rest of the ship doesn't have that curse on them.” 

The two pirates shifted at her logic and Raven stressed, “I know you two despise each other but it has to be her."

At the mention of their rivalry, Rose scratched at her scalp, practically spitting the words out, "Before we even entertain this idiocy, just how are you planning on convincing the cops that you’re the mastermind? You're not exactly leader material, Roth.” 

Gray eyes flicked between both pirates and a mischievous smirk curled her lips, “I’ve bested you both before, haven’t I? Many times in a single night, in fact.” Rose scoffed and turned away. Cass flushed at the mention, her fingers drumming on her crossed arms. 

Raven snickered at them and held out a hand, “Now c’mon, my Bat…” The merchant batted her lashes down at her lover and waggled her fingers, “Won’t you be my bride?”