I'm not sure how many of you read the companion comic, but it was revealed that sometime during the timeskip, Dick and Raquel dated. I never even considered the couple until the couple until I read it, but I think this is adorable, and I've been itching to write something about them.
Dick is 16, Raquel is 17. Enjoy!
"We should go out in the Batmobile tonight."
He nearly spits his soda out at her suggestion, as it's the craziest thing he's ever heard, "Are you being serious right now?" He questions, because quite honestly, he isn't sure.
"I'm completely serious." She says as she strokes her fingers through his hair. She's sitting on the couch facing him, one hand in his hair, the other resting on his knee.
"No. Absolutely not." He manages to stammer out.
"Aww... why not?" She pouts. She's a master of the puppy dog face.
"Because I like living." He replies huffily, "Batman would kill me if he found out I took the Batmobile out without his permission."
"But he's not gonna find out. Didn't you say he's halfway across the world doing business or something?"
"Oh trust me Raquel, he will find out, and when he does, he will kill me. Literally kill me. And when my body is discovered thousands of years later, people will wonder what heinous crime I must have committed to deserve this punishment."
She stops stroking his hair, and shoots him a look of skepticism, "Okay, don't you think you're exaggerating just a little bit?"
He shakes his head dramatically, "Not even a little bit."
"Well that's a shame then, because I could've made it worth your while." She smirks seductively. The hand on his knee begins slowly creeping up his thigh.
"I know where he keeps the keys!" He shouts, louder and with much more enthusiasm than he intended.
"Good." she leans in close and whispers, "Gotham City Zeta Tube. Nine thirty. Be there."
She stands alone in a dark alleyway, chilly from the cool night air, and growing more annoyed at her late date as the minutes ticked by. 9:33, 9:36, 9:38. It wasn't like him to be anything but on time, and she was starting to think he changed his mind about taking her out.
Then an engine revs loudly behind her, and she jumps nearly a foot into the air.
Robin rolls down the window and laughs, "Ha! You should see the look on your face."
"Damn it Robin, I know you like being Ninja Boy and sneaking up on people, but you almost gave me a heart attack."
"I'm sorry, you were just such an easy target, I couldn't help myself."
"Sometimes I don't even know why I'm dating you."
"Probably for my good looks and natural charm."
She rolls her eyes and opens the passenger door, "You're full of it."
"So where to milady?" He asks after she buckles her seatbelt.
"How about the Batcave?" She asks hopefully.
"Ha, fat chance. You're lucky I'm taking you out in the Batmobile."
"Hmm… I dunno then. What is there to do in Gotham besides skulk around in dark alleys?"
"Plenty. I think know what we can do." He smirks, puts it in drive, and speeds out of the alley.
"So this is what the inside of the Batmobile looks like." She says, peering around the car's interior. "It kinda reminds me of Sphere crossed with a Mercedes-Benz."
"I guess that's one way to describe it." He chuckles. One of the things he loves about Raquel is that she's never short of interesting things to say.
"Well it does. I mean it's classy as fuck, look at this." She points at the fabric on the seats, "That's real leather."
"Yup, Batman splurged on real leather." He snarks.
She glares at him, but continues, "But it's also dangerous. All these buttons must fire of a ton of different weapons. What does that button do?" Raquel asks, her finger hovering over a small blue button.
"Don't touch that!" He shouts.
"Relax Mr. Jumpy, I wasn't gonna touch it. I just want to know what it does."
"That button links the Batmobile with the Watchtower. If you pressed it our faces would be splayed out on the huge screen for everyone to see. In short, we'd be completely busted."
"I told you I wasn't gonna touch it!" She snaps, "I was only pointing at the button so you knew which one I was talking about. There's like, a million buttons in this car. How were you supposed to know which one I was talking about? What do all these buttons do anyway?"
"Well these four connect to different places, the Watchtower, Mount Justice, the Hall of Justice, and the Batcave respectively. This button makes the keyboard pop out, which works the Batmobile's onboard phone, computer, and navigation system. Those are all weapons, weapons, cloaking device, sonic speed, some more weapons, and uh… I don't know what that button does."
"Can I press it?" She asks.
He mulls it over for a moment, "If we die, I'm blaming you."
She grins, and eagerly pushes down on the small, grey button. They both flinch for a second as their seats begin to vibrate. They brace themselves, expecting something to happen, the car to sprout wings and fly, one of them to be ejected out the moonroof, but nothing does. Their seats just continue shaking, and they assume that's the button's full purpose.
"Vibrating seats?" She laughs, "Kinky. I didn't know Batman was into that kind of thing."
"Neither did I." He says, slightly disturbed at the mental images playing in his head. "And here we are. The best view in Gotham."
"An empty field?" She questions, unamused by the surroundings.
He frowns, "Look up."
She does, and gives a dry chuckle, "Oh ho ho, it's a perfect view of the night sky. You're just some kind of walking romantic cliché Ninja Boy. What next, you're gonna pretend to yawn and put your arm around me?"
"I would, but the ceiling's too low." He quips as he snakes his arm around her shoulder, "So I'm going to have to be a little less subtle."
"You know," She says, resting her head on his shoulder, "It actually is kind of pretty."
"Yeah, you are." He says, looking at her with an obviously overdone love-struck gaze.
"Very smooth." She rolls her eyes.
"Well, it's true." He says, and kisses her softly on her forehead.
They're quiet for a few minutes, simply taking in the night sky, "So uh.. are we supposed to look at this for the rest of the night?" She asks.
"We could, but I can think of a few things other things we could do." He crosses over from the driver seat to the passenger seat, straddling her, "Didn't you say you'd make this worth my while?"
She smirks, "Turn on the vibrating seats, I think we might need them." She puts her arms around his neck and crashes her lips into his. He fumbles around blindly for the button, and then the lever that pushes the passenger seat all the way down. He places his hands on her hips and takes her in. Her caramel lips are soft and sweet, like bubblegum. The kiss deepens; she presses her tongue against his mouth. He moans, and lets her enter, rubbing his tongue against hers. She grabs him tighter, pressing her body onto his. They're intertwined, nothing can break them apart. Not even the sudden loud tapping on the passenger seat window.
"What was that?" She breathes, not wanting to stop.
"I don't know, let me-" He takes a quick glance out the window, his face turns a deep shade of red, completely mortified. Standing outside the car is none other than Batman, looking very, very irritated. He lets go of Raquel, as if it burns to touch her, and rolls back into the driver seat.
"Rob, what is it?" She groans, not pleased at him for breaking the mood. She sits up to get a glimpse at what could've startled him. Her eyes widen, and her mouth gapes open. "We're dead, aren't we?"
"Yeah. Nice knowing you Raquel." He takes a deep breath and slowly opens the car door. Bracing for the worst, he makes a walk of shame towards his mentor.
"B-Batman." he stammers, "I thought you were in out on business."
"I was. Did you know there is a system in my car which alerts me whenever it leaves the cave, and allows me to track its movements?"
He swallows hard, "I uh.. no I didn't know that."
"The Batmobile is a weapon, not a leisure vehicle. It's designed for taking down Gotham's criminals, not for late night pleasure cruises. You can't take it out to impress your girlfriend, and you certainly can't take it out without my permission."
"I can see this is kind of a delicate moment," Raquel says, slowly backing away, "so I'm just gonna-"
"You will stay here Raquel. I will escort you back to Dakota City, and inform Arnus of tonight's events."
"Well, first I had a stern talking to by Icon, then he told my parents, and then I had another stern talking to by them. All in all, I'm grounded for a month." She says, pacing back and forth in her bedroom. It's been two days since the incident, and she hasn't left her house since. "What about you? Batman must've gone easy on you, seeing as you're alive."
"If only. No missions with the team for two weeks, no patrolling Gotham with Batman for four, I can't leave my house except for school for two months, and my phone has been taken away indefinitely."
"Ouch, that's tough. Wait a minute, if you're phone was taken away, how are you talking to me?"
"Who says I'm using my phone? Look out your bedroom window."
She pushes her curtains back, and sees a sleek, black car parked outside her house, "Oh you didn't. How the hell did you get the Batmobile to Dakota?"
"That dinky telephone booth isn't the only Zeta tube in Gotham, some of them are big enough to fit whole cars. Batman's gone again, and this time I disabled the tracking device. So, did I come all this way to see a girl who can't go out for a month, or are you gonna come down and show me around your city?"