Raven sighed as she watched the door for Jason. The crowd was kind of massive, something Raven still wasn't used to. New York City on Christmas was not her idea of a good holiday, but Jason insisted she come with him on this job. "I'll make it up to you" was his promise.
"You'd better," Raven muttered, taking a drink out of her wine glass and setting it back down. She kept seeing men getting slapped in the shoulder by their wives or girlfriends as they looked at her, and who could blame them? Raven never went anywhere without her cloak, but tonight she was in a black cocktail dress, a split in the side that went halfway up her thigh, diamond necklace around her neck while the plunging neckline had made her blush in the first place, she had gotten use to it.
A few more minutes passed, and Raven set her empty glass back on the table, checking her phone for any messages or word from Jason. After a while, she tensed as she felt a hand on her bare shoulder, but she soon relaxed as she realized it was Jason. "Where have you been? You should have been here a half hour ago, Jason."
"Sorry, Little Bird. I had something come up last minute," Jason said, kissing Raven's cheek as he sat across from her at the table. He eyed the empty glass, smirking lightly. "Starting the party without me?"
Raven chuckled lightly. "I only had the one," she said. "I wanted to wait for you before I started on the second."
Jason waved for a glass of wine, tapping Raven's foot with his own. "We've been together a year and a half, Raven. You realize that?" he asked.
Raven raised an eyebrow. "YOu used my name. You only do that when you want to talk about something, Jason. Otherwise it's 'Little Bird' all the time."
Jason chuckled and shook his head. "It's nothing too bad, Little Bird," he said, smiling that damned smile of his that always made Raven's heart skip two beats. "I just thought that, since it's Christmas, I'd give you something special this year."
Raven raised her eyebrow again. She usually didn't like it when Jason was being secretive, especially around holidays or her birthday. Not that she complained about the gifts she got, especially on her last birthday that year. "What are you talking about, Jason?"
"Well, I have to show you," Jason said, taking a small box out of his suitcoat's inner pocket. He opened it up and turned it to show Raven the black gemstone in the middle of a golden ring, and her eyes got wide. "Do you like it?"
"Jason...it's beautiful," Raven said. "Where did you get this?" She looked up at her boyfriend, blinking. "You didn't steal it did you?"
"No!" Jason laughed, shaking his head. "No, I didn't steal it. I paid for this one. All those extra smaller jobs were what helped me pay for this. I promise. I've got the reciept if you want to see it."
"I trust you," Raven said with a small smile. She took the ring out of the box and put it on her finger, blinking. "It fits perfectly, Jason. What-" She stopped talking as Jason got up and knelt in front of her, her eyes getting wide. "Jason...?"
"Raven, you've done nothing but make me the happiest person in the world. The last year and a half has been the best time I've ever had," Jason said, his heart thundering in his chest. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Raven, will you marry me?"
Raven put her hands on Jason's face and pulled him up to his feet. "About time you asked me, Jason," she said, kissing him softly. "Starfire and I had a betting pool going. Looks like I win a hundred dollars."
Jason smiled against Raven's lips, snickering. "You and Red had a bet going? When did she think I'd ask you?"
"Valentine's Day," Raven said, tapping Jason's chin lightly. "I bet New Year's Eve. I still win."
Jason smirked, putting his hand on Raven's leg and slowly tracing up her thigh, feeling goosebumps pop up on her skin. "No, Raven. I win," he said, leaning down and kissing her again. "Come on. We've got a room upstairs. Let's go see if we can break in the bed."
Raven smiled and nodded. "Merry Christmas," she said, standing up and taking Jason's hand, leading him through the hotel, clearly intent on thanking him for the ring.