Another Speedy/Rae and I fully blame Emania for putting the idea of this couple in my head, and then reading through the lists for this couple I decided their just aren't enough of them.
It's a christmas story and I hope that you all enjoy it:)
Disclaimer: You think Nightwing would fit in my stocking? Hey it could happen. As of now I don't own them though :(
The tree was green and fragrant, as live Christmas trees tend to be. Starfire had insisted on the tradition for the last four years and this year was not different. The only change was that an angel sat atop the fir this year, Starfire hadn't been able to decide between the star and the angel during their first Christmas together. It had been raven who had come up with the compromise of trading off toppers every year. Raven always seemed to be the one to come up with the appropriate solutions to such problems, if only to stop the complaining and dramatics that usually interrupted her reading and meditation.
Currently Raven sat alone in the darkened control room, gazing at the twinkling tree. Her book lay forgotten in her lap as she thought musingly of a certain Titan. His smirking charm and completely arrogant smile were both perfectly fixed in her mind's eye. She didn't know how it had happened, but her so very carefully controlled emotions had exploded into attraction and more for the handsome red headed archer.
She had yet to lose her practicality though, sitting in the dark with only the flickering of the tree lights illuminating her face, she firmly reprimanded herself. No matter what happened, she could in no way let anyone know how she felt. If Speedy found out, he would smirk and add her to his string of conquests and if the other Titans discovered her feelings there would be no end to the teasing. She would really hate to port them all to one of the hell dimensions.
Speedy was a well known womanizer, smooth and charismatic. He had so many notches in his bedpost that he'd had to start notching in multiples of five. He had always been with the most attractive woman in the vicinity and none of them really seemed to mind being nothing more than arm candy for a week or less before he moved on to the next.
Raven knew she wasn't ugly; she did have a mirror and her own set of fans after all. Her hair was still short, one less thing to give a villain to yank on during battle and her eyes were waxed poetic about so often even she had to agree they were unusual and at times stunning. Yet she wasn't in any way comparable to the hordes of woman that Speedy seemed to entice and even more so she knew she didn't have the temperament to be a temporary plaything, nor the desire to share the object of her affections with anyone else.
"Raven?" His voice resonated into the pit of her stomach and only years of practiced apathy kept her from whipping around and staring at him or jumping out of her skin. "You're still awake?" He walked over and flopped down next to her on the couch, meeting her steady gaze with his masked one.
"Obviously," She replied dryly, at his raised eyebrow she sighed. "I was enjoying the quiet, why are you up?" She turned her gaze from his and stared again at the tree, trying to ignore her racing heart and working steadily on keeping her breathing and voice even.
"Stuff on my mind," He leaned forward, looking towards the tree, a trace of something she couldn't identify echoed in his tone.
"You can talk here if you want; it might help clear your head." She said this a little begrudgingly, but sincere none the less. "I can keep secrets very well." She silently berated herself for her actions; she should have just left the room as soon as he entered it. Talking was not going to help her situation, nor the galloping of her heart.
"I'm lonely." His statement was quiet and simple. Completely disarming in its sincerity and truthfulness.
"How can you be lonely? I never see you alone." Her reply was full of disbelief, Speedy with his constant playboy, wisecracking arrogance…lonely? Impossible.
He smiled sadly at her, his head tilted slightly. "I always seem to be alone when it matters."
Her eyes widened as the impact of his comment struck her, without pausing to think about the wisdom of her actions, she reached out and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. She removed it quickly once she realized what she had done and tried not to think about the contact as she formulated a reply to his statements.
"We only think that we are alone when it matters, if we look hard enough we will see a friend beside us. When ever I feel lost or alone I make myself pause and look around me, I always see one of you all beside me when I need you most. It would be the same for you, if you look." She forced down the fluttering and reminded herself that he was just a friend in need of some support, nothing more.
"I suppose you are right," He smiled at her and with a gesture as natural as breathing to him, he took her hand in his, marveling at how small she actually was. "I don't seem to be so alone now."
"You don't have to be alone unless you want to be, I…we will always be here when you need us."
"I didn't think you would understand at first, but I guess you understand better than anybody else would." He ran his thumb over his fingertips, not noticing the way her breath caught or the flush that rose up her cheeks.
"I have probably been alone more often by choice though, I don't really encourage hanging out or anything similar." It was her turn to smile sadly, it was just a tilt of her mouth, but he caught a glimpse of it and it took his own breath away.
He also began to notice the flush in her cheeks and the quickness of her breath. Experimentally he ran his thumb over her hand again and he saw her blush deepen, even though her eyes remained on his face showing no real change in emotion.
"You are with the Titans more than you are in your room." He began to enjoy the effect he was having on her and innocently turned his hand over to entwine his fingers with hers, happy and hopeful when she didn't jerk away or blast him across the room.
"What are you talking about?" As his thumb gently caressed her hand again, she swallowed a moan at the sensation. She wasn't used to physical contact, which was the only reason it was affecting her so much, or so she kept telling herself.
"You are always in here reading, even when Beastboy and Cyborg are wailing and fighting over a game, or Robin has his music cranked up. Even when Star runs in with one of her dilemmas, you still sit there with your tea and your book. Most of the time you solve Star's problem, get BB and Cy to stop fighting for awhile and even get Robin to either turn off his music or turn it down. You are totally involved in every aspect of this team."
"You see quite a bit for someone who is rarely here and then rarely in the tower." She said this stiffly, trying desperately to make herself pull away from him, but unable to deny her self the small pleasure that it brought her.
"I see a lot about you Raven." Again his statement, while simple, held an almost indefinable emotion that caused Raven to look at him more closely. She saw the flush on his own cheeks in the pale light of the tree; she saw the quickness of breath that matched hers.
"You see me?" She was startled and completely disarmed by his statement and his reactions to her. She was just unsure of whether or not this was just his normal reaction to any female that was near him.
He read her confusion in her eyes, they were finally un-shuttered and open. "I always see you Raven, how could anyone miss you?" He lifted his hand from hers and cupped the curve of her cheek; again his gentleness disarmed her natural response.
"Everyone misses me, all the time." She gave him a smirk, her reply wasn't said in self pity, just a general statement of fact.
"I don't, I never have. I just assumed that you would never look my way without that patent glare of yours." He smiled as he received that glare once again. "I think I fell in love with that glare."
"You had a funny way of showing it." She forced herself to stop glaring and tried unsuccessfully to retain her apathetic mask.
"What was I supposed to do? I just wanted you to notice me, I did everything I could to make you see that I was attractive. I dated only the best looking women so you would see I had good taste, I never dated them long so you would know that I hadn't fallen in love." He explained, desperate for her to understand, "Besides, I would rather have your glare and cutting remarks over my dating life, than to receive nothing from you."
"I give you my glare and remarks, because I can't give you anything else. It creates a contact between us, even when you had some debutante on your arm, you saw me when I made a comment on your date and glared. I didn't know you saw me otherwise." She leaned into his hand, a slight smile tilting her lips and this time causing his heart to flutter.
"I will take anything you can give," He caressed her lips to trace her smile, smiling himself when her eyes fluttered shut, "I think you can give more than you are aware of Raven."
"I want to, but I don't know if I can." She whispered.
"Trust me." His reply was soft as he leaned in and set his forehead on hers.
"I don't think I have any choice." She opened her eyes and looked into his, hope flickering in them.
"You always have a choice Raven," He smiled at her encouragingly, "Trust me." He repeated, even though it was said quietly it demanded an answer.
"I trust you." She smiled in response to his sudden grin and gasped when he leaned closer and pecked her quickly on the lips. "Do you trust me?"
"I trust you." He repeated her words, "I also trust in us."
They leaned together, this time Speedy took his time enjoying the softness of her lips and the soft sighs she emitted. He reveled in the way her hands clutched at his chest, balling his uniform up in her small fists. Raven submerged herself in the joy of his hands in her hair and on her cheek, holding her firmly, but gently.
"Merry Christmas Raven." He said quietly as the sun began to rise outside the windows and they both paused to breathe.
"Merry Christmas." She answered, leaning back into his chest and feeling the strength of his arms as they surrounded her.