A/N: I'm so sorry, I couldn't help myself.
A Mess of Gold
1
The Elephant in the Room
Let's let the stars watch, let them stare,
Let the wind eavesdrop I don't care,
For all that we've got don't let go,
Just hold me…
-Eavesdrop, The Civil Wars
"Is that magic?"
The newest addition to the team was anything but filtered regarding her many curiosities.
Raven was never a fan of talking about herself. In fact, she often went to great lengths to avoid the subject entirely. For the most part, she'd even gotten away with it. Until Trigon had reared his ugly head, of course. Damian Wayne's frequent probing into her mysterious past had also played a part in the epic reveal, much to her disdain.
"I only ask because Zeus is the one who grants us our gifts. You are not an Amazonian, however," Donna pressed, staring openly at the meditating, levitating empath.
Raven ignored her, although the strength of the emotions bleeding off of Wonder Girl were slowly manifesting and invading the calm the sorceress had so meticulously weaved.
"Have you heard of the Justice League Dark? They're also magic users, so I'm told."
A muscle in Raven's jaw twitched as she lost grip of the tranquility she needed to quiet her father.
I could smite them all. We could smite them all.
Raven clenched her teeth in mild agitation. "No smiting today, thank you."
She floated down to the ground gracefully, her long, dark cloak billowing about her booted feet upon landing.
Donna stared at her quizzically, trying to comprehend the relevance of the empath's strange statement.
The pale slip of a girl brushed a stray lock of obsidian violet hair from her eyes. "It's a bit more complicated than merely labelling it as magic. Zatanna and Constantine are spell casters. My abilities are innate, and I'm an empath. Emotions drive my powers rather than spells, artifacts, and incantations," Raven explained monotonously. It was as simple as she could think to word it.
A look of understanding coloured the other girl's pretty features, her striking azure eyes widening, and her lips parting. She nodded slowly. "Sounds…powerful."
"Raven is a valuable asset to this team," Starfire chimed in, drawing the attention of the other females in the room.
She strolled into the training arena casually, followed closely behind by both Jaime and Garfield.
"As are you, Donna Troy," the Titans' leader was sure to acknowledge with a kind smile.
Garfield pulled his arms behind his head and stretched his muscles. The changeling boy then grinned. "Yeah, we could always use more cute girls on the roster." He winked in Donna's direction.
"Dude, could you be any less subtle?" Jaime elbowed the kid lightly in the ribs.
"Ow! What's your deal?" Beast Boy whined, fixing his taller friend with a scathing glare. His antics, however, went ignored.
"Where's Robin?" Raven suddenly noted, glancing around the room in hopes of spotting the young, caped hero.
Garfield shrugged. Jaime scratched at the back of his head. Starfire wore a look of unease and discontent.
"Patrolling," the older woman answered, somewhat strained.
Raven effectively masked the pout that otherwise would have betrayed her thoughts on the matter.
Everyone knew that Starfire's takeover in leadership had more than just ruffled Damian's feathers; the unanimous decision as voted by his teammates had been, perhaps, the bigger sting. As a result, Robin had become more standoffish than usual, often choosing to work alone than involve any of his teammates in whatever he was doing. Damian had become reclusive and mistrusting of his friends, and not even Titus was able to cure him of that.
"He's always out patrolling," Garfield commented, rolling his eyes. "His poor pup is always whining outside of his bedroom door, and won't stop pacing no matter what we try and do."
Donna's sharp, dark eyebrows furrowed, and her hands were at her hips. "How can he still be a part of this team when he refuses to participate as a member of the Titans?"
"He just needs time to adjust," said Kory, not without sympathy.
Jaime nodded in agreeance. "He's still a Titan, Donna. He's still one of us. He'll find his way home, I'm sure of it."
Wonder Girl folded her arms over her chest and jutted out her bottom lip in protest. "Training is an important part of the job. We've all experienced hardships and struggle, but we're all here, anyways."
Raven pretended not to notice the way Garfield's eyes dropped to the floor.
"Enough." Starfire brandished her silver staff, narrowing her glowing green gaze at the youths around her. "There will be no more talk of Robin. You must all focus today," she spoke sternly.
The group seemed to quiet down, all their attention on the tall, intimidating woman standing in the centre. "Today, you'll each be tested on your weaknesses," she continued, her voice gaining a hard edge.
Raven had to fight the urge to roll her eyes; she hated physical combat training, as she was always the weakest of the group in that category. Starfire was fully aware of that, and had obviously planned a day of activities that would help put an end to the bad habit Raven had of avoiding physical training.
"Should your powers become nullified, Raven, you will need to be efficient in hand-to-hand combat," the alien princess had chastised her once before.
Even though each and every one of the Teen Titans had a condemning attribute, Raven felt that none of them were nearly as bad as hers.
Jaime's weakness was also his strength; the uncontrollable beetle. It was no secret that he needed to exercise more control over the scarab, which had a mind of its own. Donna often struggled with endurance. Although powerful, she would often fall apart the longer she strained and tested her body. Beast Boy had to become more efficient and quick with his transformations, and Kory was seemingly the shining example of a true warrior.
Even Damian was forced to undergo training; Starfire felt that his arrogance often got the better of him in a battle. Thus, she frequently pit him against Jaime, where the both of them had something to gain from the fight.
With Donna, Starfire took it upon herself to train the new girl. Only Kory could effectively handle the brute strength of the Amazonian, and dish it right back at her with equal fervor. Where Donna would need to catch her breath, Kory would still be standing, not a bead of sweat on her perfectly golden complexion.
That left Beast Boy and Raven.
Initially, the empath could not comprehend the reasoning behind the match up; Robin would have been the more obvious choice when it came to physical prowess. Besides, how was she ever supposed to stop a gorilla without drawing on her abilities?
However, when the changeling boy had stepped up to the plate wearing a cheeky grin, still very much in his human form, Raven had begun to understand.
"We're uneven today," Jaime stated.
Starfire sighed deeply. "Wonder Girl and Blue Beetle. Beast Boy and Raven. I'll watch and critique as necessary."
It wasn't the first time the line-up had to change; Damian's frequent absences often put a wrench in many of Kory's carefully laid out plans.
"Think you've learned anything from last time, Rae?" Garfield teased, fixing his eerie, amber eyes on the emotionless girl in front of him.
Raven ignored his taunt, and proceeded to remove her cloak; it managed to do nothing but get in her way during the physical sparring sessions with the shapeshifter, anyways. In fact, he'd pointed out the disadvantage quite easily enough after only a few minutes during their last encounter.
"I've been…working out," she replied, carefully placing the thick fabric on a nearby bench.
The green-skinned boy threw his head back in a fit of chuckles. "Good! Why don't you try throwing a few punches first?"
Raven took on a defensive stance, bringing her fists before her face. He used his fingers to motion her to start, giving her the offensive tactic first. Raven closed the distance between them, and they circled one another, face to face. Beast Boy danced on his toes as he awaited her attack, keeping his arms up to protect him from the flurry of punches he was anticipating.
By the time Raven worked up the courage to make the first move, it hardly mattered that he'd given her a handicap. Every sharp jab she made, Beast Boy dodged effectively and with grace.
She tried to be faster. She tried to pull more strength into every throw, but Beast Boy's reflexes were uncanny, and it annoyed her to no end seeing him so smug throughout the exchange. If anything, the emotion invigorated her, and she was sweating profusely by the time they'd worked their way across the room. She could almost hear her father goading her in the back of her mind, but she was quick to shut him out. The last thing she needed was a distraction.
Raven gritted her teeth, making grunts and other incomprehensible battle noises as she tried to come at him with everything she had.
Eventually, Beast Boy caught her fist in his hand, and pulled her into him, turning her around and locking her back against his chest. Having caught Raven by surprise, he managed to hold her there with a strength she'd never have expected from the lanky, lean, younger male. She could feel his hot breath tickle the strands of hair by her ear, all the while she fidgeted against him, tempted to draw upon her powers to send him flying backwards. Raven did not enjoy being contained in any manner, nor was she comfortable with an embrace this... intimate.
She could practically smell the spice of his deodorant mingling with the sweat contained in his uniform.
Garfield sniggered playfully as she groaned in frustration, her arms trapped in his iron-clad grip. "You need to work on your upper body strength, Rae," he suggested, his voice breathy and uncomfortably close. "I could give you some tips, if you want."
Raven stomped on Beast Boy's foot in response, effectively weakening the boy's hold on her. She took advantage of the moment, and elbowed him in the chest before breaking free from him entirely. Garfield staggered back in pain, his eyes bulging while he hunched over, clutching at his torso, and hopping on one foot.
"Nicely done," he wheezed in agony.
Raven's fast beating heart slowed back into a normal rhythm as she breathed.
"Garfield, you're taking it too lightly. I don't want you holding back this much. In battle, no adversary would dare to do such a thing," Starfire intervened, stepping around the two of them with her arms folded over her chest.
There was a fiery look in her glowing eyes, as the notion of battle often excited the alien warrior woman. Raven could feel the way she itched for it; the way she held such a primal urge at bay.
Beast Boy stood up, the pain from their previous entanglement having ebbed away. Raven resumed her stance, and patiently waited for his attack. He cracked his neck, and smirked. "Looks like practice is over, Rae."
Then, he charged, quick and efficient.
Raven had learned how nimble and spry Garfield was on the first day they'd sparred. During previous sessions, he'd purposely come at her slow, explaining his attacks in detail so that upon execution, she was able to block them. However, when he moved this fast, his fists becoming a blur, Raven had a harder time keeping up.
She used her arms to block his onslaught, dodging whenever she could, but he was backing her up into a corner, no matter how hard she tried to keep her footing. Somehow, she knew he was still holding back, for none of the blows he did land hurt. He was also avoiding any parts on her that would bruise or leave her staggered.
"Raven, you must find an opening and take it," instructed Starfire. "If you allow him to continue, you will lose!"
The empath tried heeding her leader's words, but Beast Boy was coming at her without a hitch in speed or endurance. Raven's frustrations at her embarassing predicament were only serving to hinder her further, and she grit her teeth from the effort it took just to stay standing. Beast Boy's hands were a green blur, and if she managed to throw even a single punch, he'd merely dodge it with little effort.
"Fight back, Raven!" Starfire shouted desperately.
Growing more and more agitated with every deflection, and knowing she was close to being backed up against the wall, Raven resorted to a different tactic.
During his barrage of punches, she kicked her leg out low, making contact with Beast Boy's ankle, and effectively threw him off balance.
The unsuspecting boy came tumbling forward, as expected.
However, he also fell right into Raven herself, taking her down with him.
Before she could even think of using her powers to prevent the collision, she was already beneath the changeling, the back of her head bouncing against the mats of the arena.
She could hear Donna gasp softly as her match with Jaime came to a sudden halt. Somewhere overhead, Starfire's shadow loomed, a disapproving frown on her lips.
Raven winced, trying to open her eyes to adjust to the bright lighting overhead, but Beast Boy's body was weighing her down and disorienting her. She felt him fidget against her, and that was when she realized that his face had been buried in her chest.
Her eyes suddenly focused, and Garfield lifted himself partially off of her with an inward groan. The changeling shook the mass of green, unruly waves of his hair as the adrenaline from the fight wore off. He hardly seemed to notice where he'd landed, and Raven wasn't going to give him any incriminating proof. She maintained a blank expression, patiently waiting for him to gather his bearings and stand up.
"Ugh, at least that was a soft landing," he noted, clutching his head and still swaying as he tried to regain his balance. His hand then blindly grabbed at one of her breasts unknowingly in his attempt to refamiliarize himself with his surroundings.
"Beast Boy, you're groping me," she informed him dryly, trying to contain her uneasiness as best as she could.
Donna was masking her snickering with her hand, Starfire sighed, and Jaime looked away, probably suffering from second hand embarrassment.
"What? Oh!" Garfield nearly jumped when he realized what he'd been doing, but not before he'd given her breast a confused squeeze first. Some of the colour seemed to drain from his face. "Uh, woops. Sorry, Rae. Not intentional, I swear," he apologized.
Starfire rubbed at her temples. "Let's take a break and come back to it later. Raven, Beast Boy, I want you both hitting the weight room together from here on out."
Raven sat up, feeling sore where she'd landed on her back. "Weights?" she mused, anxious.
The red-haired beauty nodded curtly. "Yes. Garfield has a good regime I think you should follow to help build up your strength. All the combat training in the world will mean nothing if you don't apply the correct amount of force behind it."
If there was one thing Raven hated more than physical combat training, it was hitting the gym. "Great," she remarked sarcastically.
Beast Boy offered her a green hand, and she took it. When she stood up, she wiped at her uniform and fixed her hair.
"I'll try and make it fun," he said with a forced smile.
Raven scoffed. "You and I have very different definitions of fun, Beast Boy."
After Raven had showered, she was perfectly tuckered out and ready to spend the rest of her evening in her room with a good book. The hot water and steam had helped with her aching, sore muscles, and with the promise of more to come, she was more than willing to take advantage of the downtime available to her.
She was wringing out the short strands of her dark hair with a towel when there was a quiet knock on her door. Raven paused, looking down at the towel robe and shower shoes she was still wearing.
"Hey, Rae. It's me, Gar. I was wondering if you had a minute," came the changeling's muffled voice from the other side of her bedroom.
Raven tightened the sash around her trim waist, and quickly ran a comb through her messy, obsidian hair. She then padded over to her door, and unlocked it. Slowly, she opened it, peering out into the hallway.
Beast Boy's pleasant smile was the first thing she saw, along with his eager, gold-tinted eyes, and green complexion. She raised an eyebrow. He still smelled like sweat, and was wearing his red spandex uniform; signs that he'd yet to hit the showers after their rigorous training.
"Is something wrong?" Raven queried.
He shook his head briefly. "Nah, I was just coming by to…check in on you. I know I went a little hard on you today, and I'm sorry if I hurt you at all. You know how Star gets when it comes to this stuff."
Raven shrugged. "Any bruises or cuts, my body can easily heal," she reassured him. "My muscles are still a bit sore, but I'll survive."
Beast Boy scratched at the back of his head, rocking on the balls of his feet awkwardly. "Good. That's good. The healing thing, I mean. Not that your muscles are sore."
Raven studied him, unblinking. "Is there something else, Beast Boy?"
His smile fell slightly, and his eyes softened, his gaze dropping to the ground to avoid her penetrating, cobalt stare. "I hope you know I didn't mean to be a pervert or anything." His voice was small when he spoke.
Raven let go of the breath she'd hardly realized she'd been holding. She had almost thought that perhaps, the changeling was finally ready to address his complex feelings regarding Terra's cruel death. In fact, the empath had been anticipating it for a while now, and was slightly disheartened that Garfield was keeping his feelings buried from his friends. The one time that Jaime had tried approaching him, Beast Boy had flatly said that he didn't want to speak about it, and then promptly left the room, ignoring everyone. Since then, no one had ever broached the topic; not even Damian.
"It's not a big deal," Raven responded blandly. "Besides, I'm not exactly what you'd call your type, anyways."
She didn't know where that had come from, or why she'd even said it. It was like an afterthought, and yet, her words carried an impact she hadn't clued in to. Nonetheless, it seemed to catch the inquisitive shapeshifter's attention.
"Uh, why would you think that?" he pressed, gaining some newfound confidence.
Raven went silent, the colour draining from her face, and her mouth becoming a tight line. For the life of her, she couldn't think of the right thing to say.
Beast Boy stopped bouncing on his feet, and when she remained mum on the subject, he averted his golden stare away from her face. "Rae, everyone sort of…knows about you and Robin," he began delicately. "I'd never…I'm not the type of guy…," Garfield stammered, struggling to find the words. "What I'm trying to say is, I wouldn't be that disrespectful, ever."
Raven was rarely used to experiencing multiple emotions at once. As of that moment, she wasn't sure if she should have been mortified, or angry or confused. So, instead, she became an amalgamation of all three.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," she huffed, all the while her face felt aflame.
It was Garfield's turn to raise his eyebrow in disbelief. "All I'm saying is, you two have gotten awfully close-"
"How can anyone be close to someone who is hardly ever around anymore? I feel like I barely know him these days!" Raven interjected suddenly, her emotions getting the better of her.
Almost immediately, she regretted her words. Her hands clasped over her mouth, and her eyes grew wide in horror. Sensing her newly budding distress, Garfield's youthful features contorted into uncharacteristic concern and empathy. He kept opening, and closing his mouth as if he was trying to formulate something to comfort her, but nothing adequate would come out.
"I have to go," Raven stated hastily in a raspy voice.
Before her teammate could even think to protest, the sorceress slammed her door shut and locked it with fumbling, sweating fingers.
Her heart was beating maddeningly in her chest, her head dizzy, and the room around her spinning. She squeezed her eyes closed, and tried to calm the sudden restlessness from within her.
Where had that come from?
A/N: Bet you can't guess where this is going. As per usual, feedback is welcomed. Hopefully this'll be another short-chaptered fic, like Black Honey. If I'm unable to update frequently, please be patient with me! I'm currently in school and the courses I'm taking are pretty harsh. I assure you, I have abandoned nothing.
