A/N: Another movie fic, based on the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Robin and Raven. I imagine this takes place when he's 30 and she's 29. Definitely AU. This will not be a start, and stop story, i already have a few chapters done. I'm hoping that my previous hiatus helped my writing to go, and thanks for those who understood why i needed to leave the site for so long. Okay enough talking, you're here for the story! lol Here you go,
DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT BROKEN HEARTS OF MY EXES(devilish smirk)
Doctor's Office
"Okay I guess I'll start." Richard Grayson sat in a chair with his foot on his other leg's knee. A practiced comfort he had to have mastered in doing the job he did. No nerves allowed. "I'll start by saying we don't really need to be here." he finished with an anxious laugh and turned to see his wife who was clearly not nearly as amused as he hoped. 'Why would she be?' he thought sourly. 'Hasn't cracked a genuine smile in years.' the words felt bitter, just wanting to escape his from tongue. But something wouldn't allow them to.
The marriage counselor looked back and forth between the two and after a quick moment scribbled something down. "How long have you been married?"
"Well we've been married for five years and we-"
"Six." Rachel corrected him quickly.
"Five/six years." he internally rolled his eyes, but kept smiling to the doctor. "And this is like a check up for us. You know, check the engine, replace a seal or two, see if oil needs changing."
Rachel moved her eyes to her husband very slowly, 'Is he using a broken down car as a metaphor for our marriage?' "He gets it.", she said through a fake smile and looked back to the doctor.
"Very well then." he picked up his pen and paper once more, "Let's pop the hood." he paused as if waiting for some sort of laughter to come. When nothing did, he asked another question. "On a scale of one to ten, how happy would you say you're marriage is?"
"Eight." Rachel said flatly and without hesitation.
"Wait." Richard cut in. Ten being perfectly happy and one being completely miserable or…?" he trailed off waiting for the doctor to explain. Rachel just rolled her eyes and let out a low irritated sigh.
"Just respond instinctively."
"Okay." he looked to Rachel, "Ready?"
"Ready." she said quickly not even looking at him.
"Eight." they said at the same time.
"Okay. How often do you have sex?"
Rachel played with her fingers, "I-uh- I don't understand the question."
"Yeah, I'm lost is this a one to ten thing?"
"Is one very little? Or nothing? Cause you know, technically speaking zero would be nothing-" she laughed nervously.
"Right. And then what is ten?" he chuckled nervously, and Rachel did the same "That would be like, never ending, rabbits just..."
"...on and on." she finished, not allowing the previous sentence to hang for too long.
The doctor answered, "Not a 1 to 10 thing. Just how often do you have sex?" Neither of them could answer the question. "How about this week?" They really couldn't remember the last time they had sex. Noting this, the doctor asked another question, "Describe to me how you first met."
"Ah, it was in Santa Prisca." Rachel looked back on the day.
"Five years ago." Richard jumped in nodding.
"Six." she bit the inside of her cheek. Richard let out an irritated deep breath.
Santa Prisca..….. Five/Six Years Ago
Richard sat at a bar in the lobby of the hotel he was staying at for the weekend. Wally owed him a shitload of money and or beer for covering for him while he did whatever with whoever in Keystone City. The boss wanted this done quick and clean. The perfect mission for him. That's pretty much why he was hand picked in the first place. Seriously, this was planned for him for months, and just like that, Wally West took off to see some girl. 'Jenn or Jinx?' he tried to remember, 'Whatever.' He took a final swig of his drink and read a magazine as sirens blared outside, and police stormed in.
He turned to the bartender, "Hey, que pasa?" (What happened?)
The bartender responded, "Alguien disparo al barracuda. La policia busca a los turistas que viajan solos." (Someone shot the barracuda. Police are looking for any tourists traveling alone.)
'Shit.' Richard turned his back to the police but someone noticed him anyway.
A police officer approached him and asked, "Viaja solo senor?" (Are you traveling alone sir?)
He turned and pretended not to hear, "Que?" (What?)
He asked slower and much more stern as if suspecting him, "Viaja Solo Senor?" (Are You Traveling Alone Sir?)
Just when he thought he was screwed, a woman burst through the doors frantically looking around and her eyes landed on Richard's. When they hit each other, its like they were speaking without even opening their mouths. A man was pestering her about her passport papers. "..sus papeles!" (..your papers!) She opened her mouth to answer and closed it again while looking back to Richard. "Estas solo?" (Are you alone?)
"No." she made her way to Richard, and he met her half way.
"No, no, no, no." he looked at the police, "Esta bien." (Its alright.) "She's with me." He took her hand and led the woman back to his room. As they closed the door, he pressed his back to it, and she put her ear to it, listening to the excitement outside.
She looked to him and said quietly, "I'm Rachel."
"Richard." he smiled.
"Nice to meet you." she smiled back as he took her hand and kissed it.
Later That Day
Rachel lifted her shot glass and clinked it with Richard's in the outside bar of the hotel. "To dodging bullets."
He chuckled a little bit, "To dodging bullets." They drank a little bit.
"So it speaks," she teased as she stood up and walked to a small fire pit and threw her half full shot glass into it. The flames built up next to her for a moment and she didn't even flinch before they calmed down. "but does it dance?" She moved her hips as the music played and Richard took the opportunity to observe her. She had completely black hair that was parted on the side. It traveled down her back and stopped in the middle. She held a pale based skin tone, and she wore a white Columbian maxi skirt and half top that exposed her flat stomach, and just a bit of her cleavage. She smirked at him with her full lips as he stood up to dance with her. He tried to avoid too much eye contact. Not for a necessarily negative reason though.
Her eyes were the first thing he noticed when he saw her. They were an impossibly beautiful color of deep amethystine. He'd never seen anything like it before. At first he swore they were dark brown. He'd even guessed black, but now he could see clearly. Her eyes were the most rare, and beautiful ones he's ever seen. But he never look at them for more than 10 seconds for fear he'd never be released from her captive orbs. They were a definite distraction.
They moved together fluidly, with no restraints against each other. As the music played their hips would graze each others lightly. Teasingly. A game of cat and mouse, where the roles switched with the rhythmic measure. Thunder crashed and the lightning soon followed, making the area appear similar to an indoor rave. It didn't take too long after that, for most people to take off. Back to their hotel rooms, or homes. But Richard and Rachel remained. A bottle of scotch at their table, and the incoming storm to keep them company. Richard sat down in a chair and Rachel straddled him. Richard gave her a swig straight from the bottle, before taking some himself.
She studied him up close. He had a simple, yet built frame. He was only about a half a foot taller than she was, but that didn't say too much considering she was 5'8 in her heels. His white shirt was open and exposed an almost perfectly chiseled chest. Only one bruise was there. It wasn't fresh and would go away leaving his apricot skin perfect within a few days. She looked to his face as he drank. His strong jaw was lifted and she could see his Adam's apple move as he swallowed. He took the bottle from his lips giving her a small smile. She returned it before looking at his eyes. A steely blue. That remained locked and focused on hers for only a short time, before he turned his head away.
"So it speaks." she smiled, and took his free hand in hers, placing it just underneath her breast, "It can indeed dance." She turned his head back to meet hers "But does it...?" she kissed him to finish her sentence. He moved his hand across her back and slowly pressed each finger against her spine. She trembled against him slightly and made him free his other hand of the bottle before continuing to kiss him. She sat back and ran her fingers through her hair. She unbuttoned part of her shirt but stopped when he picked her up. He carried her bridal style to his hotel room where he placed the 'do not disturb.' sign on the doorknob.
The Next Morning
Rachel woke up in the bed alone. Richard was nowhere where to be found, her clothes from the night before were laid out on a chair across from the bed. She sat up and sighed. Part of her wanted to be able to see him again, but the other part knew it was probably just a simple cliché 'hump and dump.' Just as she was about to get up, the door opened. Richard stepped through it with a tray, before shutting the door behind him. She smiled as he set it down.
"Hiya stranger." she teased, as if she hadn't been worried he'd abandoned her earlier.
"Morning beautiful." he kissed her softly. "Room service fled. So breakfast won't be exactly 4 star." He picked up a mug of coffee and went over to the window. She wrapped herself up in the sheets and picked up the other.
"Thank you." she took a sip. "It's good." she complimented.
"It'd better be, I had to milk a goat to get it." he joked.
She chuckled before spotting a Casablanca lily in a small vase in the middle of the tray. After twirling it in her fingers, she placed it in her hair, making him smile. She walked over to Richard. After standing there and watching the city for only a minute or two, she kissed him on the cheek. Apparently it wasn't enough, because he pulled her back for more, dropping his coffee in the process.
3 Months After Santa Prisca
The pair walked up and down Jump City's local carnival. Richard had his arm around her as she held his hand on her shoulder. Smiling and laughing they moved between the booths and nothing really interested them as people would shout and advertise their attractions. Rachel glanced up at one, 'Sharp-Shooter'. The man running the stand noticed her gaze and called to the couple.
"Hey, name's Larry! Try your luck! $3 for 1 and $5 for 2. Shoot and win a prize folks. Whaddya say?"(1)
"Whaddya say?" Richard mimicked the man, while asking Rachel.
"Sure. I'll try." she kissed him quickly on the lips and walked over.
"2 it is." he handed him $5 and turned to look at his girlfriend. She was already there, inspecting the gun. That's what he loved about her. She was so adventurous. Not in the 'lets go skydiving way.' But in the 'hey lets try sushi tonight instead of pizza.' way. She was always ready to try new things. He walked up next to her. "Do you know how to hold it?" he offered.
"Like this?" she held it at her waist. It was a BB gun, and she would be much better off holding it at her neck and eye area so she could see where to shoot. Richard was fully aware of this, but didn't want to correct her, so he just smiled and nodded while picking up his gun.
Rachel smiled at him. She could've put it where she knew it belonged, but judging from his earlier response, she could tell he knew nothing about guns. Just the way she was supposed to know nothing about guns. So she began shooting at the small targets, and hitting slightly too far left or right on purpose to miss each one.
"You've gotta aim." he advised.
She giggled, "I am." Richard chuckled a little. "Don't laugh." she warned playfully, "I could kill you with this thing." he laughed at her joke as she finished her ammo.
"My turn." He lifted the gun to his eye level, perfect position and posture and Rachel's smile slightly faltered.
Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink!
He hit target after target, only missing a couple. He lowered the gun, "Hmph." he shook his head at himself slightly. "Can we still get something?" he asked the booth owner. Larry handed a small stuffed animal to Richard, who gave it to Rachel. "Beginner's luck." he turned to go and Rachel stopped him.
"I wanna go again." she smiled eagerly, and he took out $3 for her to take another turn.
"We're going again." he waited for the man to reload her weapon before paying him. As soon as it was ready, she picked up the BB gun and held it to her eyes. Richard turned to give Larry the money, and was soon shocked to hear…
Plink!Plink!Plink!Plink!Plink!Plink!Plink!Plink!
Rachel had not missed one target. Not one bullet wasted, and he wasn't sure if he was seeing right, but he could have sworn she hit two with one. She lowered the gun, and the man handed her a giant bear.
"Where'd you learn to shoot like that?" he looked at her in awe and put his arm around her shoulders again. He handed the smaller stuffed animal to some child passing by.
"Beginner's luck." she shrugged and smiled up at him, and he returned it before kissing the top of her head.
6 Months After Santa Prisca
The Gym
"STOP!" Wally called to his best friend from outside the boxing ring "Stop! You've only known the girl for 6 months!"
"I'm in love." he said through grunts, as he took a few jabs from his sparring partner. "She's smart." he threw a punch, "She's sexy." he dodged an incoming hit, "Uninhibited. Spontaneous. Complicated." He ducked under another thrown punch and went in for quick jabs at the stomach as he spoke, "She's the sweetest thing I've ever seen."
"Okay." another friend of his walked over. "You know what? I waited 2 years before asking Toni to marry me. You've gotta have a foundation of friendship!" Garth lectured. "The other stuff fades."
Side of A Mountain
"So you don't think this is all happening a little fast?" Terra asked Rachel as they climbed.
"Yeah." Karen looked over, "Didn't you guys just meet in Santa Prisca? Good job by the way on the whole in and out situation." she added the last part sarcastically.
"The plans you gave me didn't include another person in the room, or a five story building scale." she answered back, "And you know me guys. I don't do anything without thinking it through."
"What does he do?" Terra hopped up to the next crevice.
"He's in construction. A big-time contractor. We don't really talk too much about work stuff though."
The Gym
"What does she do?" Wally asked a currently pinned down Richard.
"A server goes down on Wolfman & Perez, she's there, anytime day or night. She's like Batman for computers." (2) He flipped them over so he was pinning down his opponent.
Mountain
"He's gone as much as I am, so it's perfect!" she grunted as she pulled herself up to the next crevice.
The Gym
"I give the whole thing, 2 more months. Tops" Wally added.
"Wally." Richard turned to look at his friend while arm locked with his sparring partner. Wally raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'What?' "I asked her to marry me." he smiled as he was flipped over.
"What!?" was heard from both spectating friends.
"I'm getting married!" he struggled to say through his mouthpiece that was about to fall out.
"Jesus! Victor, Get off of him. I can't hear him right, it sounds like he's saying something crazy!" Victor laughed, as Garth finished.
"I'm getting married!" he yelled again.
Present Day Five or Six Years Later- Mr. And Mrs. Grayson's Home
Richard waited outside at the end of his long driveway at 6:14 in his blue robe, with a white coffee mug in his hand. "7 more seconds." The paper boy's bell was heard down the street, and with great accuracy, as he had every morning for so long, threw the paper so it landed just at Richard's feet. He picked it up, shook off the autumn leaves and walked back towards the house
Rachel had just about finished brushing her teeth when her husband came in to do the same. As he turned on the sink, the water sputtered out and he mentally slapped himself. "Gotta get these filters changed."
"Mmmmm." she said walking out of the bathroom to change. As they got dressed for their days she took the opportunity to ask him about their marriage counseling session the day before. "So what did you think about Dr. Wilson?" she sighed as she picked out a shirt for the day, "His questions were a bit wishy-washy."
"Yeah." he pulled on his pants. "Not exactly insightful. Don't want to keep wasting our time with him. Why don't we find someone else?"
"At least his office is clear across town."
"Yeah but rush hour hits at four." he turned to get back to the bedroom, "You know I hate that." He left her putting on her shirt.
"So that's settled then." she said sarcastically.
"Yep." he said, not caring about her tone. He turned on the news, and adjusted his tie.
"Yep." she mumbled bitterly.
They finished getting dressed and made their way to the garage. A silver Acura MDX for her, and one in black for him.
"Oh. Dinner's at seven tonight."
"Yep, I'll be there." he responded.
"Okay." And just like that they were off. Both headed out of the driveway at the same time but stopped jarringly to avoid crashing. Rachel went first and turned left, while Richard followed close behind and turned right.
(1) Larry, from 'Fractured' cameo
(2) Wolfman and Perez (Just think of it like Wall Street for Jump City and the names are like a cameo for the great creators of the TT comics in the 80's. And also that Batman line is actually in the movie, pretty cool huh?)
A/N: So this was pretty much like the prologue, just to give you their background story and so you know where there marriage is. Clearly, its not doing all that well at the moment. So we'll see what changes ;)
Much Love and Respect
~Poppie~