Short Note: Here's Chapter 2, revised! You'll notice I changed a few things (now Raven calls Robin Richard instead, since she is undercover after all) and I hope it still makes sense to you. Enjoy!
Edited: 9/9/12
Fake Left, Break Right
By Socially Suicidal
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.
Chapter Two: Sunshine
The figure leaned into me and said in an unbearably arrogant and familiar voice, "Hey sunshine."
I gasped, disbelief crawling its way into my voice and expression, "Robin?"
He grinned in response.
"Good, you're catching on. You've always been a quick one, Sunshine." I couldn't fathom how he formed words with that agitating smirk spread across his lips.
"What in the hell do you think you're doing here so early?" I hissed, but digressed and shook my head, "More importantly; you scared the shit out of me!"Glaring up at him, I fought to ignore the growing urge to launch him across the city.
The insufferable prick had the gall to chuckle, "Can't I come down just to see how my little sunshine is doing?" I felt my eye twitch instinctively, the arrogance rolling off of him threatening to drown me. Grinding my teeth, my hands tightened into fists and I could no longer contain the urge to hit him. I swung my tightly clenched fist up toward his jaw.
Hand leaving my shoulder to easily catch my wrist, he used my momentum and yanked me forward, sending me sprawling against him with my face pressed into his shoulder.
In retrospect, perhaps my reaction was not my most mature or properly considered, but as they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty.
I felt his hand splay across my lower back as I pushed against his chest, preparing a violent verbal lashing for his manhandling me. He cleared his throat, probably about to say something to further antagonize me, like calling me Ravie again. I shivered at the mere thought.
It was then I heard Jay calling my name, his voice coming from somewhere slightly closer than where I had left him.
For the second time that day, 'Oh, shit,' echoed through my mind as Robin glanced the slight distance down at me through his sun glasses, a question forming on his face.
"Who is that, Rae?" Robin asked me, staring carefully into my eyes
"That's my f…" I found myself pausing as my instincts screamed from the pit of my gut and my inner voice screaming from the corners of my mind. I quickly rationalized that it was unwise to refer to the tall male as a friend because, Robin being Robin and all-business (bullshit, he could be as immature as Beast Boy sometimes), would blow the entire situation out of proportion and accuse me of jeopardizing my mission (the crap-shoot it was), "Coach," I finished slowly, allowing my eyelashes to shade my eyes from his intense, sunglass-clad gaze.
Robin offered naught but the simple, intellectual reply of, "Oh," and I carefully stepped around him. Stepping into the light, I turned back to stand between Jay and my leader, who had opted to stay in the shadows of the curtains against the wall.
"Jet, meet Richard," I almost hissed, glancing at Robin meaningfully, "Richard, meet Jet," I stated casually, praying to any deity above that the awkward introduction would give Robin the indication to make his exit. Robin offered a terse nod and Jay responded in a similarly austere fashion. Biting the inside of my lip, I fought the urge to pound in the face of the Boy Blunder who had dared to come jeopardize my (crap-shoot) mission for seemingly no reason at all than to grunt and stare at me.
However, when the head coach blew her whistle to signal the end of lunch, I felt the deity that had previously abandoned me smile down and grace me with good fortune.
"That's my cue. I'll see you later, Rich," I said, attempting to sound casual, as I turned on my heel toward where the coach has blown the whistle. I muffled a strangled sound as I was suddenly taken off balance by Robin's glove-free hand grabbing my arm and whipping me back around to face him. Once again, my face made an unpleasant acquaintance with the fabric of his shirt that covered his chest. Snarling, I shoved myself backward to send a bone-withering glare at his oddly passive face.
"Richard, have you forgotten English or are you merely deaf? I have to go." I growled lowly, feeling my temper rise and eyes narrow. Robin looked hesitant, as if mulling over the consequences of not adhering to my demand before letting go of my arms suddenly. Choosing not to question this blessing, I stalked off the stage and back onto the court. I grabbed the ball from the rack and began making my way over to the group congregated in the middle of the court.
Jay jogged behind me, oddly silent until he quietly blurted out a jumble of words before we reached the rest of the group.
"Is he your boyfriend?" I almost let out a snort at his outrageous question as I turned to face him, before his somber expression indicated that he was indeed serious.
"No," I could not manage keeping the laughter out of my voice as I considered such an odd notion and found it increasingly amusing.
Jay looked as if he was about to continue, a question on his face, but as he parted his lips to speak, I promptly cut him off. "Richard is just my friend," I continued, making sure to purge any trace of amusement or jest out of my tone. 'My stupid, prick, egotistical, holier-than-thou, leader.'
"Well, alright…" He said slowly, as if either accepting what I said or considering it further, before shaking his head and changing the subject, "Would you wanna' join the group? I need to help them out anyway so…"
"Okay…" I murmured, surveying carefully the mass of animatedly chatting adolescent girls dressed in a variety of t-shirts, jerseys, short mesh shorts, and long flowing shorts of all different colors and sizes.
"If you don't know how to do something, I'll help you," he reassured, his ever effortless smile fully reaching his hunter green eyes and causing the dimple to reappear once again. We approached a group of girls and he either ignored or did not notice the distracted, adoring looks he received before he began orchestrating the teams, rules, and whatnot.
The time went quickly, I got the ball twice at most, but I was more content with it that way. I at least caught the blasted thing and managed to make a successful pass to one of my less than intellectual teammates. The instructors seemed to have taken to referring to me as Miss Gray, as apparently the name Raven 'Rachel' Gray had been the name submitted on the form that was given in when Robin had signed me up for this hell. When it was over, I hastily retrieved my things and was headed for the door, or salvation, if you will, when I heard Jay calling out behind me. 'Fucking hell.' I stopped and glanced over my shoulder at the taller male.
"Raven, you need a ride home?" He asked; a small smirk set on his pale lips and his green eyes dancing down at me. Of course I knew I couldn't very well have him take me to the Tower, but how does one politely decline these things? I knew Robin would be there any moment to collect me, and I found that there was no delicate way to effectively evade his offer other than simply being forthright.
"No, but thank you, I have one," I replied evenly from over my shoulder, staring calculatingly as his expression wavered just slightly.
His reply sounded far more like a statement than the question I'm sure it was intended to resemble, "Richard?"
I sighed inaudibly, "Yes," I responded quietly as I continued outside to wait for Robin. "See you, Jay." I was not waiting for very long before the aforementioned male pulled up on his shiny black motorcycle and offered me a helmet accompanied by a quickly forming smirk.
"Hey-"
"You will not dare, Robin, if you value the organs that determine your gender." I snarled, yanking the helmet over my head and fastening my small, draw-string bag to my back.
"As you wish," Robin replied haughtily, and I could be sure his leering expression lessened naught as we took off. When we finally pulled into the garage, I wasted no time in phasing into my room and taking a long, hot shower. With the comfort in the familiarity of my black leotard, I settled down in my bed with a book I had been neglecting. Needless to say, I was drained and all I longed for was sleep, but it was far too early in the evening for that.
I was largely contented being back in my usual attire, just as I was sure Robin was once again clad as if he was responsible for directing the traffic of the entire tri-state area. However, I was fully aware of the short-term nature of my comfort as I would be back to the foreign jungle that was my disguise in the morning that was only a few short hours away.
Robin knocked on my door the next morning and crowed like a rooster, but I had already been awake for quite some time. The door swooshed open and there he stood, clad in his inconspicuous civilian outfit. "I'll be right out," I murmured as I retreated back into the darkness of my room to swiftly perform the spell to cloak the gem on my forehead and cloak my hair to a normal shade.
I had put on the same thing as yesterday, thank Azar I had remembered to wash it, and I stepped into the hallway only to find my leader gone. I presumed he had impatiently gone off to the garage, and decided he could very well wait a moment while I poured some tea into a thermos. As I rounded a corner, he jumped out from where he had been hiding to startle me (and I would be hard-pressed to admit it had slightly worked, a clear indication of my slipping guard). "You're a child," I hissed, promptly pushing into his chest to remove him from my path.
Today he had chosen a form-fitting deep maroon, long-sleeved shirt that ended just above the hem of his dark-washed jeans, leaving his metal belt buckle and black leather belt exposed. On his feet were heavy leather boots and his eyes were shielded with heavily tinted Ray Ban sunglasses.
Robin chuckled and followed after me, hands in his pockets and tone light, "Where to now, sunshine?"
"I'm grabbing some tea and then we can leave," I paused and looked over at him from the corner of my eye, "remove that stupid grin from your face before I forcibly assist you in doing so."
Robin stopped in front of me, once again blocking my path and stared at me imperceptibly; "Try me," he said slowly, as if testing for my reaction. I scowled and weighed my options. In all actuality, he had in fact asked for it, therefore the outcome of the situation could really only be reverted back to the fact he had instigated the situation. I rationalized that it probably wouldn't be entirely my fault if by the time I finally got into the kitchen a certain traffic light replicating, spiky haired, gel addict, arrogant Boy Blunder would have lost his life, or possibly his masculinity. Certainly, it would not be my fault at all.
I began by simply attempting to side step him, but obviously that would have been far too easy as he defiantly stepped with me. I then tried to shove him in a similar fashion as to how I had earlier, but it had no effect and I realized I would need to formulate a new strategy if I wished, and wished I did, to attain my bloody tea. Quickly, I recalled an interesting maneuver Jay had shown me briefly the previous day.
Jutting my elbow deeply into his gut, I slipped my foot to hook around his and shoved him backward, pivoting myself swiftly around him. He lost his balance and fell with a disgruntled and surprised oof as I watched with my hands settled on my hips.
Robin gazed up at me, bewildered, and bashfully pulled himself upright. "Where did you learn that?" he asked, and if I was not mistaken I could hear a small bit of admiration in his tone. I forced the muscles around my mouth to replicate his trademark, cocky grin.
"Well, I suppose that's for me to know and for you to die trying to find out, Blunder Boy," I said and turned my back to him, headed for the kitchen. I poured my tea, fucking finally, and turned on my heel to continue out of the kitchen. I did so only to land myself, again, with Robin in such a proximity to me as to breech my wide berth of personal space.
Switch to Third Person View
Raven's breath hitched barely audibly in alarm, but the empath quickly regained her stony composer. She glared up at him, only to find that he was grinning. Her expression settled into a grim scowl in immediate response. The shorter girl sidestepped, and her leader once again followed suit.
"Ha-ha, too funny," If, if indeed, looks could kill, the resident Boy Blunder would have been cold, bloody, and lifeless on the tiled kitchen floor at that moment. And then out came the characteristic, teeth bearing expression that caused every blood cell in her half demon, half human body to boil.
"Hysterical," he agreed, although fully aware of the sarcastic nature of her comment, leaning intimidatingly into her like she had done only a day ago.
"You know, revenge won't get you anywhere," Raven replied frigidly, shoulders tensing and lips setting into a thin line as she visibly hardened her resolve.
The grin on his face grew prodigiously, "Who says I'm getting revenge? Although, revenge is a hell of a lot better when it is on you," he replied, tone smooth and, of course, very confident.
Raven sighed dramatically although her emotionless expression did not waver, "If you don't stop being a jackass I am going to be late," she paused comically, tapping her finger to her lip for emphasis, "Oh, I guess I will never have to go back."
Robin snorted charmingly, pulling his face away from hers and turned, peering at her from over his shoulder, "Race me to the garage."
"Pardon? What are you, ten? And, no, I'm not talking about your IQ," Raven added the last statement with a smirk, clearly enjoying her open opportunity to send a jab in her leader's direction. But in all seriousness, he had been acting much like a child ever since he had attempted to scare her, and then when he had refused to let her walk past, and now this fuckery.
"ReadySetGo!" Grinning, Robin shot toward the door and disappeared down the hallway.
"Robin!" Raven yelled and started to follow him. 'Oh, shit, is stupidity contagious?'she mused, waving her hands above her and disappearing through the floor in a swirl of dark energy.
In the garage, Raven hovered in the air over her leader's motorcycle, waiting for the lean male to come crashing through the door. 'Perhaps this will be comical,' she supposed, 'but why in the name of Azar am I engaging in these childish games? I really need to meditate.' Raven's disenchanted thoughts were interrupted as she heard his chaotic stomps frantically making their way toward the door.
The door swooshed open and Robin crashed in. Raven did not waste time in slowly descending into the garage, gracefully landing within an inch of the machine and proudly relishing the shocked expression adorning the face of her opponent.
"Have you missed something? Do you forfeit, or do I just win?" Raven asked, allowing smugness to filter through her voice and whirl laughingly around the room.
Robin groaned, taking his defeat childishly, and walked over to his teammate and the bike. The esteemed Titan could truly be a sore-loser when he felt it fit. Robin smashed a button on the wall and the garage door creaked but opened swiftly.
Robin mounted the motorcycle and Raven climbed on behind him after fastening the helmet on her head, securing her arms around his wiry waist and grasping her small bag tightly. He revved the engine and the tires screeched as they sped off.
They soon arrived back at the Jump City Recreational Center and it became apparent to the empath, by way of his smirk as she removed her helmet and shook her hair out, that her male companion's mood had shifted.
Raven swung her leg off the bike and stepped back, handing him back his helmet as she spoke dryly, "Try not to make any unexpected appearances."
"You make it too hard to stay away," his quick response was followed by a thwack to the back of his head, courtesy of the disguised empath.
"You could blow my cover, Einstein,"
Cocking his head to the side innocently, Robin feigned a surprised tone, "Wait, are you saying I'm smart now?"
"Good-bye, Richard," Raven sighed as turned on her heel towards the center, steadying herself for the day of pretending ahead of her.
Robin smiled a nearly genuine smile, "Bye Sunshine!" he called. Before he drove off, he saw the tall male he had met the previous day greeting his teammate as she stepped in the doorway. He was unable to find the source of the sudden surge of anger that poured through him, his eyes narrowed but as Raven's false black head whipped back in his direction, he sped off back to the Tower. 'I don't have a good feeling about him.'
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