Incognito
Chapter Two

-o-

"So, tell me the plan."

Aqualad jerked from his thoughts and he raised his eyes to meet Raven's. She was leaning across the table, tapping her fingers against the white tablecloth as her eyes darted around the room. It was almost as if she couldn't focus on one thing, and instead tried to take in as much information as possible. He could practically see her casing the room, counting the patrons, watching the waitstaff, investigating the dishes being served. If they weren't in public, Aqualad would have laughed. Robin had trained her well, that was for sure.

He reached out and pushed his fingertips against her own, quickly stilling her nervous movements. There was a snap of electricity where they touched, like a fire burning between them, but Aqualad pretended not to notice, and instead focused on waiting for her to look at him. He could feel something roiling just under her skin, bubbling and churning, as if it needed to break free, but Raven somehow managed to keep a hold on it. She was, after all, and expert at controlling her emotions.

When her eyes had finally met his own, he let go of her hand and cocked his head to the side. "Raven, what's going on?"

She sighed, but didn't pull away.

"Raven…"

"I'd prefer not to talk about it." She sighed and finally looked away, staring out the window to the skyline. "Not now, at least. It's… complicated.

Fair enough. Although, to be honest, what in their life wasn't complicated? Instead of voicing that thought, Aqualad just nodded in understanding, and reached for the cocktail in front of him. He needed something to focus on other than Raven's dark eyes and the fact that her dress was a little lower cut than he was expecting. When she leaned over the edge of the table, he caught the faint outline of a black, lace bra and his heart skipped. Shifting in his seat, he shook his head and took a long sip of his drink.

He really, really needed to focus.

"So, the plan is to navigate and infiltrate the circle of friends of Julius Fraterro to gather enough evidence to bring him to court. I believe that he's been going through illegal and black market trade organizations to manufacture and distribute a new kind of drug in the US. And even more than that, the run off from his operations has been harming the wildlife in the surrounding sea ports."

Raven smirked. "So it's drug trafficking you're trying to stop and conserve the seas?"

"They are my home, you know. I'm going to try and protect them… and bringing in a notorious drug supplier is a nice way to help that." Aqualad paused and took a long drink of his cocktail before setting it back down on the table. Drinking and talking business seemed to keep his mind far away from Raven's breasts and the sight of her chewing on her lower lip. It at least gave him the option to stay focused on anything other than what she was doing. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Anyway, right now, most of what I have is just speculation and now a whole lot more, but I know that there's truth and weight to what he's doing, I just have to find it."

"So, you asked me to join you to see if I can help find the truth." She propped her head up on her hand and watched him. "Using my powers to help him expose the truth and find out exactly what he's up to, right?"

He nodded in agreement with her. "I asked you on this mission to get confirmation and evidence we can use in court, yes. You were absolutely imperative to have on this mission, Raven. You're my friend, you're smart, and you're strong-" He watched her blush and glance away, but continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye. "-but your powers are something we needed as well. I know that we can bring him down together."

Raven shifted, looking into her own cocktail and avoiding his stare. "Oh."

Was it his imagination, or did she look a little dejected at the thought. Aqualad shifted in his seat again, trying not to dwell on the thought too much. He had promised Robin that he was going to be nothing but professional, that he was going to keep himself together and not let his emotions get the better of him. But here he was, four hours into a mission and he was already thinking about all the things he shouldn't. He was thinking about her dark eyes, and her full lips, and her dress that was too low. He was thinking about all of these horrible, wonderful things that should have stayed far away from his mind.

Biting back another groan, Aqualad licked his lips and tasted the sweet burn of the alcohol clinging to them. The back of his head felt a little fuzzy, and he realized that he was on his third cocktail and he should really slow down before he did something he would regret later. And yet, somehow that thought never seemed to sink in his mind. He took another drink and glanced up at Raven, briefly imagining vodka-drenched kisses with Raven's lips as they-

He stopped that train of thought and took a deep breath. He really needed to focus.

"So, just my powers?"

His mind snapped back into focus and he looked at her, eyebrows knitting together. She was nervous, still trying to find her footing in this situation, and he couldn't blame her for that. "You didn't hear the part about smart, strong, and my friend?"

"I did." She shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure I heard you correctly."

"You did." He smiled softly and watched her for a long moment, not sure of how to progress the conversation. There was a sort of strange, tense air between them, and he wanted to pretend that it wasn't there, but he couldn't quite ignore the feeling. It was still there, running along the back of his spine like a constant reminder that this wasn't meant to be fun, this was their mission.

"Something's bothering you." Raven downed the rest of her drink and stared at him for a long moment, her fingers beginning to tap again. Her head tilted to the side and her eyes practically bored into him, trying to understand exactly what was going on. She hummed softly and sat back in her chair "Something is definitely bothering you. Your mind is scattered and I can't get a read on any of your thoughts."

Aqualad sighed and shook his head. "You know I don't like it when you try to read me, Raven."

She shrugged. "You broadcast your emotions loud enough, I can't ignore them after a while." There was a brief pause and she continued to stare, her attention rapt on him alone. "So, tell me, Garth… what's bothering you?"

"I'd rather not."

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise, and Aqualad realized that it was rare for them to keep secrets. True, they had their moments when they were tender and guarded, and things seemed a little too raw and open to discuss easily, but they generally tried to be as open as possible. Guilt sunk into his stomach and he glanced back at his cocktail, feeling a bit like he'd just slapped her and walked away without a word. They were friends. He always told her everything that was on his mind, except this. He wasn't sure if he could tell her about this - about his feelings for her, as complicated and confusing as they were.

"Okay."

He looked at her, seeing the hurt darkening her eyes, and his stomach twisted. "Raven…"

"I understand, Garth."

"It's not what you think." No, no, no. He couldn't be feeling this way now. He couldn't be thinking about this right now. This wasn't the right time.

Aqualad reached for his empty glass if only to have something to distract him for a moment. His hands were shaking as his fuzzy mind seemed to fill with the wrong things to think about, and he began to wonder what the harm was in telling her the truth. It was time he told her. He'd been thinking about it for months now - to finally let everything out in the open. But now wasn't the right time, he knew that! He promised Robin he wouldn't do this. He promised himself that he wouldn't do this. They were in the middle of an investigation and if he jeopardized the mission because his stupid emotions got in the way, he'd never forgive himself.

And yet, here he was, looking into her face and actually contemplating it… like an idiot.

"It's not-"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She cut him off with a wave of her hand, feigning indifference to him, but there was still a shadow of hurt invading her expression. "I understand if it's something you don't want to discuss, and I'm sorry if I pressed the issue."

"That's not it, Raven." He sighed and took a slow, deep breath, choosing to use her own words against her. "It's just that it's complicated."

Raven snorted. "I know. We've both been using that defense all night."

He shrugged. She had a point. They had both been skirting around whatever they were not saying by defending its complexity over and over. Aqualad huffed out a breath and pushed at his hair, still avoiding her stare. "I promised Robin that I wouldn't."

"Promised Robin what?"

Her eyes narrowed and Aqualad suddenly felt as though everything outside of this moment had melted away. Sitting here, in this little table tucking in a secluded corner in a quiet dining room, soft jazz playing off in the distance, it felt like the real world was miles away from him. It felt as though everything in his life was leading up to his moment, and before he could really think about stopping himself, the words slipped out.

"About how I feel about you."

He watched Raven swallow, her cheeks flushed a deep pink, and her eyes grew wide. A long second stretched between them before she whispered. "And, how do you feel about me?"

"That's the thing I promised not to tell."

Ugh. This is a hot mess, but it had to be done to move this story forward. Thanks for putting up with me, and thanks for being awesome.