Dangerous
Chapter Seven

To say that this was awkward would have been the understatement of the year. This was beyond awkward, and they both knew it. Raven's heart was still racing in her chest, beating out a rhythm she didn't completely understand, and she didn't know where to look or what to say. Her eyes moved around the small apartment above the bar - finally settling on framed art that she wondered if it was purchased or procured. She was pretty sure that was a real Picasso hanging above the record player, but knew better than to ask about it. It wasn't like that piece of information would be imperative to her current mission, and the less she knew the better it was for both of them.

Her eyes lifted to look at Jason's profile as he pulled out the manilla folder, settling papers out on the coffee table in front of them. Raven's stomach turned, reminding her again of the danger she was putting herself in. It was true that she knew what she was getting into when she agreed to this whole mess, but she was caught unaware by how much of a mess it was. Here she was, on the other side of town, in a seedy bar, flirting with disaster in every way imaginable.

Including making out with her informant in the confines of his dreams.

Nightwing was going to murder her if he ever found out exactly who she was working with on this. That was something she had to keep reminding herself about, or she might forget.

"This is what I have so far on what you asked me." Jason handed her the manilla envelope and settled back into the sofa. "I touched base with a few contacts I have, and some of them have been hearing that friends-of-friends-of-friends are being contacted by agents of Slade. There's a lot of separation between Slade and these particular people, but from what I can tell Slade is a direct player in all of this. So, your resident bird boy was correct in his suspicions, but don't tell him that. His head is already too big for his mask."

Raven managed to squash a snort before it escaped, but Jason managed to catch the twitch of a smile on her lips, and grinned at her. "He'll figure it out some day."

She shook her head and turned back to the notes, flicking through them. "So…" Her mind was racing, trying to pull pieces apart and put them back together. "And any reason why Slade is tracking these people down? Or what he's up to?"

Jason shook his head, his mouth tugging to the side in a lopsided frown. "No. Nothing yet, at least. There hasn't been any conversation or definition of why he's reaching out like this, but most of my old contacts are getting a little antsy. They're saying this doesn't feel right - aside from the fact that it's Slade. There's something dark going on, and no one knows what it is."

Raven felt something blossom in the pit of her stomach, and a darkness threaded throughout her limbs to the point where every part of her felt heavy. She shifted, watched Jason out of the corner of her eye. There was something more to this - she just knew it, but she didn't know how everything fit together. It was as if this entire week was bleeding into a mess of confusion and worry that made her question everything. The small question that Dick had asked her to investigate was turning into a mystery she wasn't sure if she would be able to unravel.

"Who he's targeting is what's interesting."

Raven lifted her head and watched as Jason leaned further back into the sofa, his arm draped over the back. There was a long pause, and for a moment Jason looked pensive, as if there was a thought scratching at the back of his mind that he couldn't quite itch. He tapped his fingers along the cushion, running along a seam. She blinked, letting herself get lost in the lines of his face, the way his jaw tensed and his eyes seemed far-off. His stare was impossibly green, flecks of blue running through it like some kind of rare opal. Raven had never been a sucker for eyes, but Jason made her feel like… it didn't matter.

She slammed the door on those thoughts, trying to quiet her heart before letting herself fall any further into this pit of embarrassment. Jason was an… an annoyance. He wasn't the kind of person she should fall for, and she knew it. Raven tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and stared back down into the notes, pretending she wasn't completely affected by him.

"So, who is he trying to target?"

"Nobodies." Jason looked back at her, his head tilting to the side, still thinking. "Honestly. Thugs. Pimps. Purse-snatchers. Muggers." He gave a bark of humorless laughter. "Even a flasher. Literally nobodies. People even JCPD don't have on their records."

That certainly didn't make sense. It wasn't Slade's usual MO to go after people who wouldn't benefit him in a particular way. Slade wanted to surround himself with people who were loyal, and strong, and useful. Hiring a flasher or a common thug wasn't exactly in the boundaries of his usual plan. Which meant that there had to be something different under the surface - something more than what Slade was letting on.

Raven looked up from her notes again, shifting. "So… what does that mean? That he's looking for a rag-tag crew of misfits for… for what?"

"Princess, if I had an answer, I would tell you. But this is mystifying me as much as it is you." He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension in the muscles, and tipped his head back to look at the ceiling. "I get worried how far up the totem pole Slade is willing to go to get what he wants. If he starts targeting my friends…" Jason trailed off, the edge of his mouth twitching again, and Raven knew that as touch as he tried to act, he was still worried about his friends.

Raven closed the manilla folder and looked at him, waiting.

Jason ran a hand over his face and stood up. "I need a drink." He paced the room for a few minutes before going to the small bar tucked in the corner. "Whiskey?"

It was a soft dig, and they both knew it. It was meant to be a reminder of the things they did in the privacy of their dreams, and suddenly Raven was brought back to the memory of his ragged kisses against her lips, his fingertips brushing up against the skin of her stomach as he inched his hand higher and higher. Color stained her cheeks, and Raven straightened her shoulders in some kind of pathetic defiance before flicking the folder back open, just so she could look at something that wasn't him. "No. Thank you."

Jason's smile pulled to the side, as if he knew something she didn't. "Suit yourself."

Raven's face burned hot, but she didn't meet his stare, waiting as he poured himself a drink. "If he's planning something big, then it seems more likely that Slade would go after someone who at least has some kind of skill. Something that he can use. If he's going after common criminals, then there has to be a reason behind it."

"Agreed."

He returned to his spot on the sofa and looked over Raven's shoulder at the notes. She could smell the oak and peat on his breath, and something in the pit of her stomach clenched in response. His hands trailing up her sides... She needed to get a damned grip on herself, but Jason wasn't exactly making it easy.

"So…" Jason took a sip of his drink before setting it back on the table. "Do you think he's just burned too many bridges? That whatever he's planning he's going to have to work with what he can get his hands on?"

"No…" Raven set the folder of the table in front of them before folding her hands in her lap. "Not him. Slade isn't exactly charismatic, but he is eloquent and he knows how to get under your skin."

Her chest sagged with the weight of her own memories of her birthday just a few years ago. The way he managed to break every part of her down, make her lose herself to the demon inside. The way his thick hands had wrapped around her and burned a brand into her body so deep that she never felt free of him. She had remembered laying curled in a ball on the floor of the shower, sobbing into herself as the water ran cold and her ears rang. She sat there for what felt like eons, knowing that Slade had found her weakest points and ripped them apart, leaving her broken and bloodied, and wounded forever.

Raven swallowed and tried to wipe her mind clean of her thoughts, lifting her eyes back to Jason's. "Slade knows how to find all of the little dips and bumps in your armor and exploit them. If he found something these people wanted, and used that against them, it would be easy to drag them into his plan. It wouldn't have taken even much effort on Slade's part if their own resolve was weak."

Jason nodded like he agreed with her, but she could see the confusion and caution in his eyes. He could tell that there was something to her story that she wasn't telling him, something that she had experienced first-hand, and wasn't willing to share. Raven swallowed and looked away, staring at the Picasso again, its languid, exaggerated shapes soothing to her.

"Are you sure you don't want a drink?"

Jason wasn't pushing, it was just a comment.

Raven glanced back at him to see that confusion in his stare again, except this time it was laced with understanding and concern. He seemed to know what she was going through, could feel the way she closed up and tensed, and the way her mind wandered back into dark places. Raven shifted, pushing at her hair again and setting the folder back down on the coffee table. She was feeling overwhelmed, like there was too much pushing on her and reminding her of things she'd rather forget.

"No… no, I'm fine." She waved him off, shaking her head. "I should go anyway. I need to get back before Dick realizes I've been gone for this long. He thinks I'm just running errands right now with Jinx."

Jason's smile tugged to the side and he nodded. "And he still doesn't know about me?"

"Like I said, it's not my secret to tell." She shifted again. "I wouldn't tell him unless it was absolutely necessary… or you asked me to. But seeing as that doesn't seem likely anytime soon, you can assume your secret is safe with me."

Raven found herself staring at him again, feeling the tension wind tight between them. Jason's face softened, and she saw his stare slid to her lips, watching her. She swallowed, unsure where this meeting was going to end. In his dreams she knew exactly what happened when she left the bar, and Raven was wondering if it would be the same here in the real world. Letting herself cave to his desires in his dreams was one thing, but doing it on this plane of existence was something else entirely.

Jason set his glass down and moved closer, invading her space. "And our agreement?"

"I would hardly call it an agreement." Raven was embarrassed at how breathy her voice sounded, like something out of a cheap novel. Her heart skipped beats and she waited for a moment, trying to get herself to calm down just enough that her voice wouldn't shake. "And that's only in your dreams - literally."

Jason's mouth tilted to the side in his usual, casual smile, and he leaned back, resting against the cushions opposite of her. "One of these days I'm going to get you to kiss me for real."

"Is that what you think?" Raven wanted to keep her voice even, but everything inside her was trembling with anticipation, and her words sounded more like a challenge than a tease. "I doubt that."

"Mm…" His smile widened, as if he knew he would take her challenge - and then some. "You don't want to kiss me?"

"I didn't say that." Raven pushed at her hair and stood up, trying to keep more space between them. She might have been playing with fire, but he was lighting the matches and handing them to her.

"Then…" He stood up and moved closer to her, invading her space again. His eyes darkened, pupils growing wide as he leaned over her. It was hard not to feel small when he practically towered over her petite form. "...is it okay if I kiss you?"

Raven swallowed, staring up at him as a hundred responses flooded her mind. She could feel her stomach turn over, her heartbeat swallowing her thoughts as the world seemed to bleed into colors and sensations. It would be so easy to say yes. So easy to tell him that she wanted him to kiss her. She wanted to feel that same kind of excitement burning her skin that she felt in his dreams - the way he touched her like she was breakable, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to break her or not.

But this wasn't a dream, and there were real consequences to what happened to them here.

She took a raggedy breath and shook her head. "No."

His face fell a little, just Jason took a half-step back out of respect. "I understand."

"Not… not yet, anyway."

He lifted an eyebrow and met her stare again, curious. Raven looked away, heat flooding her face. What was it about Jason that made her feel like the world was crumbling out from under her feet, and the only person she could cling to was him? Her teeth sunk into her lower lip and she forced herself to meet his stare, hoping she didn't look helpless. She would have never been able to live it down if he knew what he did to her.

"But at some point?" His question was soft, but serious. Raven expected him to tease, but he gave her the space she needed until they both understood what this was.

"At some point."

His smile returned and he offered a final nod. "Well, whenever you're ready, Little Bird, I'll be here waiting."

Raven cocked her head to the side. "Don't you have droves of women throwing themselves at your feet?"

He shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. "None that interest me like you."

"Now you're teasing."

She picked up the notes and moved toward the door, feeling him follow her steps. He paused just behind her, the heat of his body soaking through her clothes, and Raven felt as though he was bleeding into her, that his own body was becoming part of her own, and she wondered if she would ever be whole again without him by her side. They were sharing too much of each other to stay separate for much longer.

"Come see me tonight." His voice was a low grumble, barely audible over the rumble of noise from the bar two floors below them. Jason's fingers touched her shoulder before he pulled back, still giving her space. "I know it's…"

"It's dangerous." Raven's hand wrapped around the door handle. "We shouldn't be meeting like that. It's not safe, Jason. Think about what could happen to you if something followed me in."

She felt him grin behind her, teasing. "Awe, you're worried about me. It's cute."

Her cheeks burned and she pulled open the door, taking a step back and feeling the hard mass of his chest behind her. For one brief second, she allowed herself the girlish pleasure of enjoying the weight of his muscles pressing into her. His heart thumped against her spine and she tried not to think about how easily he could reach around her and slam the door close. How easily he could lift her up and pin her against the wood. How easily he could just take… and how easily she would let him.

Her tongue ran over her lower lip. "Not tonight."

"Tomorrow then." He took a step back, giving her some iota of relief, but letting her burn without him against her. "Come see me tomorrow."

Raven tried to make herself say no, but she already knew what her answer was, no matter how silly it was. "Tomorrow."

He smiled and watched as she looked over her shoulder at him. Jason cocked his head to the side and watched her, somehow saying nothing and everything at the same time. "Good. Then, it's a date."

Raven's face fell. He could not be serious.