7. Beautiful Soul

"I don't want another pretty face. I don't want just anyone to hold. I don't want my love to go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul. You're the one I want to chase. You're the one I want to hold. I won't let another minute go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul." – Jesse McCartney

Disclaimer: I don't own the song or characters.

-O-

It'd been a month since Raven had gotten cozy in Jason's old, worn out, Iron Maiden t-shirt and his strong, toned arms; a month since she'd fallen asleep with her head laying softly on his chest; and a month since she'd been woken up by Robin repeatedly ringing her communicator and driving them both crazy. So many gradual yet huge changes had come about within the last four weeks. For one, her and Jason had only grown closer and closer. They spent as much time as possible together. And she only liked him more each day. Truthfully, she'd never felt better. It was a big difference from how alone she'd felt pretty much all her life. Terra and Beast Boy had reconciled and moved past Terra gaining her memories back, and now she was a valuable part of the team again. And this time, she had great control over her powers. Unfortunately, Starfire and Robin's relationship was still on a rocky road. It'd get better one week, and then the next, it'd just go straight to hell all over again. Best of all though, Red X had slowed down on his thieving, giving them much-needed rest. He still struck every now and again, but it seemed like for the most part, something else had captured his time and attention.

However, now was not one of those times as they stood in the middle of a closed museum ready to attack him. Robin had realized weeks ago that Red X had studied all of their moves and powers and knew everything they were going to do and when they were going to do them. So, he decided it was finally time to implement a change in their routine. Instead of them working individually to make up a team, they were going to actually work in pairs to form a team. Raven and Starfire were going to use their powers together to trip him up and take control of him. Beast Boy and Cyborg were going to use their powers to add the force and take him down to the ground. While Robin was going to use his acrobatic skills and cocky side remarks to catch him off guard from above.

All of it seemed to be working just as planned, when suddenly Red X pulled a small one-button remote from his utility belt as he laid damaged and bruised on the ground. One sleeve of his formfitting, black suit was missing from his right arm and a sliver of his mask was detached, revealing a corner of his bitten red lips. The corner of his lips rose into a smirk revealing that he was planning something big.

"Jokes on you, kids. I've already gotten what I came for," he announced as he propped himself up on his elbow. They could practically hear the pride in his voice. "I just wanted to lure you imbeciles in."

"What is he talking about, Dudes?" Beast Boy asked dumbly, scratching his head as if it would help him understand.

X jumped up to his feet and held up the remote with the red button for them to see. "This here is connected to four bombs that I've planted in random spots around the building. Once I press the button, we're all going boom."

"Shouldn't we be attacking this idiot, Robin?" Raven growled at her leader. There was no way she was going down without a fight this time.

"No, wait. He's armed and potentially dangerous," Robin ordered and backed down. He raised his hands up to show the villain he surrendered, then asked. "Okay, calm down. What do you want from us?"

"I want you to let me go scot free and stop showing up at the scenes to catch me. No more sonic booms or any of that bullshit. They're a waste of all our time, so just let me be."

Robin narrowed his eyes behind his domino mask. "You know that's not going to happen, X. Our job is to stop you and keep the city crime free."

Red X tilted his head to the side as if pondering what to do next. Then, he hunched his shoulders and announced with not a care in his voice, "Well, I guess we're all just going to have to die then."

And with that, he pressed the red button with no hesitation. "No wait!" he heard Robin bellow in the background and his teammates screaming out of fear for their lives. The teasing villain teleported as quickly as he could next to Raven, snatched her by her cloak, then teleported them both outside.

"What the hell?!" Raven screamed the moment they landed and rolled onto the hard, concrete roof of the building. It didn't take long for her to realize that Red X had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist as they continued to roll from the impact. Luckily, their fun stopped right before they reached the edge of the building. She quickly forced his palms off her and jumped to the soles of her boots. Red X followed her lead, but soon as he stood, she pulled her elbow back and socked a firm fist right into his left jaw.

"Did you just murder my friends and save me?!" she shouted in disbelief as the masked villain took a stunned stepped back.

To her shock however, he began to snicker. "Of course, I didn't murder your friends, Sunshine. Those were just smoke bombs."

"Ugh!" she grunted and tried to swing another fist but this time he was prepared and able to catch it.

"Nuh-uh. No more free touches," he pestered in a whispered voice. Her top teeth were harshly scraping against her bottom lip from the anger brewing inside her. "Next time, it's going to cost you."

"Oh really?" she deadpanned with no actual interest as she struggled and struggled to get away from his grip.

"Why yes, Dark Bird," he uttered clearly and finally let go of her wrist.

"Why would you play such a mean trick? Their fear was literally coming down on me in waves," she asked in a forced manner. In actuality, she was trying her hardest not to bite off his head.

Red X crossed his arms over what Raven assumed was a muscular chest. With all the acrobatics and fighting he did, his muscles were bound to be strong and defined, right? Raven shook the thought as something stupid prepared to come out his mouth, "I honestly just wanted to see the look on Chuckles's face. Plus, being your knight in shining armor was an added bonus."

"Why though?" Raven raced without thinking.

"Why what, Sweetheart?"

"Why did you save me?" she questioned, rolling her eyes at the word save. He didn't save people. He was the villain, not the hero. It just didn't work like that.

Raven could tell he was smiling due to the corner of his mouth that was barely noticeable. Something seemed so familiar about it; she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Maybe I just wanted a little alone time with you," he uttered with confidence oozing through his voice. "It's been awhile since we've had a moment, Raven. Plus, I heard from a little birdie that you've been cheating on me."

Raven furrowed her eyebrows and let out a frustrated sigh. Why was she still standing there? She definitely should've been making her way back inside, letting her friends know that she was safe and out of this creep's control. "How can I cheat on something that never existed? And we've never had any moments, Pinhead."

Red X chuckled lightly as if to say she was wrong. "I seem to recall a short moment in the backroom of a jewelry store where we discussed our wedding plans and how I'm going to propose to you."

"I hate you so much," she mumbled to herself and contemplated whether or not she should bound him with her powers until the police came. Yet, for some reason, she didn't have the heart to lock him up in prison. Then, what would the Titans do with most of their time? Especially since none of the other villains hardly struck during the winter. She could let him get away just this time, huh? No one would ever know…

"I love you, too, Dark Bird." Raven was pulled back into reality by words she'd been waiting to hear for a couple days now. But definitely not from him. She was going to have to ask Jason to come up with a more unique nickname for her since everybody seemed to be using Dark Bird, Sunshine, and Sweetheart way too much nowadays.

Finally, Raven retorted, "How about you crawl in a hole and rot?" And with that remark, she teleported back to the safety net of her friends. She didn't have time to waste with this ruthless criminal. It was Valentine's day, and she had a hot date with the hero in her life.

-O-

"You've been out late at night a lot, Raven, sometimes all day to places we don't even know about," Robin scolded Raven as she prepared to leave for her upcoming date with Jason. "I'm worried about you, Rae. It's not like you to be out all night, especially with some stranger."

Raven immediately retorted in the defense of her boyfriend, "He's not a stranger, Robin. I know him and that's all that matters."

"I'm just saying be careful," Robin replied calmly, watching with large eyes as she applied a soft colored lipstick onto her full lips. Since when did Raven care enough about looks to wear makeup? Then, he finished with the most cliché statement ever, "I don't want to see you hurt."

"Guess what, Robin," she teased with a fake smile. Remember when she believed she didn't mind his protectiveness a few chapters ago? Welp, she was wrong.

"What?" he asked, not realizing the sarcasm she was hiding.

"I'm a big girl now and I can take care of myself." Then, Raven felt a little defensiveness rising in her throat. "Just because your relationship is constantly going on a downward spiral doesn't mean that I don't have the right to enjoy mine."

"Ouch, Raven. That hurt," the black-haired boy admitted quietly. Before he knew it, he was defensive as well. "Well, I have been getting a lot of my advice from you."

Raven hunched a carefree shoulder and slipped into her black, pointed toe, ballet flats. "Not my fault you asked for relationship advice from a girl who'd never been in a relationship up until a month ago. I'm still learning how this stuff works myself."

Robin let out a defeated sigh as he continued to lean against the edge of her creepy bookcase with his arms crossed over his chest. "You got me on that one."

Raven picked up her small, leather clutch from the stool beside her bed and smirked at her protective best friend. "So, what's that now? Raven, one hundred and one? Robin, zero?"

"Something like that," he mumbled with a harsh, hoarse voice, then walked over to her so that they were as face to face as possible with her short height. Raven swallowed her snarky tongue and observed his expression. He was only worried about her, and she couldn't really blame him. She had been staying out at pretty odd hours of the night. "Look, Raven, I'm just saying don't let people take advantage of you. I hope you didn't rush into a relationship just so you wouldn't be the only one single around here. Rushing is never a good way to start off something that you hope will last forever."

Raven raised an eyebrow. Was the guy who'd been coming to her for relationship advice for over a month now really trying to give her advice about how to keep one up?

"Right," she deadpanned after a second, "because you know soooo much about keeping a happy relationship." And with that, she spun around and strolled out the door, leaving him feeling like a fool in the aftermath of her strong presence.

-O-

"So, Mr. Todd, do tell where our date will be taking place tonight. The suspense is killing me," Raven egged Jason on from outside his bedroom. She was sitting on the ledge of his bar with her long, shapely legs dangling loosely above the clean, wooden floor in attempt to keep her entertained while she waited on the boy to make his big entrance.

Once they began to hang out more, it didn't take her long to realize that Jason was going to be the woman in this relationship. There was never a time he didn't take longer than her to get ready. Funny thing is, his outfits were usually simple and composed of some kind of graphic t-shirt, slim, dark jeans, and a black, leather or bomber jacket. But his hair had to be perfectly parted and each strand in the exact spot he imagined them. His nails had to be trimmed and clean and he moisturized his skin for a minimum of thirty minutes. Raven had thought Speedy was the vainest person in the looks department, but Jason definitely had him beat.

"Your King Charming has arrived," a voice finally replied to her. She had been slowly beginning to feel as if she was talking to herself the longer he went without replying.

"It's about—" she started but was quickly choked up by the sight of her temptation-oozing boyfriend. He was leaning on the frame of his bedroom door with his signature smirk that stimulated all of her erogenous zones from the hairs on the back of her neck to the tender skin behind her ear and all of the other obvious places. He was dressed from head to toe in a sleeveless, black, cotton shirt, skinny, black slacks, a sleek, red blazer, and all black, high top Vans. There was a gold, linked chain wrapped loosely around his neck. The gold shimmer of the necklace brought out the charming sparkle in his eyes. In Raven's opinion, he might not have been the most attractive man on the Earth but he was pretty damn close.

"Time," he finished her statement and strolled into the room with his hands stuffed smoothly in his pockets. He stepped over to her as she continued sitting on top of the bar and swiftly but suavely kissed her on the cheek.

Raven took it a step further and grabbed the bottom of his chin and jaw with one hand and pulled his lips back down to her face. But this time, she directed them to her own. Jason looked down at her face with heavy eyes and unsteady breathing before diving into her mouth with a kiss as needy as a baby suckling its mother. Raven kept her fingers pulling his defined jaw to her face until the point where their noses were basically smothering each other. Her fingers slowly crept along the side of his squared jawline until they reached his neck right at the nape of his hairline. She kept her grip there as he deepened the kiss more and more, their lips consistently switching top and bottom directions in each other's mouths. One second he was taking control of her bottom lip, the next moment she was devouring his.

Things were rising and getting hot and Raven couldn't blame them. Jason had his arm wrapped greedily around one side of her waist while her leg was hitched up around his. Jason felt his skin warming up and his sexual senses tingling. The dominant man in him wanted to gently take her by her waist and guide her perfect body down onto the surface of the bar and make love to her till her legs didn't allow her to walk and her breathing didn't allow her to talk; till even her mind couldn't form one coherent thought. The short, red, satin slip dress she was wearing seductively clung to all her curves in all the right places and would allow for easy access. But he realized that he had something more special planned for her on their date. It wasn't time for things to get frisky just yet.

So, as much as he hated to do it, he separated his swollen lips from hers and dropped his hands from her small waist. Raven's fingers immediately went back to the side of his face and she used them to keep his winded breath as close to hers as possible. His skin reeked of the two-hundred-dollar moisturizer he used every day to keep his skin clear and flawless, and his breath smelled of minty, herbal toothpaste, but they were both scents she'd grown to love. They both took a second to catch their breath, staring at each other hungrily as they did.

"What's wrong, Jace?" Raven softly whispered the nickname she'd given to him as she attempted to stare into his eyes, but he wouldn't look up from the wooden floor.

"Nothing," he murmured, waving her worrying off. Then, he sighed and admitted, still looking down at the ground. "It's Valentine's Day. I don't want you to think I'm just trying to get in your pants. I have another surprise for you."

Raven finally let her fingers fall from his skin. "I know you're not just trying to get in my pants. If that was the case, you probably would've been charmed me, humped me, then dumped me like you did all the women before me." Then, she grabbed his hand that was hanging stiffly by his side. "I know you feel differently about me."

Jason smiled a genuine, hundred-watt smile before twirling a few strands of her shoulder-length hair between his fingers. Raven looked up at him and his spellbinding eyes met her baby doe ones. He was staring at her with that intense gaze he'd given her frequently ever since they first met. Raven had gotten used to them over the last several weeks, but she still couldn't understand why he did it. However, when her eyes met his just then, a whirlwind of emotions rushed over her. They were so strong she couldn't even begin to individualize them and feel exactly what each was. There was one thing she did know though, and that was that every single one of them was coming from Jason.

She observed his good-looking face once more and realized that a small part of his left jaw was a little redder and a little more bruised than the rest of his face. "Azar, what happened to your face? Did someone hit you?"

Jason immediately grabbed his cheek, the look in his eyes almost seeming as if he'd forgotten something. 'Yeah, you,' he thought cynically to himself then stumbled out loud, "Uh…drumming accident. I was practicing and the stick slipped out of my hand and whacked me in the jaw but I'm okay. I almost forgot it happened."

Raven eyed him with uncertainty but let it go. He had yet to give her a reason not to trust him, so why would she stop now. "After all this time, you're still something else."

Jason snickered softly, then expressed with all honesty, "You're my best friend, Raven," he paused. "You might even be my only friend, and all I want in this life is to see you happy."

Raven beamed a tiny grin. Then, she felt the tug of her fingers and realized he was squeezing her hand for dear life. "I know, Jason. And if there's anyone in this world that can make me happy, it's you."

-O-

A/N: For some reason that felt like pure fluff haha. This was the last chapter I finished before my writer's block, but I'm almost finished with chapter 8. Hopefully, I can get it up tomorrow or Thursday! I'm going to try to make the writing even better :) If their relationship seems a little rushed, it's because I intend for the story to focus on their relationship after they've been together for a while. Anyway, thank you guys so much for all of the favoriting and story alerts. It means the world!

Cole: Yeah, I know it's odd but I wanted you guys to suspend your disbelief haha. And the only other girl she lives with is Starfire, who's a Tameranean and who knows if they have periods lol. And, yes, they're 19. Jason just started early! Thank you for your reviews! They're highly appreciated :)

Ariazu Covenant: Thanks for your comment! I haven't read any Jason comics; in fact, I've only seen the Under the Red Hood movie but I'm trying my best to keep his character consistent to what I see around the fanfic community and what I saw in the movie. His past is going to come up soon!

Mary: Thanks :) I hope this chapter was decent…xoxo