A/N: An update? Finally? I'm being prolific lately. ALSO in case you're wondering about the Demonbirds x GA art that I posted on my tumblr, it is not supposed to be related to this story, I just...really like this AU okay? If I continue that it will be completely independent of this fic.
Disclaimer: Just sayin' I don't own them.
Enjoy friends!
Those words slipped out of his mouth even before they registered in his mind.
'Why have you been ignoring me?'
What an absurd thing to ask. Who knew she was even ignoring him? Even though he was a master at reading people, he always knew, from the moment he met her, that she was as readable as a rock. For an empath, she was a master at not letting other people empathize with her.
That day baffled him, the day when he first met her in the Titan's practice arena. He could see the excitement and curiosity in Beast Boy's eyes, the hesitance of Jaime...but Raven, all he saw was black. He saw nothing. How could she do that?
Even so, slowly but surely, she let him see little bits and pieces of herself, allowing him to dismantle her feelings one by one. It was then, only then, when he first saw her pain, her suffering, that he figured that they weren't so different at all. In fact, she was so much like him at times it was even scary. Trying too hard to act strong, defiant, and push away feelings whenever he wanted to...Raven was the same way…
...which led him back to the present moment. Which he was almost absolutely positive, that she was doing that now.
His words seemed to hit her like the immobilizing taser he had in his utility belt — but he was sure he didn't use it on her, not while they were in school, in public. Her mouth hung slightly open as he watched thoughts, possible replies he assumed, dash across her eyes. She wasn't looking at him either. She appeared to be looking blankly at something past him. She did that a lot when she contemplated things.
It seemed like an hour, but finally she shut her jaw, cocked her head, and met his eyes. "I haven't been ignoring you, I've merely been trying to give us space."
Her expression was deadpan, her voice an awkward monotone.
"Space?" He replied, sounding a little too curt for his liking. "What space?"
She sighed and bit her lip this time. Her eyes left his as she furrowed her eyebrows. "You know…" her words trailed off, but he could sense a tremble in them. She couldn't stay deadpan for much longer. He knew her. Putting her on the spot was one thing she hated the most. He knew she knew that he knew this about her, and while normally she would roll her eyes and teleport away, she did neither. One of them was obvious as to why she didn't, because they were in school, and no one besides him knew she was Raven of the Teen Titans. Cornering her was so easy sometimes.
He chuckled a bit, shaking his head. "No, Raven, I don't know."
This time her eyes pierced him. "First of all, don't call me that," she grunted through gritted teeth. "You're lucky I can sense that there's no one near us." She scoffed. "Idiot."
There was the sarcastic Raven he knew again.
"Mindless slip, my bad." He cleared his throat. "No, Rachel, I don't know."
She rolled her eyes. Yes, there she was, indeed.
She sighed, pursed her lips, and darted her eyes to something, anything, but him. "You're so dull sometimes, Damian." She shook her head, and he swore he saw a blush flare across her cheeks. "People have been talking."
"Yeah, people do that. They talk," he replied slowly.
She clicked her tongue, and shot a heated glance at him before averting her eyes away once again.
He shrugged. If she was playing the difficult game, why couldn't he play it, too?
"Ha ha smart ass. I wasn't done," she countered. Her arms crossed over her chest. "Students at Gotham Academy have been talking about us. They think…" she shook her head again and cleared her throat, "they think…" her eyes rolled slowly up to meet his, "that we're dating."
He shrugged again, and Raven's eyes widened at the simple gesture. "But we're not."
She flinched.
"Even so, what does it matter what they believe? If they think we're dating then let them believe that, we have nothing to prove, or disapprove, to them," he added.
She still looked stunned. He felt his cheeks grow hot just by observing her facial expression.. Looking away, he scratched the back of his neck.
He heard Raven inhale slowly then pause. She was probably trying to find the right words to counter his bluntness. "Do you remember what conditions we were to have on this mission, Damian?"
He sighed. She was right.
"Yes, I do."
"Then you know we've broken almost all of them by now." She scoffed. Deadpan Raven was making her comeback. He wondered if her blush disappeared, too. "It looks suspicious, especially to that super villain we're, you know, trying to catch."
"I trust you, it's not that big of a deal that we're friends at the Academy."
"Two new kids arriving at almost the same time and then hit it off to an immediate friendship, as if they already knew each other. That doesn't sound threatening to you? Use your brain, bird boy." Her whispers were like sandpaper. Even though she spoke softly, her words were loud and abrasive. However, there was some truth to her words, but even so...
"...Okay...but what difference does it make that we're dating or not?" He replied, and met her eyes once again. To his surprise, she was still blushing.
"I don't know Damian," she mused as she shrugged. "All I know is that the closer we get, the more suspicious it's going to be to whoever we're trying to catch."
He scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "So...you're saying that we should start ignoring each other like you've been ignoring me?"
She pierced him with her stare once again.
"I'm saying...that we should just be cautious about the amount of time we spend together at the Academy," she gritted as her voice was growing more and more strained.
"And agreeing to study together during lunch aligns with this plan of yours?"
She looked taken aback...embarrassed almost.
"You know what Damian? Never mind," she growled.
Hastily, she whipped around to scramble together all her belongings, even though her calculus homework wasn't even complete. He couldn't see her face but he could sense her discomfort. Raven was only reactive when she was uncomfortable and under pressure. Her curt replies only supported this. This led him to only one conclusion: something about the topic about them dating made her uncomfortable.
"...so freaking difficult…" he heard her mumble under her breath.
"Raven…" he sighed.
Her head whipped around. "Again!" She hissed. "Your Freudian slips today."
"Ray….chel," he continued.
She was also right about that. He never ever slipped this much.
"Seriously, I assure you, that there is no harm in our friendship."
"Dating and friendship are two different things." She zipped her bag loudly, looking up to him once her belongings were stuffed into her bag. "We spend a lot of time together. I wore your sweater with your name on it. You are not a nobody like me. You are Damian freaking Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne. Every girl, teacher, and breathing thing in this school knows your name. If you were to suddenly get a girlfriend...poof!... you'll be all over the Academy newspapers." She scoffed. He hadn't seen Raven this heated for a while. "We are supposed to be undercover, and yet we're attracting more attention than if we were just to bust into the Academy in our uniforms and find this villain like that."
Her arms were thrashing in a haphazard manner, in a pretty, graceful Raven-ish way.
"You are SO dull sometimes."
He followed her, as he packed all his books into her bag. She was already heading towards the door. "Okay maybe you're right. But even so, if we start acting distant, people will still talk."
"Yeah, people do that. They talk," she countered with a smirk in her voice.
He rolled his eyes.
"Excuse me, they'll gossip," he corrected.
She sighed. "Better than being plastered on the front page of the newspaper, if you ask me."
The bell screeched, and although he was never startled, he felt like someone turned the light on, a light too bright for his liking. And he was enjoying the dark. Something about talking with Raven made him forget where he was, and he couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing.
"We can continue this later. Let's go."
As he trailed behind her quick steps, he furrowed his eyebrows and watched as she hurriedly scurried before him. She usually walked beside him, teasing him about some odd phrase he said during English. Raven was the difficult one. All this time they spent uselessly arguing, but she didn't even answer the main question he was asking. Sure, she made an excuse as to why she was ignoring him, but solely at the Academy. She very well got his hint, Raven was keen. But why did she give this stupid excuse? It wasn't just at the Academy where she was ignoring him…
...it was at Wayne manor, too. In the private of his home. And her excuse wouldn't fly there, so why would she make it?
One way or the other, there was one thing he knew for certain: Raven was never going to get away with a flimsy excuse like that.
A/N: I'm too tired to write/edit more so forgive me if it's messy.
