Chapter Nine: Resolutions
Things were tense the following morning. Terra had told Beast Boy and Cyborg about the past Wally and Raven shared the night before, and both boys were slightly reserved towards Wally because of it. Everyone had woken up and come to the kitchen to have breakfast. The meal was quiet and eaten quickly before each person departed to go their own way for their morning tasks. Everyone had been seen that morning, everyone; except Robin and Raven.
Robin had spent much of the night thinking about the Wally-Raven situation, deciding that he wasn't pleased with things. He decided that he would spend as much time near Raven as he could, in efforts to keep the two of them apart so Wally couldn't hurt her again. It had nearly broken his heart to see her cry. He also wanted to prevent them from getting back together. He was trying to convince himself that the only reason was so that she wouldn't move back to Gotham to be with him. He was trying to ignore his feelings on the matter entirely.
Raven spent the night in a deep slumber until a few hours before sunrise when she began having tormenting dreams. Once she woke up and showered, she felt refreshed and powerful. She decided that instead of hiding from Wally, she would confront him head on. She had done nothing wrong in her eyes. He was the one who didn't understand why she had needed to hide her identity from him. He was the one who had ended their relationship. He was the one who had shown up with no warning to torment her. She was not going to let him intimidate her.
She had been dressing very "Morrigana-like" since she had returned. Wally had left her for who she was. It was time she showed him the "Raven side". She pulled clothes from her closet that more resembled the "Raven side" and began to dress. She pulled on a black satin thong that was delicately decorated with black lace. Then she fastened on a black satin bra that had black lace on the cups that was meant more for show than utility. They were her secret weapons. Back before she had left the team, she had worn black satin thongs and sexy bras with lace everyday. They made her feel sexy and powerful. They brought her confidence up to extreme levels. When you are facing an enemy who could easily take your life, you need to be as confident and feel as powerful as you possibly can. She thought that these powerful under-garments could help her as she dealt with Wally. Over the under-garments she pulled on a pair of tight black jeans and a tight black long-sleeved shirt that had the Japanese Kanji character for "Faith" on the front of it in white. She pulled on a pair of white socks, followed by her black boots. She decided to leave her hair down for the day instead of wearing it partially up or back like she had been. She dusted on a pale grey eye shadow with some light-coral colored lip stain before heading downstairs.
Robin had gotten dressed and ready and was coming out of his room just as Raven was walking past his door, causing her to nearly bump into him as she past. He grabbed her around the waist to make sure she didn't fall as he apologized for coming out as quickly as he did. He didn't let go of her right away though. It took him a moment or two to realize that he still had her waist firmly in his grasp. He blushed and apologized again as he let go. She merely smiled and walked off into the kitchen to get some tea.
Robin followed close behind her, surveying the living room as he past. Tara and Garfield were sitting on the couch watching television. Wally was standing at the window, not seeming to be looking out of it. Victor and Kori were no where to be found though. Robin walked past Raven to get a glass to get some orange juice with. He kept his eye on her closely as he did so. He took the time to take note of her attire for the day, and found it rather odd that she was suddenly dressing dark again. He lightly chuckled to himself as her took in her appearance, even in the darker clothing style that she had worn before she left she still appeared just as girlish and beautiful as she did in all the other clothes he had seen her in since she returned.
Raven was standing around drinking a cup of tea as she let her eyes hover over Wally. She couldn't quite decide what she should do about the situation. It was a few moments before she noticed the Boy Wonder's eyes resting on her form. When she realized she was being watched, she glanced over in Robin's direction only to watch him jump back and blush profusely as he tried to look anywhere except her direction. She stepped back into the kitchen and walked over to him. She was feeling rather powerful and thought that just maybe she could persuade the Boy Wonder to give off a clue as to his behavior around her since her return.
She walked over and stood directly in front of him, leaning right up against him in efforts to grab a bowl from the cabinet behind his head. She kept her face calm and her body language deceiving. Robin tensed up immediately as she came near him. As soon as her body was nearly right against his own, he drew in a breath which he held. Raven took note of his nerves and attempted to analyze them, however the Boy Wonder had placed a shield over his thoughts as soon as she had come near him. She hated his protectiveness; it would've been much simpler if she could've only read his mind from time to time. She took the bowl over to the other side of the kitchen to prepare a quick bowl of cereal for herself. Robin regained his composure and cleared his throat as he came up behind her.
"Raven?" He asked from behind her, a light hoarseness to his voice.
"Yes Robin?" She replied without looking away from her cereal.
He frowned and came up closer behind her, bringing his face close to her head.
"Please don't call me that, you have my real name now. I prefer it be used." He said into her hair just near her left ear.
Raven smiled gently and turned to face him. Their bodies were nothing more than a foot away from each other. She looked deeply into his unmasked eyes, noticing that he seemed braver now than he had a few moments beforehand.
"Yes Richard?" She asked with a sly smile on her lips.
Richard was taken aback and left breathless, it was the first time that he had heard his name come from her lips and the sound of it was echoing through his head. He loved the way it sounded, and he couldn't wait to hear it again. His began to process again when he realized she was still standing patiently in front of him waiting for him to speak.
"Uh…" He cleared his throat and snapped himself back together. He glanced out of the small window that connected the kitchen to the living room and his eyes settled on Wally who was still looking out at the bay from their windows. "Raven, why do you think Wally is here?"
Her body tensed, she hadn't expected that to be his question, she wasn't certain what it was going to be about, but she hadn't expected Wally to be the topic.
"I'm not certain truthfully, perhaps he wants his ring back, or maybe he wants me to apologize for something that isn't quite my fault. I really couldn't predict what his purpose is here." She replied with a deep sigh as she turned back around to her now empty bowl of cereal. She walked past Richard to take her bowl to the sink for rinsing.
Richard watched her as she rinsed off her bowl, clearly lost in thought.
"What if he wants you to come back to him?" Richard bravely asked her, afraid of what the answer may be.
"I highly doubt that is the case" Raven replied with a bitter laugh.
"But if it is," Richard began as he came up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her. "Would you go back to Gotham with him?"
Raven turned herself around to look at the Boy Wonder's face. She glanced deep into his ocean blue eyes and saw worry and sorrow creeping up into them. He didn't want her to leave again, that much was obvious to her. How much had he put himself through while she was away? Was she the reason he seemed so worn and ragged?
She leaned up and kissed his cheek and then whispered into his ear; "I wont leave you all again, not by my own power anyway."
She pulled away from his body and smiled at him. He smiled back, seemingly eased by what she had said.
"Friends! Let us depart to the mall of the shopping where we might see a movie!" Kori's voice could be heard in the living room.
Richard and Raven walked out of the kitchen to see everyone assembled around Kori talking about which movie they should see. The team greeted the birds and in a matter of minutes, it was decided they would all go to see a movie.
Everyone loaded into the elevator and rode down to the garage. Victor, Garfield, Richard and Wally all loaded into the newly repaired T-Car while Tara, Kori elected to ride with Raven in her Toyota. Things in the T-Car were mostly silent on the way to the mall, whereas the girls were chatting lightly about Wally and why he might be in Jump City. They arrived at the mall and parked the vehicles. Everyone got out of the cars and began to make their way to the theater. Richard walked just behind Raven, who was walking next to Wally.
Wally had chosen to walk near her in hopes of talking with her, Raven on the other hand wasn't moving away from him in efforts of showing him no fear. They got inside the theater and tickets were bought. Raven, Tara, and Kori went to save seats while the boys got snacks from the concession stand. Before long, they boys had arrived in the theater and handed out their edible treasures as they took their seats. Garfield sat on the far end, Tara to his left. Kori sat in between Tara and Victor. Raven sat on Victor's left with Richard to her right and Wally had settled to the left of Richard. Wally had hoped to sit next to Raven, but once she had chosen her seat next to Victor, Richard had rushed forward to sit next to her. He was working overtime trying to keep them apart.
The rest of the evening continued without a hitch. The movie ended and the team chose to venture to a nearby pizza parlor for dinner. After dinner they all went back to the tower and everyone wandered off to their own areas. Garfield and Victor sat on the couch playing the Gamestation, Tara and Kori on the couch behind them talking about some of the outfits they had spotted in various store windows at the mall. Wally sat off to the end of the couch watching the boys play. Raven had retreated to her bedroom to read and Richard felt it would be safe for him to retreat to his room as well.
Time past and the team eventually all retreated to their rooms for bed, all except Wally. Wally remained on the couch, deep in thought over his disappointment of how they day had gone. He was seeing that Richard was going to be a bit of a problem in his plans to get Raven back, and that just wasn't acceptable.
Richard had spent so much of the day keeping Raven and Wally apart that he had worn himself out. After listening intently to make certain she didn't leave her room with the risk of running into Wally, he finally fell asleep on his bed. He didn't hear her get off her bed, open her bedroom door and walk down the hall to the kitchen.
Raven had noticed that Richard was attempting to protect her. She didn't feel he needed to, but she did appreciate it. She had used her powers to feel around the tower and sense everyone in a slumbering state. She knew Wally was still awake, and sitting on the couch. She could feel his emotions, and hear his mind calling out to her. She strolled right out into the living area and stood a few feet behind the couch behind him.
"Why are you here Wally?" Her cold voice broke through the silence of the room, startling him out of his thoughts, he hadn't noticed her approach.
He turned to look at her.
"You startled me; I didn't hear you come in." He said with a mild chuckle, avoiding her question.
"Just answer the question, none of your games tonight." She replied coldly.
He stood up and walked around the couch, attempting to come nearer to her. She backed herself up keeping a minimum of five feet between them. He noticed this and stopped walking, staying planted in his steps.
"I want you back Ana. I was a fool and I want you back in my life." He replied looking deep into her cold eyes, hoping to find a glimpse of compassion or sympathy. Instead he watched as her eyes hardened.
"So, you want Ana back but you came after a Raven instead. Too bad Wally, I guess you made your trip for nothing." She said bitterly. "It was helpful for me however, now I don't have to mail your ring back to you."
She walked up to him, taking the band off her finger as she drew nearer. She reached down to take a hold of his right hand and placed the ring in its confides. She ignored the shock and depression on his face and she turned to walk back to her own bedroom.
"Good night Walter." She said as she continued on, forcing herself not to allow the tears welling up in her eyes to run down her cheeks.
Wally sat in silence for many hours that night, eventually retreating to his guestroom. He thought over everything that had happened since he had learned of who she was. He relived the conversation that had taken place downstairs in the living room multiple times.
Before sleep came to him, he made the decision that he wasn't going to give up. It was obvious to him that she was simply still upset. She would come to accept things in time.