Chapter 21
Wayne Manor, Gotham City. January 17th, 2018. 7:29 AM.
As the faintest beams of sunlight broke through her window, Raven's eyelashes fluttered for a moment as she gradually stirred awake. The second she was alert enough to notice, a loving smile settled on her face as she felt Damian in her arms, still fast asleep with his face nestled into the crook of her neck. Careful not to wake him, Raven pulled the boy in closer, gently holding him against her. In his sleep, Damian slipped his arms around her waist and let out a sigh, making Raven blush just enough to notice. Briefly, there in the quiet of the morning, everything was perfect…
Unfortunately, Raven knew full well that the sun wouldn't be out yet if the two of them had woken up on time. They must have slept in at least an hour by now. For a long time, Raven tried to decide whether or not she would wake him up and get started on their day, or close her eyes and go back to sleep… or maybe she would just lay here and drink in this perfect moment. After silent deliberation, she decided on the latter… but she elected that she should at the very least give Damian the opportunity to enjoy it with her. Slowly, Raven shifted Damian's head up onto his pillow and began to gently kiss his cheek. As she continued pressing her lips into his face, Damian's eyes slowly crept open, and as his vision came into focus, his pale blue eyes looked up to see the beautiful opaque-skinned mage looking down lovingly at him, her long black hair hanging messily down over her shoulder. He smiled as he felt her arms around him, and he took a deep breath, the smell of her hair awakening his senses and filling him with vitality as he pulled her closer, holding his face up to her chest. His cheeks turned red as he felt her slow heart beat begin to speed up.
"Morning, baby," Raven whispered, holding his head to her chest as her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red.
"Baby?" Damian's smile shifted from content to sly as he cocked an eyebrow. "That's a new one. I think I like it." Raven shook her head and let out a soft laugh in her throat as Damian began to cover her chest in kisses.
Still laughing quietly, Raven rolled Damian onto his back and climbed on top of him, holding herself up on her arms as she looked down at him adoringly. "You're a dork."
"See, that one I recognize," Damian croaked, his voice still waking up. "So what's the deal? I see we already overslept, we gonna get going?"
"Actually…" the ebony-haired girl started absently playing with Damian's hair as she spoke. "I was thinking we could stay in a while longer. Enjoy the quiet, talk for a little bit… just take in the morning. What do you think?"
Damian bent forward, applying another kiss to Raven's shoulder. "That's the best idea I've heard all day." Raven smirked at Damian's joke, lowering herself down completely onto him and sliding her arms around his neck as she brought their lips together for a moment, a series of small purple sparks flashing around them as they kissed. Damian pulled himself up to a seated position and resting his hands on Raven's hips as she sat up in his lap, her legs coming down on either side of him with her arms draped over his shoulders.
"So I have something I've been wondering…" Damian looked into Raven's eyes curiously. "You said It's a Wonderful Life is one of your favorite movies. Are you partial to old black-and-white movies, or do you just love that one in particular because it's a good movie?"
"I do like older movies, yeah." Raven's head bobbed about slightly as she thought through her response. "But not necessarily the black-and-white ones. My favorite movie is The Breakfast Club."
"I actually don't know if I've seen that one before," Damian replied.
"We'll have to watch it when we get back to the Tower," Raven mused. "I think you'll like it."
"Why wait until we get back?" Damian asked. "There's a great home theatre here in the Manor, and I'm sure Father has a copy of it somewhere around here."
"Well if we ever get another moment to ourselves, let's do it," Raven laughed, and Damian smiled as he looked down to take note of her sleepwear.
Raven, not realizing what Damian was doing when his eyes ran down her body, found herself growing flustered. "D… Damian, what are you looking at?"
"Y'know, I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this before, but lighter colors really suit you…" Damian trailed off as he looked up to see the confusion on Raven's face, and it took him a second to realize what she was thinking. "Oh! Oh no, no no no no no, I wasn't looking at your, ah, no."
"No, no, it's fine!" Raven looked away, her face turning a bright ruby red. "I just, y'know, didn't realize what you were… yeah…" The two of them laughed awkwardly as Raven slipped down from Damian's lap to his side, and Damian's eyes looked down at the foot of the bed, his own cheeks blushing profusely.
"… y'know, all things considered, it's a little ridiculous that we still get embarrassed over stuff like that." Raven turned back to Damian, a smirk forming on her face. "I mean… if you really think about it."
"Hmm… well, we DID technically just sleep together…" Damian contemplated. "Not in the colloquial sense of the term, but in the literal sense…"
"Right?" The purple-eyed girl chirped. "We're clearly attracted to one another, why should we get so shy about pointing it out?"
Damian and Raven stared at each other for a moment, their faces gradually growing redder and redder.
"… Yeah, I'm too nervous." Damian said bluntly.
"Yup, me too." Raven replied before grabbing her pillow and burying her face in it. Damian couldn't help but laugh a little.
"I don't get it!" Damian joked. "We've already declared our undying love for one another, why is it so hard to be like 'gee Raven, you've got a really cute butt' or whatever!"
"I know! It really shouldn't be that… Wait," Raven paused as she realized the words that just came out of Damian's mouth. "I have a cute what?"
Damian's eyes widened as he froze. "Umm…" all at once, Damian began to crawl out from under the covers. "Well, we sure are running late, we should probably–"
Raven threw her arms around the boy to keep him from getting up, failing to stifle her laughter. "No, no, It's okay Damian! C'mere, that was really sweet!" the young witch-girl cooed as she pulled her Damian back onto the bed.
"I didn't say anything…" Damian let out a groan of sheer embarrassment as Raven pulled him back into her arms. He buried his face in her neck, practically steaming.
"Noooo, it was so sweet! C'mon, don't be embarrassed, it was cute!" Raven giggled as she rocked the young Wayne back and forth. In her fit of laughter, she had gotten past her initial nervousness, and found what Damian said to be incredibly endearing. Of course she knew he loved her, and nothing in the entire world felt better than that, but to receive confirmation of his physical attraction to her was just elating.
Suddenly, an impish grin spread across Raven's face. "Oh, I know what I'm gonna do now…" she teased as she moved a hand to Damian's chest.
"… no," Damian stammered in horror as he realized what she was scheming. "No no no, Raven, don't you do it, I'm serious–"
The two of them started glowing with the familiar purple light as Raven reached into Damian's heart, peeking into his thoughts.
"Aww, Damian!" Raven gushed to her Damian. "You only came with Jon to watch the movie to see me!" She kept digging, searching specifically for thoughts regarding her.
"Raven, I'm serious, I need you to stop–"
"You actually thought I cast a spell on you to make your heart pound around me? Oh my god, you were so clueless!"
"Raven, there is stuff in there that you don't–"
"Wait, you started being more polite to Mr. Pennyworth because of me? Damian, what sense does that make?"
"Raven, please, you're gonna–"
"Ooh, something from last night? What do we have here…"
"Raven, please!"
Raven quickly jerked her hand back, the aura around them dissipating almost instantly. Her mouth hung open in surprise, her eyes wide and locked onto Damian. The two of them remained silent for a few seconds.
"… show it to me."
Damian was completely stunned. For a moment, he couldn't move; he thought that it was all coming to an end. But despite every ounce of him screaming out for him to beg her to forget that she saw, Damian could never deny Raven anything. Slowly, Damian reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small black box. Unable to look her in the eyes, Damian stared down at it as he slowly pulled it open.
Inside the box was a diamond ring.
"… This was the ring my grandfather Thomas gave to my grandmother Martha when he proposed to her…" Damian's voice was low and shaky. "My father has been holding onto it since they died, waiting for someone to pass it on to. And last night…" He swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. "… last night, he passed it on to me… so that someday I could give it to you."
Raven stared down at the ring, then looked back up at the boy. "Damian…" She slowly brought a hand over her heart. "Damian, I…"
"It was never supposed to be this soon, Raven…" Damian kept his eyes down at the heirloom in his hand. "I'm not asking you to take this now… I'm sorry it came out like this."
"Damian, please look at me."
Damian slowly raised his head, revealing the tears forming in his eyes.
"… Someday. I don't know when, but someday down the line… yes. Until then, take good care of this ring, Damian."
Damian smiled weakly back at his Raven as the tears began to stream down his face, snapping the box shut. "I will… I promise."
Tears began to well up in Raven's eyes as well, and she moved in close to her Damian, holding her forehead gently against his as she brought her hands together over the box. As the stress between them built up, Raven's shadow began to spread through the whole room, even dimming the light coming through the window. But as they sat together, focusing on one another's essence, the shadow retreated back to its original state.
"… Hey, Damian?" Raven whispered.
"Yes, Raven?"
"Can… can I look for one more thing?"
Damian smiled, thumping on his chest as he looked into Raven's eyes. "Go ahead. No more secrets, it's yours anyway."
Raven cheeks bore a twinge of red as she leaned forward and kissed him, the sunlight coming in from the window adopting a purple hue for a moment. As Raven pulled back and the light returned to normal, she gently placed a hand on Damian's chest, her hand emanating an amethystine glow as she reached back into Damian's heart.
"I just have to know… of all your memories, which one stuck with you the most…?"
Damian knew the answer to that immediately. As he thought back on it, the moment played itself in both of their minds…
"I guess neither of our lives are very funny…"
Raven lifted her head slightly as she recognized her own voice.
"But I'll tell you something about yourself that not even you know… You may be insufferable, but in your heart… You are a kind and generous soul."
Raven looked back at her Damian, who met her gaze with those icy blue eyes of his. She hadn't realized how… impactful her words had been.
"Why…"
Damian sighed as he took her hand. "Because until that point, all I ever was to anybody was either Ra's al Ghul's grandson, Bruce Wayne's son, or Robin. Father tried to establish some kind of personal connection, but it just wouldn't happen. I was so devalued that I sort of… well, I didn't think of myself as a person anymore. There was no value to my being Damian. That mentality stuck with me for thirteen years, and then… you happened. You were the first person to ever tell Damian – not the al Ghul, not the Wayne, not the Boy Wonder, but DAMIAN – that he had value. That he was someone… That he meant something."
Raven fell quiet for a few seconds. She then took his hand in both of hers, and looked into his eyes, all the way through to his soul.
"You don't just mean something, Damian." Raven's voice echoed throughout Damian's mind. "To me, you mean everything."
Damian stared back into Raven's eyes, noticing the light shining through the rolling clouds in her irises, and smiled. He pulled her closer, and the two of them laid back in the bed, closing their eyes.
"… So you think it's cute, hmm?"
"… Yeah, it's cute."
The Batcave, Gotham City. January 17th, 2018. 12:23 PM.
Damian and Raven walked quietly into the Cave, dressed in their full uniforms, trying their best not to attract any unwanted attention. They were supposed to have shown up six hours ago (which is bizarre, because usually the both of them are wide awake by 5 AM), and when it comes to Bruce Wayne, anything less than absolute punctuality is unacceptable. Damian specifically recalled one evening being late to training because he had to wash Titus. Bruce made him go on patrol armed with nothing but a fork. Literally just a fork. From the kitchen. But from the looks of it, the Cave was empty, so if they could just get across the Cave to the Batcomputer and figure out their assignments…
From seemingly out of thin air, a grand silhouette dropped to the ground in front of them. Raven called out for a split second in surprise, and Damian groaned loudly as the figure rose to his feet, his scalloped cape billowing behind him.
"Six hours," the Batman growled through his teeth. "You two had best have a good reason for being this late."
"Actually we do, sir…" Raven mumbled, her eyes to the floor. "… I know I wasn't supposed to know about it, but… I found the ring this morning, and I had to talk to Damian about it."
"Not for six hours, you didn't," the older caped figure crossed his arms and scowled at the two Titans. "Fortunately, I've used those six hours to arrange your make-up training."
"Make-up training…?" The mage girl asked nervously, keeping her eyes down out of nervousness.
"That's right," Batman said, nodding back towards the combat ring. "Ring. Both of you. Now."
"Father, please," Damian pleaded. "It's not Raven's fault we were late, it was–"
Bruce leaned in, mere inches from Damian's face. "Last I checked, it takes two people to sleep together."
Damian's eyes widened as his brow furrowed. "Why, you sick hypocritical son of a–"
Raven took Damian's arm, encouraging him to calm down. "Damian, arguing isn't going to help us here. Let's just do what he says." Damian's gradually regained his composure, and the two teenagers walked into the training ring.
"Here's what's about to happen," the Batman began. "You two are going to spar. No weapons, no powers. Just hand-to-hand combat. First one to fall out of the ring, lose consciousness, or be rendered unable to continue loses."
"Okay, but what's the catch?" Damian crossed his arms and looked down at his father skeptically. "I know you. You're not just throwing us against each other and that be the end of it. What's your game?"
"I'm glad you picked up on that," Bruce said, snapping his fingers. A loud cacophony of mechanical sounds reverberated throughout the Cave as the hatch to the Batmobile's standby chamber opened up. But instead of a car rising up out of the hole, out flew, of all people, Jon.
… Only, Jon certainly didn't look like himself. Around his head was some kind of metal band or apparatus, and he wore some king of high-tech gloves. But more confusing than his accessories was his demeanor; fists clenched, chest out, brow furrowed, head low, eyes glowing… this didn't look like Jon. This looked like a murderer.
Damian clenched his fists at the sight of his friend in this condition. He turned to Bruce, bearing down on him with a glare that would reduce a lesser man to a weeping infant. "What in God's name have you done…?"
"Calm yourself, Damian," Bruce replied nonchalantly. "The neural band around his head allows me to adjust his level of aggressiveness and to designate his target. The gloves are there to monitor his strength and speed. The rest is just the effects of dialing up his aggression."
"So what," Raven barked, struggling to contain her anger. "The loser has to fight Jon or something?"
"That'd be too easy. Neither of you would want to fight, and then we'd be getting nowhere. No…" Batman stepped back away from the ring. "… the winner has to fight Jon. I'll allow the use of your powers if you win, Raven. And if you win, Damian, we'll be testing the armor."
Raven turned to Damian, confused. "What armor? What's he talking about?"
"It's an armored version of the Red X suit crafted from some of the strongest metals in the galaxy, forged in the sun by Superman, equipped with the same caliber of on-board computer systems that keep Cyborg running. It was designed to allow me to confront situations and forces beyond the limits of a normal human. However, extended use of the suit will drain my metabolism, and if I remain in the suit for too long, I'll die." Damian was disgusted by the idea of relying on it, but there was no apparent alternative. "Father has one of his own, calls it the 'Hellbat' armor." The Titan grit his teeth as he spoke. "I call mine an unnecessary risk."
"Yeah, that's NOT happening," Raven shouted, the whole Cave growing darker and darker as her anger swelled. "That thing could kill him. I'm not going to stand by and let you force my closest friend to risk getting himself killed, and YOU shouldn't even be considering doing something that cruel to your own son!"
"If you don't want him using the armor, then take him down." Bruce glared up at the witch-girl. "Your fight starts now."
"No! No it does NOT 'start now'! We aren't doing this, you understand!? We are not–"
Before Raven could finish her tirade, Damian rushed forward, scooping her up and gently tossing her, back onto her feet, outside the ring.
"There," Damian grumbled. "I win. Let's get this over with."
Raven blinked for a moment, processing what just happened. "Wait… wait, no. No no no, stop! Stop it, you can't do this!" Raven threw herself at the Batman, who quickly stepped aside and opened the glass display case housing Damian's armor. The younger Wayne reluctantly stepped out of the ring and approached it.
"Mr. Wayne, please! Please, I'm begging you!" Raven fell to her knees, tears forming in her eyes as she cried out for mercy. "Azar's sake, please stop this! Don't make him go out there, please…" the girl bent down, her trembling arms barely managing to hold her up. "Please, don't do this… I… I…"
Bruce let out a long sigh. "… Jon. That's enough, you can drop the act."
On cue, the furious, growling, bloodthirsty son of Superman instantly disappeared, leaving the familiar relaxed Jonathan Kent in his place. Damian let out a sigh of his own, quickly realizing what was going on. Raven, on the other hand, was completely confused.
"W… what the…. what did you do? Why is–"
"Raven. Damian." Jon spoke calmly but sternly, a concerned look upon his face. "Do you understand why we set this all up?"
"I understand," Red X nodded humbly. He then turned and made his way over to Raven, who was still on her knees, trying to look past her hysteria to understand the situation.
"… I don't get it… why put us through so much stress?"
"What you just experienced was the beginning of a scenario in which you, as participants, have a less than .5% chance of survival," Bruce explained. "Had the two of them actually fought, between the heavy energy consumption required by the armor to hold its own against a Kryptonian, the immense strain that said energy consumption would have put on Damian's body, and the fact that picking a fight with a Kryptonian in general is understood to be an enormous gamble on one's life, Damian's odds of survival were actually less than .1%. Had this been a real fight, I would have had to bury my son again today."
As Raven rose to her feet, she still didn't understand. "What's the significance of that?"
Bruce turned to the black-haired girl, a glum look on his face. "Every single confrontation with the Joker is well beneath a .5% chance of survival. He has no inhibitions, no regard for human life, and seemingly no limit to his resources. Unless you prepare as much as you possibly can, he'll carve you into pieces.
"Look, Raven… I know I can be overbearing at times. But the only reason I push any of you as hard as I do is because I want you all to be ready. I've lost children before, and I don't want to lose another one ever again. Not if I can prevent it. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Raven paused for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Yes sir… I understand."
"Good…" Bruce slid his cowl off, putting a hand on Damian's shoulder. "You three are done for the day, head back into the house. I need the Cave to myself for tonight."
"Thank you, Father," Damian said calmly, taking Raven's hand and making for the stairway.
"Oh, and Raven! One more thing…" Bruce looked at the mage girl with an expression that spoke of weariness intertwined with satisfaction. "… I hope someday that ring means as much to you as it meant to my mother."
Raven looked back at the older Wayne, looking into his icy blue eyes – the same as Damian's – and smiled. "It already does, Mr. Wayne." Raven turned her head back forward, and she and Damian ascended the stairway into the Manor, with Jon following close behind.
As the three Titans left the Cave, Bruce turned to see Alfred standing off to the side, one eyebrow raised.
"Alfred? How long have you been there?" Bruce blinked deliberately several times out of surprise.
The butler's brow slowly furrowed. "Long enough to watch you break that girl in half, Master Bruce."
Bruce sighed, raising a hand. "Look, I know that was a little extreme–"
"Master Bruce, I'm afraid you aren't fully aware of the situation," Alfred interrupted. "I've spoken with Miss Roth at length regarding her relationship with Master Damian, and the bond that they've developed is much deeper than it appears."
"Alfred, come on," Bruce protested. "I'm letting Damian give her Mom's engagement ring. I just gave them my blessing to get married. That's a lot of room to give a fifteen- and sixteen-year-old. What more do I have to do for them?"
"The may have your blessing, yes. But the circumstances surrounding their relationship are not typical of people their age. The bond they share is forged by trials scarcely imagined, much less endured. Twice now, Master Damian has risked his life to protect her from a threat from another world. And it appears to me that, where you have tried and failed to form a lasting personal connection to the boy, Miss Roth was able to not only succeed, but excel."
"If by 'excel' you mean 'convince him to sleep with her'…"
"Bruce, you and I both know full well that the two of them would never do anything so reckless as… well, knowing one another. Perhaps they have found comfort in being together at night. But that in itself is not an inherently bad thing. As far as either of us can say, those two have done no wrong."
Bruce paused, thinking over his caretaker's words. "… Alfred, I just… I just want my boy to be safe. I didn't mean any harm by anything I did."
Alfred stepped forward, putting a hand on Bruce's shoulder. "Of course not, Master Bruce. It is the same with any parent. You're a father, you're going to worry about your son. But there comes a time when you must allow him to act of his own accord. You must let him face the rewards and consequences of his own actions. Only then will he be able to grow into the man you so desperately want to see him become."
Bruce smiled up at his oldest friend. "Guess you would know all about that, wouldn't you?"
"Master Bruce… you are the prime example of giving a child too much freedom. I never told you no once as a child, and now you dress up as a giant bat every night and go out attacking any criminal you can find. Perhaps if I'd been a bit more firm, you may have chosen a pastime that didn't result in my having to pull bullets out of you every night."
Bruce chuckled as he shuffled over to the Batcomputer while Alfred walked back out to the Manor. "Maybe you're right, old friend… Damian isn't a kid anymore. I have to remember that..."