Author's Note: Ask and ye shall receive. Longer chapters, sorry about the long update... well long for me. I just got distracted, I was building a scale replica of Hong Kong's Central Plaza building, but I suppose you don't care. So about the story.
If you're an extreme feminist and is offended by the connotations of the title of this chapter, then accept my deepest apologies. It was just kind of hard to sum up everything that happens in afew words. And I'm kind of in volleyball season mode so...
But enough about me, on with the show.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or the ROM.
Chapter 13 - Switch It Up and Rotate
Raven stood in the kitchenette wearing nothing but Dick's oversized t-shirt. She was making herself tea and checking her voicemail. As for Dick, she left him face-down, asleep in the bed. She punched in her password and waited for the machine.
"You have 5 unheard messages. First new message," She recognised the voice as soon as it came on, "Rae. Oh my God, I've been trying to reach you for the past half hour. It's about noon here, so it should be about 8 in the morning there," Raven immediately felt relief to hear his voice and guilt at once, "Listen, I'm sorry I wasn't there. You must be so… But, I swear I'll try to make it there as soon as I can. I don't know whatthe implications of the robbery are gunna be overhere yet,so…I might not be back as soon as expected. We're still on for the date right?" Raven smiled sadly, Would you still want to date me after…
"End of message. Next unheard message: Hey, it's me again. Sorry I know I just called but I wanted to tell you that I really hope you're okay. I mean not just physically okay, but emotionally too. That was one heck of an experience and nobody should have to go through it. I just really wish I was there to be with you…. Just… Just remember I'm thinking about you… constantly. I hope I'll see you soon." The pang of guilt she felt turned into a stab.
"End of message. Next unheard message: Okay, I must be getting annoying. Taking up your message space and all but… I just found out that the director wants me to personally check up on security there. So I'll be flying in tomorrow. Bad news is that he won't give us the rest of the exhibit until his own man checks over the security and gives him the go ahead. So just give the heads up to Victor and Jinx, he'll be here in a few days… I'll see you really soon… still thinkin' 'bout you… bye."
She sighed dreamily and listened to the rest of the messages, one from Jinx and another from the museum director of the ROM checking up on her and telling her she doesn't have to come in for the next couple of days if she felt she needed the time. She didn't need the time; she needed to get the memories of last night off her mind. All of last night. She smacked herself in the head when she remembered where she was and what had happened. She rushed into the room and gathered her clothes.
Dick opened an eye and asked, "What's the hurry babe?"
She quickly spun around and glared at him, "Dick I told you never to call me that."
He shrugged, "I don't see that harm. Where you off to anyways?" She hopped on one foot, trying to get pants on.
"I'm going home." He jolted out of bed, wrapping the sheets around him.
"No, you can't, you're not safe." She had gotten all of her stuff in her bags and was headed out the door.
"I'll be the judge of that Dick. Thank you for your... hospitality, but now there's work to be done," she looked down the shirt she was wearing, "I'll wash this then get it back to you." She began to walk out the door when Dick caught her arm in a tight grasp.
"You can't leave. What about last night?"
"Last night was a mistake Dick. You and I both know that. I was not in a state to be making rational decisions. Now I am." His grip tightened and he glared at her. She winced.
"No! You can't leave. You don't leave unless I let you." He practically screamed at her.
"Dick… you're hurting me." He tightened his grip nonetheless and drew her close. False affection in his voice.
"Raven, you're not safe out there. The police said so themselves." She freed herself from him and walked out the door, shutting it in his face behind her.
Kinyago rubbed his neck, it was still sore from the choking he received from his 'partner'. Some partnership, he thought as he walked to the room's wet bar and poured himself a glass of scotch. He looked into the glass, swirling the brown liquid around before taking a swig. His jaw clenched, baring his teeth and his eyes shut at the strength of the drink.
He walked to the leather armchair and sat down, drink in hand. He smiled as he remembered the night before. What a night. He beamed with pride as he thought of how he had toppled security system. Given he had a slight advantage but it was extraordinary. Although it was quite unfortunate about the curator, it was a shame that she had gotten in the way. He didn't really want to mess with her. But now that he had, he was engrossed; he couldn't get her out of his thoughts.
So he immersed himself in memories of the heist itself. The way he had conquered this system was, if he did say so himself, ingenious.
The first thing was disabling the alarm system. The alarm systems for the display cases were disabled by a small disk that interfered with the transmission of the infrared beams. After they found where the well hidden receptors were, creating a device that could disable it without 'tampering' with the system was easy enough. It simply sent out a similar beam into the receptacle that overpowered the previous beam. They of course took the disk as they left.
Getting into the museum was a challenge. They entered the museum through the south, they scaled the old building easily enough due to the fact that it wasn't all that well guarded to begin with. Then they crossed the roof to the new section. They reached the window directly above Crystal Court and popped the glass out of the frames so as to not trigger the smart glass technology implemented. After that, they rappelled down to the ceiling of Crystal Court and used a pulley system that they attached to the third floor balcony overlooking the Court to gracefully glide to the exhibition floor.
After that, finding the control box that connected the video cameras and motion sensors was a piece of cake.
He sighed and leaned back on the chair, crossing his legs and taking sips of his drink. He reached into his pocket to fish out the menat. He found himself playing with it a lot. He dragged the lapis lazuli beads across his fingers, remembering Raven's own dark blue, almost purple, eyes. That and the sweet taste of her shocked lips.
Raven plopped down on her sofa, exhausted. There really wasn't any reason for her to be, she just was. She lay on the couch, snuggling up to a soft suede pillow, pulling the throw that was over the back over her self. She took her foot and propped it up on the back of the sofa, face twisting to all sorts of odd faces for no particular reason.
She could have just as easily reached over to the coffee table, snatched the remote and watched TV. But quite frankly she'd rather not. She let her hand dangle down and touch the floor where she felt something graze at her finger tips. It was a book.A book of sonnets. She vaguely remembered an ex-boyfriend giving it to her. She brought up the book from underneath the couch.
It was a small leather-bound book, the modern kind, made to look aged but not really capturing it. The cover was maroon with gold trimmings; the title was engraved in gold lettering also. 'Of Anguish' it said. She ran her fingers across the letters, blowing the dust off as she went along, and then opened it. A paper butterfly came flying out of it, the kind that Hallmark gave away with their greeting cards. She flinched as it came straight towards her head and dodged it as it continued to the ground behind her. Not bothering to look back she read the poem on the page it opened to.
My Demon
Within the chasms of my wicked mind,
A demon I have candidly awoke.
Beneath the cracks and shadows I did find
A creature I unleashed when e'er I spoke.
He'd snarl and snap at friends and foe alike,
And stand his ground ready for any fight.
He'd bare his teeth, then show his claws and strike,
Then boastingly, he'd roar with all his might.
Despite all my protests, I must confess,
My share of his triumphs I did enjoy.
Yet still, his might and force I must suppress,
'Less to my love his anger doth deploy.
Now with control, I seldom let him free,
Should he escape and turn his eye to thee.
The author was anonymous. Raven read it twice, then three times over. Who gave me this book? Greg? Was it Greg? She flipped through the pages briefly scanning titles and first lines of other sonnets. They were all of despair and hatred and vengeance.
Whoever compiled this must have been quite bitter. She returned to 'The Demon' once again. Raven sighed as she related her life to the poem. It was Greg. I bet he didn't even know what he was getting me. This is quite ironic because we broke up because he said I was too mean. She remembered the break up long ago, back she first moved into her current loft. Greg was a cutie, but nothing special. The loss of him wasn't mourned for very long.
Now she thought about her current situation in terms of a relationship. For some odd reason, she felt loyal to Gar. They had known each other for a day yet he kept popping up in her thoughts. She would occasionally found herself laughing at something he said weeks ago. The man left such an imprint upon her that what ever time they had together, she remembered every single moment.
And then there was Dick. Dick was indeed handsome, there was no denying that. And to most girls his charms and enormous wealth didn't hurt either. The charms worked especially well, being the very quality that drew Raven in. But then she got to know him and just as quickly as the relationship started, it was over. And now he was here, back in her God damned life. Confusing the hell out of her. She couldn't make heads or tails about him. He'd be sweet and sympathetic one minute, then an arrogant jerk the next.
Maybe he's schizophrenic, she thought. She sighed, thinking about her love life was depressing. Glancing down again at the resonant words of the poem, Raven closed her eyes. She dreamed herself happily settled with a man. Whom exactly, she couldn't tell. Though as happy as she was, there was still that small nagging feeling in the back of her mind, making her hope he wouldn't be chased away by her 'demon'.
Raven awoke to the sound of her grumbling stomach. Oh God, I haven't eaten all day. Looking out the window in front of her, she saw that it was already dark out in the city. She glanced at the clock, 5:30. She had been sleeping for 7 hours.
In an attempt to calm her stomach, she walked over to the fridge. There was nothing there but milk, eggs and several Styrofoam boxes of take-out that she dared not open. There was rarely any food in her refrigerator anyways. She scarcely ate, and when she did, it was usually with colleagues or just a bite to eat on the way home. Besides, it wasn't like she could cook, so all of her beautiful kitchen accessories were actually just for show. She grumbled to herself about learning to cook as she headed out the door, grabbing just any old jacket from the closet.
Surprisingly, the night air was fairly warm and there was no wind. So Raven walked to the Chinese Take-Out place down the road with nothing but what she was wearing. Grey jogging pants, Dick's shirt with a blue zip-up hoodie and the ski jacket she took from the closet. No hat, no scarves, no gloves. As she turned the corner, the street lights began to flicker out, enveloping her in darkness until the next one. She fought a growing sense of paranoia and pushed forward.
Just then a black gloved hand caught her arm. She jumped ready to scream when a familiar dark figure stepped out from the shadows. He stepped into the small amount of light that the other streetlamps provided and let Raven see all of him. He donned his usual black attire, same as last time, kind of. This time, his mask was rolled up to reveal his strong jaw.
"Hello Raven."
Raven gulped and pointed at the burn out street lamp, "Did you do that?"
He smiled and shrugged, "I couldn't very well see you with all that light about, now, could I?"
"Se-see me? Why? And how did you know my name?" She didn't run, she couldn't. He had already let go of her arm, yet she stayed, stayed to have a friendly conversation with an international thief.
"I just wanted to see you again, beautiful. Is that a crime? And anyways, anybody who's anybody in the whole world knows Raven Roth, the absolutely gorgeous curator of the Queen of the Nile exhibit." Raven blushed, hoping the minimal light wasn't enough for him to see. But his keen eyes did and he smiled.
"No, but robbing a museum is."
"Aww come on Raven…" He started to walk towards her but she put a hand out to stop him from approaching her further.
"You know all I have to do is scream?" He gave her a slight smile and stepped forward anyway, taking her naked hand in his gloved one.
"Dear Raven, it has been quite the pleasure chatting with you, but I really must go," he said in a mocking gentlemanly voice. He bent over and grazed his lips on the back of her hand while Raven stood there, shocked, unable to say a word or make a move. Still over her hand, he glanced up at her and smiled.
Slowly letting go, her crept back into the shadows, "I shall see you soon, my beautiful Raven." Just then, the lights flickered back on, but no one was there. Raven stood alone on the sidewalk, cradling her kissed hand with the other.
Eventually, after a bouquet of flowers and many, many chocolates, Jinx forgave Victor. They had spent the afternoon after the robbery in the process of making out… erhm, up. Making up. Therefore, Jinx sauntered along the halls of the ROM, whistling and grinning like an idiot, a happy woman.
Raven, on the other hand,was not. She looked frazzled, as if she hadn't slept all night. Her hair was in a messy bun, two chopsticks sticking out like antennae. She didn't don her usual nicely pressed casual business suit, in its place dark grey yoga pants and her York University hoodie, the one with the big red Y in the middle. There really was no dress code for work, even the old curator would occasionally show up in jeans and a polo. Jinx and many other people usually just wore very casual clothes, but Raven prided herself in her upstanding reputation. She always showed up for work in a suit, regardless whether or not there was anyone at all going to show up that day.
So imagine Jinx's surprise when she walked into Raven's office, happily calling her name in a sing-song manner. She opened the door, ready to make her grand entrance, then saw Raven, looking like hell, hunched over her desk, barely being able to keep her head up.
"Holy shit. What happened?" Jinx rushed into the room and pulled the chair up close to the front of the desk. Raven looked up from what she was writing, one hand on her forehead, and look up at Jinx. Oh my God, she's not wearing make up. Something's seriously up.
"Nothing, just tired." She shrugged off Jinx concern as if she showed up for work like this everyday.
"Sweetie, you do know that Mumbo Jumbo upstairs gave you the next couple days off, right? Not just yesterday."
Raven nodded, "Yes, I know. I'm just tired. Didn't get much sleep the past few days." It was the truth. Raven didn't get much sleep at Dick's and yesterday she stayed up all night thinking of Kinyago. Half scared he might know where she lives and come into her house, half scared he might not. She didn't understand, he was a thief. A petty, lowlife, crook. A bandit, a burglar. A criminal. But he got under her skin, deep under. He knew just what to say, what to do to arouse her. And he clearlywent out of his way to do it. She was being played with, but couldn't help but enjoy the attention. So all night, she stayed up thinking about the three men who suddenly manifested, as if out of nowhere, to ruin her completely organized life, and, despite herself,add a little excitement.
Jinx raised her eye brow at raven silence, "Hey wha-" she was quickly cut off the ringing of the phone. Raven pointed a finger at her, asking her to hold the thought.
"Hello, Raven Roth's office." Silence, Jinx saw Raven's expression as the person on the other line started talking. Then she began to smile and whisper into the phone.
"Yeah… Oh hey… Yeah I did… Yes… No, no really I'm fine…. Re-really?... Umm, okay I ju-just… Oh sure… Yeah that's fine. Actually that's great…. Okay, I'll see you then." Raven hung up the phone, slumped on her chair and sighed dreamily before remembering she was in the presence of company. She quickly cleared her throat and sat up straight.
Jinx grinned and leaned in, "Okay spill, who is he?" Raven knew she was trapped, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She could hardly contain herself,shewas practically giddy with excitement.
"Who's who?"
"Oh, come on. Don't play with me. I know that expression," Jinx thought about it for a second before it dawned on her, her eyes bugled with excitement, "It's Gar!"
"No!" Raven's quick denial gave Jinx the final reassurance, she raised her eyebrow at her.
"Okay, okay I give. It is Gar." Jinx excitedly clapped her hands together, leaning back allowing her feet to lift off the ground kickingbefore coming back to lean in further.
"Spill."
"Spill what?"
"How many dates have you been on? How long has this been going on? Have you kissed? Have you-" She was interrupted by Raven's eraser colliding with her face. She rubbed her cheek and kissed her teeth.
"We haven't been on any dates yet okay? He asked me when he was first here. Tonight's the first. Therefore, no and a definite no."
Jinx giggled like a teenager, "Raven's bagged herself a rich one!"
"You know if I had more erasers I'd throw them at you," said Raven leaning back on her chair. A smirk bordering on grin was plastered on her face the rest of the day.
A/N: See, longer chapter, not very but its a start. The poem back there was by me, so no stealing. If you want to use it, ask and ye shall receive. I also read through it looking for mistakes, find any please tell me. It's a bit ironic that my biggest pet peeve is bad grammar when my own is pretty atrocious.
The title refers to the passing of Dick as a potential player, and sub-ing in Kinyago. But... Dick is never really gone from the picture, you're just never sure when he's gunna pop up again.