Author's notes - it's been a hectic week. I only had a half day of school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday I had tests all day, as well as Friday. Not to mention track practice, I haven't been able to write. Now that it's the weekend, I finally have the time to write. Thankfully. Alrighty, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

...

Raven could sense his fear and confusion and it made her laugh.

"How-how did you..."

"Not remember telling me your name, Boy Blunder?"

"I..." He berated himself for being incapable of forming coherent words.

Raven chuckled, her breath warm on his face. "Speechless, are we? You know, you sure seemed like you could hold a decent conversation a couple nights ago."

Richard gave her a confused look. "I'm pretty sure I was a blabbering fool the other night." He shifted under her, trying to decide if he could easily escape her grasp. "You know, with a broken ankle and a demon right in front of me."

"Half demon." She hissed, leaning closer to his face. "I'm a half demon, Boy Blunder."

"I'm sorry, half demon." After a moment, he spoke again. "You should be thanking me instead of attacking me in my own home."

"Oh? And why should I do that?"

"I did save you from Red X. And allowed you into my home. I could have just left you up on the rooftop and waited for Red X to find you again."

She laughed. "Oh, Nightwing. Do you honestly think that you could have left me there to be captured?" She leaned in closer, brushing her nose against his cheek before moving to his ear. "I can feel your attraction to me." She whispered, her warm breath making him flinch underneath her. "You wouldn't have left me in that alley, even if your life depended on it."

She took his earlobe between her teeth and bit down gently, earning a gasp from him. Raven chuckled, pulling back to look at his face.

"What do you want, Raven?"

He was still calling her Raven. Maybe he didn't know that she was the girl from the bar. She debated on telling him, but decided against it.

"Thank you for letting me crash here for a little bit." She smiled down at him, watching his icy blue eyes bore into her. "I should be going now."

As she moved to get off him, Richard grabbed her wrists and used her momentum against her, effectively pinning her under him exactly how she had him moments ago.

"Who said I was letting you leave?"

She laughed. "You're cute." Then, black energy surrounded her, and she was gone.

"Dammit!" He plopped onto his back staring up at the ceiling.

...

Richard woke up the next morning still feeling aggravated from last night's event. He thought he had Raven. He had pinned her to the bed and wanted to question her, but she had simply phased through his bed, the floor, and disappeared altogether.

He spent at least two hours searching the alleys and shops within a mile radius of his apartment. She had to be somewhere. Before that, he even spent an hour searching the apartment complex. He hadn't gotten back to his room until a little after four a.m.

Luckily he set his alarm for eleven a.m. It was time for him to get ready for lunch with Rachel. He dragged himself out of bed and trudged to the bathroom where he let ice cold water run over his body.

How could he be so stupid? Of course Raven would have gotten away, regardless of her powers. She was cunning and extremely intelligent, she would have thought her way out of that in a split second.

Groaning, he shut off the water and towel dried before wrapping the blue towel around his waist and walking into his bedroom.

He did not expect to find the very girl haunting his dreams sitting on his bed, legs crossed and leaning back on her hands.

"It's about time you got out of there. Were you planning on being a brood all day or what?"

His heart skipped a beat as he realized that he was underdressed to have company in his room. Very much underdressed.

"Um... Raven, what are you..."

"Nervous, aren't we?" She chuckled, climbing to her feet and walking towards him. "What, have you never had a girl in your room before?"

"You were here last night." He turned around quickly and opened the top drawer of his dresser, pulling a pair of red boxers out.

"So, you've never had anyone of the female species, besides me, of course, in your bedroom?"

"Or apartment for that matter." He opened the closet door and slid inside, snapping it shut behind him.

He heard that unmistakable laugh through the wooden door. "Do you have stage fright, Richard?"

He flung the door open and buttoned his jeans. "Not at all." It was a complete lie, but he wouldn't admit that to her.

She laughed again. "I swear, sometimes you forget I'm an empath, don't you?"

Oh. There was that. He became agitated with the blush staining his cheeks and turned to the closet again, pulling a black t-shirt over his head.

"You know, you're pretty cute when you're flustered." He whirled to face her, finding that downright sinful smirk on her face. "And I won't lie, you are extremely well built. I bet it took you a long time to become that."

Richard said nothing, just gazed around the room for his jacket.

"Oh, did I offend tiny little Richard?" Raven talked in a baby voice and stepped in front of him, effectively cutting off his path. Her hands reached up and pinched his cheeks. "Poor baby."

She let go of an uncharacteristic squeak when Richard grabbed her wrists and slammed her into the wall beside the door. His face was inches from her own, his breath hot against her mouth.

His eyes flared up with something before letting go of her, finding his jacket tossed over the back of the couch.

"Where are you going?" She called out to him.

"None of your damn business." He barked, reaching for the door handle.

Just as the door opened, it slammed shut and Richard heard the unmistakable sound of the lock clicking. He spun around, seeing Raven standing with her hands on her hips.

"Tell me and I'll let you go."

He sighed, running his hand through his damp hair. "I don't believe this." He mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm having lunch with this girl I met at a bar a couple nights ago. We tried having dinner twice, but things kept coming up. So, instead of trying for dinner again, I offered lunch."

"Oh." She seemed sort of thrown off about the statement. "Can I meet you tonight?"

"Why?" He asked, searching her face.

"On the roof at midnight. I'll see you then, Boy Blunder." He heard the lock click and watched the black energy envelope Raven again before she was gone for the third time.

...

"There is no way that actually happened." Rachel said, her eyes wide.

"Yeah, and it happened." Richard felt much better after walking into the diner and seeing Rachel sitting there waiting for him. "One of my proudest moments."

"You did not wrestle with an alligator."

"No, I did not wrestle with an alligator. I wrestled with a crocodile. In my opinion, they're much worse."

"How did you even manage to do that?"

"Well, my friend told me I was a chicken shit and wouldn't jump in the crocodile exhibit, so I did. And then I had to wrestle with one until they got someone in there to help me. I have a pretty nasty scar on my shoulder from where it bit me."

"Oh my god, will you show me?"

He paused. She actually seemed interested in the scar. He didn't figure she would be, but she was. Normally, he would've shown her no problem, but then he remembered something.

The other scars that covered his body. The ones he earned in his career.

"Richard?" Rachel's voice brought him back from his thoughts. "Is everything alright?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. I'll have to show you that scar another time."

"Okay." She smiled at him before taking a sip of her drink.

They fell into a strange silence, one they'd never had before.

"So," Rachel finally broke the silence, "do you have any family that lives around here?"

"Um, not exactly." He said, clasping his hands on the table.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well," he tried to think of where he should begin, "my parents died when I was young. I was taken in by this older guy, but I left him not too long ago."

"So, you live here by yourself? You don't know anyone from here?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes. A cold hand was touching his, and he opened his eyes, seeing Rachel shooting him a sympathetic look. "No. No, no. Don't go giving me that look."

Rachel said nothing, but gently tugged away one of his hands and held it in both of her own, her thumbs stroking small circles over the back of his hand. It was a soothing touch, and he had to admit, it was slowly working out his frustrations.

"I've never met my father before." She spoke so softly that Richard almost didn't hear her. "My mother told me about him, about what a monster he was. She was afraid of him."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't know anything about him other than he's a shitty person. I don't know if I have his hair or his eyes or even if I have some of his characteristics."

Richard turned his hand so that he held hers, his free hand coming up to take her other one. "Well, if he's never made an effort to be in your life, then he doesn't deserve to be a part of it ever."

The door to the diner opened again and Richard's stomach lurched. He knew that person. He knew that person well. He hoped to anyone that was listening that he wouldn't-

"Master Grayson? Master Grayson, is that you?"

Rachel locked eyes with Richard and then the elderly man who stood at their table.

"I think you have the wrong guy." Richard responded in a southern accent.

"Oh, dear, I'm very sorry. You look an awful lot like a wonderful young man I know. He's gone missing, you see. Been missing for nearly three years now."

"That's a shame. I hope he finds his way back to you. Have a nice day, sir."

The older man nodded and gave a small smile before turning and walking towards the cash register.

"What was that all about?" Rachel sounded genuinely confused.

"I apologize for that. I'll explain later, I promise. Do you mind if we leave, maybe go someplace else?"

"No, not at all. As long as you tell me what that was all about."

"I will, I promise. Can we please just go?"

Rachel nodded and squeezed his hand before sliding out of the booth.

...

"Why did we come here?" Rachel questioned, her feet swinging over the edge of the dock.

"It was always one of my favorite places." He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"So," Rachel's hand slipped into his, "care to explain now?"

"That guy knows me. His name is Alfred, and he was the butler at the house I stayed in. This guy, he took in a lot of kids. There were four of us. Three boys and one girl. That man taught me everything I know."

"So, did you run away?"

"Sort of. One day, the boy living there I was closest to was murdered. I couldn't handle living in that house, so I left."

"Oh my, I'm sorry. That's terrible." Rachel hesitated before leaning her head against his shoulder.

Richard sighed, staring down at the water.

"Oh, Little Bird." A familiar voice called out and both Rachel and Richard spun around, seeing the familiar black clad man standing before them, the skeleton caricature staring them down. "You didn't actually think you could hide from me now, did you?"

Rachel gasped, scrambling to her feet. Richard did the same, standing in front of Rachel, despite the fact he'd heard that nickname before.

"Sorry to interrupt your date, pal, but she's a wanted criminal."

Richard exchanged looks with Rachel and made a barely noticeable head movement. "Well then, I guess that makes two of us."

Richard took an explosive from his belt and threw it at Red X. He felt Rachel's hand grab his and he felt himself being dragged into the coldness.