Hello, I know I've been terrible I'll explain at the end.
Disclaimer: Still don't own the Teen titans.
WARNING: sexual content
"Lying is done with words and also with silence."- Adrienne Rich
"Raven?" Gar said stepping into an abandoned strip room, it was dark inside and no one was even on that floor, but Raven had given him a note that said to met her in this room, and to follow instructions. Step two : Don't turn on the lights. Step three: Press play on the CD player in the corner. Confused Gar did what the instructions said, and pressed play then Hey You (Shakira) started to play, and the final step, step four: Sit down. He made himself comfy on a cushy Arabian style pillow surrounded by colorful curtains placed in front of a strip pole. He had no idea what was going on but he liked where it was going.
Raven slowly strode from the shadow, with hair down over part of her face, and she was wearing a long beige trench coat. "Raven?" Gar said suspicious.
"Shh." she said slowly making her way to him and stopping in front of the pole. "Don't speak. Do you like Angelina Jolie? Kory told me you did." Gar nodded eagerly. "Did you see Mr. and Mrs. Smith." she waited for an answer but Gar didn't say anything.
"You said don't talk." He replied slowly. Raven sighed deeply.
"I am trying to reward you just-shut up." She then dropped the coat to expose a very sexy bustier set, with a red velvet corset and a black bra underneath. Gar eyes wandered down to her lace underwear and to the strap attached to the black stockings. Raven did a classic stripper spin on the pole, while Gar watched in complete shock. Her dark hair whipped around her, and her curvy features shone in the dark.
"How do you fit so many curves into that... little thing." he said mesmerized. Raven smirked darkly, and carefully made her way off the pole. She straddled herself on top of Gar, and pushed him onto his back. He crouched on his elbows. Raven kissed him intensely while unbuttoning his shirt.
Gar was still getting over the shock. "You are really going to let me direct this." Raven said and then purred like cat woman. "I like that." His hands strummed up her stomach and his thumbs brushed the cold, metal wiring. He whispered something that was inaudible, it wasn't sleazy but his voice was raspy and romantic. She was not just getting a physical reaction out of him but, a mental.
This scared Raven for a moment. She chewed on her left thumb, and sat on top of him not moving. Her long, dark French-Italian hair cascaded over her shoulder on one side. Gar moved his hand up and ran it through her hair. For the first time in a long time Raven felt vulnerable. He put his hand on her cheek. Raven melted at his touch, her breath stifled and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "You really have no idea how beautiful you are." he said.
She opened her eyes, and met with his passionate green ones. She wanted to leave, but her body would not let her. She was afraid of what he would say next, or do. Gar moved his hands, and watched as her sheer foundation shone in the slight light that came through a crack in the windows. Neither one took a breath. The sounds of the cars passing down in the city far below. The silence was driving her crazy, she shook her head slightly like a mad woman whispering no to herself.
"Raven I-" Before he could the words out Raven smashed her lips against his. Gar twisted his hands behind her neck in her hair, then laid down flat on his back taking Raven with him. He pulled her up, and put his arm over shoulder and she put her arm over his chest and they laid in silence, with the only thought of each others sweet lips against their own. Raven pressed her stomach against Gar's, and let him run his fingers through his hair.
His hand wandered from her hair to her back to her lower waist, above her small, perfect butt. Carefully maneuvering his hand onto her inner thigh, gently squeezing it. This sent shivers up her spine, he found her turn-on spot. Gar wandered how the all serious dark Raven, who was attractive and powerful on top, but underneath it all she was delicate like a dancer. The mystery that surrounded her radiated off her pale skin, and shone in her eyes. Gar quickened and hardened his grip on her thigh. Their breathing increased with the speed of their kissing.
Raven pulled away and stared at him in the eyes panting. "Make love to me." she said breathlessly. Gar smirked at her. He knew it was coming. He pushed her on her back on slowly pulled off his shirt, while she ran her finger up his amazing washboard abs. He hovered over her, and kissed her again. Raven did not stop kiss him, even as he undid his belt.He slid onto his stomach, and unclasp the strap on her legs with a small click. Gar then kissed her inner thighs. Raven through her head back, and leaned on her elbows.
Out of nowhere Raven realized something that deeply upset her- Garfield was being dominant. Raven was the dominatrix of her relationships mentally, sexually, totally. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second, and then pulled herself up. Gar was scared for a second afraid she was going to leave. "Close your eyes." she demanded pushing him onto his back. Gar grinned like an idiot.
"What going on." he said pleased to be going along with Raven's sexy, naked games. Before he knew it Raven had him handcuffed and on his knees. He opened his eyes from excitment and curiosity. Raven was standing in front of him, with a small whi in her hands. 'What are you-"
"No talking." she growled. She began to slowly stalk around him. Gently patting the whip in the other hand. "You've been a bad boy." she said standing behind him. Gar's undenyable desire to mount, and fuck her right then and there seemed inevitable. "Do you what happens to bad boys." she rasped in her low, sexy tone.
"No." Gar said. Then Raven brough the whip down on his back. He winced in odd pleasure, hoping she's spank him a couple more times.
"I said no talking." Before Raven coulld continue in her...sensual sexual escapades her phone rang. It was the familiar jingle of a text messages. Raven choose to ignore it. "As I was say-" then her phone rang again.
Raven growled. She stalked over to her bag hidden in the back. She dug through her bag, reminded herself yet again she needed to reorginize. Finally she found her cell phone. As soon as she flipped open her phone, the message one missed call flashed the screen. She quickly deleted through the useless messages and made her way to the text message.
Richard G. 12:57 Am
Rae 911!!
Raven sighed. In this industry it was important to pay attention to all emergency summens. Raven pulled on a a long trench coat. She begrudgingly uncuffed Gar, and gave him an almost sympathic look. "Sorry things come up. But I owe you a rain check." With that she strutted into the crowded hallway. Dick so owed her for this one.
"Really I am going to make it up to you." Dick said hopelessly, following Kory out into the abandoned hallway, he had apologized over and over again for not finding her. As for Barbara, well that was a secret he was hoping they could both keep. Kory sighed again, she couldn't entirely blame Dick for not finding her, it just that she was disappointed.
"I know." she said leaning against the wall. "But there is no happily ever after for you, not tonight anyways."
"Kory-" Dick said irritable. he groaned to himself. "Damn it. I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, God I've told you how sorry I am, and how much I want to make it up to you and not because it would make you feel better because, I really want to."
Kory shook her head. "You know what I was going to tell you I loved you tonight but- no, I still do, and really wanted it to be perfect. Because I do, I do love you." she said. Dick felt rocks fall into the pit of his stomach. Did she just say I love you? He became very silent, as Kory waited.
"Well? Didn't you hear me? I said, I love you." she said "Aren't you going to say it back?" Dick shook his head. Kory felt her heart break. "I'm humiliated." she said stomping away, but Dick grabbed her arm, but Kory tried to fight him. "Stop it! Let me Go!"
"Kory stop." Dick said gently pushing her against the wall, Kory stopped struggling and sighed. "If I said it now, we both know it was only because you said it to me. You have to give me time to, because I do care about you so when I say I want to mean it."
Kory sighed and gazed toward the floor as Dick released her arms. "Alright." she said very quietly, before walking away. Dick didn't go after her he had the feeling she needed to be alone. When she was out of sight he punched a wall, and then began his to slowly and quickly pace around. What was he going to do? How could be possible make this up?
She said she loves me. Dick walked home, he couldn't think with people around. He went through a daze, which was strange because the for the first time in his life the city was silent. He forgot the hustle and bustle of New York and it was peaceful, but for Dick the only thing on his mind was Kory. He got home at around two AM, and when he entered he just laid down on the living room floor.
Dick sighed. As he stared at the ceiling, then there came a knock at the door, but he did not get up to answer it. "Dick?" came Raven's voice. Did he call Raven? He didn't remember calling her, maybe he called during his thoughtless walk. Ever since Kory said those three dreaded words, he had been so messed up. He hared Raven enter the living room, but he didn't get up. She made her way over to him, and stood over him. " I swear to God, you had better be having a heart attack." she said laying down next to him. Dick didn't say anything for a moment, and Raven didn't ask him to, she just stared at him while he kept his gaze at the ceiling.
"She said she loves me." he said after awhile. Raven didn't say anything or change her expression.
"Oh." she said after a moment.
Dick shook his head, and bolted up. "That's it? Oh? She said to me, she said it to my face looking me straight in the eye and she meant it! And you know what I said back? I needed time, damn it! I-I don't know she has me so fucking screwed I don't know which way is up!" he yelled and rambled.
Raven sighed and sat up slowly. "Do you need time, or are you just hoping she follows you down the rabbit hole and feels as messed up as you?" Dick shook his head. "Beauty often seduces us on the road to truth."
"Beauty also killed the beast."
"But you're not dead." She said laying back down. "Raven one, Dick zero. "
"What do I do now." he said lamely, laying down himself. No one said anything was there anything that could be done? They both doubted it," Sometimes saying nothing is better than saying anything at all." It was the truth he was clueless, he had no knowledge of the workings of the female mmind. This why he dated shallow, gold diggers. At least he knew their main objective, wash cash and go. Complicated girls like Kory and Barbara gave him a migraine, in a good way.
Raven sucked her teeth, as Dick smiled a light grin of satisfaction. "And that's exactly what you said-nothing, and if you ask my opinion it didn't go over too well. Don't say you love her if you don't mean it, if you do love her instead of saying it with words say it in your actions."
Dick pondered this for a moment. Raven was right if he did not do anything to let Kory know he at least cared about her she would more tahn likely leave her. Love was so damn confusing. "I so do not get chicks."
Raven scoffes. Whether it was his graphic use of the word 'chick', or stupidity is to remain questioned. "Right because asking a girl wold be stupid." Dick sat up as if he heard Jesus knocking on the front door. For the roughly thirteen years that he had been best friends with Raven he had sort of forgotten she was a girl, and thought with a feminine mind. "Raven, please give me your honest views as a woman."
Raven sighed. She stroked her chin. How to answer this delicate question. "Alright, well maybe she...or you have to...why you just ask her and stop acting like a prepubescent teenage boy."
As much as it pained Dick to say it, Raven was right, he was behaving a wee bit juvenile, and he needed to man up and like a man just come out to Kory and tell her what it wa he was feelling. Girls liked that sort of thing...right?
Dick couldn't believe he was actually dragging himself to work today, he had literally got fifteen minutes of sleep, took a quick nap in the shower, and by quick I mean the cold water woke him up. He didn't bother to shave or iron his shirt. But he was surprised to seen Raven at her desk with no signs of being tired at all. She sat with her chin in her hand and stared out the window.
"Is it cheating-" she said not taking her glaze from the window. "if you have sex with someone who isn't your boyfriend, but the guy your kind of seeing isn't really your boyfriend either?" she said looking at him.
Dick rubbed his eyes with his thumb and pointer finger, it was becoming increasingly hard for him to concentrate. "Is that a rhetorical question?" Raven sighed deeply in response and slight annoyance. "OK, OK. Why did you have sex with Malcolm?"
Raven sucked her teeth. "What are we bestest girlfriends?"
Dick sighed. "Rae, I'm trying to be a good friend and listen, but I'm really tired right now, and in no condition to think of a solution to your love life."
Raven rolled her eyes. "Well, if you need me I'll be stuck in traffic for the next few hours trying to get down town trying to send out a week's worth of you reports." she said picking up a WB box full of manilla envelopes. "Oh and you owe me coffee." she said turning back into her office.
Dick was still tired and not aware enough to come up with a witty comeback. "Yeah, well you owe me... sex details!" he said a little louder than neccessary, particuarily when Kory walked in giving him a strange look. Dick need less to say blushed.
"What was that all about?" she said leaning against Raven's desk, her slim bronzed legs sunning up the small space. Dick knew better than to be fooled by her cheery exterior he knew it was all an act. If he pretended that what happened last night did seriously bother her, she would never let him live it down. Dick being the relationship confrontationphobe that he was knew it time to do serious damage control.
Dick slithered over to Kory, took her warm well moisturized hands in his cold and clammy ones. He tooked dead into her eyes, and confusion was present. "Uh Dick, you feeling OK?"
Dick didn't break his look. "Kor, I have wrestled with what to do about last night in my mind over and over and over again and...I can't find a resolution. Please help me with this." Kory sighed and pulled her hands from his. She slid over to the window and stared out it with her back turned away from him.
She didn't speak for a moment. "You I was hoping...imaagining that I was going to come in here, not saying words about last night and you would just...I don't know take it back, and just tell me you love me. I don't know that was stupid I guess."
Dick sat in the chair across from Raven's desk. "No, it wasn't."
"But you said-"
"What I said? Who gives a damn what I said. What I meant is that-I really like you Kory like a lot. More than I've liked any girl I've ever dated, even in my wild teen years of serial dating. I never even considered getting married it wasn't a factor I thought I'd need. But you and I have something that I strongly believe could turn into...I don't know...something great. And I want to take my time getting there. So please just bare with me here, because you're running with my heart and I need time to catch up."
Kory didn't look at him. When she finally turned around there wasn't exactly the look of happiness, but of contemptment and satisfaction. Dick took her hand, and pulled her towards him into his lap. Kory stared at him with they eyes of absolute adoration. She kissed him gently, and he gladly returned the favor. Lost in the sheer bliss together. "Come meet Bruce." he breathed quietly
"What?" Kory said back only half listening.
Dick's eyes snapped opened. What ha he just done? Meeting Bruce, intimately meeting Bruce was something he had never ever given any girl he dated the privelage of having. But with Kory he wanted to share most of him with her, she wasn't an average girl he was use to dating, he the weird part was he was making an effort of work it out with Kory. "Dinner, with me and Bruce.."
Kory pulled away from her. "Are you serious?"
Before Dick could answer the phone on Raven's desk rang. Dick sighed and hastily answered. He wanted to shout what to whoever was on the other line fucking up his romantic office escapades, but that would be considerable unprofessional. "Wayne Enterprises this is Richar speaking." he spoke quietly
He was greeted by the unlikely, but oddly hypontizing British accent. " 'Ello Richard, it's nice to hear from you again. I was hoping to catch Raven bef-"
Dick answered bitterly. "Well, Raven is not available for any afternoon delights, at this moment, but if you're so keen to contact her she can be reached on her cell phone. Good day." he said hanging up. He had been rather rude to Malcolm on the phone but Malcolm had been sort of a douche bag to Raven over the past few months, and whenever Dick and Malcolm had any sort of communication, Dick felt that he would rather talk to a baby chicken than to talk to him.
Kory sat behind Raven's desk reading a few memos, stuck on the drawers of her desk. "What was that all about." she questioned politely, not actually caring. Dick shook his head, hoping get back to their previous conversation. "Oh C'mon, any phone conversation with the phrase afternoon delight, must be an interesting one."
Dick gave in. "I was just having a brief word with Malcolm." he said desperately wanting to change the subject. Kory sensed his anxiousness and decided to toy with him for a bit. After all he was in the dog house...for now.
"Oh." she said curiously. "And why the mention of a random hippie sex in the middle of the day time?"
"Appearently Raven and Malcolm had 'break up sex' a couple weeks ago." Now Kory was genuinely interested, but Dick was not going into detail about Raven's private life with a third party. As best friends they had an unspoken rule to neever involve an outside source. "So about dinner-"
Kory sighed. There was no point in trying to avoid this. "Dick, are you just inviting me to dinner because yo feel bad about last night? Because I wouldn't want to pressure you into taking a big step you are not ready to take." shse spoke from her heart, a sensitive girl.
Dick pressed his finger to his temples. "Kory, if I wasn't ready I would not be asking. I want you to know I take you seriously. I am in this adult relationship for the long run." Kory grinned like a danzel. It was so completely sweet. Dick had a way of making her feel like a princess, he was just so good with his words. His words were a magical, and Kory couldn't help but say OK.
"You're joking, right?" Gar said leaning against The door frame in Kory's new bedroom, of her new apartment. She was currently pulling articles of clothing out of her freshly unpacked closet. That was ironic, she'd spent a good week getting all of her clothes out of boxes and into neat dressers. She just finished up this morning, and now everything was back on the floor again.
Kory asked Gar to come over, and walk her through a newly developed game plan to win over Bruce's affection. Gar wasn't so convinced meeting the parents, was not such a good idea. Dick and Kory pretty much just started dating a few months ago and introductions to the family seemed far too soon. "You should- I don't know have sex first."
Kory scoffed, while pulling a sweater from under the bed. She didn't appreciate Gar's lack of support. Of course she knew she was diving in head first with no lifejacket. As if her and Dick's currently and still processing relationship weren't scrutinized enough by colleagues and media reports, but she really needed her friends to have her back on this one. Besides with her latest information on the debatable infidelity in his relationship he was currently in no condition to be advising her. "C'mon Gar, it's not like you and Raven have consummated your relationship yet either."
Gar ran his fingers through his hair. "Whose fault is that And by the way you owe me." Kory gave a small laugh, as Gar plopped down on her bed which again was covered in an ocean of rejected skirts, shirts, and dresses. "I don't see why you can't wear pants, it's dinner and it's November, it'll be like thirty degrees out."
Kory picked up a pink skirt with bedazzled sunflowers, that see didn't remember buying. She frowned at the skirt, and gave it a disgusted toss onto the bed. "Because," she explained, yet again, "I want Bruce to fall so madly in love with me, he threatens Dick the internship if he doesn't marry me right away."
Gar groaned. "That serious." Kory nodded while furiously picked through some dresses she had yet to wear. Gar picked up a dark green sweater, and threw it to Kory. "Try this." Kory disappeared into her closet, to model her fifth outfit. She slipped the crop sweater it over a white sun dress and stepped out.
"What do you think?" She said vogueing and doing church spins see Gar could get a good look. He shook his head. Kory returned to the closet, and pulled on a dress that hung in the back without even looking at it first. "So, I was thinking maybe it was time for you to get a new place." she said in hopes of making conversation. Outside the closet Gar shrugged.
"Huh." he said lamely. He already felt slightly betrayed that Kory would move into a new apartment without so much as a warning. Lately there had been so many rapid changes to his life. He knew working with Wayne enterprises would impact his life, and he was stepping into a fast paced, live in the city life, but he wasn't fully prepared for it. Garfield wasn't so sure Kory was prepared for it, and he became annoyed at her pretending so could keep up with it all. Point, he wasn't up for a discussion on moving. Brooklyn is where he lived since he moved, and Brooklyn was where he intended to stay-until he saw a gorgeous apartment in Midtown.
He had been avoiding talking to Kory about the apartment, although he had already put a down payment on it. He really wasn't in the mood to hear her say "I told you so". Kory pushed her closet door opened, but it stopped on a small pile of rejects. She pushed past the pile. "What do you think?" Kory asked for the millionth time tonight. At this point she didn't care, but if Gar had the patience to come over after her dramatic and tearful phone call, she could had to at least pretend she found a cute outfit.
For the first time since they had met, Garfield didn't say anything, he didn't even laugh. Just total and complete silence. Kory turned around and saw the look on Gar's face that was one of person he had just witnessed a horrific double homicide. Kory turned to her side, and caught a glimpse of herself. The dress she was wearing was baby pink, and had drastic ruffles around the collar and trim, with a giant beaded butterfly coursing the bottom. Kory didn't even wait to get to the closet to rip the dress off and stomp all over. Forgetting that her best friend was watching her in her bra and underwear.
She felt herself turning a bright shade of red. Kory grabbed a loose throw blanket off of chair covered in more rejected clothes, and laughed nervously as she stepped back into the closet. Gar shook his head, and sighed. It was going to be a long night. "So, do you have any plans for this weekend?" Kory asked sifting through the scraps of clothing left of the closet racks.
He listened to the stinging of the metal hangers scrape the also metal poles. He had always hated that sound, the sound of metal scraping against metal. Some people hated nails on a chalkboard, some hated the sound of fire works. That was something Raven and him had in common. Just the thought of having something even remotely similar to Raven put angels in his day. Garfield had found himself thinking about Raven most of the day, not in a stalker way. I like to spend my time thinking about Raven, and when I'm not thinking about how I want to run my fingers through her dark flaxen hair, I think about how I want to stare deep into her mysterious natural violet eyes. My favorite genre of books is romance because it gives me creative fantasies of things I'd like to do to Raven. My favorite hobby is to admire Raven from a far, or image her laying naked in my arms. Maybe he was becoming a stalker.
"Did you hear me?" the voice of Kory interrupted his thoughts. Kory slid out of the closet wearing a simple black dress, and a lilac button up. Lilac Gar thought. Raven smells like lilac, and white tea. "Except at work then she smells like white tea and fresh rain- or maybe dew."
"What was that!" Kory said a little taken aback. Gar suddenly snapped out of his inner most thoughts, a little horrified. Had he actually said that out loud? Gar cleared his throat awkwardly, earning him and eye roll from Kory. Kory flopped down on top of the pile of clothes of her bed. She caught a glimpse of a bottle of red nail polish half way under her bed. She reached down and began to paint her toe nails.
She wanted to say something- or get something out of Gar. Damn, she had never seen someone so madly head over heels in love like this, well except for herself. But for Gar it was almost sad, he was acting quiet pathetic, like he was whipped. This angered Kory. It seemed unfair that Gar would waste his time with someone like Raven, after she had found out about her and Malcolm, not that she had any plans on telling Garfield about the two, intentionally. Kory felt so conflicted between the two. Of course she had an obligation to Garfield, they had been friends since junior high, and there for she had every right as a good friend to tell him. It wasn't that she had anything against Raven personally, I mean if she had suggested to Dick that he endorse Starfire Inc., she'd probably be still living in an impoverished apartment in Brooklyn catering at hippie weddings, bar mitz vahs.
Kory shook her head, the truth would come out eventually, and when it did she planned to have nothing to do with it."Kory, do you think i could have a real honest-to-God, work out in the end, relationship with a girl like Raven?" Garfield asked open heartedly. There it was the guilt trip. To be quiet honest Kory strongly didn't think Raven deserved a guy like Gar, and at that very moment Kory wanted Gar to march right over to Raven's place, make love to her on the living room floor, and then tell her it over.
"Uh sure?"
Garfield was flabbergasted. "You hesistated." he said as though he had heard some sort of new, and highly offensive curse word.
"N-no, I didn't." Kory stuttered in poor attempts at saving her own ass. "I just think maybe is more...compatible with Malcolm."
Gr shook his head. "You don't think I'm good enough for someone like Raven, s that it? Well, I realize that she may have been born into blue collar family, and went to private scchool, and has probably been to exotic countries I've never even heard of but that doesn't mean-' Gar stopped in his soon to be rant, and recomposed himself. " I don't even know why I'm talking to you about relationship advice."
Now it was Kory's turn to be offended. "And what pry does that mean?"
"Oh nothing." Garfield said sarcastically. "Just you know that things have gone so swimminglu with you and Dick...and Martin and Benard and Henry and that guy with the weird moustache."
Then what Kory said, she regretted the instant it left her vocal chords. It just shot up like word vomit. "She's sleeping with Malcolm behind your back." Kory instantly covered her mouth with her hand. Gar's chin hit the foor. Kory's mind scrambled with different ways to turn this into a joke, but her voice seemed to be paralyzed.
"Kory-" Ga started warily choosing the right words. "That's not even funny." Kory sighed and flopped on her bed.
There comes a time, an epiphany every now and again in a person's life, where for no particular reason they feel there are morally obligated to hurt the people the love. It is a painful decision that ponders whether or not it is the right thing to do. If the decision doesn't come easy then, they are doing the right thing, and must hurt the people they love. Kory felt like she was having this epiphany right now.
She sighed again. "Gar, I'm not kidding. Dick told me that Raven told him that she had sex with Malcolm."
As much as it hurt Gafield to believe it, by the sadness and regret in Kory's tone her knew she was telling him the truth. "When." he moused. Kory just shook her head, telling him to forget it. It was a poor attempt to drop it.
"Gar, I'm sorry I brought it up, from what I know it was before you guys were dating, like-I don't know the night you stood her up." she said quickly. Kory felt bad about having to mention this to her best friens, and she was beginning to feel a bit two faced. Raven never did anything to her personally, so for Kory to turn around and spread her buisness made her feel like a backstabbing liar.
Gar sat on the edge of Kory bed with his head bowed. He ran his fingers through his hair. "So this entire time she's been making me feel guilty about that, she was screwing someone else." Gar stood up stepping over piles of abandoned clothing. "I have to go...do...something." Kory remaind still and silent unitl she heard the gentle slamming of her front door. She really hoped this didn't blow up in her face. If this didn't do it something else certainly would. She's do cruise control later. Kory picked up her gold clutch, perhaps the only piece of desinger anything she owned. She had to go shopping for the most important dinner party of her life.
Raven slouched down into the water of her old fashioned bathtub, which sat off to the side of her bathroom. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the back of the tub. This is what she did when tried to relax and forget, but her mind went back to Gar. It was not that she really felt guilty, it was just she felt like she did something horrible. Was it wrong for her to have sex with Malcolm weeks before going out with Gar? It was his fault, he did stand her up.
She sighed and leaned on the over the tub, splashing water on the floor, she grabbed a black clip off the floor, and quickly pulling her hair into a loose bun. She closed her eyes and let in the quiet. The silence was quickly broken by sound of loud banging on her front door. Raven looked towards the bathroom door, and then submerged herself beneath the water completely. The banging didn't stop. Raven came back to the surface and inhaled deeply. The knocking on the door was becoming more rapid, and louder. Raven groaned and stepped out of the tub. She wrapped a towel around herself, and threw on a bathrobe. The silk stuck to her skin, as she quickly made her way to the front door. As soon as she unlocked the door, Gar roughly pushed his way in, looking distressed.
"Come in." she said irritably. Gar began to dramatically pace around her front door. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Are you sleeping with him?" Gar said with such force it made Raven jump. Raven shook her head.
"Am I sleeping with who?"
"Malcolm."
Raven gave a small laugh, and did not answer right away. She shook her head. "Did Dick tell you that?" Before Gar could react, Raven went down the hall and shut her bedroom door. When she came back she was wearing a black silk slip and a bathrobe. "Did Dick tell you that?" she repeated.
Gar closed his eyes, and shook his head in quick jerks as if he were having a quick seizure. "What? Why does it matter? Is it true?" While Gar waited for an answer. Raven sighed deeply.
"It was once a few weeks ago-" she said quickly to get her words in.
Gar put his hands in his hair, and paced around. Wordless that's what he was. He was half an inch from telling her he loved her, and less than twenty-four hours he's suppose to hear that's she been screwing her ex through- "The grapevine! That's how I'm suppose to find out! That's how you want me to find this out through the grapevine"
" Actually I didn't want you to find out at all. So Dick did tell you this?" she said coyly crossing her legs on the couch.
"No, K-" Gar thought about bringing Kory into this and thought it best to leave her out. "Someone told me." he said more calmly. Raven raised an eyebrow at him, and glared.
"So, Kory told you?" she asked accusingly. Gar was silent again. Raven whipped a piece of hair out of her face. "Your silence said it all."
"I didn't say anything!" Gar roared becoming even more frustrated with her fucking mind games. Raven was a mind fuck pro.
"Silence is a true friend that never betrays." she said with a smirk. Gar's frown deepened, he flushed pink, and looked like he could go a few rounds in the ring with Godzilla, and win...or come out with most of his fingers and toes.
He shook with anger. "Oh so we're talking about betrayal now? OK well Miss. Fuck the next thing with dick, we can stand a few minutes going down our right from wrong list, and I'll be the poor boy, trailer trash from Washington but you're still going to be the Catholic school slut!" he bellowed at her. "Here's some advice keep your legs closed, and maybe your mother didn't tell you that."
Raven was very taken aback, and became so infuriated. How dare he! She stand up now shaking with anger. "Well while we are on the subject of sluts and mother, let's take a tour on your mother- everyone else has!"
Gar looked shocked he had heard Raven could win a verbal assault against Perez Hilton, but that was uncalled for. Raven sat back down on the couch, and downed the rest of a flat martini that was sitting on her coffee table. "That's was not-"
"What?" she spat venom dripping in her tone. "Unnecessary? Kind of like you walking in my house in the middle of the night calling me out as a slut?" Raven shook her head. "I think you should leave." she said heading for the door.
Gar gave a small, sarcastic laugh. "Are you going to call your play mate, the second I leave? I hear that's what loose horny girls do."
"At least he knows how to fuck." she said casually. Gar became totally possessed by anger, for a moment all he saw was red. Malcolm with Raven, together, in the bed. He very roughly grabbed her by the forearms and slammed her against the wall on the opposite side of the door. Raven was caught completely off guard, and stared at him in total shock.
"Is that what you want? You want to fuck." he said his voice low and scary. Raven managed to pull one of her arms away from him, and tried to push him away, while he viciously growled at her.
"Leave me alone!" she screamed while he ran his arm up her leg, and pulled a corner of her underwear. Raven pushed his shoulder away, so they were both fell to the floor with a bang. Raven was on top of Gar panting, and mad as hell but he didn't let go of her wrist. She glared at him and scoffed.
"Hit me." he said out of nowhere. Raven gave him a confused look, and then glared at him. "I said hit me.'
"You're sick." she said trying to get up.
"Hit me!" he said louder. Raven used her other hand to slap him across the face. It wasn't a particularity hard slap though. "Harder." he said. So she hit him again harder this time, and then again. She kept hitting him with more force than the last. She stopped hitting him after awhile, and they just stared at each other panting.
Gar grabbed the back of her neck, suddenly and fiercely kissed her. She didn't stop him this time. Throughout the duration of their embracive, and steamy satire Raven pushed back his jacket onto the floor, and continued in the various stages of undressing him.
"Are you drunk?" he said while she unbuttoned his shirt. Raven ignored him, for a moment. Raven sighed and stood up. "Where are you going?"
She just grinned while slowly stalking around the corner on her way. She slowly pulled off her slightly damp slip. This was the first time, ever Garfield had ever seen Raven fully naked, and it was a sight to beheld. He knew she worked out but damn, she could give Jessica Alba a run for her money. Garfield hopped up from his arousal spot on the floor, and partially ran after her. As soon as he made it to the bedroom, Raven pushed him onto the bed, and stripped him of his attire. It was to be expected from Gar, that Raven like to be the dominant one.
Kory's left her room a mess, mainly because she had to find just the right outfit to wear to Thanksgiving dinner. She wanted to wear something that said I-read- the bible- every-night, without being to boring, and nothing that said this-is-what-all-the latest-strippers-are-wearing. On the plane ride, not that Dick noticed but, she ripped up twenty napkins. She ripped things when she was nervous, but she hadn't done that in awhile.
She took deep haling breaths from the moment she stepped off the train, but from the ride her breaths turned into hypervenulation, again not that Dick noticed. He sat staring out the window, partially because he was driving and he was lost in thought. Kory couldn't tell this about him but, he was even more nervous than she was. He had only brought one of his many girlfriends to meet Bruce, and Bruce was a hardass. Disapproving on Dick's former lifestyle, and he never liked his girlfriends. He wanted Dick to actually date a girl more like Raven probably because they had a lot in common, something that he had suggested to Dick many times in his younger days. Dick thought the very idea was startling and disturbing, on so many levels they had yet to be discovered by man. All in all this was going to be a very interesting dinner.
Kory watched the autumn trees of yellow and red, glow past her as she sat quietly in the passenger. Dick smiled to himself, for the first time all month. He had been quiet on and off in determining whether or not Bruce would be able to see Kory as anything other than a business associate. On one hand what was to like? She was genuinely kind and caring, she was perfect. On the other hand Bruce, was very selective of the people he adopted into his personal life, Dick wasn't even sure he had any friend besides himself and Alfred, his long time companion, and the fact that Kory worked for Bruce under Dick's recommendation was not doing them any favors either. So far he had felt good about the personal introductions about eleven times, and bad about it twenty times.
The stress was driving him insane. Raven was right: he did need to get laid. Dick sighed. Finally they pulled into the semi- circular driveway, as the tires crunched onto the gravel. The estate was a vision. The one hundred -forty acres of New Jersey backyard, bordered the insatiable Geisha tea house style mansion. Dick had alas believed that it was far too doe up, and was more over the top than necessary, but it was where he spent his summers and vacations as a teen. Like Raven his childhood was spent in Connecticut and teen years in new York.
An uncomfortable lurch stung Kory's stomach as Dick opened the car door for her. She took another deep breath, as they slowly made their way up the glimmering concrete steps. Nice to see you again, Mr. Wayne. Shake hands with slight bow. That was the plan. She had rehearsed it in her head forty times this morning. She took a breath out. Dick seemed to notice this and gave her hand a comforting squeeze of assurance. A short older man, Kory assumed to be the butler opened the door and escorted Dick and Kory to the living room, towards the back of the manor.
As they came closer and closer to their destination Kory's heart beat was so hard she was sure Dick could hear it. Dick squeezed her a reassuring hand. "It'll be great." he whispered to her as they entered the posh living space.
The living room was gorgeous it was a glass room with a comfortable fire going. Plush looking suede chair, that reflected the orange glow. Bruce was sitting in an armchair and immediately rose at the sight of Kory and Dick. He shook his head at them. "Good to see you again Kory." he said sharply.
The tone in his voice gave Kory chills. She swallowed hardly before answering in a small squeaky tone. "Like wise Mr. Wayne."
He cleared his throat quickly "And Richard, I'm sure you remember Barbara."
Both Kory and Dick's blood ran cold at the name, and low and behold there she was sitting in an arm chair across from Bruce. She sat with her dainty legs acrosses, heels dragging lazily on the floor, the air of satisfaction stifled the already awkward essence.
Dick shifted uncomfortable, and glanced resentfully at Bruce, a glance that went unnoticed. Kory held her mouth in an unsuprised manner, with much difficulty. Bruce carefully watched both of their reactions, he was clueless.
His head to Dick, to Kory, to Barbara, back to Dick. "Uh, please have a seat." he said offering them the loveseat next to the fire place. They both hesitated but, out of pure politness took a seat without complaint. Everyone basked in silence for several moments. Barbara seemed to find this amusing. Bruce, remained oblivious. Kory was starting to panic, after just fifteen minutes in the Wayne home of no conversation she felt like she blew her chance at winning over Bruce.
"So," Barbara said in poor attempts at making small talk. "Crazy weather, we're having lately." Dick responded in a grunt. Then Alfred arrived with a tray of flute glasses. He quietly placed the tray on the coffee table and left. His presence went barely noticed. Kory just felt like grabbing the glass, and downing the contents hoping it was strong, but she didn't want to make a bad impression so she decided to wait until Barbara tokk a glass.
Barbara seemed to understand Kory's method, shrugging she let her win and picked up a glass.
Bruce cleared his throat. "Richard can I speak to you for a moment." Dick glared up at him for a second, before pushing up from his seat. They excused themselves like proper gentlemen, before leaving the women to bask in the uncomfortable tension. Dick almost raced Bruce in to the shiny, marble kitchen.
"You invited Barbara!" he exasperated as if he'd been wanted to yell it from the mountains since he had arrived. Bruce sighed, he had been expecting this. He sat at the kitchen island and rubbed his teples, while half listening to Dick ramble on about how he was a 'conspirist' and that he should 'give Kory a fair chance'.
"Keep your voice down." Bruce said finally hoping none of the other guest had heard a fragment of the conversation. Bruce rose from his seat and strode over to the kitchen door. With one silent move he pulled the Chinese style, mahogony doors closed, and locked them. He turned back to Dick, the expression on his face of both grave seriousness, and hurt with secret. "Richard-" he started slowly, his voice not even qualifying as a whisper. "What I am about to tell you is to be kept between you and me. Meaning whatever I tell you right here and now will never ever be repeated under any circumstances. This room is Vegas, understand?"
Dick nodded unsure. He had been withBruce since he was eleven, but throught Dick's trying adolescence Bruce was Gotham's own Mister Serious, but he could always sort when he was serious and when he was very serious. Bruce sighed. "She's a fed." he mumbled.
Ice ran through Dick's vain. He could tell he had a confused/shocked look on his face, because Bruce continued on quickly. "Barbara is with the FBI. Appearently there is someone hopping from company to company embezzaling millions of dollars in extractoin fees, and owes the IRS twelve million in back taxes. The feds think it's a group, or an inside outside job. They are wanted on fraud,embezzlement, tax evasion, and a slew of offenses, but they don't know who he's working for currently."
Dick shook head quickly, reality was setting in. "Wait, he can't be working at the enterprises that would mean-"
"Exactly." Bruce finished. "I can't just shut down the office for a few weeks to do a full on indiviual, FBI investigation of every employee, that would cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars, and sponsors woud drop like flies."
Suddenly it dawned on Dick. Barbara wasn't the brainless, air head she lead on to be. It was all strategy, part of the plain so she wouldn't expose her cover. IT was absoutely diabolical. Which of course meant she was a whole lot smarter than he had given her credit for. That was slightly theroputic. In a way he was relieved, this meant that kiss was meaningless. "What happens now?"
Bruce shrugged and then pulled the lining of his jacket. "We return to our guest, and this conversation is now as nonexsistant as Pompeii."
When Bruce and Dick returned to the enteraining room, the was the opposite of the warmth feeling of conversation. The quiet exchange between Kory and Barbara was more than awkward. After Dick had learned of Barbara's secret he felt stiffer around her, like the most playful of insults, and he'd find himself tied to a chair, in a hot sweaty basement somewhere in Taiwan. The four dipped in several more minutes of noconversation, before drifting into the spacious dining room, for dinner.
Of course Bruce sat at the front of the table, and Dick sat on his right side. Kory sat next to Dick, and Barbara, to his dismay, sat aross from him. Everyone picked at their starter salad. "So-" Barabara said "Di-Richard are you an Kory you know an item."
Dick didn't lok at her. Instead he stabbed a piece of iceberg lettuce that lay taughting on his plate. "Yeah."
"So how long have you guys known each other."
"I don't know- six months."
Kory bit her lip. She had been back and forth between the short amount of time they had known each other. In all technicality six months was more time than it was given credit for, but when you said it out loud and considered she was already meeting the folks di seem lke they were rshing things. Kory cleared her throat. She did not want to say something cliche like 'but it feels like six years'. Even if it did.
"So how did you meet?" Barbara pressed on.
Dick was becoming very tired of Barbara's questions. They were annoying, and pointless, and none of her buisness. "Through mutual friends."
"Actually," Kory countered. "We were introduced to each other for buisness through friends, but we kind of had this chemistry that ust went together like carbohydrates and monosaccharides." she answered sweetly smiling at Dick. Bruce smiled while chewing on his romain lettce. He was glad to see Dick finally happy with some lucky girl.
Barbara's fork fell from her hand and clankered onto her glass plate. "Well that's lovely."
Like expected the rest of dinner went, like most of the evening, quiet and uneventful. Every now and then Dick would send Barbara a dirty look, something about knowing that your ex-girlfriend was a FBI agent, just made looking at her feel different. Kory boastfully detailed how well thier relationship, longated the usage of the words "together" and "love", just to sow up to Babs. Bruce seemed to really like Kory, which was the highlight of the evening. After a while Bruce and Kory warmed up to each other like wood and fire. They were laughing and having just having a good 'ole time, much to Dick's unrelenting joy. Besides a few bumps in the raod dinner was going according to plan. Eventually Babs got a phone call, and regrtfully parting from dinner. Not that anyone was mourning.
As the night wore on Bruce had a bit of buisness to attend to, so Dick decided to show Kory his old bedroom. He knew she was probably going to think he was a giant dork. A thought that crossed his mind as they mad their way up the oak stairs. He probably had a couple stacks of comic book hidden away somewhere. Dick hesistated as he turned the dusty brass knob of the sanctuary of his adolescence.
"Wow," Kory said at slight lost for words. Dick's room was like an average teenage boy, except way too clean. An AC/DC poster was wrinkled and falling off the wall along with an Aerosmith poster. Dick's room looked like it was modeled after the nineties. A very old, white computer that looked like it came straight out of the old batman TV series, was sitting on a desk, and a bulky, plastic tape player sat collecting dust in the corner. "Really something
Dick flopped down on his bare mattress, and leaned over the side, and pulled out a bow of comics from underneath. Dick shook his head at his own nerdiness. A flipped through the dusty pile, before dropping them back into the box and shoving it back under the bed. "Oh," he said suddenly jumping up from the bed and moving to the closet. He slid it open, and groaned at the sight of many stacked boxes crowding the closet. Dick carelessly shoved them aside and found what he was looking for.
"I knew I left it here." he said dropping a small gray safe onto the floor. He quickly entered in a combination, with no effect. "I can't remember, the combination. he said standing up. "I think I know where the key is." then he sprinted out the room.
Kory sighed and sat at the desk with an old computer, on it. She doubted that it still worked and even if it did the connection was probably too slow. She tapped and few heavy keys, and then the keyboard fell off the desk and clanked onto the ground. A few keys chipped off an fell down the vent on the side of the wall. "Shoot." Kory cursed as she picked up the keyboard. When she turned back to the computer and saw a small pile of yellowing paper, wrinkled beneath where the keyboard had sat.
Curiosity filled Kory. She unfolded them ,and saw that they were nothing more old e-mails between the two teens. She flipped through a few most of which was standard, late nineties teen talk. Until she got to some interesting ones.
R.Grayson17: hey Raven, are you ok? I haven't heard from you in a few days,and after what happened on Saturday night, I think maybe I should be worried.I am really, really sorry I know this was all my fault, and I will totally understandif you never want to speak to me again, but I just want you to know you are oneof the only real friends I have right now, and I am going through some times so if Idon't have you to kick some sense into me, I'll be really lost because no one else seems to be doing it for me. I use to get mad when you would lecture me by tellingme to watch my anger, because it made me prone to reckless and self destructive behavior, and it could get me killed. It hasn't but I'm afraid...you were right.Sent: 10/13/1999
Kory eyebrows buried when she reread the e-mail. What did it mean. Kory always knew Dick had a past that she knew almost knew nothing about, but something deep and serious had happened between Dick and Raven as teenagers. But the question was what. Whatever had happened had changed their relationship even today. Kory didn't know what it was but she had all intentions of finding out. Kory heard the door creak open again, so she stuffed the secret e-mails into her bag.
"Find anything interested?" he asked throwing the small silver key into the air, and catching it.
"Uh, yeah very-very interesting." Dick smiled at her as he unlocked the small safe. The e-mail kept rereading in Kory's mind the rest of the night. Through the car ride home, even as she tossed and turned all night. Most people would not have even given them a second thoguht, but everyone has moments when they just feel like something important is going on. A sixth sense. Kory had always known there were secrets between Raven and Dick that bonded them together.
Then Kory remembered the night of the ball and the words Dick spoke to her. She's done more for me than I can ever repay her. I feel like all I've done is let her down. That was it, and Kory knew it. Dick had unconciously given her a clue to his past. A past he drove compulisively to shield from her. She told Dick she had found something very interesting, but when she said it she had no idea how interesting.
Oh someone's got a secret. I have known what the secret is for MONTHS, and in my opinion it's pretty good and you'll find out maybe next chapter maybe.
Alright so in January i started having problems with my computer. Whenever I try to save files on my FanFiction account the page expires so I can't save documents. It does work on m sister's laptop but she likes to act like a bitch and not let me use it, so I write as much as I can when she's not home. I've been so so so busy lately, and this chapter took me forever to type and it is by far the longest chapter I have written in fanfic history. I kind of like this chapter, but i can't wait for the next one.
HELP: I WANT TO POST A NEW SUSUMMARY, PLEASE GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS.