Honeythief
Chapter Eleven
)O(
"You know, I really don't think those earrings match the formality of the dress." Karen, who had arrived alone earlier that morning, lounged in her underwear on Raven's plush covers and offered advice whenever she felt like it. Her normal Titan gear had been shed for the fancy occasion, and her pale-gold dress sat in waves of satin over a near-by chair. "I'd wear the pearl ones if it was me, girl. They'd look much better."
Raven stood in front of the mirror, staring at the unfamiliar image. She couldn't even focus enough to remember what color she was wearing, let alone what accessories went with this dress. Her mind kept wandering back to Robin's kiss last night. It had been chase, innocent, and… oh, who was she kidding? Her heart had nearly exploded out of her chest and she leaned up into him like some forlorn, unrequited lover. The image was enough to make her throw herself off a bridge out of humiliation.
For Raven, it was confusing, to put it mildly. She'd spent all that time an energy placing very careful boundaries between what was a chemical reaction and what were her feelings for her leader. And Robin had just violated those careful boundaries and…well, afterward he brushed the whole situation off as if it were a normal, daily occurrence. As if he had no more than reached out and shaken her hand.
After the exchange, he smiled at her and said something kind, but Raven's mind was spinning to fast to remember what he told her. They walked to dinner talking about their plan for tonight, sat in the library in comfortable silence, and had gone to bed with their semi-usual pleasantries. It felt like the innocent kiss had never happened. Raven sighed and felt her shoulders droop. All the stupid kiss had done was make their situation even more complicated, and break Raven's heart again. Stupid boy.
"Did you hear what I said?"
Raven blinked and turned around to face Karen. She was paging through an old copy of People, but her strong eyes had never left Raven. She blushed slightly and shook her head. "Sorry, Bee, I've… had a lot on my mind lately." Well, that was putting it mildly. Raven thought one more ordeal, with Robin or otherwise, was probably going to send her into Arkham. She was beginning to think she'd enjoy the padded room.
"You need to listen up, girl." She rolled over onto her back and Raven felt a twinge of jealousy at her curvy, feminine figure. Raven glanced back at her reflection and sighed. She still felt she hadn't quite grown out of her stocky, pre-teen body, and here was Karen with her beautiful warm-brown skin and hazel eyes looking like some kind of African goddess. It was enough to make Raven sick. "I said that Al called Roy last night and told him of his plan." Raven felt the blood leave her face as Karen continued. "Roy told him was all too happy to 'give up his services for a good laugh'. Stupid, cocky bastard. I'm gonna knock him one good the next time I see him."
Raven felt her fingers start to shake, she wasn't sure if it was out of fear or anger. "Are you serious?"
"Honey, do I look like I'm lying? I know that boy's got a nasty streak in him, but this was just down right mean." Karen's head dangled over the edge of the bed, and she sighed like an ashamed mother. "And he was just too damn eager to put you through the humiliation, knowing you can't dance."
"I can dance." Karen raised an eyebrow and Raven felt the color return to her face in two-fold. "A little." Karen kept staring. "Alright, I can't dance at all. Happy?" She huffed out a breath of air and fell onto the bed next to her friend. "I found a dress though, so what should it matter now?"
"Because Roy will hold up his end of the bargain whether you want him to or not. You know that, and so do I… I'd rather see you punch his face in front of all those people, than have him publicly humiliate you." Karen rolled back onto her stomach and looked at the clock. It was another hour or so before guests started to arrive, and Raven knew what that meant. A full-blown honest-to-Goddess panic attack. She sighed and buried her face in her hands.
"I just don't want to be here right now."
"Awe, come on, girl." Karen rubbed Raven's back, comforting her. "It won't be that bad. Roy's pretty face deserves a few bruises anyway, and you're just the girl to give 'em to him."
Raven pulled a pillow over her head. If only she could tell Bee the truth, that she was nervous because tonight it was her job to guard a room filled with warm, happy people from a very hungry vampire. Who had shaken Raven to her very bones last night with an innocent, earth-shattering kiss, and now Raven had to pretend everything was okay. Just another swim in the piranha-infested pond. And this whole situation with Roy wasn't helping much either. "Can't you tell everyone I'm too sick to come? Please, Bee?"
"Pft. No. If you don't come with me tonight I'm going to have to sit next to Starfire and tell her that mustard can't be ordered in place of a champagne toast. And then I'll also have to tell her that an olive fork isn't used to comb someone's nose hairs like Gar told her." Karen pushed herself off the bed and walked into the bathroom, where her giant bag of make-up had been dumped in a heap of shiny colors. "I just don't have the patience for one of them, let alone the two of them together. That's why you have to come, girl. Because the only other sane being at that table will be Sparky, and he just doesn't talk that much to me any more." There was a pause and Karen sighed, picking up a tube of mascara.
"You know you're going to short-circuit him in that dress."
Karen's husky laughed peeled from the vanity. "I spent a month looking for the perfect dress, it better do more that just short-circuit him." She winked at Raven's reflection, and Raven couldn't keep the smile off her lips. If Cyborg deserved anyone, it was Karen. She had enough energy to keep the two of them going forever. "Hey, honey, I did not fly seven hours just to watch you watch me put on make up. Get your ass over here before it's too late."
Raven grumbled out an unladylike response, but it was met with a tube of lipstick hitting her smack-dab in the forehead.
)O(
Raven and Karen chatted in hushed toned as they walked down the hall to stairs for the foyer. The smell of perfume and sound of laughter and pleasant conversation rang into the tall ceiling and across the dark, marble floor. Raven stopped just before the stairs, and poked her head out from behind the wall. She looked down into the massive crowd of people below, they were mingling and the swarm of emotions and intentions hit her like a punch to the face. The party was already in full-swing and it hadn't even started, but her panic attack had.
"Hey, Sparky!" Karen walked into the open and waved to Cyborg, who looked more than dapper in his tuxedo. Raven vaguely wondered where he managed to kind a tuxedo of that size, or if it was just a hologram. She saw the crimson color flood his cheeks at the sight of Karen, and he somehow managed to wave back.
"See," Raven whispered under her breath, "I told you he'd short-circuit."
Karen laughed and quickly descended the stairs, pushing her way through the bodies to Cyborg. He reached down and pulled her into a hug before she had a chance to say "hi". Raven smiled, but didn't follow. She stood behind the wall at the top of the stairs and looking into the faces below. She recognized a few from JLA, the other Titans, but most appeared to be higher-ups from Gotham, Steel City, and Jump. No sign of Robin, although she could have sworn she caught a glimpse of Starfire's flame-colored hair. Raven ran her fingers over the intricately carved banister and sighed. She didn't belong here, she needed to be back at the Tower. Not rubbing elbows with the rich and powerful… but Bruce asked her, and she promised. And he'd done so much to help Robin already.
"Hello, Little Bird."
Raven jumped and turned around. Her heart sank into her stomach as she stared into a pair of bright green eyes shaded with copper-colored hair. Roy. If he promised to do what he threatened, he was the only person she feared more than Robin right now. Even though he looked unusually handsome, dressed in a tuxedo and acting the part of a gentleman… it had to be a front. Raven sighed and stared at him, suspicious of the fact his hands were hidden behind his back. Just what was he up to now? "Oh no. What are you doing here, Speedy?"
"Awe, come one, Rae." Roy's smile fell a little, but there was still the spark of mischief in his eyes. "I was invited just like everyone else. You don't think I'd pass up such a fantastic opportunity to rub elbows with Gotham's richest, did you?" There was a pause and his eyes darted down into the crowd below them. "Besides, I was promised your first dance. You don't think I'd just let and opportunity like that pass by, do you? That's more interesting than the stuffed-shirts crowding the liquor bar."
"Oh good Goddess…Look, this isn't necessary, Speedy. I expected you to let this whole mess go and forget all about it. Besides, the stipulation was you had to dance with me only if I couldn't find a dress." Raven spun around, showing off the fact that she was in a very formal black dress. "Found one. You don't have to worry your pretty little head about it now. Why don't you go flirt with all those cougars down there, I'm sure they'd love to show off a Titan to their cougar friends."
"Awe. Don't be so mean, Rae. Those cougars are only here to see Bruce's little Wonder Boy anyway." Roy's face fell a little, and he pulled out two dozen pale white roses he had hidden behind his back. He handed them to her, with a sly smile spicing his lips. Raven vaguely wondered how much she could hurt him without making too much of a scene. "I thought this would be fun for us, I brought flowers and everything for my date."
Raven was torn between snorting and screaming and running. She chose the former, lest she embarrass Bruce in his own home. "Your what?"
"You don't think I'd come to this thing all by myself, do you?" The mischievous grin came back as he saw the heat crawl into her cheeks. Of course that's what he would want, to make her squirm under his gaze. "That just wouldn't be proper, and I would feel left out with everyone else pairing up. It gets boring with no pretty girl to hang on your arm."
Raven pinched the bridge of her nose and tried not to blow something up. If Roy said one more idiotic thing, she was going to kill him. Blood stains be damned. She stared at him from beneath her intricate hair. "What do you mean, 'pairing up'? I wasn't aware we were all 'pairing up'."
"Pft. For being an empath you sure are oblivious." Roy motioned to the foyer below, Raven's eyes followed his gestures. "Fish Boy and Star are coming to this together, Cy and Bee, and Beast Boy… well… I'm pretty sure he hired that girl, but I haven't got any proof." He turned and looked back at Raven. "Unless you're planning on going with Bruce's precious little ward, you're at this thing alone, and I can't allow that."
"Well, gee, how kind of you." Raven rolled her eyes and tried to hand the roses back to him, but he took a step away. "Look, Roy. I don't want to go to this stupid thing, let alone with you, and don't even think about attempting to dance with me. Or you may lose something important."
"C'mon, Rae. You can't say I didn't give it a try."
"No, I guess I can't say that." Raven raised an eyebrow and stared at him, but Roy just shrugged her stare off.
"I thought the gesture was nice." He leaned against the banister and let a moment of silence grow between them. He turned and looked at Raven, his eyes had lost all their mischief. He looked serious and focused, as if they were doing more than exchanging banter. "You don't have the highest regard for me, do you?"
"Not really, no." Raven ran a finger tip over one of the pale petals of the roses, not wanting to discuss this now. She just wanted to get this night over with, not sit here and muse with all those emotions swirling around her like a plague. She glanced at him. "You haven't given me a reason to believe you're more intelligent than you look. And blackmailing me into being a date is no way to improve your image."
"Ouch." Roy feigned pain, but his spirit was unbroken. He flashed her a bright smile, and Raven briefly wondered how she could wipe it from his face. "I'll have to try to remedy those thoughts. Whatdaya say, Rae? Just one night?"
"One night of what, exactly?" Raven was calculating how much damage she would cause if she tossed him over the banister. She figured it would only damage a few people, and that was just collateral damage. At least she would be free from the ginger-haired nuisance.
"One night of being my date?" Roy held out his hand, but she pushed it away.
"Not on your life." Raven turned away and started for the stairs, but Roy grabbed her elbow before she got too far.
"I'm not asking for much here, I'm just asking you to accompany me to a party. Nothing else."
Raven sighed and stared at him for a while. "You're trying awful hard. What have you go up your sleeve?"
"Nothing." Roy shrugged and let go of her. The smirk had, once again, disappeared and he looked serious and sure. What was with this boy? He had more moods than a woman going through menopause. Raven continued to stare at him as he talked. At least he was pretty to look at, even if that was the only thing going for him right now. "I'm just curious what it'd be like to take someone like you out to a party like this."
Oh, now she saw red. One more remark like that and they'd have to send a diver into the lake for his head. "Like me? What does that mean?"
Roy could tell he was in hot water, and he backed off for a moment, taking a few steps away from the fuming demoness. "I didn't mean it like that, Rae. C'mon. I just meant…" He struggled with his words, but Raven let him squirm. He deserved a few moment of being uncomfortable. Actually he deserved a whole lot more, but she was being generous today. "You're so, oh I don't know… untouchable I guess, and to see you mingling with the others and having fun and being normal, that's new to me."
"You're ticking me off real easily, Roy." Raven rolled her eyes.
"I know. That really wasn't my intention, but I'm always stepping on eggshells with you." Roy managed a laugh and held out his hand. That stupid spark was back in his eye and Raven wanted to hit him even more. "Be my date for the evening, Rae? It's just one night and it'll make me happy."
"I'm not going to win this am I?" She sighed as Roy shook his head, fighting to keep himself somber. "You're the most annoying person I've met, and that's saying something considering my best friend is Starfire. I'll give you one dance, just one dance, and only because it'll make Alfred happy. And then no more of this silly 'date' thing."
"Deal." He took her hand before she offered it to him, and slipped it through his arm. Without any preamble he tugged her down the stairs and into the mess of people in the foyer. Raven began to seriously wonder what she had gotten herself into. Some one as volatile and unpredictable as Roy was sure to give her hell all night long. But at least he smelled nice. Like a campfire on a cold night. And he was still being relatively nice, relatively. That was saying a lot for Roy.
"See. It's not so bad." Roy whispered in her ear as they skirted around Clark and said a polite "hello". A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I can pretend to be a gentleman."
"Isn't that all you're doing?" Raven teased back at him as she waved to the mayor of Jump City. "Just pretending?"
"You just wait until we're dancing a tango together, I'll stop playing make-believe for you."
Color flooded Raven's face and she glared up at him. "You're an ass."
His laughter was deep and rumbled in his chest like thunder. "Oh, I know."
"Raven!" Starfire's sweet voice rang across the foyer and Raven felt panic rise into her throat like she was swallowing knives. When she was joking around with Roy the constant barrage emotions weren't so bad, but the familiar sound of wind chimes had broken her concentration. Her heart started to slam against her ribs. She felt a surge of anger from Starfire, the lust of some mistress by the bar, Karen's happiness at being with Cyborg, the jealousy of someone near the top of the stairs, and it all stemmed from her best friend. Raven tugged at her arm, but Roy's grip held firm, which only made her tug harder. He stopped walking and looked down at her, an eyebrow raised.
"You okay? Is there something I should know?"
"I have to go." Raven tugged harder. His concern washed across her and she could feel Starfire coming closer. Raven was now yanking on her arm, trying to break free. Starfire was now just a few feet behind them and Raven could hear a vase shatter in another room. She stared up at him, pleading. "C'mon, Roy, let me go… I don't want to see her now. Please. I've got to get away from here."
He blinked, surprised at her tone of voice. He glanced up at Starfire, who had gotten cornered by the mayor of Jump City, then back at Raven. "You're sitting at the same table with her all night. What does it matter if you see her now or you see her in twenty minutes?"
"Please, Roy. Not now… I'm in overload already and I just can't see her right now… I just can't." Raven looked up at him, and she was sure he could see the panic in her eyes. She probably looked like a deer in headlights, and that alone should have concerned him. Raven was strong, but being frightened by her best friend… there was something else going on. He had to know it by now. Roy sighed and shook his head.
"Jeez. The things I do for women." He looked around for an escape route before starting toward the ballroom. "C'mon, we'll duck into the ballroom early and get you some air." Roy took her elbow and pulled her through the mess of people. A few of them tried to stop and chat, but Roy said something rude and they backed off. He opened the door to the ballroom and yanked her inside. Soft light filled the space and Raven was instantly calmed. The room was mostly empty except for Alfred and a few waiters. Alfred looked up from his seating chart then glanced from Roy to Raven and raised an inquiring eyebrow.
"She needed a breath of air." Roy placed his hand on her shoulder and flashed one of his smiles. "Empath overload."
"Ah." Alfred folded the seating chart up and started for the kitchen. "Please take her out to the balcony, Roy, and I'll bring some tea. She just needs a few minutes to recoup."
"Thank you." Roy tugged on her elbow and brought her out onto the balcony over looking the back gardens. He set her down on a bench and shook his head. "You want to tell me what that was all about?"
"Not really, no." Raven folded her hands in her lap and stared down at her fingers, blushing. The scene she had just made was completely unnecessary. She knew that Cyborg had to have covered for her and Robin, making up some excuse as to why they were off gallivanting at Bruce's for the past week, but Raven couldn't bring herself to look Starfire in the eyes and lie. Not to her best friend. And not about what was really happening to them. "I'm sorry, Roy… I know you wanted to enjoy the party."
"Fuck the party." Roy's vulgarity made Raven look up at him. He leaned one hip against the stone railing and stared at her, his green eyes clouded with concern. "You had me panicking there. The way you were reacting made me think you were gonna blow up the whole damn mansion and everything inside." He shook his head and sighed. "Maybe this isn't a good idea for you, Rae. You're… unstable right now."
That was putting it nicely. Unstable seemed a fickle term to the emotions ripping through her right now. She felt like she was going to spontaneously combust any minute now. She sighed and leaned her head back against the railing, watching the darkening sky. "No, thank you. I just need a minute to gather myself. I promised Bruce I would help him, and we're not going to catch Gizmo if I'm just sitting on the sidelines letting everyone else does the legwork for me." She brushed invisible crumbs off her dress and stood up, watching confusion tear across Roy's face.
"Gizmo? You're trying to catch the grumpy midget?"
Raven nodded. "Bruce thought someone might be hiring him, and he wanted to know what for."
"A circus act?" Roy's bad joke made her smile and she chuckled.
"If only." There was a long moment of silence and Raven stared over at her friend. Light from inside brushed across his hard features and made them soft. For the briefest of minutes, Raven felt comfortable next to him. Like she felt when she was with Robin. She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Thank you, Roy. For once you've done something responsible, and I'm very proud of you."
He shrugged, his sly grin still touching his lips. "It can happen. But you still promised me a dance."
"I guess I did." Raven smiled back at him. "I think I can give you a dance."
"What about a kiss?"
"A what?"
"Oh, come one, Rae." Roy gently punched her shoulder, but the camaraderie did nothing to ease the red lining her vision. Roy seemed unaffected by the sight. "I just saved you from social humiliation and the rest of the mansion from certain death. The least I could ask for is one little kiss."
She rolled her eyes and stepped away from him. "And there goes all my good thoughts about you."
He laughed. "I was only joking… a little."
Raven rolled her eyes and stood on tip-toe to kiss his cheek. Warmth flooded her face and she stepped away to glare at him. "There. You got your kiss, now give me back my sanity before I have the good sense to murder you."
"Awe, that's no kiss Rae." Roy took a step closer to her, and put his fingers underneath her chin. Her face automatically tilted up to his. He was close, almost uncomfortably close, and if Raven didn't consider him a friend, and if he didn't smell so good, and if her mind hadn't been in a state of emotional disrepair, she might have pushed him away. But she didn't. And for the second time in twenty four hours, she was kissed.
But for the first time, she'd been watched.
Robin stood in the doorway and stared at the couple with a spot of black jealousy blossoming over his heart.
)O(
And there's Chapter Eleven, what will happen in Chapter Twelve I wonder!
