The Unknowing
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything dealing with DCU
Chapter Fourteen: A Day In The Manor
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Third Point of View
….
The walls in the manor rattled as Jason and Dick ran up from the batcave in their suits, only just getting back from patrol minutes beforehand. This had to be Raven's doing. Dick went to head towards Raven's room but Jason pulled him along towards the library. "This way."
Upon opening the double doors, Jason's eyes instantly land on the small figure fast asleep in the oversized chair with the novel long forgotten on the rug beside her. But what caught his attention was the gibberish she was mumbling as her muscles seemingly contracted.
In a matter of seconds, Dick crouches down on his knee as he uses one of his hands to gingerly pull her hair out of her face while the other one rubs small circles on her lower back, causing her eyes to slowly peer open. Unlike that night in the tower, when Raven woke up startled and sweating.
"Hey, you're safe. You're still in the library at the manor. You just fell asleep," Dick said in a calming tone so as to not further agitate the distressed women in front of him.
Jason could not help but notice how comfortable the two were with one another. Sure, they were teammates for years but he knew Dick long enough to know that he only gets so close with people. Hell, he's sure there is a lot that Kory doesn't know about him and may never know, which isn't really a surprise considering Dick was raised by Bruce.
Raven on the other hand remained unmoved while she collected herself. He's only had a few run ins with her in his Red X days and he hasn't known her too long to know a bunch about her but it wasn't hard to tell that she is a very reserved person. Almost every action and mannerism is calculated beforehand.
So the two of them still remaining close like they are now is a little bit surprising.
Clearing his throat, he asked an obvious question to fill the silence. "Another bad dream, Sunshine?"
Noticing Jason for the first time, Raven slowly sat up but Dick's hand remained rubbing small circles to soothe her.
"You could say that," she responded with her signature raspy voice. Running a hand through her loose hair, she cleared her voice before asking her next thought. "How bad was it this time?"
"It's getting worse. You uhm… shook the manor and you were mumbling something that didn't make any sense." Dick paused to let her take his words in before continuing. "Do you remember anything?"
"No," she said and sighed, obviously annoyed with not only Blood but herself as well. For someone that has only known control her whole life, she couldn't help but feel controlless right now.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. We'll figure it out together." Dick meant his words but he couldn't help but feel some doubt. Quickly, he pushed it as far down as he could muster so he didn't alert Raven of those feelings. With how the mission has been going, it seems like they're not going to actually know what's really going down until Blood and Joker make their move. So they'll have to be ready for anything.
Standing back on his heels, he raised himself up as he stepped back to turn to his brother. "Jason, can you make us some breakfast? I need a minute." Dick didn't wait for a response as he left through the double doors.
"Okay then." Jason said as he turned back to Raven.
"He's trying to hide his emotions from me." Leaning forward, she grabs the book she dropped in her sleep. The familiar weight in her hands did little to ease her worries. She needed to meditate. If she could even meditate.
"And what emotions would that be, Sunshine?" Jason inquired as he walked towards Raven, only stopping to reach for the book.
"Doubt. He's not sure how this is all going to go down and he's afraid something bad will happen."
"How do you feel about it?"
"Anxious." She admitted as she stood up. "Blood isn't known to give up. He won't stop until he gets me."
"Hate to break it to you but he's not going to get you. Not with us around anyway." He makes his way to place the book back on the shelf before turning back to the dark bird.
"We'll need to be ready for him and whatever he has planned. Especially since he's working with Joker."
"Have you ever had the displeasure of meeting the Joker," he asked as he made his way back to her.
"No, I've only heard stories from Dick." And she hoped that would be enough to last a lifetime. How Dick described the Joker… it sent goosebumps on her arms just thinking about him.
"Hn. You're lucky then."
"Did you face him often when you wore the Robin mantle?"
That would make a lot of sense since he's Batman's biggest opponent but Jason would have been younger, right? She didn't want to face the Joker now, let alone facing him and dealing with puberty.
"You could say that. He's always up to something, whether it's robbing a bank or trying to make Gotham go as crazy as he is."
Raven nods. "I can only imagine what it must've been like as a teenager to fight someone like him." San Francisco definitely had its fair share of villains but nothing like the villains in Gotham. Especially not the Joker.
Jason smirks. "Most people are afraid of him, if you're smart. Bruce would always tell me that I was too cocky and it would catch up to me. I just didn't realize how right he was until it was too late." With Raven's silence, he glanced over with a small smile on his face. "What? Weren't you wondering how I ended up in a Lazarus pit?"
"I never assumed you would tell me. It's not my business."
"Yeah, but you're still curious. Everyone is." And everyone is curious. Talia grilled him with questions after she was able to track him down. Then Ra's and of course Bruce once we started to become civil again. And then there's Dick, Tim and Barbara. Surprisingly, Damian was the only one not to ask questions. But he did grow up around the pit so he's sure that had something to do with it. He was grateful to the little demon for that. The only thing he's grateful for from him though.
"Still doesn't make it my business, Jason." Who was she to ask for such sensitive information like that?
Jason couldn't help but smile at Raven's words. "Hn. You really are different, aren't you, Raven?"
"Is that a bad thing?" He actually called her by her name.
"On the contrary, I think more people should be like you."
Jason smirks as her cheeks become apparently red before looking down for a second. Looking back up, he had a somber expression on his face. He swallowed the lump he felt before finding his voice again. "I died. Got myself blown up trying to save a woman that ratted me out to the Joker. No mother of the year mug for her."
Her eyes pierce through his, trying to read him. He was still hiding his emotions well, even now, but she didn't have to read his emotions to know he was sad. "No, I suppose not."
"Well, now that you got the full scoop. Do I make more sense now?"
Raven's head falls to the side. "I don't think you'll ever make sense to me, Jason Todd."
Genuine laughter escaped his lips. "Fair, but I could say the same thing to you. In the best of ways of course."
"The best of ways?"
"We haven't known each other very long, minus my Red X days, but there's a lot more to you than meets the eye and I have a feeling that no matter how long I know you, there will always be more to find out about you. Keeps it interesting."
Not knowing how to respond to his words, she simple nodded along, hoping he'll change the subject.
"But you could help out," he nudged.
"Help? How?" What is he trying to get at?
"There's a tea shop. I'll take you there sometime," he offered.
"You drink tea?" She didn't spend every minute with him here but she did see him often and not once did she see him drink tea.
"Usually it's only with Alfred, it's sort of our thing but he brought me to the only tea shop in Gotham worth going to. His words. Thought you might want to try it before you skip town." He shrugged.
"What makes you think I'll skip town once the mission is completed," she questioned as she watched a couple lose curls fall into his eyes before he ran his hand through them, swiftly pushing them back in place.
Jason raises a brow. "Because no one in their right mind would want to stay in Gotham."
Raven nodded in agreement as she looked off in thought. He was right about that. Gotham is a hopeless place but she somewhat felt attracted to it. She might want to spend some time in the city after they stop Blood, Joker and Slade. Damn, that's a lot of bad guys.
"Don't you live here?"
"Right now, yeah, but I'm also not in my right mind." Jason Todd was anything but normal. "You actually want to stay around here after it's all said and done?"
Raven sighed, contemplating on telling him about her mother. She didn't talk about her a lot but he shared some seriously private information so the least she could do was share something too. "Possibly. It would be nice to see where my mother grew up."
"Wait, your mom is from Gotham? Small world."
"Hardly a small world but yes, she's from Gotham, or was before… everything happened and she moved to a pocket dimension called Azarath. That's where I grew up, not Earth." Jason snickers to himself. "What?"
"There is so much more to you than meets the eye, Sunshine."
"I promise you, it's not that interesting." More morbid than anything else.
"I'll decide that once we go out, to the tea shop," he quickly added the last part. "Of course."
"Of course."
Jason looked towards the door before looking back at Raven. "Let's get some food." Nodding along, Raven was eager to change the atmosphere. They walked in silence, both replaying the words exchanged minutes before. Once they made it to the kitchen Raven went to make herself a cup of tea but before she could, Jason stopped her.
"Hold off on the tea, Sunshine. I need you to grab the ingredients so I can start making us some food."
"You want me to help you make food?" She was almost stunned.
"Don't worry, it's nothing you can't handle," he laughed as he put a kettle on the stove for her and went to grab the appliances he'll need. "We'll need the eggs, milk, spinach, tomatoes and cheese." At her unsure expression he added, "Everythings in the fridge. Relax, I'm sure you've faced much worse than assisting with breakfast."
Raven begrudgingly nodded and grabbed the requested ingredients. Why Jason wants her to help make food is beyond her but she didn't want to be rude to him since he has been the one making all of their meals since the first night in the Tower.
"Perfect." Jason commented as she placed everything on the table. He grabbed an onion and placed it on a cutting board. "I'll handle the eggs so all I need you to do is dice the onions and tomatoes for the omelets."
He grabbed a knife for her while he checked on her tea. Raven picked up the knife and clumsily attempted to cut the onion. She must not have done a good job because Jason was already eying her work.
"Have you ever cut veggies?" Raven shook her head. "No worries, I'll show you what I mean." She hands the knife over. "You'll want to cut the onion in half first, it makes it easier to dice anything. Next, cut along this way and then the other way to get them nice and small." He illustrated it once and then handed it back over for Raven to try. "Make sense?"
"I think so?" She went to cut it again but before she could, the onion slipped out of her hand. Why didn't it do that to him?
"I wish I could say that was good," he joked.
"I shouldn't be doing this, I don't know how to cook." Memories of brunt and gooey pancakes resurfaced and she winced in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, I was just joking around. Listen, you only don't know how to because I'm willing to bet you've never had anyone to show you, which is fine because I'm showing you now. Next time should be easier." He shrugged like it was no big deal.
"There's going to be a next time?" What was he signing her up for?
Jason chuckled. "If we solve the mission tonight then no but at the rate it's currently going, then yes. As long as you want to eat tomorrow anyway."
"I don't remember signing up for this," she mumbled.
"You're gonna be just fine, I promise you'll learn. You just need to be taught and that's easy. Trust me, if a street kid like me can learn then so can you."
"Fine." What would the Titans say if they were here now? Vic would probably laugh and demand he make all the meals. She smiled at the thought. She missed her big brother.
"If I'm making you uncomfortable, tell me but I think this would be the easiest way to get the motion down." He stated before stepping behind her and reaching around her front to properly place her hands. He made sure to give Raven more than enough time to push him away if she wanted to. But she didn't.
Remaining still, Raven allowed Jason to wrap himself around her and place her exactly how he needed her. She was too distracted with the scent of his cologne to pay too much attention to the words coming out of his mouth. He smelled of Old Spice and old books. It smelled good paired together. Very good.
"… and that's why you want to make sure you hold it like this. So you don't cut the tips of your fingers off. Now watch this," Jason said as he moved her small hand in his larger one to start dicing the veggies. "See? Not too hard after all."
"I suppose not." He still made it look so easier though.
"Glad to hear it, Sunshine. Now give it a whirl while I grab your tea."
The kettle was just starting to screech but before Jason could move, Dick walked in on them, pausing as he cocked his head in confusion. His little brother was practically holding one of his closest friends and she didn't look annoyed. What the hell happened in the last twenty minutes?
"Wha…. uhm what did I miss?" Dick asked with a raised brow.
Raven went to answer but quickly found out that she was lost for words. Thankfully, Jason stayed cool and stepped back from Raven to grab her tea. "Relax, Boy Wonder, I'm not you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He furrowed his brows in confusion.
"That you're the biggest flirt the Robin's have ever had and you know it."
Dick scoffs. "If I'm the biggest flirt then what does that make you?"
Jason faked innocence in response to Dick. "Me? I'm the one least likely to cause any trouble."
Raven caught Dick's glance as they both laughed at Jason's comment. "Okay, so now you're just lying."
"I would never." Jason answered with a smile. "At least I keep it interesting." He shrugged and placed a steaming mug of tea on the counter.
Seeing the tea excited Raven and with the motivation to be done with what she's doing, she quickly does as Jason instructed. She surprised herself in the end because she didn't cut herself or drop anything and it was surprisingly easy doing it like he said to.
"Nice work, Sunshine. I'll take care of the rest."
"You sure?"
"Don't worry about it. I got it."
Raven nodded in appreciation. Taking a seat at the island, she inhaled the sweet aroma of her tea. It smelled amazing and when she sipped it, she could tell she was right. It tasted great.
"This is really good. Thank you."
"Don't thank me, thank Alfred, he's the one who taught me," he said and turned around to focus on the task at hand.
Dick strolled over and took a seat on the stool next to Raven, eyeing her. She seemed very relaxed, which was surprising considering everything going on. Raven caught his glance but turned back to her warm drink in between her hands as he looked forward.
He cleared his throat. "Now that you've been able to get at least some rest, I think it would be best to go back to the warehouse to see if you can sense any changes tonight. Maybe we can find out why you were attracted there last time and see if you still are."
Raven nodded in understanding. While it made sense to go back there, she'd be lying if she said there's a part of her that doesn't want to. It could be because the last time she wandered there without realizing and then practically fell into Slade's hands. Or, it could be because when she first went there, she couldn't sense anything but she should have and she was kicking herself now for it now.
"Just tell me when," came her smokey reply.
"Alright, work talk over. It's time to eat," Jason said as he placed the plates down and took a seat next to Dick.
Yet again, one of Jason's meals smelled amazing.
