I4.6

Chapter 22: Just the Two of Us?

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Adult themes. DO NOT read if you are underage or dislike controversial things.

Author's Note: I'M BACK!

The strain on his forearms as he curls the dumb bells at his wrist makes Richard grit his teeth. He silently marvels at how such a small movement can place so much strain on his well developed muscles. The same can be said for life and relationships. Sometimes, it's the little things that can cause the most damage, especially after a major injury.

Richard chuckles as he thinks more deeply about current events and his role in all of this mayhem. His relationship to Rachel has always been a thorn in Starfire's and Beastboy's side. Many thought that they are too close for comfort. That their reliance on one another for peace, confidence and reassurance was borderline toxic. Maybe they are right. When Rachel experiences some sort of upset in her life she usually comes running to him to either fix it, tell her she's right or talk her off the edge of the abyss. If she can't find him then she will turn in on herself and allow her dark thoughts to devour her. Richard would be lying if he said that that tendency of hers didn't make him happy. The thought of Rachel having a role, a void, that only he can fill makes him shiver in delight. It makes him feel as thought he is not replaceable, which is something he hasn't felt in a long time. Richard learned from a very young age that the people who approach him do so because they want something from him. But, not Rachel. He had to come to her first because she couldn't have been bothered to make the first move. She was not interested in his status or his money or his connections. She was invested in him and his well being because she cared...even if she doesn't quite know how to show it.

Or, at least, he had thought that until he found out that she and Cyborg have established a closer than expected friendship. That she is learning to lean on the big man for emotional support, just like she had been doing with him. Richard knows that he should be excited about Rachel feeling safe enough with someone else to open up, but if she becomes too comfortable with that, then where does it leave him? If she learns to find comfort and companionship with others then she might stop seeking it out in him. Just the thought of that possibility terrifies Richard to his core. The only way he could think of weakening the relationship between the two is by causing strife between Cyborg and Rachel. The budding friendship between the metal man and the team's empath can only be strained by Beastboy. Richard had hope that by suffocating the growing romantic relationship between Rachel and the changeling that he would be able to force the metal man to pick a side. He was almost certain that Cyborg would choose his long time friend and gaming partner over the quiet, emo girl with daddy issues and demonic powers. Of course, he would try to salvage what he could to make sure that everyone would still be on working terms since this is their job, but when the dust settles, he would stand beside the green changeling and Rachel would stand by Richard's side. Where she belongs.

This had been Richard's rationale before the last conversation that he had with his beloved. When they were attempting to mend their frayed relationship after those pictures hit the press. She had said something that he found highly unsettling and had not accounted for. They had been talking about lust. He remembered how she tried to rationalize away the feelings of lust that have been vibrating off of him in recent days. She had told him that she can pick up on other people's sexual desires, but that it doesn't always mean that it's directed at her. Someone can be thinking sexual thoughts about anyone else who is not even in the room. That's how she came to the mistaken conclusion that his feelings weren't really directed to her; that he was probably thinking about Starfire in those moments...but then she said that she's felt similar things radiating off of Cyborg. She, again, explains it away by claiming that he was probably thinking about Jinx at that time. This very well could be true, but something about that makes Richard uncomfortable. If Cyborg's feelings towards the empath aren't purely platonic then his response wouldn't be as tamed as it has been. He's the only other man, in this tower, that can maybe be considered a romantic rival for Richard. He definitely has the emotional maturity and intellect, which is something Beastboy hasn't quite developed yet. If Richard had to take a gamble, he would bet that the changeling's feelings for the dark haired girl are what is holding the metal man back. That would be breaking bro code.

Of course, all of this is speculation but not quite outside the realm of possibility. He has caught them once or twice showing affection for one another. He hadn't thought much of it then because he was working under the assumption that they're just friends. In reality, his Rachel is attractive and Cyborg has 20/20 vision.

The feel of sweat pooling between his shoulder blades breaks Richard's thoughts and make him grimace. As much as he loves working out and training his skills, he really dislikes the feel of clingy, wet clothing. The only time it's acceptable is when he is at the beach. Right now, he is nowhere near such a pleasant place. Instead, he is holdup in the Titan's gym, lifting weights. While he is limber and highly flexible, he also needs to work on his strength and muscle mass to be an even more effective crime fighter. He also needs to blow off some steam because talking with Starfire had brought more things to light about the relationship between his Rachel and the changeling. How all of this managed to fly under his radar he will never know.

The truth was that he has been too trusting of Rachel and comfortable in the fact that she is only comfortable with him. He had not realized that the empath and shape shifter have been on multiple dates...alone. As Starfire was sharing what she knew from her hospital bed, he realized that I4.6 hasn't had such an adverse effect on her. She was still sentient and able to form complete sentences to get her point across. Her words were slightly slurred but understandable. She tired easily, but that was to be expected. He had helped her walk to a small table at the corner of the medic bay to retrieve something. Her movements were slow and carefully, but she didn't appear to be in danger of falling down. All of these signs were promising and probably are the result of two factors: being born with her powers and the fact that it was delivered topically. In order for the chemical to be absorbed through the skin, the consistency of the drug had to be thinner. In effect making it weaker. Beastboy ingested his dose so it hit his blood stream faster. His violent reaction may have been from having too strong a dosage and the fact that he wasn't born with his powers. His genetic makeup was altered later in life.

All of this is promising. He, and by extension Wayne Enterprise, is learning quite a bit about what this drug can do. Bruce can sit on his high moral horse all he wants, but at the end of the day, he will welcome everything that Richard has learned and documented. Since Starfire is responding so well to the drug, Richard doesn't feel as guilty as he did with Beastboy. She was reveling in the attention he was showing her. The questions that he was asking. The tender care in his touches. Starfire was soaking all of this in like a sponge and in return, sharing what she knows about the budding relationship between his Rachel and the changeling. She thinks that this information will be enough to stop whatever attraction he might have towards the empath; not know that the more he knows, the stronger his resolve grows.

Even though Richard is deeply lost in his thoughts while lifting his weights, he can feel eyes on his back and instantly knows who it is. He's been facing the door this whole time, so that rules out Starfire, Beastboy and Cyborg. That leaves the only member of his team who can teleport herself from space to space. There is a part of him that wants to turn around and greet her, but he decides to let her engage with him first. He is opting to let her set the pace in their game of cat and unsuspecting mouse. In the mean time, he might as well put on a show for her.

At this point in his work out, sweat has thoroughly soaked through his shirt and shorts in the most uncomfortable of places. Richard carefully places his weights on the floor before grabbing the hem of his shirt. He lifts it high enough to wipe the sweat off of his face, revealing the tight muscles of his lower back. Then, he gingerly lifts the clingy fabric up and over his head. Making sure to flex his back muscles. He throws his shoulders back to make them look larger and more pronounced in comparison to his narrow wait. Not nearly as dramatically as a bodybuilder. That would be over kill, but just enough to show off the strength of his back and definition of his shoulder blades. He can feel the small droplets of sweat racing down his spine. He knows that he is presenting a feast for Rachel's violet eyes. He idly wonders how much longer before she says something as his right hand travels down to his crotch. He gently pulls the fabric away from his sweat soaked groin and his semi- erection from exercising. She can't quite see all of this because she is still behind him.

"Dick?…" comes a low, feminine voice from behind him. Richard fakes a startled jump before spinning around on his heels.

"Oh! Rachel…" he stutters for good measure, "I didn't realize you were there."

He gives her a small sheepish smile, as though he is a little boy that has just been caught doing something he shouldn't be. There is a pretty dusting of pink on her cheeks and she is unable to meet his eyes. Her gaze is trained on the safe zone of his neck. He wickedly mimics a deep swallow so that his Adam's apple can bounce beneath the 5 o'clock shadow on his neck. Richard watches in satisfaction as Rachel's eyes dart away. While she may not recognize him as a romantic partner, yet, she does at least find him attractive. It's not where he would like to be, but at least it's a start.

"I...um," she starts while still not fully looking at his naked upper body and trying to avoid the erection in his shorts. Richard has to actively stop himself from laughing from enjoyment. Before he realized that he wanted Rachel for himself, he would have been falling all over himself trying to cover up so that she wouldn't feel so uncomfortable. It would be the decent thing to do, but he hasn't felt decent towards her in quite awhile. He wants to do indecent things to her and have her respond in kind. As she thinks about what she wants to say, he is envisioning what it would be like to pull her closer. Guide her small, pale hand down his shorts and teach her how to slow stroke him properly. Slender fingers would wrap firmly around his shaft. Test the weight. Feel him swell and harden even more in the palm of her hands. He'd rest his head on her shoulder, close his eyes and just enjoy the feel of her touch running up and down his length.

"I just wanna say, thank you," she says. Pausing before adding, "for sticking up for me earlier."

Richard cocks his head to the side and says "Earlier?"

He knows what she is referring to, but just wants to hear her say it.

"In the medic bay," she clarifies, "when you said that I wasn't the culprit."

Richard tries to smile as good naturedly as possible while visions of Rachel jerking him off floats around in his head. "I said that because I know it's not you."

Her eyes finally found its way to his face at that statement. Relief floods her face at the conviction in his voice, but she has to ask "How are you so sure?"

Because it's me, is what he thinks to himself but responds with, "I know you, Rachel. You're always worried about hurting people with your powers. I can't imagine you doing so just because. Whoever is doing this has a motive."

Richard's eyes track Rachel as she takes a few tentative steps closer to him and continues with, "whatever his motives are, what he's trying to do is not going to work. We're stronger than that. We've been through worse than that."

She quirks her eyebrow at his statement. She's heard this speech before, but asks "How do you know it's a he?"

Richard nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders and replies "It's just a hunch. Most of our nemesis are men. If I had to offer a name of who I think this might be, I'd say…"

"Slade?" she cuts him off. He is slightly mesmerized by the delicate looking bone in her right wrist as she lifts her hand up to her chin. Violet eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. Trying her best to fit the pieces of this puzzle together. She looks adorable as his eyes shift to the downward pull of her luscious lips. Was that lip gloss?

"I know that he's your prime suspect," she begins in a soft voice. Talking more to herself than to him, "but I don't think it's him. This isn't his style."

Richard finds himself nodding along, "This is definitely different than what he usually does. Which is very concerning."

"That's why I don't think that this is him," she continues, "he's much more upfront about his dealings and I don't think he would pass up on the opportunity to gloat."

"I agree, but I also think that Slade is willing to use whatever method is necessary to accomplish his goals," Richard counters as he throws his shirt over his sweaty shoulder. Contracting his abs on purpose to draw Rachel's attention. It doesn't work. She is too lost in her own thoughts to pay attention to him. Richard smiles at her indifference because it just makes him more determined to make her fall for him.

"Then...what are his goals?" she asks in exasperation as she turns her head up to the ceiling. Richard unconsciously licks his lips at the sight of the pale, smooth column of her neck. His fingers could curl so lovingly around the soft flesh and pull her closer to his own lips.

"Goals…maybe breaking the team apart? We are significantly weaker if we are not unified," Richard supplies while staring at Rachel's enticing collarbones. His impromptu seduction plan is backfiring on him. He's standing here shirtless and flexing while she's brainstorming motives. At this point, he doesn't know if he wants to laugh or cry at how unaware she can be or at how easily she can affect him without even trying.

"That's even more concerning," she says, "that means that he's planning something bigger and is waiting for us to falter."

"That's true," Richard replies as he begins racking his weights, "who knows what he really wants? He's been after our demise for as long as we've been a team. At this point, I think it's just more a compulsion than an actual reason."

He can hear her sigh in frustration as she moves closer to the door. She knows that his training session is over since he's packing things away. Her voice breaks the silence with "What I still don't understand is how he's able to break into the Titan's Tower and poison people. We've all been on high alert since Beastboy's incident. How was he able to do what he did to Starfire?"

Richard turns around to look at her. Her eyes are closed as the tips of her fingers are aggressively massaging her temples. He smiles to himself because Rachel is just being Rachel. The tension between the two of them over the last few days seems to have dissipated and they are back to "normal." He's not too happy about that, but at least she's not avoiding him like earlier. The new goal is to get her to come to him, which requires him to be more patient. The only thing keeping him in check is the knowledge that it'll all be worth it in the end.

Before he can think too much about it, Richard strides up to Rachel and gently takes hold of her wrists. He pulls her hands away from her face and softly says, "Don't do that. You're going to give yourself a headache."

The pretty blush that spreads across her cheeks has him smiling more deeply. The dimples in both of his cheeks making an appearance. Her eyes dart to the door on her right in order to hide her bashful expression. He knows that she thinks he is handsome in the same way that someone can admit that a family member is attractive. However, her reaction is promising. He lets go of her wrists and makes his way to the door without looking back. He knows that she will follow.

They both walk out of the training room. Rachel is thoughtlessly following him without knowing where he is going. This habit pleases him. She is lost in her own musings, but he couldn't tell if she was thinking about Slade or him. Richard frowns a bit at the thought before saying "You're welcome."

"Hmmm," she absentmindedly says as she turns her attention to him. Subconsciously picking up her pace to match his.

"I said, 'you're welcome,'" he repeats, "for defending you in the medic bay. I'm not sure what has gotten into the rest of the team, but we shouldn't condemn you without evidence."

Rachel nods her head as she continues to walk beside him. He's leading them to his bedroom and she's just following along without a second thought. Richard really needs a good scrub down and soak in his wooden bathtub. It would be nice if Rachel was willing to join him, but he knows that all good things come in due time. That he'll need to be patient until he's able to properly corner her and make her his.

"I know," she says softly, "if the goal is to break the team apart, then who ever is behind this is doing a good job."

"Um-hmmm, so good that they're making it seem like it's an inside job," because it is, "I just hope the rest of the team can put their biases aside so that we can overcome this...together."

There's a deep sigh that escapes Rachel's glossy lips, "Those pictures…"

"Those pictures…" repeats Richard as he pauses in the hallway. They are half way to his bedroom. "I need to apologize for that. I don't know what came over me at that time. I shouldn't have done that to you."

He is very careful to not touch her in this moment. He is standing arms length away from her in this narrow hallway. Richard is very mindful of his facial expression and working hard to emit a sense of sorrow at the thought of what he did to her even though he has no regrets. He watches as she shakes her head, looks at his feet and points to his sneakers.

"Your shoe laces are untied," she says as she indicates his left sneaker. She's trying to deflect and change the topic.

"Look at me, Rachel," he quietly commands, "you can't run from this forever."

"I'm not trying to run, Dick," she snaps at him. Her eyes are darting from left to right, but never actually settling on him. He can tell that she feels uncomfortable and that she would prefer to sweep what happened under the carpet, but they can't do that becaused they have a very important press conference coming up.

"We need to talk about it, Rachel," he gently pushes back. "I need to properly apologize to you and we need to be on the same page for this press conference. Batman has been riding my back because of it."

That wasn't necessarily untrue. It did come up in the conversation that he had with his mentor that morning, but they had other pressing matters to talk about. It was a rough way to start the day, but then he had to rush home because of Starfire and finally he decided to hit the weights before bed. In order to sleep well, he'll need his body to be as tired as his mind currently is.

"Batman…," Rachel quietly whispers. She is now looking at him with concern in her violet eyes. "What did Batman have to say about all of this?"

Rachel, somewhat, understands the dynamics between Robin and the Cape Crusader. He has shared some of his past experiences with the Dark Knight as a mentor and with Bruce as a father figure, even though he hasn't told her his real name. She also knows that as self assured as Richard claims to be, he is very sensitive to the critiques of the older man. Family dynamics is a funny thing that's not the least bit humorous.

"He said that we need to hold this press conference soon, so that we can clear up the mess that those pictures caused," Richard responds in an even voice. He watches as she nods her head in agreement.

She asks, "Was that all he had to say?"

"...there was more," but he didn't know how to tell her that his mentor distrusts her because of her demonic origin. That's a battle that she's been fighting all her life; with herself and with others. That discrimination is rearing its ugly head again within the Enterprise, as well as at home. Instead of telling her all this he continues with "...it's complicate, but just know that we need to get ourselves on stage and share the same story."

What Richard is choosing to leave out, is the team. Bruce wants all five members on that stage to present a unified front. Richard wants just the two of them, so that the whole world can focus on them as a pair. The rumor mill has been churning nonstop since those pictures have been released. Talk show pundits have been analyzing their team's dynamics and the way they all interact with one another like mathematicians analyze data points. They've dug up quite a few clips from the past and have been rerunning them like sports highlights in an attempt to pin point the exact moment that Robin's love interest shifted from the sexy alien princess to the brooding, goth demoness. Fans have been filling in the blanks with their own creative spins through a flood of artwork and fiction writing. All of this and it's only been 24 hours since it's been released. He knows that Beastboy has been tracking the development of this story more than anyone else on their team. Maybe that's why he was so quick to turn on Rachel in the medic bay?

"Just the two of us?" she asks. Her low, gravel-like voice pulls him out of his own thoughts. There is clear concern written across her lovely, pale face. Her eyebrows are furrowed again and Richard can't stop himself from lightly pressing the pad of his thumb again the center of her brow.

"You're going to give yourself wrinkles if you keep frowning like that," he says, "Yes. Just the two of us. The relationship of our team is too unstable right now. I don't want to risk doing more damage."

Both of Rachel's eyes move to the center of her face, causing her to go cross eyed before swatting away his thumb. He chuckles at her huff. She rubs at her brow as she adds, "That makes sense. We do have two members who aren't in tip top shape. We shouldn't show our cards."

That's my girl, Richard thinks to himself. They are generally on the same page about many things and he's glad to see that this is one of them. He nods at her once before starting to make his way back down the hall.

He glances over his shoulder to see her still following him. Even more lost in her thoughts than before. She's mistaken if she thinks that they're not going to talk about this again before the conference. She doesn't know that he's the one who took those salacious pictures, much less that he's the one who released them to the public. She would probably flip and blast him into another dimension while screaming "why." Either way, now isn't the best time to beat a dead horse. She's still recovering from the time he drugged Beastboy and is now dealing with the trauma of what has happened to Starfire. She also suspects that he was the criminal's first subject since he had gotten sick during the gala weekend. That only leaves two more Titans who have not been drugged: her and Cyborg.

Richard, too, has been mulling over who he should test I4.6 on next. Even though everything seems to be working well with Starfire, he's not too comfortable with testing it on his Rachel, yet. There were too many variables that still need to be taken into consideration. He also didn't want to drug Cyborg, either. Tensions are too high and people are known to do stupid things in moments of uncertainty. No, as of right now, it would be best to lay low until they get over the press conference, Beastboy is removed from the picture and Rachel fully warms back up to him. He should also give Star and BB a little more time to apply pressure on her, so that she starts to willingly seek him out like she did today. The fact that she made the first move to find him in the training room is a promising sign. She's also allowing him to openly touch her again, just not in front of other people.

By this point, they've made it to Richard's room and he causally leans against the door frame. He makes sure that the muscles of his arms are fully flexed and that his abs are engaged. He is still shirtless, after all. Rachel stops with him, but isn't really paying attention to him which irks him more than he would like to admit. Instead of drawing her attention, he decides to open the door of his bedroom, just to see what she will do. He can still see that she's lost in her own head as she absentmindedly steps into his bedroom.

Christ, he thinks to himself. Where is her sense of danger? He wonders at his own self control sometimes. If he were a lesser man, he would have taken this as an open invitation, but he knows that that's not what this is. She's worried about her ill teammates, the friendships that she's worked so hard to develop, him and also herself. She's not thinking as clear as she should be.

Richard doesn't complain as he steps in behind her and slips his shirt off his shoulder. His eyes are tracking Rachel's movements as she makes her way over to the windows on the left side of his room. She stares out of it without looking at him. He continues to watch her back as he takes a seat on the edge of his bed and slips his sweaty feet out of his gym sneakers. Her short violet hair barely grazes her slender shoulders and he wishes that she wouldn't keep her hair that length. It would be heavenly to run his fingers through those lovely locks until she falls asleep with her head resting on his pillow. The one laying right next to him. His eyes are still trained on her figure as he pulls off his socks. He takes special note of how her hips shift when she moves her weight from one leg to the other. The toned muscles of one thigh twitching lightly at the change. The length of her shorts hide her upper thighs and plump butt cheeks from view and Richard is silently thankfully for that. He's been trying his best to not allow his lustful thoughts to ruin perfectly good moments, especially when their friendship is in such a precarious position.

Oh, but what he wouldn't give to have the palms of her hands braced against the windows as he kneels behind her. Forcing her to spread her legs shoulder width apart as his curious hands run up from her ankles, across her calves, past the sensitive areas behind her knees, just to travel further up her twitching thighs to sneak beneath the hem of her shorts and cup the firm roundness of her ass cheeks. Richard finds himself shamelessly licking his lips at the thought of what her flesh would feel like and the wonderful sound her soft gasps would make as he massages her intimate places.

He can feel a predatory smile spread across his face as he hunches over to rest his elbows on his knees. His hands are clasped between them as his eyes still soak in Rachel's feminine back. Her plain, navy t-shirt is just baggy enough to hide her curves underneath, but he knows it's there. He's seen them in her skin tight leotard. Has felt them numerous times beneath his hands as he's had to grab or hold her for various reasons from intimate hugs to grappling during sparring matches. The thought of grappling with her on his bed, instead of the training room's hard floor is exciting. It'll be infinitely more comfortable that way. He would be able to leave more...questionable bruises on her delicate frame than he did last time.

Richard is walking down a dangerous path and it's only a matter of time before his sexual desires start breaking through her train of thoughts, but reigning himself back in is taking more control than he cares to muster. Or, at least, it did until he notices something amiss in the corner of his room. Now, Richard prides himself on cleanliness and being meticulous about organization. It's one of the reasons why he's such a competent leader, so when he sees the door to his closet isn't quite closed and something sticking out, he knows that everything is not alright. He also knows that he won't be able to properly investigate it with Rachel still in his room. He's hiding too many secrets for that. Besides, he has an idea of what might be going on.

Instead of drawing attention to his closet, Richard decides to make a show of standing and stretching. He loudly cracks his neck, which makes Rachel turn around to look at him with a lifted brow. He smiles at her sheepishly before allowing his hands to drop to the draw strings at the waist of his shorts.

"Wha...what are you doing?" she stampers.

"I'm gonna take a shower, dummy. I smell and feel gross," he playfully teases as he undoes the knot and hooks his thumbs into the fabric. Rachel is looking slightly horrified by the idea of Richard just pulling off his pants in front of her.

He watches as she backs up against the window behind her. Her eyes darting to the positions of his thumbs and the audacious smile pulling at his lips. Dimples on full display. She stampers, "I...um...I'll catch you later."

And...just like that, she disappears into the floor. Sometimes, she can be so adorable that it hurts his sweet tooth. Her blushing face and curious eyes were not lost on him. She may not want to recognize the sexual attraction that she has to him, but it is most definitely there.

When Richard is sure that she isn't coming back he says out loud to no one in particular, "It's a good thing Rachel left. She hates rats who don't understand boundaries and personal space."

He is staring directly at the space between his open closet doors with his hands across his chest. His stance is defensive as he watches a small, green mouse crawl over the door's threshold. He levels his bluish grey eyes to vivid green before asking, "Did you find what you were snooping for?"

*wipes sweat off brow* It felt like I forgot how to write. Hope you enjoyed! Until next time.