The door to Raven's room opened with a slight hiss, making Damian rise to his feet in an instant. He looked at her expectantly. She either wanted to talk or she didn't. He would respect either wish, but first he would make sure she was alright.
Earlier this evening, before the alarm had sounded, he had been at her door for a completely different reason. He had been headed towards the training room for an evening workout when it occurred to him to ask Raven to join. It wasn't unusual for the two of them to seek out each other's company for things. They had a good rapport and while the subtle nuances of social interaction continued to elude him, Damian felt a certain ease when he was with Raven.
Despite that, there were still many things Damian Wayne kept to himself, and a training session while everyone else in the tower was winding down for the night was just one of his things. But Damian had felt a longing to be near her; an urge he couldn't quite control or didn't feel the need to. Still, the same anxious anticipation plagued him as he waited to hear her speak.
She looked up at him through dark lashes and sighed.
"You can come in."
Damian followed obediently. Raven walked softly over to her bed and sat down cross legged on top of the dark bedspread. Damian sat a respectful distance away on the bed with his feet firm on the ground and perfect posture.
"Are you…alright?" It was rare for him to feel hesitant with his words. His grandfather had taught him about the power of words and the honor it would bring to those who heard the words of an Al Ghul, so he had better say his words with confidence. But Damian had immense respect for Raven, and he felt she had earned words selected with more care.
"I'm not going to break, Damian. You don't have to treat me like I'm made of glass."
He was taken aback at that. Didn't she know how highly he thought of her?
"I know that. I also know you're not made of stone. I understand if you want to keep the rest of the team off your back, but I'm here to listen, if you want to talk."
She sighed again.
"I know…I'm sorry, I'm just…feeling embarrassed."
"Raven, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. That being said, I do understand how you feel. As you know, any minor slip ups were not so easily forgiven during my childhood…" he looked away from her for a moment and seemed to consider something "but our mistakes make us human. Our ability to overcome them makes us strong."
Damian smiled reassuringly at Raven, which she returned. It fell fast as she curled up more into herself, rubbing her arms in a self-soothing fashion, still uncomfortable with something. Damian placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It's not just that. My family being afraid I might snap any second is pretty bad, but…seeing Doctor Light today brought back all those things I saw in his mind. I hadn't thought of it in a while but today just brought it all back."
While Damian hadn't seen what Raven had, he had seen the profile on Doctor Light. Knew of the women he had hurt. Knew how the League had gone rogue behind his father's back to try to stop Doctor Light from ever being a threat again. He knew how badly Raven had been affected by what she'd seen and how long it had taken for her to stop hiding in her room and want to be around the team again, to be around him too. Damian knew all that, but he didn't know what he was supposed to say to Raven now.
He gripped her shoulder a little as he struggled to produce the right words to soothe her. However, that small subconscious action proved to be enough for Raven as she sighed and gave a slight smile.
"Thanks for listening," she looked at him then and he felt his stomach tighten. She felt the mood shift and decided to lighten it and sate her curiosity at the same time.
"So…why were you at my door earlier?" She smiled coyly.
Damian shifted nervously and withdrew his hand from her shoulder to rub the back of his neck.
"Oh, I just…" feeling exposed, he cleared his throat and tried to regain his carefully crafted composure, "…I was on my way to the gym. I thought you might still be awake and want to join me."
"Ah, I see," Raven smiled.
She wasn't blind, especially where emotions were concerned, but it was difficult to sense Damian's emotions clearly when her own seemed to keep skewing her vision. At least she knew she was his first choice for company, and that would be enough, for now.
"Well, if you're hungry, I did threaten Garfield with bodily harm if they didn't save us a few slices of pizza," Damian offered nervously, suddenly very aware of the fact that they were alone.
Raven scoffed at that. "I could eat."
Damian stood then, offering Raven his hand to help her up.
"Hold your tongue, Grayson, unless you want me to cut it out."
Seeing his older brother's smirk when he and Raven walked through the common room's doors had instantly prickled Damian's nerves. Dick was always ready to embarrass Damian at any given moment, and the eager look in his eyes as they walked into the room was a dead giveaway to Damian.
Nightwing clicked his tongue. "Such hostility. And here I was, looking forward to seeing you."
Damian bumped his shoulder into Nightwing as he walked past to open the fridge to retrieve the leftovers with Raven in tow who looked apologetically at Nightwing.
"Welcome back," she deadpanned as Damian turned to her with the open box of pizza to let her pick first. She looked at him gratefully and they seemed to fall back into a world of their own. As they divided their portions onto plates to warm up in the microwave, Nightwing cleared his throat.
"Actually, Damian, I came here for you. You got a minute?"
Damian bit into his slice of pizza and glared at Nightwing. He chewed and swallowed, all the while glaring, before speaking to him.
"Fine. Say what you came here to say."
"In private, Damian," Nightwing said, starting to lose his patience with his younger brother.
The other Titans who had retreated to the couch to watch TV before Damian and Raven had entered had been mostly ignoring the bickering brothers until now. Connor and Donna exchanged a look with each other before glancing at Jaime and Garfield who shrugged, more used to such secrecy from the two.
"Right," Damian acknowledged, seemingly remembering that there were some things that couldn't be shared with the rest of the team.
Damian finished his pizza, placed his plate in the dishwasher, and washed his hands all while keeping his brother waiting. He gave an apologetic look to Raven before leaving the room with Nightwing.
Raven couldn't help but feel a little dejected. She and Damian had just had a nice moment together in her room, to then be reminded that there were many things Damian Wayne had to keep from her. Sure, she knew who Batman was, and had known since first healing Damian so long ago now. There were glimpses into his past she had unintentionally gleaned. That didn't mean since then she got to be apprised of Bat Family operations. She wasn't one of them.
Raven placed her plate in the dishwasher and turned it on for the night before washing her hands and joining the rest of the Titans on the couch. She might not have been a part of the Bat Family, but she was a Titan. Here, she would always feel like she belonged.
"So how long have you and the Boy Wonder been getting it on?" Connor asked as soon as she sat down.
You don't belong anywhere. Raven heard her father say. She groaned in response to both things.
Donna punched Connor in the arm and had the fortune of being one of the few people on Earth to not break their hand from it.
"What was that for?" Connor asked.
"For being rude!" Donna scolded.
"Honestly, good for you," Tara said to Raven, ignoring the two bickering beside her and leaning back nonchalantly. Raven blanched.
"Wait…" Garfield started, realizing Raven hadn't denied the accusation, "you're not really…"
"No!" Raven and Jaime shouted in unison, earning a questioning stare from the room towards the latter. Jaime shrunk under the pressure.
"Sorry! I just really don't want to know about this. Raven is like a sister, and Damian… is like that weird cousin you see at birthday parties and holidays, and I just do not need to know as much as some of you feel the need to find out," Jaime defended.
The group fell silent for a beat, considering their words, before Garfield blurted out,
"For the record, I am so here for the tea anytime anyone wants to spill it."
