Chapter Text
Prompt: Untouchable
Synopsis: One random remark reveals how Raven wasn't exactly as untouchable as she lets on
Rating: T (For swearing, zero sexual content here)
Spice level: 0 (Pure fluff)
oOo
The keyboard bleated and groaned under Dick’s relentless, conspicuous raps across its length. He hadn’t taken the time to measure the force that was powering his mighty fingers, but from the unwilling pleas they pound out of each key without a modicum of reconsideration, his assumption was that it fell somewhere between a raging ‘DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT COST?’ from a foaming-at-the-mouth Cyborg, and a desperate ‘My baby, hang in there, Papa got you’ - also from the resident Tin man, in case you couldn’t tell.
Under normal circumstances, the Titans’ leader would have made a point to handle his friend's prized possessions with care, especially when the friend in question was akin to a beloved elder brother to them all, aka, the communal sounding board, the defuser of drama, the premium package of inspirational quotes and much-needed back pats.
He should have known better. Creatures known as ‘brother’ liked to masquerade under a considerate veneer to conceal their true nature of a gigantic winking asshole, and would waste no time barreling out to erupt upon their unsuspecting victims if given the opportunity.
I got your back my ass.
We need bonding activities once in a while to build team morale. I understand that you prefer some time alone at home after a rough week, so stay at the Tower to rest, Donna and I will take our little troublemakers out of your way my ass.
Oh by the way, I’ve finished entering the data for that urgent report you mentioned yesterday. Could you review it later? My. Fucking. Ass.
To think that one of his longest-standing friends would turn out to be an ultimate backstabber, and in such a spineless fashion for that matter. For all of his lengthy declaration about being a real man, he couldn't even grease his robotic guts enough to just admit he fucked up the entire report and apologize, like what a responsible team member would do. Nooooo . He turned tail and took flight under the pretense of ‘allowing the team a night out to unwind’, leaving the dumpster fire he set off behind to detonate in the oblivious team leader’s face.
Three hours. Thirty minutes. 50 seconds. That’s how long Dick had been rooting by the main computer at their Common Room, eyes unblinking, fingers flying in such a furious blur that, at a glance, they appeared to be performing spell-conjuring motions. Well, maybe if he summoned enough faith, one could actually work, because it would take a damned miracle to salvage all the nonsensical information and ridiculous numbers he was seeing…
“Is everything all right over there? I’m detecting some rather… complex and vehement emotions from you.”
Dick’s heated train of thoughts screeched to a halt as a gravel-like voice called out from behind him. By this point, frustration and exhaustion had already fused into a boulder in their effort to crush his threadbare nerves, yet he managed to slip a smile on his lips as he looked over his shoulder at his unexpected company for the night.
Raven was seated on the central sofa that overlooked the vast hybrid screen-window spanning from wall to wall, which gave her an unobstructed view of the computer set at its base - along with a restless Dick who was practically anchored there at the time. Her demeanor, as ever, reflected poise and discipline. Her back was held in a taut rigid line that would look uncomfortable on anyone else. Her shoulders maintained a practiced balanced symmetry - no slack, no droop, not even the slightest degree of tilt on either side - that flowed seamlessly downward to sculpt the elegant posture of her upper frame. The voluminous cloak accompanied her as it usually did, but her hood was bundling up at the base of her neck, revealing her immaculate features and shoulder-length violet hair that had been combed to a fault, spread evenly, then tucked tight behind each ear so that not a single strand could ruined the image of perfection she carried herself with. Even the cross of her legs radiated control and precision.
That’s Raven for you. Ever the proud and untouchable empath.
“It’s fine, Raven. Just planning on how to express the full extent of my gratitude to a wonderful friend for this brilliant gift he left me…” Sourness doused his tone as he put intentional emphasis on certain keywords of the line. Dick caught a quick blink on Raven’s face - presumably to convey her acknowledgement - before she returned her attention to the colossal books cradled with care in her hands. Only then did he register the small mountain of reading materials she had placed next to where she sat on the sofa - already systematically arranged based on size, with larger ones at the bottom and thinner ones higher above - topped with a small marker right at the center of the book’s cover.
Odd.
It wasn’t uncommon for Raven to venture out of her room for a change of reading environment, but to choose a virtually public space for an entire reading session where distractions and interruptions abounded? Had the gloom of her withdrawn lifestyle finally wore her down and she now set her mind to breaking free from her comfort zone? Unlikely. After all, she did turn down the other Titan’s invitation for a night outing to have time for herself right this afternoon.
“Would you look at that… The strangest phenomenon of the year, the Azarathanian Raven made an unprecedented migration from her secluded habitat to settle down in an infamous unruly area! What could this possibly precipitate?” The teasing blurted out before Dick could stop himself, with the cadence rising and falling at the right words for dramatic effect, his hand clasping over his lips in a feigned display of astonishment. Humor had been his go-to coping mechanism against stress, the words came naturally to him before his brain even caught up with what his tongue produced. All the same, Raven was rarely his target. She was Raven , so it should be self-explanatory. She never got on his nerves once, he knew she didn’t take kindly to being picked on, he would have to bend over backward to get the reaction he desired from her, and there was a high chance that she would repay his entertainment with a one-way trip to the Underworld.
But his stress level was exceeding what a human could endure, and she was the only available in the room, so… Sorry not sorry!
Dick expected the empath to sharpen her eyes in warning and flick one brief glare at him before recommitting her focus to her books, like she always did upon being teased.
That’s why he couldn’t keep the surprise off his face when her fingers froze halfway through their page flipping motion. The pause was fleeting, almost non-existent, but it certainly didn’t escape his inner detective.
“A change of air helps recenter the mind. Some information in the books is crucial, so I figured I could memorize them quicker here.”
The line was delivered in her typical talking mannerism. Curt, succinct, and straight to the point. Still, it felt rather… unnatural, as if every word had been stretched to the limit to wrap around a much more profound lie and was coming undone at the seam. Either way, it could be his imagination, since little could be interpreted from that emotionally detached voice of hers.
Anyhow, it was none of his business to meddle with. This monstrosity of a document needed to be ready by sunrise, and he hadn’t gotten anywhere. To add to that, he didn’t suppose Raven would appreciate his input. Secrets were virtually an extension of her characteristics. There shouldn’t be a major problem with the half-demoness acting moody if she didn’t blow half the Tower up…
“Do you remember when the others said they would be home?”
Dick stopped scanning the data on the screen, his fingers ceasing their descent toward the keyboard. An attempt to initiate small chat? From Raven of all people? Talking more than necessary was a common tactic to mask anxiety. So she did attempt to hide something from him…
Whatever. Well-meaning and caring leader had been crushed dead under the endless avalanches of typos and falsified facts he couldn’t outrun. Sorry, brooding girl, you’re on your own on this one!
“Not sure. No sooner than midnight, though… They said something about stopping at a new restaurant downtown, then catching the latest installment of the gritty horror franchise… We watched the third part of it on movie night a couple days earlier actually. You know, the extremely graphic one that even Wicked Scary comes second to…”
The page turning sound stopped in its track for at least two whole seconds this time, before continuing uninterrupted once more.
Dick’s eyes widened beneath the domino mask.
It couldn’t be, could it?
He cast a glance at the quiet empath on the couch, who, at a glance, seemed to have lost herself in the pages of her book. Dick admitted, the team empath was an expert in the art of self-concealment, and unobservant people would have been fooled into believing there was nothing different about her. Unfortunately, she was out in the open before the very man who survived numerous years of Bat Training, so all that defense was for naught.
Both of her hands were gripping the edges of the book a tad tighter than necessary. Her delicate pale skin had been pulled taut over the tendons, making the knuckles ever more visible.
The composure she carried herself with wasn’t exactly whole or intact upon close inspection, and constantly faltered as more colorful emotions flickered underneath. Unable to run free, they manifested in subtle acts - the occasional drag of her tongue tongue over her plump bottom lip, the random flare of her nostrils to draw in more air clearly, the brief sweep of her violet eyes over the darker corners of the room where the light couldn’t quite cover…
It was… Who could have thought a nonchalant response would lure all the cats out of the bag.
Now that he had begun to study her properly, Raven’s meticulous conduct wasn’t the result of her ascetic tendency. The young woman was simply tensed! Her entire frame was coiled tight with readiness, fully prepared to launch into battle at a moment’s notice. It wasn’t refinement that held her back upright, but uneasiness, blended with a tint of dread.
In hindsight, Raven had been outside her room more than she would have preferred ever since they wrapped up that movie night. This actually wasn’t the first time he found her and her precious books in the Common Room. Her quiet presence simply faded into the background among the more boisterous members of the team, and she just slipped from his memory like that.
And her personal space was the epitome of spookiness. Every now and then, he would pass it when she opened the door to walk out and take the opportunity to peek at the interior. Somehow, her choice of decorative elements managed to rival a legit haunted house.
The pursed line of his lips slackened at the discovery, melting into a curve before he could tell, his mouth’s corner slowly lifted high upward until both sides could connect with his ears. For some reason, the urgency of that report didn’t seem that pressing anymore.
Perhaps he hadn’t been as discreet in his assessment of Raven as he thought, or the abrupt shift in his emotional change gave him away, because her head soon snapped up to meet his inquisitive gaze. Obviously, that led to his spreading smirk and mirth-filled squint being exposed before her, but her attention only fed his amusement.
“...Can I help you with something, Dick?” Annoyance coated her dry inquiry as she returned his stare with a fiercer version of her own. He adjusted his position, sitting sideway on his chair now, one arm slung over the backrest. A knowing chuckle bounced off his lips at the sight of her puffing up.
“Nothing. It just came to my attention that you’re endearing sometimes, Ice Queen.” The edge of his smirk twitched higher, and Dick swiveled his face back toward the computer screen, feeling unexpectedly light. Guesses of the comebacks she would fire at him in series, perhaps franchises, to preserve her untouchable image started scampering through his mischievous mind, and the man couldn’t help but chuckle aloud.
But only silence followed.
Because… in the next second, the light died out, leaving the room swallowed by thick darkness. Dick looked up, only to find that beyond the large glass window, the whole city of Jump suffered the same fate: the glamorous fluorescent glow from each house, each building, had all died out, as though ink had poured from the sky to souse the white light.
A large-scale power outage.
This wasn’t a major issue in itself. The main computer of the Titan Tower was powered by otherworldly energy to ensure its operation even when the electric grid failed, so his efforts to save the report hadn’t gone out of the window. Still, just as Dick resumed his typing on the keyboard, his brain sent over a little reminder regarding a certain well-composed bird.
The most disturbing and grotesque part of the movie they all watched a few days back was initiated by a power outage…
“Raven, you okay over t…” Out of concern, and politeness, Dick turned his head back to check on his sole companion in the room. To his surprise, she was nowhere to be found. The book stack was still where she left it, even the marker hadn’t been dislodged. Next to them was the massive book that was cradled in her palms just minutes ago, now lay forgotten all by itself.
He was taken aback for a brief while. A soft chuckle escaped him after the stunned surprise wore off, his head shaking in amused disbelief. To think that the untouchable Raven herself would jump at being left in the darkness and scurry back to her room in a fit of panic…
“What the__?!”
The exclamation ripped itself free from his vocal cord on reflex, and the Titan leader was immensely grateful for his expertise in acrobacy - had the ability to restore balance not been engraved in his system, he would have knocked himself off the chair and smashed his entire face on the hard floor.
It took several ragged breaths for Dick to recenter himself and come to his senses to realize that the pale face hovering by the seat of his chair, almost eerie birch white in the blue light from the computer screen, wasn’t a ghost, but the bird that was missing from the couch. She sat square on the floor, wide eyes looking up at him as she curled into a ball. Her arms closed around her knees, squeezing them to her chest, as if trying to downsize herself to fit her entire body into the faint glow emitted from the computer, even making sure to tuck her oversized cloak neatly behind her back. Not an inch of her was touched by the shadows of the room.
Her face remained unreadable, but he could see flickers of reluctance and unwillingness tinting the depth of her wide violet eyes, combined with… a shred of indignation?
“Raven…” A hand was on his mouth to hold back the laughter threatening to burst out. He didn’t want to be rude, but it was… impossible to stay serious upon witnessing such an unbecoming side of the empath: “What are you doing on the floor?”
“I’m not afraid.” Was her response, short and curt as ever. The pace of the words and the tone were well controlled, and for a moment, he was almost convinced…
…Well, it would have worked if she hadn’t planted herself by his feet like a little mushroom.
“I’m not even saying that you are.” His voice came out trembling, and he had to lean back against his chair while pressing both palm firm to his face. Alas, it didn’t provide enough barricade against the chortle that was sneaking out from the gaps between his fingers. “Hang on, just give me a second…”
“I’m not afraid. The energy in this spot… seems well suited for meditating…” She trailed off, the final words crumbling into a murmur. He snuck a glance at her, and the bright spots of colors on her cheeks were shining through the dim computer light. She should have stayed quiet and accepted defeat, because that juvenile excuse stirred up his laughter further. If his consideration for her shredded dignity didn’t intervene in time, he would have allowed his intrusive thoughts to win and roll himself on the ground, laughing his head off.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re our untouchable bird. Never doubt it once.” Dick slipped a finger under his mask to wipe a tear from his eyes, voice still cracked under the chortling bouts. Couldn’t restrain his urges, he extended one hand toward her to gently the top of her head. He couldn’t tell whether it was from the awe at his foolhardy acts, or the embarrassment of having her vulnerabilities laid bare, but Raven actually let him get away with a handful of pats before her cold, distant self came roaring back:
“Do not treat me like a child! And I have already told you, I’m not scared!”
“I know, I know, you don’t have to stress that again.” Dick maintained that knowing smirk, words riding on a teasing lilt: “Your feet are not covered by the light, by the way.”
Her reflex kicked in quicker than her brain, yanking both feet further into herself with blurring speed. The sheer mortification laced with embarrassment crossing her stupefied features one second later when reality finally hit her almost drew a fresh chuckle from him. Dick stopped himself in time though. He wouldn’t pretend that it wasn’t intriguing to observe the rare sight of Raven fumbling for words and struggling to hold herself together, but he knew the line between harmless fun and cruelty.
“All right, get on with your meditation, tough girl, I’ll just be over here reviewing my report.” He paused, before supplying with a lopsided smirk: “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
He intended to culminate his speech with well-intentioned words of comfort and reassure her that fear was nothing but a normal state of emotion, and that it was completely fine for a person fathered by Satan to fear the darkness and shadows he represented. Still, the glowering look on her face was a clear indicator that she was at her limit, so he opted for a quick smile instead, then refocused his gaze on the computer screen.
For a while, nothing but silence followed.
“...You have been eyeing the books for one minute straight. Need me to grab some for you?”
“...The one I’m currently reading, and the second one from the bottom, if you please.”
“Alrighty~”