#he really has my dream stock of alcohol and other beverages
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Jungkook's fridge is everything I dream of having :')
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Concept idea, Dsmp!Seaside au
It's pretty much an au about the Dream smp peeps working at a very very fancy seaside bathhouse, just to be clear, I'm talking about a bar with umbrella and deck chairs, with animation (entertainment) and instructors of different sports, kinda like a village but without the possibility of sleeping there. I hope I made it clear, sorry my English is very rusty.
Also not all Dream smp members are in this list because God there are so many and I can't find enough stuff for all of them to do, plus, I don't follow every single member so I don't want to assume their personality and things they like since I base most thing they do on the content creator.
I'll be mentioning multiple sea sports, if you don't know what they are, I recommend looking it up, just to understand better.
One last little thing, when I say “Bar” I don't mean an American bar, I mean an Italian bar, so in this case, it's a place where they serve toasts, salads, coffee, ice cream, various beverages (both alcoholic and sodas) and usually serve appetizers, so that's why (minor spoiler) Ranboo and Tommy, that are technically minors can work in it, if you have any more questions I'll be happy to answer them!
-Dream: Instructor of every sea and beach sport: Sky surfing, wind-surfing, surf, Scooba diving, beach volley, has competed and won at least one competition for every sport, mainly competitive fast swimmer, is the leader of the “made up” “Dream team”, constant friendly competition between them, main rivalry with Technoblade, kind and dedicated instructor, remembers all the names of every regular student and kinda coaches them, he wants to show and share the passion he has for the sports to kids and adults alike.
-Sapnap: Sky surf, wind-surf and surf instructor, knows how to do every sport Dream does but prefers all the types of surfing, loves beach ball to bits and is very good at it too, second member of the “Dream team”, strict but kind instructor, doesn't wanna do lessons out of laziness but enjoys them in the end, competitive on all the surf sports, they are his main thing. Prefer teaching to adults than to kids.
-George: Teaches lighter sports like sup and canoe, can teach surf but only for kids, knows how to sky surf, windsurf and surf but only does it with the team and on his own, third member of the “Dream team”, mainly teaches to kids since he is nice and funny, the kids really love him, he will join the rest of the “Dream team” on whatever they are doing, he doesn't mind what it is, also a competitive swimmer.
-Technoblade: Lifeguard, sits all day on the tall chair, never under the sun, always wears a t-shirt, usually reads, very fast swimmer, good at every sport, competes with Dream and his team, sometimes against Tommy too, hates staying around children so he asked for two lifeguards that can deal with kids, doesn't talk to anyone apart from other staff, he’ll never admit it but loves when any friend will come by and chat with him, it can get boring to sit on the chair all day.
-Nihachu: Help lifeguard and kids entertainer, makes duo with Jack Manifold, very able swimmer and surfer, likes to take lessons of sky surfing from Techno and George, loves playing and entertaining kids, very kind to everyone and pretty protective of the kids, doesn't like to make them play under the sun in the afternoon, no catching crabs if you don't have the plastic shoes!
-Jack Manifold: Second help lifeguard and kids entertainer, talks to Techno less, kinda fears him tbh, can kinda windsurf and likes surfing, man’s very aggressive when playing beach volley, makes up fun games for the kids and distributes candy behind Niki’s back, also buys ice cream for them often, organizes pranks on the parents with their kids, friendly competitions with everyone that asks in any sport.
-Philza: Manager of the structure, passes his time in the office, when he's bored he plays Minecraft, organizes events, courses, shows... He organizes everything and he's damn good at it, always has ideas on what to change, add or remove to the structure, doesn't take any sport competitively but likes playing rackets, if it's a dead day in the office, he either helps at the bar or sits next to Techno and chats, doesn't get in the water on his own, well he doesn't go in the water often, but when he does he makes sure no one splashes each other.
-Foolish: First office worker, takes care of the stock of the bar, to explain better, he orders everything that is missing or is running low, so food, water and beverages, ice cream, also takes care of broken chairs and tables, or in case any machine breaks, also likes beach ball and Scooba diving, you could see him windsurfing if he has the time.
-Punz and Purpled: Second and third office worker, I'm putting them together because they both worry about tech stuff, so they work on the site of the establishment, they make advertisement and take reservations for the umbrellas, Punz likes windsurf meanwhile Purpled prefers sky surfing, both enjoy normal surf and volleyball, they don't have too much work so you can find them chilling at the beach.
-Eret: Dog caretaker, bartender and kids entertainer, the structure has a small area to leave dogs in if people want, Eret takes care of them, feeds them, makes them play and generally watches over them, but because not everyone wants to leave the dogs there (mostly because the service isn't free) he also helps Niki and Jack with the kids, he likes face panting them and giving small washable tattoos, also very kind the kids, Eret also helps at the bar since he is polite.
-Wilbur Soot: Bar supervisor, he likes bringing stuff to tables though, mostly bright and nice, but will get pissed of at sassy or rude customers, jokes with everyone all the time, likes to entertain customers that remain later in the day with small live performances, will bring Techno snacks throughout the day, loves friendly beach ball competitions, likes scuba diving but has barely any time for it, will surf but doesn't likes it a lot lot.
-Ranboo: Bartender, pretty shy but knows how to do his job, can carry five plates without a tray and without dropping a single one, loves giving water and food to dogs (he also likes to help Eret at the dog playground if he has free time), has a bit of difficulty to talk back to costumers but Will (or Eret if he’s around) usually comes help him with those, doesn't like any water sports and is too lazy to play beach volley, doesn't like to stay around kids either, low key scared of the water, only has told Tubbo and then Tommy that he is actually terrified of deep and blue water, knows how to barely swim, likes chilling in duck or unicorn floaties if in water, doesn't like staying under the sun.
-Fundy: Bartender and cook, well he is not an actual cook, it's a small kiosk that serves toasts and salads, he has very little to do, but someone has to do them so... Mostly relegated to the kitchen so he isn't bothered by people, helps outside if it isn't lunchtime, he prefers Scooba diving over surfing sports, likes chill stuff like sup and canoe, will also go with Puffy in small beaches by boat.
-Tubbo: Scooba diver instructor, the little man looks funny with the oxygen tanks on his back, but watching fishes and corals are his favourite thing, holds excursions both near the coast ( with mask and snorkel ) and in the deeper sea (with oxygen tanks), he relies on Puffy’s boat to bring them out to sea, doesn't like beach ball that much, but likes sup and canoe.
-Captain Puffy: Boat driver and guide of sea excursions, kind, likes having kids on board and allows them to touch the steering wheel when the boat is off, wears a pirate hat, also plays pirate with all the kids, also also tells pirate stories and myths constantly, likes to bring the “Dream team” in more windy places for them to train, looks over them while reading in the sun, also brings Tubbo out in the deeper sea for his Scooba lessons and for private excursions, Ranboo will usually go with Tubbo but stays with Puffy on the boat.
-Tommy: Help instructor (and help lifeguard), he ended up being a helper because he tried being an instructor, but he doesn't deal with people well, so actual instructors (like Tubbo, George or Dream) ask him to demonstrate exercises and helps them by carrying equipment, he‘s pretty good at anything, so anyone can ask him to help for every sport, very competitive for fast swimming and beach ball, he absolutely hates helping at the bar so Wilbur usually puts him behind the counter and leaves him there so people won't talk to him, normally finds Scooba diving pretty boring, but had fun if it's with Tubbo.
-Quackity: Events and games organizer, he likes organizing games to do at the beach and in the bar, for example, card games, beach volley, rackets, darts etc... Of course, all of them have a prize to win, due to strict rules made by Phil, no one can't bet money, doesn't really like water sports so he simply stays on land.
-Slimecicle: Kids and adult entertainer, he is just a funny man that likes making jokes, he is very good at entertaining people of all age, of course, adults are his speciality due to more mature jokes, but can still work with kids, helps Quakity host games, and like Quakity he doesn't love water sports, will go for swims frequently, it helps him relax and de-stress.
-Awesamdude: Entertainer supervisor, he doesn't really entertain people actively, he just kinda looks from a distance and helps if props are missing, is very strict but in a kind way, haven't slept enough? Go nap under an umbrella, not feeling well? Can he bring you anything? Or straight-up go home if you don't feel like it, he does it for both the health of the people and the quality of the entertaining, but he is very nice, will play beach ball but only if asked to, likes to take a mask and a snorkel and stay near the coast, swims to get refreshed by the summer heat.
-Karl: Wild card, the man doesn't have a main thing, he just helps where help is needed, entertaining for kids? Bartender? Help instructor? Captain Puffy helper on excursions? Quakity need a hand with the games? Name it and the man has done it, it's also nice because he sees everyone pretty often, likes lighter sports like sup and canoe but will surf I guess? Just don't make him sky or windsurf, it requires some sort of muscles in the arms and my man doesn't have those, but hey, he will look at friendly competitions and cheer on everyone!
-Hannah: Beach supervisor, due to her immense kindness, she welcomes people, helps find them their spot and checks up on everything, also kinda supervises the instructors because if anyone needs help or has broken equipment (and Karl isn't around) she can help with those, will occasionally surf, also uses the sea to cool off from the heat, she will join a beach ball match if she’s free!
-Badboyhalo and Skeppy: Comedic duo, there is a small stage in the bar and the two put up little comedy skits at lunch, in the afternoon and in the evening before the bar closes, Bad likes to plan skits in advance meanwhile Skeppy prefer improvising, so Bad writes scripts and memorises them, Skeppy doesn't even look at them so what end up happening on stage is that Bad says thought thru lines meanwhile Skeppy just says the first thing that comes to his mind, resulting in Bad yelling “Skeppy!!!” all the times and he just shrugging it off, if you know undertale, they give off Papyrus and Sans vibes, Bad will also yell “Language!” at the other man if kids are present, gets flustered or uncomfortable at Skeppy’s dirty jokes, Bad likes scooba diving and wind surfing, Skeppy instead likes swimming, sky surfing and plain surfing, will compete with Techno and lose all the times, talking about Techno, Skeppy will go to him throughout the day to test his jokes, the pink haired man also helps create some of them, oh and if one makes him laugh, it means its hilarious.
-DreamXD: Owner of the structure, that's it, I guess he is godly at everything he does, but has never shown his face in his own property, only Phil that is the manager has seen him face to face, all the others think that he is just a legend, but Phil smiles every time someone says that because he is actually a god and he does really exists.
#dream smp#dream smp au#writing#my writing#ph1lza#wilbur soot#tommyinnit#dreamwastaken#georgenotfound#sapnap#rambling gost#mcyt#technoblade#nihachu#jack manifold#foolish gamers#punz#purpled#the eret#ranboo#fundylive#tubbo#captain puffy#quackity#slimecicle#awesamdude#karl jacobs#badboyhalo#skeppy#Dreamsmp! Seaside au
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168 - Secret Blotter
Life is 10 per cent what happens to you
And 90 per cent false memories of what you think happened to you.
Welcome to Night Vale.
In an effort to bring more transparency to the Sheriff’s Secret Police, a chronicle of one night’s dispatches will be released to the public. This action comes at the behest of the City Council, who voted unanimously on a resolution to ban plastic bags.
Now, OK, while those two things may not seem related, Sheriff Sam misunderstood the vote as a rallying cry against tyrannical surveillance and a personal threat, involving being thrown to the pit of vipers behind the bowling alley. Sheriff Sam, who has a paralyzing fear of vipers, proposed a compromise in which Secret Police dispatches would be temporarily divulged, so the public can get a better idea of what agency does and how tax dollars are being spent. A plan which was readily accepted by the Council, though they continued to roll their eyes and gnash their teeth and chant softly: [creepy voice] “Viper pit! Viper pit! Blessed be the viper pit!”
Which is just how they express a “yay” vote on procedural issues.
As a result, Night Vale has its first ever police blotter. Let’s dig in.
9 o’clock PM. Missing person reported inside the Ralphs. Night manager on duty says employee went to stock some cases of Lime-A-Ritas in the new walk-in beer cave and never came out. Reporting officer thoroughly checked beer cave and confirmed it was deserted. Three cases of the beverage were left haphazardly in the middle of the floor, and a loading dolly had tipped over onto its side. Manager states employee originally brought in four cases. Manager added one missing case of Lime-A-Ritas to the report. When asked if this kind of thing has happened before, manager changed subject and asked if officer would like to look at some of the children’s drawing contest submissions. Officer was amenable to this request.
9:16 PM. Noise complaint. Dog barking in an unknown language annoying residents. Dirty white fur, human face. Gone when officer arrived on scene.
9:25 PM. Two underage residents attempted to sneak into an R-rated movie by pretending to be one tall person in a trench coat. When confronted by officer, they turned into a swarm of flies and dispersed.
10:01 PM. Noise complaint. A sound resembling television static was being emitted from a shower drain out in the Hefty Sycamore trailer park. When recorded and played backwards, it turned out to be a broadcast from a 1952 episode of the game show “Beat the Clock”, where contestants competed to see how many pieces they could smash a clock into. A plumber was called.
10:15 PM. A resident of Desert Creek searched for “easy tortellini recipes”, but none of them were easy enough. It was so late already, and they needed to get to bed soon, but they were also very hungry and needed to eat dinner first. They wanted something quick, but they also wanted a real dinner, not a false dinner like… cereal? They became hyperaware that the more they deliberated on what to make, the longer it was all taking. And factoring in the decision-making time on top of the meal prep time was becoming additionally stressful in relation to the desire to get to bed soon.
11:30 PM. A Coyote Corner’s swimming pool filled with blood and began swirling furiously in a counter-clockwise direction. Home owner appeared distressed. Officer advised home owner to drain pool.
11:31 PM. Multiple residents awoke in a cold sweat from the same dream. It wasn’t necessarily a nightmare, but it was definitely not pleasant. The only thing they could recall afterwards was that it was showing, and that there was a tree with seven limbs.
12:00 AM. Witches.
2:00 AM. That time of night when everything starts getting hazy. Were you headed to a crime? Checking a surveillance station? Listening to a wiretap? Going home? Returning to headquarters? Signalling an invisible helicopter? Sometimes you lose track. An old local legend comes into your mind, and you try to recall the details. It’s been so long since you heard it. You watch the headlights bounce along the dirt road ahead, and your eyes begin to play tricks on you, sensing movement in the dark margins where the light doesn’t penetrate. You turn off the lights and slow the vehicle. They weren’t tricks after all. There is movement here, a dark writhing mass entering the roadway.
You are forced to stop the car. Eyes flesh open in the dark. Many sets of eyes. This isn’t part of a half-remembered legend. This is something very, very real.
More of the blotter soon. But first, let’s have a look at traffic.
You’re hunting in a pack near the Old Highway. The smell of blood is in the air. Headlights bounce over the rise and your stomachs rumble. The moon flees behind the clouds and you fan out, along both sides of the road, moving parallel to it like a lazy river. The car approaches and slows. It shuts off its headlights, as you knew it would. Some of you push ahead to the car, blocking its path. Others move to the rear and others remain at the sides boxing it in. You converge, surrounding it more tightly the door opens, then closes again, the fleshy creature inside cursing softly.
You hear a crackle of radio static, but you know it is inconsequential to you. You consume the metal shell first. There are explosions of air and the hiss of leaking fluids. Then the glass, crunchy and cool in your collective gullet. And finally, the screaming delicacy in the center, the cloth-wrapped package of meat and bone.
There are other things afterward, less enjoyable, but consumable nonetheless. Papers and electronics, and the pleather, and cold French fries in the back. Nothing must remain.
By the time the moon emerges from the clouds, the old highway will be deserted once more.
This has been traffic.
And now a word from our sponsors. Today’s show is brought to you by TickTock. The only app that tells you exactly how long you have left to live. The sleek countdown display synchs easily with all of your devices, so that you can check your mortality at a glance. The premium edition provides additional details, such as manner and location of death, and updates to the minute, as you make different choices throughout your day. You’ll find yourself asking questions like, why did returning a library book just subtract 4 years from my life? How did leaving late for work change my final outcome from drowning in gulch to birds of prey? Why does it say “tomorrow” all of a sudden? [panicking] It must be some kind of glitch, right? OK, OK, I’ve updated the app but it still hasn’t changed. It still says “tomorrow”. I just got checked out by a doctor and they said I’m in great shape, I’m staying home from work, I’m not answering the door, I’ve closed the blinds and I’m sitting on the couch, surrounded by pillows, not moving, not even blinking, I’ve done everything dammit, EVERYTHING!!! WHY DOES IT STILL SAY “TOMORROW”???!!
Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.
This has been a word from our sponsors.
Back to the Sheriff’s Secret Police blotter.
2:30 AM. Responded to an officer distress call on the Old Highway. No sign of officer or vehicle found. Must have been a false alarm.
3:15 AM. Nude man ranting in middle of old highway, carrying a case of alcoholic beverages. Identified as the night shift stocker at the Ralphs. Claims he entered the walk-in refrigerator at work, reached up to place the case of beverages on the shelf, and abruptly found himself in a network of ice caves. He eventually climbed up a snowy mountain where he met a robed figure he refers to as “The Oracle”. “The Oracle” foretold of a hungry darkness with a thousand eyes and urged that the portal must be cloooosed. The Ralphs employee also reported that “The Oracle” had slurred speech and seemed unsteady on its feet, and may have been inebriated. After this exchange, he then found himself standing in the Sand Wastes nude. He does not know where his clothes are. Officer escorted man back to the Ralphs to finish out his shift.
3:35 AM. Domestic disturbance.
“He won’t stop practicing the flute!” a Cactus Bloom resident reported, indicating his dopplegänger who stood in the corner of the bedroom, staring unblinkingly at the wall and playing the same halting scale on a wooden flute. Officer advised resident to take a melatonin and try to get some sleep.
“If he doesn’t stop, I can’t be held responsible!” the sleep-deprived resident threatened.
“Sounds fair,” the officer agreed and left the premises.
4:00 AM. An alarm clock went off in Old Town. A woman attempted to get out of bed, but her cat walked sleepily onto her person and began purring, preventing her from rising. Her cat is elderly and the woman knows its number of purrs are finite and must be honored. Eventually, she put on coffee and took a shower. She used Herbal Solution shampoo for a lifelong dandruff condition, though she has not seen any improvement after years of using the products. She continues using it, because she likes the way it smells. It smells medicinal, like it’s helping, and it does tingle, like the label promises. The tingle means it’s working, the label says. So it must be working.
And now a break form the police blotter for some sports news.
Night Vale High School – go Scorpions! – has added a concession stand to be used during sporting events. The parent-teacher association proudly unveiled the new stand at last week’s baseball game, dedicating the plywood structure to the memory of favorite AP auto shop teacher, Nick Teller. Teller reacted with confusion at this news, as he is still alive. “Oh, of co-, no, of course you are,” the PTA responded awkwardly, “but we just wanted to honor – your memory, as in what a great memory you have. You-you know how you’re really good at remembering stuff? We just wanted to, yeah uh, honor that,” the PTA went on, seemingly unable to stop explaining themselves, whilst standing in front of the dedication plaque, which featured several doves, a Celtic cross, and an image of clasped hands. Teller admitted he does have an excellent memory and is very honored.
The following concessions are available at the Teller memorial stand:
Special allowances, the granting of rights, the acceptance of certain things as truth, the yielding of certain other things as untruth. Also, RC Cola and popcorn.
Oh, which reminds me, we actually have another word from our sponsor, Royal Crown Cola. Invented by Ferdinand the 1st, king of Naples, who built a museum of mummies inside his palace to house the bodies of his slain enemies. “I am parched from building this museum of mummies,” he famously said, and the rest is history.
RC Cola – the drink of ruthless monarchs.
In local news, I have the results of the Ralphs drawing contest. Local school children were encouraged to submit a drawing to the store this week, depicting their favorite Ralphs product. I’ll start with the runners up.
The third place drawing comes to us from Ella Snider, a student from Night Vale Elementary, and it shows a large black scribbled mass with a lot of eyes on it, with the Ralphs building on fire in the background. Very creative, Ella!
The second place drawing comes from Jace McCoy, also from Night Vale Elementary, and this one also shows a black mass with many eyes and a big bright red splatter of blood across the page. Nice use of color, Jace!
And the grand price winner comes to us from Heather (Fathusam) [0:16:52] of Daggers Plunge Charter School. Her drawing features a beautiful black mass with lots of lovely eyes, and it’s holding a box of store brand frozen pizza rolls. Congratulations, Heather!
Back to the blotter.
4:01 AM. Distress call from the Ralphs. Upon arrival, officer was pulled into the manager’s office. The employee from the earlier incident was also present, huddled under a desk. Manager frantically indicated the surveillance window that looks out into the store, which he normally uses to spy on shoppers and report on what they are wearing for his Customer Fashion newsletter.
Shelves of products were being knocked over and consumed by a vast dark nothingness. The back of the store then burst into flames.
The manager implored the officer to quote, “Do something, please, or we’ll all be killed!”
Officer used the intercom system to tell the nothingness to vacate the store immediately, and advised it of trespass and vandalism laws. The nothingness took the form of many dark shapes with many eyes. A tank of fresh seafood exploded and numerous shellfish were damaged. Officer advised the shapes that they were all under arrest.
“Stop talking to it!” the manager cried and knocked the intercom mic out of the officer’s hand.
Approximately 1000 eyes turned to look at the office window.
Interesting. Well.
Let’s have a look at that weather.
[“Best Friends” by Curtains: https://curtains.bandcamp.com/]
4:35 AM. Situation escalated at the Ralphs. Officer, manager and employee embraced one another under the office desk amid the shattered glass of the surveillance window. The building trembled around them, products flew through the air, half the inventory was sucked into oblivion, and a great fire blazed, spreading to the bakery section. After doing an estimated 200,000 dollars worth of damage, the darkness and its many eyes entered the beer cave and did not come back out.
Officer investigated the beer cave and found it to be empty.
“You have to shut down the cave!” the Ralphs employee implored the manager. “That’s its doorway to our world!”
The manager hedged and responded that a big heat wave was coming and if they hoped to recoup any of their losses, keeping the beer cave open was going to be instrumental to the store’s survival.
“People will spend big on frosty cold beverages,” the manager responded. “Not to mention they’re gonna like standing around in there for a nice cool-down.”
The employee wrapped his robe tightly around himself. Oh, the manager had lent him the robe, one of the many fashion items the manager kept in his collection, since the employee still didn’t know where his clothes had gone.
“OK,” the employee said. He picked up a Lime-A-Rita and guzzled it down in one continuous gulp.
Then he said, his voice already a little slurred: “I’ll have to try to shhhhtop it myself.”
He ran into the beer cave and promptly vanished.
5:40 AM. Tree with seven limbs seen growing out of a hole in the vacant lot out back of the Ralphs. Snow observed on the branches, which melted off quickly as the sun rose.
5:45 AM. Real pretty sunrise.
Well, that concludes our Secret Police blotter. I dunno about the rest of you, but I personally feel a lot more safe and secure getting a closer look at what our Secret Police do. On behalf of Night Vale Community Radio, thank you for your service. I’m sure we will all rest a lot easier knowing that our fate is in your hands.
Our sleeping bodies are under your watchful eye, and our every thought and action is being monitored for the greater good.
As Secret Police mascot Barks Ennui always says:
Stay tuned, stay, vigilant, report your neighbors.
Woof. Woof.
Good night,
Night Vale,
Good night.
Today’s proverb: Six out of seven dentists have no idea where that seventh one disappeared to. Honest, they all have rock solid alibis and that blood could have belonged to anyone.
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How to slide into DMs
Oh boy. This is the longest one-shot I have ever written. Would have wanted to break this up into chapters but eventually decided not to and just gave it my all. This is a story best consumed whole - all 85k+ characters of it.
I had the best time writing this.
~~~
Raven knew that drinking one margarita too many was a recipe for disaster. And as she would later reflect on the turn of events, Raven knew she was partly to blame for the disaster that would unfold thanks to all the alcohol. But right now, it was Karen’s birthday and it was rare for the girls to come together – unless the world was just about to explode and end. So, Karen demanded that they celebrate in style.
And drink Raven did.
So here they were, a couple of superheroines dressed in skimpy bikinis on a yacht far out from Jump City’s bay (how Jinx even got one was beyond her), drinking frozen margaritas, mojitos, and tequila shots. They looked like an image straight from every young teenage boy’s (or hot blooded adult, really) wet dream – superheroines in skimpy bikinis lounging around on the boat, draped over beanbags and recliner chairs, and sliding ice cubes between the valleys of their breasts trying to fight off the sweltering heat.
Some Ke$ha was playing in the background, thanks to Starfire – who had Jinx to thank for her latest music genre obsession.
Raven cracked an eye open as Jinx passed by her and plucked her empty margarita glass out of her hand. A frosty glass quickly slipped into her hand she eyed the frozen drink with a slight frown.
“Live a little, Raven,” Jinx winked and adjusted the straps of her strappy black bikini before plopping down into the cushions next to Karen. Her mojito dangerously sloshed around in its glass because of her jerky movements.
“Exactly,” Raven sat up and took a sip from the deliciously cold alcoholic beverage and found some relief from the sweltering heat. She wondered if it would be best to just dump the whole frozen margarita over her head. “I want to live. And not die because of liver failure,”
“Pish-posh,” Karen took a healthy swig of her margarita. “We metabolize this shit faster than we drink it. Hit me up, Jinx,”
Raven was impressed that Karen still knew what metabolize meant as she watched the curly haired woman dump half of her margarita down her bikini top. “Of course we do,” she said.
Starfire ambled back onto the deck with a pitcher of frozen margarita and mojito in both of her hands. Karen and Jinx cheered at the sight of more alcohol and Kori clumsily set out to top everyone up again. Raven eyed her drink absently wondering if Kori snuck in a shot of mustard into their drinks.
“So, Kill, Fuck, Marry,”
Raven cringed. Leave it to Jinx to come up with the crudest games. Karen howled and Kori leaned forward curiously, obviously already familiar with the game. Jinx grinned widely as she eyed the girls.
“Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, Bruce Wayne,”
Raven made a face and Karen cheered while Jinx chuckled lecherously. Kori looked as she was genuinely mulling her answers before downing her margarita and taking a generous sip out of a mustard bottle. Raven felt her stomach roll. “I shall go first!” Kori announced.
“Marry Bruce Wayne, Fuck Oliver Queen, and Kill Barry Allen,” announced Kori while filling her margarita glass to the brim.
Karen made a face. “You’d marry your future Father-in-Law?”
Kori shrugged and sipped her mustard-laced margarita. “Better than sleeping with him, right?”
“Huh, that makes sense,” Karen shrugged. “Okay. I’ll Fuck Bruce Wayne, Marry Barry, and Kill Oliver,”
Three sets of eyes curiously turned to Raven. Jinx leaned forward and grinned mischievously. “C’mon, Raven,”
Raven rolled her eyes and thought of her options. “Fine,” she huffed and downed the rest of her margarita. If they were all getting drunk, she might as well join the party. “Fuck Oliver, Marry Barry, and Kill Bruce – sorry, Star,”
Kori was now lounging on her side across some throw pillows that made her boobs stick up more. Waving her hand that she honestly did not care, Kori continued to listen in on the conversation and drank her poison of choice.
“Still not a fan of the Bat?” Karen whistled. They knew about Raven’s history and how originally Batman had been apprehensive of her and her origin.
Raven rolled her eyes and had her powers top up her margarita glass. “Oh, I’m over that,” she shrugged and leaned back in her recliner. “I don’t think I can handle Bruce’s brooding and secrecy. I got enough of that already,” Raven said. She quirked and eyebrow at Karen. “Besides, have you seen Oliver Queen?”
Karen rolled her eyes. “Have you seen Bruce Wayne?” She clumsily threw both of her hands up in the air and drew them out, dousing Jinx in some of her margarita. “Those broad shoulders!” Kori hummed loudly in agreement.
Jinx looked incredulous. “What’s wrong with all of you?” she all but gasped. “I’d Fuck Barry Allen in a heartbeat – hello, The Flash! His body vibrates!”
Raven raised of her eyebrows at the thought and they all shared a brief look. Karen leaned forward and placed her chin into her hand. “Well, Raven and I are marrying him, so he can vibrate for us all day, every day,”
Crossing her legs, Raven had to agree with that logic. She raised her glass in agreement. Kori looked thoughtful and tilted her head towards Jinx. “Perhaps I should change my answers,”
Karen laughed. “No take backs,”
“Okay, this one,” Jinx nursed her mojito. “Cyborg, Nightwing, Changeling,”
Raven rolled her eyes. “Kill Changeling, Marry Cyborg, Fuck Nightwing.” She shrugged. “Easy. Sorry, Kori, Karen,”
Karen waved her hand dismissively. “Same answer, easy.”
“Marry Nightwing,” Kori smiled at the thought but then paused as she mulled over the other two. “Perhaps Fuck Cyborg, Kill Changeling,”
Jinx looked exasperated at the girls. “Really? Have none of you seen Gar lately?”
Raven threw her a withering glare. “If you’re going to say anything about his transformations and sex will push you off this boat and drown you.”
Jinx rolled her eyes and waved her hand with her mojito glass. The mojito sloshed around and spilled over her leg. “When did Gar get an those chiseled abs?! Delicious. That’s all I’m saying.”
Raven wrinkled her nose. “Eh.”
“Oh, I know,” Kori sat up and helped herself to some more margarita from the pitcher. Karen watched in disdain as she added a splash of mustard to hers. “Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Richard Grayson,”
“Duh.” Jinx said. “Fuck Jason Todd,” she paused to take a sip from her drink. “Eh – I guess Marry Richard, and Kill Tim,”
“I’d go for Fuck Richard,” Karen turned to Kori and sent her an apologetic grin. “I’m sorry Kori, but that ass,” to which Kori gave her a drunken thumbs up sign. “Marry Jason, Kill Tim. Same logic – Marry Jason for those thighs,”
Raven was starting to feel the buzz of the margaritas on her brain. She had to agree that all the Robins were good looking. “Fuck Jason, Marry Tim,” It seemed that they owed a lot of apologies to Starfire. “Sorry Kori, Kill Richard,” Dick had gotten on her nerves lately with his complaints over their training drills. Might as well hypothetically kill him and fuck and marry his brothers so he could roll in his grave.
“You know while it's totally fun to objectify the men ones in a while and talk about who we want to sleep with, Imma go for a pee break. Hold on for one second. Keep those thoughts of Dick’s ass and Jason’s thighs on your dirty little minds, ladies,” Jinx stood up and stumbled away.
“You better not jump into the ocean and pee,” Karen called her out with an amused laugh, to which the pink head raised her hand and sent her the middle finger.
Raven rolled her eyes in exasperation. Eyeing the empty pitchers of margaritas and mojitos, she wondered if she should offer to go and make another round. Jinx had made sure to stock enough of alcohol to light a bonfire – or at the very least light the whole yacht on fire.
Realizing that Kori was rendered useless right now as she lay sprawled over the pillows and it would be rude to have the birthday girl prepare her own drinks, Raven sighed and grabbed the two empty pitchers. She was surprised how fast they went through their drinks.
“I’ll make us something more to drink since we’re drinking this like water,” Rave announced and walked towards the minibar.
Karen smiled up at Raven. “Thanks, Raven,”
Raven threw Karen a rare smile. “You’re lucky it’s your birthday. Happy Birthday, Karen,”
“I’m back, what did I miss?” Jinx appeared from below deck and she rejoined the group. Seeing how Raven was busy with their drinks, she grabbed Karen and Kori and pulled them up. “C’mon, let’s take some photos. We need to put these sexy bikinis to use,”
Kori giggled. “For the ‘graham, yes?”
“For the ‘Gram, Kori. For the ‘Gram,” Karen grinned.
Pushing them towards the boat’s railings, Jinx grinned. “You can send some photos to Dick, Kori. I’m sure he’ll appreciate them,” She wiggled her pink eyebrows. “Get the blood flowing,”
Karen rolled her eyes. “And here I was thinking you can’t get any cruder,”
Kori gamely handed Jinx her phone. “I believe Dick would like them,”
“Of course Dick would,” Jinx grinned and winked before telling Kori where to stand and how to pose.
Raven joined them with their drinks levitating behind her. Handing Karen her drink, she eyed Jinx and Kori in amusement. “Please don’t tell me we’re having a photoshoot,”
Karen tilted her head and tried to ignore Jinx’s instructions to Kori (“Those bewbs look awesome, Kori!”). She gave Raven a small laugh and took a sip of her margarita. “More like take photos for your boyfriend shoot,”
“Photos for Dick!” Kori chirped, happily slurping her mustard-laced margarita and cocking her hips to the side as she leaned against the railing.
“Photos for the dick!” Jinx grinned, throwing the two exasperated girls a dirty grin. “What? Like you never sent dirty photos to your boyfriends.”
Karen downed her drink in one go. “Not saying anything,”
Jinx stopped snapping photos of her and Kori and threw a wide grin at the retreating birthday girl, watching her get another drink. “I knew it!”
Karen returned with a particularly full margarita glass. She eyed the amused Jinx in exasperation. “I’m just saying if that’s what you and your partner do in private, that’s fine. No need to make a big deal out of it,”
Jinx waived her mojito around in agreement. “Exactly. We’re all adults here, right?” She pointedly ignored Raven’s raised eyebrow at her. “If we wanna spice up our relationships with sexy photos that get panties wet and boxers tented, then we can do so. What we do in our private lives is our business. No judgement,”
Raven made a face, looking scandalized. Leaning against the yacht’s window, she eyed the pink-head. “And then they get leaked,”
“If he leaks them, we magic their dicks into pickles,” Jinx shrugs nonchalantly.
Karen hoists herself up onto the railing, and expertly balances herself on the silver railing despite the number of margaritas she just downed. Her curly black hair whips around her as a gentle hot breeze brushes over them. “Sexy photos shouldn’t be the be all and end all of a relationship. But if you mutually want to show your junk to each other on photo and videos, there better be a lot of respect in that relationship and no pressure,” she said before taking a healthy drag from her drink.
“Like, if that’s how you want to improve your sex life, go for it,” Jinx shrugged and took Karen’s phone to take a few photos of her on the railing.
“Richard sends pics of the dick,” Kori suddenly announced, casually leaning against the railing and sipping her margarita. “They’re very exciting,”
Jinx laughed loudly, delighted at the revelation. “I bet they are,”
Raven shuddered. “Thanks for that mental image, Kori.” The idea of Richard taking photos of his crotch was not a pleasing thought. Raven downed her drink in one gulp. She was not too drunk for this.
“You’re welcome,” Kori chirped.
Jinx chuckled and stumbled past Raven. Refilling everyone’s drinks with her magic, she gabbed Raven’s phone and pulled out the camera app. “C’mon, Rae. Let’s take some photos of you,”
Raven frowned. “No,”
Completely ignoring Raven, Jinx grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the railing. She nearly knocked off Karen, who in turn drunkenly laughed and barely caught her balance. “Stand there, for the love of god, try to look sexy so we can post something on your painfully boring Instagram account,” instructed Jinx.
Raven frowned, taking offense. “My Instagram is not boring,”
Karen frowned and looked up from scrolling through her phone. “Girl, your last post was literally just a picture of a cup of tea,”
Raven glared and tried to ignore as Jinx took a couple of photos of her. Leaning against the railing, she took a long drink from her margarita glass. “I don’t see the point –”
“Point, shmoint,” Jinx waved her off. “Point is your hot. Hotter than your lousy, boring cup of tea that only got,” she looked over Karen’s shoulder and sent Raven a look of disdain. “Four likes – two of those are pity likes from Kori and Victor. Live a little, put that scandalously bikini-clad body on your Instagram because @RachelRoth needs to spice up the lives of your,” she paused again to look over Karen’s shoulder at Raven’s depressing Instagram account and her face fell a little. “24 followers. Seriously, 24, Rae?”
Crossing her arms under her breasts, Raven sent them a look of annoyance. “Who would I possibly add outside of our circle of friends?”
“I have over 600,000 followers on Instagram,” commented Kori, looking over Karen’s shoulder eyeing Raven’s social media account.
Karen grinned. “Of course you do, Hun. When you’re the fiancé of Richard Grayson, everyone wants to know what you guys are doing,”
Jinx furiously tapped on Raven’s phone. “Your online presence is depressing,” She gave her a pointed look. “You don’t even use dating apps,”
Raven looked incredulous. “Why would I use dating apps?” She downed her margarita and went for another one. “Do you have any idea what our jobs are like?”
“Girl, even your DMs are boring,” Karen looked utterly disappointed. Jinx, Kori, and Karen ignored Raven’s complaints and moved back to the lounge area, bending over Raven’s phone.
“Oh sure, go through my private messages.” Raven joined them and grabbed the pitcher of margarita. When had it become “Humiliate Raven Day” when it was actually Karen’s birthday? God, she needed more drinks
“It’s not like you’re sexting anyone,” Jinx rolled her eyes. “Have you not heard of sliding into someone’s DMs?” With the hand holding mojito glass, Jinx pointed an accusing finger at Raven. “This is why you are single.”
Raven threw her hands up in the air, sighing loudly. She staggered to her feet and grabbed both unsurprisingly empty pitchers. “You know, fine, whatever,” Raven, as she would later reflect on the turn of events, would realize this is where her mistake truly began. “Fuck it. Do whatever you want. Your yapping is annoying. I’ll go get us drinks.”
Jinx let out a little squeal and all three girls ducked over Raven’s phone. Jinx furiously typed on Raven’s phone and the three women shared a short laugh. Somewhere, in her lime margarita addled mind, Raven knew that this was a huge mistake. But she’d take care of her mistakes later, like the responsible drunk that she was.
After a few minutes of mixing drinks and making sure that she had refilled Kori’s disgusting bottle of mustard, Raven ambled back with the ice cold pitches and mustard bottle, and deposited everything on the glass table in the middle. Draping herself over a few lounge pillows, she eyed the amused ladies in front of her in disdain. “Give me back my phone,”
Jinx offered her a lecherous grin and tossed Raven her phone back. Thanks to her drunk reflexes, it slipped out of her hand and landed on her breasts before falling into her lap. “You’ll have to thank us,”
Raven grabbed her phone and quickly looked through her apps. “You better not have signed me up on Tinder,”
Her phone pinged a couple of times and Raven eyed her phone apprehensively. “What did you do?”
Jinx waived her hand as Kori and Karen giggled. “Nothing to get your panties bunched up,”
Her phone’s notifications went off a couple more times and Raven frowned. Ignoring the girls as they made plans to take a quick swim – which was also a recipe for disaster considering how drunk they were - Raven focused on her phone and the notifications that kept on popping up.
Frowning, Raven opened up her Instagram and eyed the notification for new messages. Feeling a headache coming along – and not because of the margaritas she had downed – she opened up her DMs and her frown deepened.
“Why hello there,” @ImAliveJTodd sent her a reply. Raven warily eyed the wink, volcano, eggplant, and water droplets emojis.
She was torn between crushing her phone in her hand or screaming bloody murder at Jinx. “Fuck you, Jinx,” she said loudly, which she assumed the pink haired woman in question heard when Raven heard a faint cackle in the distance and a loud splash.
Jinx sent a photo of Raven in her black skimpy bikini to Jason Todd and what she could only guess a couple of other people in her friends list. Raven felt her head throb as she eyed the photo Jinx took of her. She wasn’t looking directly at the camera, probably at Karen, holding her margarita glass with her right hand and her hips leaning against the boat’s railings. The blue ocean behind her was a beautiful backdrop and somehow seemed to highlight her pale skin and bounce around her full curves. Raven wasn’t ashamed of her body, and she had to admit that it was a really nice picture, but she was not thrilled to have her photo so widely circulated. An innocent “Hey there” with a wink emoji accompanied the picture.
Growling as Jason sent her a string of emojis with some more volcano and eggplant emojis, she promptly sent him a message to fuck off and quickly deleted the conversation.
“Fucking Jinx,” mumbled Raven as she ignored the latest emojis Jason sent her. An eggplant and peach. And promptly blocked him.
Ignoring @GarTheBeast’s “Dude!” (with a fire emoji) and @VStone’s “Put some clothes on!”, Raven promptly replied to @RoyHarper’s GIF of a cartoon wolf whistling with a GIF of cartoon monster biting a man’s head off. Jinx had sent the photo to Garth, who had yet to reply. @WallyW sent her a couple of fire emojis, which she basically just ignored.
She event sent one to @BruceWayne. Fucking Bruce Wayne. Thankfully, he had not yet seen the message and Raven hastily deleted the picture. She was going to kill Jinx.
@ClarkKent had seen the image. Totally mortified, Raven quickly sent a brief apology and explanation to Superman.
“How many margaritas did you have?” @RGrayson sent her a reply.
Raven rolled her eyes. “Just enough for me to murder Jinx in a drunken haze.”
“Make sure to dump the body further out at sea since you’re already out there. Good luck.” @RGrayson sent her a thumbs up emoji. After a few minutes he quickly sent a follow up message. “Though, seriously. Don’t.”
Sighing loudly, Raven eyed her phone in disdain. Sliding into someone’s DM’s was too much work. She decided to block Speedy after he sent he a string of annoying GIFs. Eyeing her notifications, Raven discovered that Jinx had also posted her photo on her Instagram account. Her bikini-clad body stood out from all her admittedly boring content of coffee mugs and books.
As Raven’s phone vibrated ones more, she was just about ready to throw it into the ocean and hopefully hit Jinx over the head with it.
“Uhm, hi?” @TimDrake replied.
Raven groaned. Did Jinx send her picture to all the Bat Family members? Ready to just give Tim a piece of her mind, Raven furiously began to type a long essay that basically told him to piss off.
“Did somebody hack into Rachel’s account?” @TimDrake sent another message. At least Tim was smart enough to use her alias.
Raven paused and blinked, her finger hovering over the send button. Deleting her intended reply, she quickly sent her answer. “Hi. This is Raven. Jinx hijacked my phone. There might be murder later.”
“Oh. Well, good luck with that.” Tim replied.
“Hah.” Raven leaned back into the plush recliner. She stared at the screen as Tim seemed to work on an answer.
“Hide the evidence.”
“We never had this conversation.” Raven replied.
“Right. Never.” Emoji with lips zipped shut.
Raven felt her lips curl just a little bit as relief swept over her. Finally, someone sensible in this shitstorm. “Thanks.”
Raven dropped her phone onto her lap and took a hearty swig from her margarita. She was already drunk anyway – what was the point of slowing down now. In the distance she heard loud splashing and giggles from Kori and curses from Jinx. Raven silently hoped Kori somehow managed to drown Jinx. Eyeing the ocean from her spot under the shade, Raven decided not to join them.
Feeling herself relax just a little bit as the yacht rocked with the waves and the sounds of the ocean gently wrapped around her, Raven leaned back into the ridiculously comfortable recliner chair. Hearing the shrieks of laughter from her friends in the background, Raven bristled slightly at how Jinx thought she was boring. She ignored her phone as it vibrated against her sweaty thigh. So what if she liked posting tea cups and books on her social media feed. Her margarita filled brain told her she could do exciting.
Picking up her phone, she ignored Jason’s text message (“Did you block me? Lol. Unblock me, Rae!”) and looked surprised as she got another message from Tim.
Opening up her DMs, she felt her lips curl lightly as she stared down at the image of a huge swimming pool surrounded by a lush garden she guessed found at the Wayne manor. “Not as amazing as the view you have there, but this ought to do.” The text below the picture read.
Taping her finger thoughtfully against her phone, Raven contemplated if she should send Tim a reply. Deciding that she really shouldn’t think too much about it, Raven took a photo of the lounge area in front of her, catching the nose of the yacht, the pitchers of drinks, colorful lounge chairs and pillows, and her right ankle and newly pedicured toes into the frame.
“That’s a lot of drinks!” replied Tim.
“It’s Karen’s birthday. Jinx has been plying us with alcohol.”
“Sounds like fun,” Raven snored at the GIF of drunk girls.
“Until one drunk girl drowns.” Raven replied. “May or may not be Jinx.”
Tim sent her a photo of a cold beer bottle he held up in front of the camera. “We live for danger. Cheers!”
Taking a photo of her own margarita glass, Raven sent it to Tim. “Cheers.”
She had met Tim a several times and among all the Robins she had met, he was perhaps the one of the most pleasant Robins to talk to. Except of course for Richard, with whom she still shared a special bond with. Jason was an explosion of emotions, and Damian still had so much to learn (and had such intense emotions for a 10-year-old). Tim was a welcome calm presence whenever they met and she truly enjoyed talking to him.
And, while this maybe the margarita talking, she honestly enjoyed the gentle press of interest she felt from Tim over the last couple of months they met on occasion. Raven took a long swig of her margarita, downing it, and she thought of Tim. As much as Jinx would like to tease her, she wasn’t blind and stupid as much – she knew what the gentle prod of emotions meant. And she actually enjoyed it.
Raven eyed the half empty pitcher of margarita in disdain, cursing at how open she felt. Fucking alcohol.
Her phone pinged and buzzed against her leg. Placing her empty margarita glass clumsily on the side table next to her, she picked up her phone and opened her DMs. And openly stared at the image of a smiling Tim Drake in the ridiculously huge Wayne pool, head and torso wet and leaning over the pool’s ledge. His muscular arm was folded over the ledge with this chin propped over it while his other arm was stretched out to take the photo. His long hair fell into his bright blue eyes and Raven’s lips pursed as the thought of wanting to push some of his hair out of his face crossed her mind.
“Time for a swim!”
Raven contemplated over what she should reply – and if she should reply at all. She eyed the photo a bit longer than she should have, taking in whatever defined muscle she could see. It was ridiculous how all the Wayne kids looked like magazine models.
“Enjoy!” she replied. She heard the girls’ drunken laughter in the distance and wondered if she should join them.
Her phone vibrated in her hand again and she stared at the profile picture of a smiling Tim Drake in a plain polo shirt. “Won’t you go swimming?”
There was a splash in the background and a shriek. Raven wasn’t all too sure if she wanted in on the drunken swimming. “Maybe later.”
“Okay. I’ll do a few laps for now. Enjoy your day, Rae.”
Raven locked her phone and placed it on the table in front of her. She heard a couple more splashes and shrieks in the background. Eyeing her phone momentarily and her thoughts slipped to Tim Drake in the Wayne Manor Olympic-sized swimming pool. Feeling a bit warm, and Raven honestly blamed the heat, she stood up and decided to go for a swim. Perhaps that would help her cool down a bit.
“Get a lot of DMs?” Jinx grinned wildly after Raven gracefully slipped into the water joined them in the water.
Raven swam over them and sent them a withering glare. “You sent Bruce Wayne my photo!”
“I’m sure he likes younger women,” Jinx shrugged nonchalantly.
Karen laughed. “I’m sure he does.”
Raven gave them a nasty look as if they were crazy. “You’re out of your minds.”
“Well, you obviously took your sweet time, so I’m guessing you got busy sending out replies.” Jinx wiggled her eyebrows.
Kori giggled in the background. “Who did you slide into, Friend Raven?” she asked.
“Slide into his DMs, Kori! Damn it. I did not slide into anyone!” Raven sent an exasperated look at an amused Kori.
“But someone might be sliding into Raven soon,” Jinx laughed.
Raven groaned and splashed a cackling Jinx with some water. “Jinx, stop it!”
Karen swam closer and laughed, narrowly avoiding a splash from Jinx. “But seriously, girl. Don’t leave us hanging. Did anyone reply to the messages we sent out?”
“Jason sent a string of eggplant emojis, if that’s what you’re asking,” Raven looked extremely annoyed as she swam in the warm water. Jinx and Karen laughed loudly.
“Eggplant emojis? Did he send you dick pics?” Kori sent her a look of surprise.
Raven looked scandalized. “Damn it, no, Kori! I thought we updated you on pop culture already,”
Jinx sent Kori a sly look. “Eggplants are dicks. But dick pics are dick pics, which you, sexy mama, are getting a lot of,”
Kori nodded. “I am,”
“Can we not talk about Richard’s penis?” Raven deadpanned.
Karen laughed and her sparkling brown eyes focused on an annoyed Raven. “Anyone else reply?”
“Roy sent a couple of GIFs and Wally a few fire emojis,” Raven rolled her eyes. “Apparently grown men cannot use words,”
Karen chuckled. “You’re too hot, Rae.”
“And no one else replied?” Kori eyed her curiously. “Not even Bruce?”
Raven flicked water at Kori. “No, god no. Bruce did not even see it,” she paused and shrugged. “Tim replied.”
Jinx lurched forward and her wrinkly hands wrapped around Raven’s arm. “Oh, ho, ho, ho.” She gave the annoyed woman a sly grin. “Tim Drake replied?”
“He slid into you?”
“Damn it, Kori. No!”
“I bet he will” Jinx winked at Raven.
Raven pushed some of her wet hair of her face in annoyance. “There’s no sliding into anyone. We just talked, that’s it.” She paused and frowned before pressing on with her margarita addled brain. “And besides, I don’t think he’s interested in me that way,”
Karen grinned and swam a bit closer to her. “And you are?”
“Tim is nice to talk to,”
Jinx rolled her eyes. “Then keep talking to him!” The pink haired woman groaned. “Do we have to take more hot photos of you and do everything for you? I swear, I’m gonna do it,”
Raven frowned. “Just drop it,”
With the sun slowly setting and after few more rounds of teasing and gossiping, the three women decided it was time for more alcohol and some of Karen’s birthday cake before they would head back to the island. Jinx and Karen led the way back to the yacht, climbing up the boarding ladder of the yacht and disappearing out of sight. Raven helped the uncoordinated Kori climb up the ladder before climbing up herself. Hoisting herself up on the transom of the yacht, Raven turned to climb up the ladder careful not to slip and potentially kill herself by hitting her head. As she reached the top of the small ladder, she stopped and frowned as Jinx and Karen had once again accosted her phone and took some photos of her as she struggled to safely climb back on board.
“What are you doing?”
“Tim Drake sent you a photo of him in the pool. Did you see those arms? You need to send something back,” Jinx said and snapped a few more photos.
“I’m sending you back in a body bag,” Raven announced as she frowned and pulled both her legs back on board and sat on top of the ladder. “Stop it,”
“Girl, your hot. You obviously like to talk to him, and he obviously likes to talk to you. And you’ve both been sending photos to each other.” Karen waved her hands around as emphasis. “Might as well have some fun. My spidey senses are tingling, I’m sensing something good,”
Raven frowned. “You’re a bee. And the only thing that’s tingling is your head from all the alcohol,”
“Send him one of the pictures I took. A photo of you wet is gonna make him wet,” Jinx tossed Raven her phone, which she clumsily caught in between her wet hands.
Sending Jinx a nasty glare, Raven ignored the comment and sank into one of the pillows as the rest of the girls busied themselves in getting more drinks and Karen’s birthday cake. Browsing through the photos Jinx took of her, she silently wondered if she should send Tim one back. He did send her a photo of him swimming – and it would be only fair to send in a quick update of her swim as well. Right? Of course her margarita brain agreed.
Picking the one where she sat on top of the ladder with her looking at the camera with a neutral expression (all others had her frowning at Jinx) and with a full view of the ocean and the sun setting behind her, she sent the photo to Tim. “Went for a swim.”
Dropping her phone on to her lap, Raven watched as the girls returned with more drinks and a chocolate cake. Depositing everything onto the glass table, they all gathered around the table to grab more drinks and a few slices of cake.
Raven was half asleep and half listening to Jinx narrate her recent undercover mission where she had to “seduce a rich asshole” when her phone pinged and vibrated against her leg.
Picking up her phone, Raven pulled up her DMs and blinked as she stared at the little heart emoji on her photo she sent to Tim. “That’s a really beautiful view.”
Did he mean just the ocean and sunset behind her? Or was that a compliment that included her? A shiver ran down her back. Was he flirting?!
“Aww,”
Raven locked her phone and glared as Jinx leaned over her shoulder to steal a glance at Raven’s DMs. Pointing her finger at Raven with the mojito glass still in hand, the mojito sloshed angrily around the glass, Jinx wiggled her finger. “I told you, he’s into you.”
Raven dropped her phone next to her. “He’s into girls that look like drowned rats in a bikini,”
Karen rolled her eyes in exasperation and picked up Raven’s phone and tossed it back at her. “From the way you’ve been talking, it doesn’t seem like he’s just talking to because you’re in a bikini. And besides, you know Tim – he’s actually nice. You’d Marry him in our Kill, Fuck, Marry game. I don’t see where the problem is.”
Jinx shrugged and helped herself to another mojito and a cake slice. “And if he sends you photos, you have the choice to respond or not. Do whatever the two of you enjoy,” she paused and took a sip. She sent Raven a wink. “But you should send him more pictures to make him hot and bothered. Because it should be fun to make him squirm just as it should be fun for you to get your panties wet with his photos,”
Leave it to Jinx to make the crudest advice. “Whatever,” Raven mumbled and tuned out them out as they started to make plans to head back to the bay. Placing her empty margarita glass on the table in front of her, Raven turned to her phone and turned it on again. Looking at Tim’s reply, she pondered if she should take on Jinx and Karen’s advice and continue talking to Tim and if this was all worth her time and energy. In her drunk mind, Raven reasoned that she did like him, so it was well worth a shot.
“Thanks!”
Dropping her phone next to her and listening to Jinx haphazardly commandeer the yacht back to the Titan’s Bay, Raven leaned back into the soft cushions. Her phone buzzed softly against her thigh and she eyed it momentarily before picking it up again. Opening up her DMs, she decided to see where this would take her.
~
Raven groaned as her alarm clock blared loudly and she fought the urge to blow it up with her powers. While her demon heritage easily burned off most of the alcohol from yesterday, she still felt some of the side effects of drinking countless margarita pitchers that could easily induce alcohol poisoning to regular human beings. Slipping out of her bed, Raven made quick work in getting ready before grabbing her phone and heading into the kitchen.
“Morning,” Dick sent her an amused smile over his breakfast cereal. He grinned as Raven scowled. “Did you have a good time yesterday?”
Raven went on puttering around the kitchen, set on getting herself some toast and her herbal tea. She threw Richard a quick uninterested glance. “We had enough alcohol to drink an entire army under the table, we had cake, we were out on a boat miles away from Garfield, so yes, I had an excellent time,”
Dick chuckled. “And the DM?”
Raven rolled her eyes and sat down across of him by the counter. Looking around the kitchen briefly, she assumed everyone was still asleep. “Jinx thinks she can make me ‘slide into someone’s DMs’,” she said before sipping her tea. “I shouldn’t have allowed her to take my phone.”
“Ah, the poor choices we make because of alcohol,” Dick tutted. Placing his elbow on the table and propping his chin into his hand, he grinned at her. “So, did anyone slide into your DMs back?”
Raven frowned, not liking where this was going. “Some replied. Most were just a string of eggplant and water droplet emojis.”
“Why do I have a feeling I know who sent them?” Richard quirked an eyebrow. “Jason said that you blocked him on several platforms.”
“How do you know about that?” Raven eyed him curiously while she nibbled on her toast.
Dick held up his phone and waved at her. “We have a chat group. He’s been raving over your photo that Jinx sent out,”
She snorted. “Of course the BatKids have a chat group.” She silently wondered if Tim mentioned anything on the chat group. Standing up, she picked up her mug and headed towards the door. “I’m going up the roof to meditate. I’ll see you at training,”
Not waiting for Dick’s reply, she walked out of the kitchen and down the hallway. She felt that most of the tower’s occupants were still asleep. Once they got home from their day on the yacht, they still had a small celebration for Karen back at the tower organized by the boyfriend, Cyborg. It lasted well into the night with more drinks and poor life choices.
Opening the roof door, Raven welcomed the gentle dawn breeze from the harbor and sat down in a lotus position by the ledge of the tower. Fishing out her phone from her jean’s pocket, she eyed her phone with mixed emotions. She and Tim continued to exchange messages and a few photos through the party.
Switching to her DM’s she was surprised to see a message from Tim so early in the morning. As she recalled yesterday’s events, and the poor drunk choices that came with it, Raven winced as she went through her exchange with Tim. She unconsciously stopped at the last two photos of the night they exchanged – a blurry picture of her in her camisole buried in her pillows looking both less than glamorous and incredibly sleepy (a picture she sent as a reply to his “Aren’t you going to bed?”) to which he sent his own picture in bed, shirtless with his tousled long hair falling into his eyes, giving her an incredibly dazzling sleepy smile. “Good night.” Raven would admit that the picture of a shirtless Tim Drake jolted her awake briefly. She stared at well-defined shoulders.
While she was pretty sure that their whole exchange was innocent enough, Raven felt like it opened a floodgate of so many scenarios that she may or may not be ready for.
“Good morning!” Tim had sent her a photo message of Gotham City’s skyline as the city sprang to life with the bright orange glow creating silhouettes of skyscrapers and other buildings. Gotham, despite its dark secrets, was still a very beautiful city.
She smiled at the picture. Picking her camera option, she took a picture of the Jump City bay as the rising sun created a rainbow of colors across the sky and ocean. “Good morning.”
“Hungover?”
Raven smiled. “Metabolized almost everything. Perks of being half-demon.”
“Such perks.”
“I’m going to meditate. We have training soon.” She told him.
Her phone vibrated softly in her hand and she looked down at Tim’s reply. “Don’t beat up Dick too much.”
The corners of her lips quirked in amusement and she placed her phone next to her. Feeling warm and content, Raven slipped into a calm meditative trance. As she centered herself and felt herself calm and her emotions settle down around her, she couldn’t help but think how talking to Tim Drake wasn’t all too bad.
~
Raven sat on top of a modern commercial building and eyed the alley below her in complete boredom. Dick had them on stakeout for the past three hours to crackdown a human trafficking cartel in the city and so far they had not even heard a mouse breathe. Apparently one of the buildings in the district was one of the common trading grounds of the cartel but save for rats running around the alley, there was zero movement in her zone. Either someone must have tipped the cartel off or there was no activity that evening.
“Anything?” she heard Dick as through their comm device.
“No, man.” Victor replied sounding as tired and bored as her. “I think we should call it a night.”
“No action in my end,” Beast Boy said. He tried and failed to hide a yawn. “This is boring.”
“Nothing on my end too,” Kori said. “Perhaps we should move out, yes?”
“Raven?” Dick asked, ignoring the rest of the team’s silent please the abort the mission tonight.
Raven’s purple eye’s slipped down into the alley once more. She watched in disdain as a couple of dogs dove into a trashcan. “There are dogs eating trash down here,” she said.
They all heard Dick’s frustrated sigh. They had been trying to track the cartel for a few days now and it’s been grating on everyone’s nerves. Raven could feel Dick’s frustration press into her. “Fine. 30 more minutes and let’s head back to the tower. Nightwing out.”
Their comm line went dead and Raven sighed softly into the cool evening air. She eyed the alley below her, trying to catch any suspicious activities. She watched as the dogs started to tear apart the trash and drag some foodscraps through the alley.
Bored, Raven turned her attention to the bright Jump City skyline. From where she sat on top of the building, the city was alive with lights at two in the morning and the moon shone brightly above the silhouette of buildings. Taking out her phone, she took a picture and sent it to Tim. They had started a habit of taking photos of sceneries and things they found interesting – she quickly learned that Tim seemed to enjoy photography and also appreciated her pictures of tea mugs (hah, take that Jinx).
“Nice! Still on patrol?”
Briefly looking down the alley to check for any activities. “Yes. Stakeout. Nothing has been happening for the past three hours.”
“Sounds boring.”
Her phone vibrated in her hands and she looked down at the image he sent back to her. She inhaled softly as she stared down at an image of thick muscular legs tightly wrapped in black pants and heavy combats boot dangling from what could possibly be a skyscraper. Past his legs and feet, she could see the bright traffic down below. It was actually a nice aerial shot. She stared at the telltale signs of his Red Robin costume and frowned as she saw a few injuries on the side of his right thigh. Their messages were encrypted so they could send messages to each other without worrying about being compromised.
“You’re hurt,”
“We saw Bane tonight.” He replied. “This is just a scratch.”
Raven heard the loud rustle of a garbage bag being torn open. She looked down at the alley and frowned. “That’s going to get infected.”
“It’s just a scratch,” He repeated. “Unless you want to come over and heal it?”
Raven stared at his message and felt a warm tingle run down her back. He always did this, Tim Drake had been doing this for a while now since that afternoon they had started messaging each other so many weeks ago – he’d find ways to slip under her skin. It was innocent enough. But still – Raven stared at the message and felt an excited shiver run through her.
“In your dreams, Bird Boy.”
~
Raven loved Kori dearly. She was her sister, albeit a complete opposite from her, but still her sister. But, as she stared at her reflection in the mirror at one of Jump’s most upscale wedding dress stores, Raven wondered if it wasn’t too late to cancel her friendship with Kori. She stared at the monstrosity of her Maid of Honor dress they had her try on and Raven felt herself suffocate in the sheer amount of lace, frills, and pink.
“Let’s see!” she heard Jinx snicker outside of her dressing room.
“No,” Raven snapped and struggled to zip up the dress from behind, trying to find the tiny zipper in the sea of lace and ruffles.
“Let us see your Flornarp dress,” Kori’s excited muffled voice drifted through the doors of her dressing room. She heard the sales lady ask “The what?” to which Karen hastily replied “Maid of Honor dress. Kori’s Finnish,”
Fishing out her phone from her bag, Raven pulled up her camera app and took a photo of herself in the mirror. She sent it to Tim. “Help.”
“Is there a cotton candy monster on the loose in Jump?”
“Funny.” She replied.
“C’mon, Rae!” Jinx sounded a little drunk. Which also wasn’t that much a surprise since the shop had offered them several bottles of champagne. “For the Wayne-Anders wedding only the best,” said the store manager.
“Yes, yes, calm down,” Raven mumbled and threw open the doors of her dressing room and all but stumbled out. Hearing Karen and Jinx poor attempt of stifling their giggles, Raven frowned and grabbed her champagne glass. She took a long swig while the rest of the girls studied her in the pink lump of a dress.
Kori stared at her. “Perhaps it’s too big, yes?”
Raven sighed and tugged at the frilly neckline. “Perhaps a dress that doesn’t look like it’s eaten me alive?”
Karen snorted. “Maybe something that looks less like Silkie?”
Finishing her champagne glass, Raven placed it back on the small glass table. Offering Kori an assuring smile, sensing that her friend was growing worried over their dress choices, “I’m sure we’ll find something better, Kori,”
Looking slightly relieved, Kori smiled and nodded. “Something with less ruffles?”
“Less frills and lace too,” Raven added kindly before slipping back into the dressing room. She heard Jinx say something about finding a hotter dress that showed more bewbs.
As she struggled to get out of her dress, Raven’s phone pinged. Letting half of her dress drop around her waist, she picked up her phone from the cushioned seat and opened Tim’s message. She felt her cheeks warm significantly and her heart jump against her chest as she stared at the image of Tim Drake in an impeccable tuxedo. His hair was tousled and fell into his amused blue eyes and he grinned into the camera as he took his own picture in the full length mirror. The boys were also at their own fittings, trying out tuxedos in Gotham City. Raven took a minute to drink in his broad shoulders and how his white shirt stretched over his chest.
“That’s not fair.” Raven hastily replied in a flurry of emotions.
“Lol. Why?”
Raven felt body warm as she snuck another glance at Tim’s picture. “You look better. I look like chewed up bubble gum.”
“Oh?”
There was a pause and Raven watched as Tim started typing again, three dots dancing across the bottom of her screen. A thrill ran down her naked back. She was sure Tim was doing this on purpose.
“So I look good?”
~
Raven was at her favorite tea shop one rainy afternoon drinking ridiculously expensive tea from a tiny tea cup. After a morning of accompanying Kori for some more wedding preparations, Raven decided to take some time off in the afternoon and relax a bit. There was just so much excitement and stress she could take.
Taking a picture of her blue ceramic tea cup and tea pot, she absently sent the picture to Tim. She took a sip of her Belgian Mint Tea and idly looked around the empty tea shop. Kori’s wedding was a several weeks away and the stress of having to deal with Kori’s stress was, well, stressing her out. Raven relished comfort the tea and the steady beat of the rain brought her.
Her phone vibrated against the old table and she carefully placed her tea cup down into its dainty saucer. Picking up her phone, she stared at Tim’s reply in amusement.
“Fancy.”
“Just very fancy mint tea,” she replied.
Tim sent her a picture of his half-empty Batman coffee mug. “Just very plain coffee on my end.”
Leaning back in her chair, Raven crossed her legs and settled back comfortably. Her lips curled in amusement. “Nice mug though,”
“The finest Batman mug in town.” he replied. “I know a guy who knows a guy. I could get you one.” Tim sent her a bat emoji.
Raven looked out the shop’s window briefly and stared as the rain beat against the glass window of the shop. She felt herself warm at the exchange. She tapped the side of her phone with her finger thoughtfully, mulling over her reply as her heart fluttered suddenly. Looking back down at her phone, she smiled. “You know how to win a girl’s heart.”
A day later a neatly wrapped up red present waited for her on the Titan’s kitchen counter with the rest of the day’s mail.
~
Despite the throbbing pain her right thigh and a splitting headache, Raven sat comfortably in her bed. She leaned heavily against her dark pillows and tried to enjoy the book Victor blindly pulled out of her bookshelf to keep her in bed. Tonight’s fight with Slade ended with her getting shot in the leg and fracturing her femur. Raven argued earlier that except maybe the gunshot wound, she was generally alright. But Dick and Victor would hear nothing of it and removed her from field operations until she fully recovered.
Her phone vibrated next to her thigh and she dropped her book into her lap, careful to avoid her bandaged left thigh. Opening up her encrypted messages, she saw Tim’s latest message.
“Are you alright?!”
“Yes.” She replied and leaned back into her pillows trying to get more comfortable. Her leg throbbed in protest. Fucking Slade.
“Dick said you got hurt?”
Trust the BatFam Group Chat to spread the word. Raven rolled her eyes. She took a picture of the book in her lap and her bandaged left thigh. Not really caring how short her shorts were and how revealing the shot actually she was, Raven sent the picture to Tim. “I’m fine.”
There was a pause as Tim typed out an answer. Raven watched as the dots danced on her screen furiously. Perhaps in hindsight, as she stared at her legs and the sliver of skin between her book and shorts and the curve of her thighs against her dark sheets, sending that a revealing photo wasn’t her best idea. She wished she had a margarita to blame her poor choices on.
“Nice book.”
Raven raised an eyebrow at his answer. The book was in Latin, and while she knew that Tim was smart, she was sure he did not know Latin. The corner of her lips twitched in amusement.
“I didn’t know you knew Latin?”
“Fine. You caught me.” He sent her a blushing emoji.
“Hah.”
There was a pause and Raven thought that Tim might have ended their conversation. Not really minding the silence, Raven started to turn back to her book when her phone vibrated again. She stared at Tim’s reply.
“I was worried.”
A warmth that she definitely did not allow ran down her back. Raven felt her cheeks warm at the soft affection and she smiled. “Thanks. I’m fine.”
“Just be careful next time, okay?”
~
Victor had her do therapy, which in Raven’s opinion was completely unnecessary. So sure, the bullet shattered her femur (worse than the initially thought), but with a little more healing, she would be fine. Victor would not have it though and demanded that she still did therapy – which was a bitch.
“One more, you can do it,” Victor watched Raven dangle on the dip station as she finished up her vertical leg raises. “Quit complaining – you’re tougher than that,”
Raven felt her abs and thighs burn as she swung her legs up once more. Her fingers curled tightly into the handle bars as she struggled to finished the set. She hated this exercise and her legs and abs were on fire. “Fuck you,”
Victor laughed loudly and approached her. “I love you too,”
Raven hopped down from the machine carefully. She staggered a little as her legs touched the ground. Gasping to catch her breath, she glared at Victor. “This is completely – ”
“Unnecessary, I know. Humor me, will you?” Victor threw a towel in her face. “We’ll make tomorrow’s session our last. I just want to make sure there’s no muscle damage once you completely healed,”
Raven rolled her eyes in annoyance and wiped her face. “I’ll be fine,”
Victor shrugged and he briefly looked at her left thigh. Save for a shadow of a scar where the bullet had entered, there were no other signs of injury left. “Looks like you’re all good,” he smiled and looked down at her. “Just one more session tomorrow, Rae.”
“Fine,” Raven mumbled and turned on her heels sharply. She walked to the side of the gym room where she left her phone and water bottle. “After tomorrow I’m burning that machine,”
“Hey, no hating the Dip Machine,” She heard Victor tap the machine lovingly. “I’m going to make us some dinner. See you in the common room,”
Raven made a noncommittal sound and picked up her water bottle. Taking a long drink of water to cool herself down, she absently picked up her phone and checked her notifications. Ignoring some of the annoying memes and GIFs Garfield sent to their group chat, Raven pulled up Tim’s latest message.
“Still doing therapy?”
“Yeah, just finished.” She replied. “Dead tired.”
“Good job!” He sent her a thumbs up emoji. “Did a workout too.”
Raven coughed loudly as she choked on her water and allowed it to dribble down her chin and chest. Inhaling sharply, she clumsily placed the water bottle next to her on the bench and stared at the photo Tim just sent her. Looking up at her from her phone was a sweaty, grinning Tim Drake dressed in nothing but a pair of gym shorts. His disheveled hair fell into his blue eyes that practically burned into her. He took the photo in what she guessed was his gym at his apartment. She stared at his flexed bicep as he took a photo of himself in the mirror and her eyes swept over his arms and chest. She felt a shiver of excitement run down her chest and pool low in her stomach. She inhaled softly again and swallowed as her eyes followed the dips of his abs. She could see scars dance across his chest, arms, and stomach and she faintly wondered how it would feel like to –
Holy shit.
She inhaled unsteadily through her nose and frowned. “That’s not fair.” She furiously typed and sent back to him. Why did he always tease her? Her body tingled and she stole a quick glance at his photo again. Damn it.
“What is?”
He was teasing her again! Raven felt her cheeks flush and her stomach tingle in excitement. How Tim Drake managed to so easily slip under skin and stir so man emotions and flirt with her, all through her phone, was beyond her. Her emotions purred inside of her, enjoying the attention.
“Tim!”
“What!”
She felt a flurry of emotions and she body practically hummed. She could blame the margaritas of so many months ago for this. But, honestly, this was all on her. She really had no alcohol to blame, except for her emotions that were practically burning her skin. Pushing herself off the bench, she exhaled loudly and marched towards the mirrors.
Still incredibly disheveled from her therapy session, Raven took a photo of herself in her workout clothes – a pair of rather short gym shorts and a sports bra. Looking into her phone as she took a photo of herself, her lips curled just a little bit in amusement. She hit send. Her heart beat loudly against her chest as she sent her picture – two could play his game.
It took a minute – just as long as it took for her to take in Tim’s picture – before Tim replied. Raven felt a satisfied tingle run down her spine.
Heart emoji.
~
While Raven was busy filing that evening’s report, Tim randomly sent her a picture of Gotham City’s park. She paused in her typing and stared at the beautiful picture of Gotham City alive at night with buildings illuminated by the moon and the enchanting shadows danced across sprawling park. Despite its grit and crime, Gotham City was beautiful.
“That’s beautiful.” She replied.
“Patrol is boring tonight. Thought you might like a view of the park.”
Raven smiled at his thoughtfulness. “Thanks. We stopped a bank robbery today. I’m filing reports.”
“Sounds exciting.”
“Thrilling.” She replied. She looked at her laptop, her Batman mug filled with tea, and some of the case files on the table, nothing really was worthy of a picture. “Nothing really as beautiful as your park to take a photo of here, really.”
“You could take a picture of yourself?”
~
“My mother was from Gotham,” she told him one evening after he sent her another picture of Gotham City’s skyline while he was on patrol.
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” she replied while sitting on top of the Titan’s tower and looking out at the bay. Something stirred in her as she waited for Tim’s reply.
“Do think you still have relatives here?”
“I don’t think so,” she answered. “I don’t know.”
“We could find out?”
We. Raven stared at the ‘we’ and felt a warmth blossom that had been brewing deeply inside of her for so long. She smiled. “I’d like that.”
“We could go to some of your mom’s favorite places,”
She heard the whisper of an unspoken promise. Raven felt her heart fluttered softly against her chest. Her hair tickled her chin as a soft warm breeze swept past her. She shivered with anticipation. “I’d like that too.”
“It’s a date then.”
~
“Are you busy?” Tim asked one afternoon while she was hunched over on her bed engrossed in painting her toenails. It was a secret guilty pleasure she eventually developed after one too many girl nights with Kori.
Raven dipped the little brush back into the dark blue nail polish and grabbed her phone as she waited for her toenails on her left foot to try. “I’m painting my nails.”
“Really?”
Before she could reply or send a photo as evidence, her phone rang loudly and it slipped out of her hand as it vibrated. The black phone landed on her lap and continued to incessantly vibrate against her bare leg. She looked down and watched as Tim’s name appeared on her screen – incoming video call.
They had recently started talking on the phone on a few occasions – mostly when Tim was bored and wanted to tease Raven. She’d admit that she secretly enjoyed talking to him over the phone. It brought a thrill down her spine. She wasn’t all too sure what was happening between them but she liked the feelings that blossomed within her.
Her phone buzzed angrily. Looking down at her attire, she was dressed in one of Victor’s oversized t-shirt and nothing else, and thought that it would be enough. Picking up her phone, she placed it on her nightstand next to her bed for them to see each other and answered the call.
“Yes?”
Tim’s smiling face appeared on her phone’s screen. “Hey!”
Raven blinked in surprise as she took in Tim’s rather wet hair. “Why are you so wet?”
He was clearly holding his phone with his hand as his phone shook unsteadily while Tim combed his sopping wet hair with his other hand. Shaking his head a bit to get water out of his long hair, he looked back at her. “I was riding my motorbike and it started to rain, so yeah.”
Raven shifted on her bed and hunched over her feet. She hummed softly as a promise that she was listening. She began to paint the toenails on her right foot. “Where are you?” she asked while keeping a steady eye on her foot.
“At the mall. Buying some last minute wedding stuff,” she heard his reply.
Throwing an amused look over her shoulder, she watched as Tim’s face became a little blurry as he moved through some aisle. “Doesn’t the Wayne household have a delivery service to get their shopping done or something?” she teased.
“Hah,” Tim chuckled and his grinned at her through the camera. “Funny.” He explained the last minute items Alfred had him buy.
Turning back to her right foot, Raven shifted and bent her knee, drawing her foot closer to her. Her t-shirt around her thighs fell lower into her lap and pooled around the swell of her hips. She heard Tim pause briefly in his detailed explanation of his table napkin quest and inhale softly. He coughed and she could hear the distinct quiver in his voice.
“—so, yeah. Uh, table napkins. We don’t have enough,”
Raven briefly looked down at how her shirt pooled around her hips. Smirking, she threw him an amused look. “Troubles?”
Her emotions purred softly and a thrill ran down her spine as she watched Tim briefly glance down at her legs before looking back at her. They stared at each other for a moment before Tim smiled and shook his head. “Ah, no,”
“So, table napkins?” Raven cocked her head to the side and watched as Tim continued to walk through the dark aisles. It didn’t look like he was in the dinning section of the mall.
“Yeah,” Tim said. He was busy looking at some items in the shelf in front of him. His face disappeared from the frame a couple of times as he reached and rummaged through the shelves.
“You called because of napkins? That’s what was so important?” Raven asked with a lilt in her voice.
She heard Tim chuckle as she continued to paint her toenails. “Actually, no. I wanted to ask what you’re wearing at the dinner party on Thursday?”
Raven turned back to her phone and sent him a curious look. She watched as his face was busy staring at whatever was on display in front of him. “What I’ll be wearing?”
Dick and Kori’s wedding was, finally, less than a week away. Bruce was hosting a dinner party for everyone before the wedding. It was mainly just all members of the Titans from the different teams and Justice League members and whoever else who belonged to the circle, just so everyone could celebrate without worrying about trying to hide their identities. Raven was honestly thrilled that the wedding would be over and done with soon – Kori was stressing her out.
“Yeah,” Tim chimed. “What color is your dress? Help a man out here.”
Raven furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. What was he getting on with? “What?” She cocked her head to the side as Tim busied himself with the shelf in front of him.
“What color is your dress?” he repeated.
“Dark blue,” she replied in pure confusion. “What’s the point?”
Tim made a satisfied noise in the back of his throat and his face blurred out as he reached for something in front of him. “Like this?” he showed her a rather expensive looking dark blue silk tie.
“Kind of?” Raven frowned. “Why?”
Tim sent her a soft smile and shrugged. “Thought it’d be nice to match your dress?”
~
“So, you’re telling us you’ve been flirting and talking and sending each other pictures, and may I just add pictures that are borderline sinful, to each other for close to four months and you’ve never met up?” Karen shot Raven an incredulous look as they drove towards the Wayne Estate in Gotham City for Dick and Kori’s pre-wedding dinner party slash ridiculous gala dinner Bruce Wayne organized. Removing her eyes from the road momentarily, Karen looked utterly disappointed at Raven. “How could you have not met up?”
Raven looked annoyed in her seat. “I don’t know. Maybe because we live in different cities, we have jobs, he practically runs Wayne Enterprises, and we’re all trying to save the world from impending doom every week?”
“Saving the world my ass.” Jinx scoffed and leaned into the space between the two front seats. As she leaned towards them, the neckline of her red dress dipped dangerously, momentarily flashing both Karen and Raven with her breasts. She shot Raven an amused look. “I’m sure in between all that, you could have still squeezed in some sex time,”
“I could squeeze your neck anytime,” Raven shot back. Her purple eyes dropped to Jinx’s cleavage in disdain. “Your tits are out.”
Jinx laughed and slumped back into the backseat of Karen’s car. Adjusting her red slinky dress around her chest, Jinx sent Raven an amused smile. “I bet you your tits are gonna be out too later tonight,”
“Why am I friends with you again?” Raven stared at Jinx darkly through the rearview mirror.
“Pretty low standards?” Karen mused loudly as they rounded the corner.
“Hey!” Jinx looked indignant. “We’re on the same team!”
“Look, you like him, and from the way he’s been flirting with you, he’s hot and heavy about you too, hold it, wait!” Karen briefly raised a perfectly manicured finger into Raven’s face as the purple haired woman was about to protest. “Don’t even deny it. Tonight you’re going to see him after all of whatever it is you two are doing over the phone,”
“It’s like you’re dry humping over the phone,” Jinx said dryly.
Trying to be the more sensible friend, Karen completely ignored Jinx and briefly cast the annoyed Raven a quick glance. “You can’t just keep on talking over the phone. What are you going to do, Rae?”
Raven frowned at them, her emotions stirring slightly. Smoothing out her dark blue dress around her legs, she frowned. “I didn’t say I’d go and avoid him, I highly doubt that would be even possible,” she said.
Karen shot her a curious look. “How are you feeling about all of this?”
“Hot and bothered?” Jinx chimed from the backseat.
Raven rolled her eyes at Jinx. Leaning back in her seat, she crossed her arms defensively under her breasts. “It’s a lot to take in,” she said. She cast Karen a quick glance, briefly admiring her in the long deep yellow dress she was wearing.
“We’re not telling you to jump him, Raven,”
“Though you totally should,” Jinx said. “Or he should jump you, whatever works your kink.”
Raven let out a long suffering sigh. “I’m going to see him and we’ll see where it goes. Maybe he just likes talking to me over the phone and things change when he sees me,”
Jinx rolled her eyes. “When he sees you in that dress, he will not take you out of his sight. I promise you that. We picked the right dress,” She sighed dramatically. “I’m so proud of you. You did well in slipping into his DMs.”
“Just have fun tonight, Rae,” Karen said, completely ignoring Jinx in the backseat.
Raven made a non-committal sound in the back of her throat. “Kind of hard to do when I’m still on Maid of Honor duty for Kori,” as if on cue, her phone vibrated in her black clutch. Fishing it out of her bag, Raven eyed Kori’s text. “She just sent me a messaging asking us to buy her a liter of mustard. Why would she want a liter of mustard?”
“Why doesn’t the Wayne household have liter of mustard? It’s a fucking manor.” Jinx gave Raven an incredulous look.
“There should be a 7/11 or a supermarket nearby. We can make a quick stop and get the bride her mustard,” Karen said while trying to spot a supermarket along the way. She shot Jinx a quick look through the rearview mirror. “Be useful. Try to find something on your phone. It’ll be faster that way,”
Raven’s phone vibrated again. Opening up her messages, Tim’s headshot smiled up at her. Ignoring the feelings that stirred in her chest, Raven opened her encrypted messages.
“Are you here yet? Where are you?”
“We’re still downtown. Kori just texted. She wants a liter of mustard.” She replied. Jinx and Karen argued in the background where to take a turn. For superheroes, it was grossly disappointing how poorly they could operate Google Maps.
“Oh, okay.” Tim replied. She watched as the dots danced across the bottom of her screen. “The party is starting.”
“We’ll be there in a bit. Trying to find mustard.”
He sent her a photo of the brightly lit ballroom (it’s ridiculous how they had a Grand Ballroom – but it’s Bruce Wayne) that’s filled with beautifully dressed superheroes dancing or feasting on the buffet tables. She could see Garfield dance with Terra in one corner of the picture. “Hurry!”
They had stopped at a gas station. Jinx and Karen had volunteered to go and get the mustard. Lifting her phone to the window, Raven took a photo of the gas station. “Mustard run. See you later.”
“I’ll save you a dance.”
~
The Wayne Estate was breathtakingly beautiful. Raven forgot how beautiful it was up until tonight. On the handful occasions she was here because of work, she remembered how quiet and dark the mansion was. But tonight, she could feel how the mansion was alive with emotions. Raven heard laughter and loud music drift through the halls, the sound of silverware hitting fine china tinkled softly.
They were a bit late after their Great Mustard Run of 2020. When they stepped into the foyer Alfred was ready to welcome them and take the one liter of mustard out of their hands (it painfully clashed with their dresses).
“The three of you look stunning. Thank you for the mustard,” Alfred smiled kindly at them. “I’ll take this to the kitchen. I trust that you know your way to the ballroom?”
“It’s wonderful to see you again, Alfred,” Raven smiled. She hugged the man briefly before leading Karen and Jinx towards the ballroom. She could hear Victor’s loud laughter carry through the hallways and she smiled.
“There you are!”
Victor all but barreled into them, his bright blue tuxedo stretching across his muscles as he hugged all three girls at the same time.
“Easy there, Sparky,” Karen laughed and pushed her boyfriend away from them.
“Thought I’d have to send out a search party for you three,” Victor grinned. He handed Karen his champagne glass. “BB and some of the older Titans are at the table over there,” he pointed at one of the center tables in the brightly lit ballroom.
Wrapping her arms around Victor’s left arm, Karen looked around the ballroom with bright eyes. “Wow, I didn’t realize there’d be so many people,”
“Leave it to Bruce Wayne to throw a party,” Jinx commented, stealing two champagne glasses from Alfred as he passed them with a full tray.
Taking one of the champagne glasses from Jinx, Raven surveyed the ballroom. Modern jazz music drifted through the air while people were busy talking, dancing, or eating. All of the Justice League and their sidekicks, Teen Titans and the original Titans were in the room. It was impressive to see so many heroes dressed to the nines in such a relaxed and normal environment. She spotted Clark talking to Lois and Diana by the bar and waved when he caught her eye.
“Clark Kent fills out a suit so nicely,” whispered Jinx into her ear.
“Don’t,” Raven rolled her eyes and gently pushed Jinx away. They followed Victor into the fray of the party, waving at some of friends and the younger Titans.
“Friends!”
Kori in her flowing lavender dress hugged Raven tightly out of nowhere. The smaller woman stumbled back slightly before hugging Kori back and gaining her footing. Looking over Kori’s shoulder she saw a highly amused Dick looking stunning in his tuxedo. Pushing Kori away gently, Raven smiled. “Hi, Kori,”
“Thanks for the mustard,” Dick laughed as they all gathered by the designated table for the older Titans.
“It should be crime how hot you two look,” Karen commented dryly, eyeing Richard and Kori in mock disdain. Kori was dressed in a light lavender gown that dipped dangerously down the down the front and back and flared around her hips. Dick matched her dress with a lavender tie and undoubtedly expensive tuxedo.
“You look stunning, friends,” Kori said, smiling brightly at them.
Jinx was dressed in a slinky red dress with thin straps around her shoulders and a neckline that was close to scandalous while Karen was in a rich yellow dress that hugged her curves. Raven had initially protested in getting a new dress, but Karen and Jinx had essentially held her at gunpoint and they bought midnight blue dress with a deep neckline, which according to Jinx, “helped accentuate her tits.” The dress had a long slit run up her right leg, exposing her thigh as she walked.
Kori leaned into Raven’s personal space and gently pocked her in the ribs, much to her annoyance. “Tim has been asking for you.”
Raven blushed and she felt her heart jump into her throat. Looking away from Kori’s amused look, she pulled away, and turned to Karen. “I’m hungry,” she said hastily. No way was she going to subject herself to more teasing. “Let’s get some hors d’oeuvres.”
Kori giggled. “I’m happy for you, Friend Raven.”
Raven felt her emotions warm her. Throwing a soft smile over her should as she maneuvered Jinx towards the buffet stations, Raven caught Kori’s eyes. “Thanks,”
“So you’re not going to look for Tim?” Jinx asked as they pocked around a wide array of canapés. She absently waved at Wally on the other end of the buffet station. “Don’t you want to push him into one of the dark corners of this mansion and have your way with him?”
Raven eyed her in disdain. “How about I push you off one of the balconies here and make it look like an accident?”
“You’re no fun,” Jinx snorted. “Just have fun tonight. I’m sure he’s looking forward to seeing you and potentially ravishing you,”
Ignoring Jinx, Raven briefly scanned the room in the hopes of maybe spotting Tim. When she did not spot Tim, she turned back to her cucumber canapés ignoring the slight twinge of disappointment in her chest. She followed Jinx back to their table and they joined the rest of the old team.
The party seemed to slowly get into full swing as Roy joined their table and placed a few bottles of expensive wine and whiskey in the center of the table, much to the delight of Victor and Jinx. Ignoring Garfield’s bad jokes, Raven stood up and told Karen she was getting more champagne. There was no way she was going to fall into Roy’s trap of getting everyone wasted.
As she walked towards the bar, she waved at Dick and Kori as they were dancing slowly in the middle of the room with a Clark and Lois and a few other couples. They happily waved back before wrapping themselves into each other’s arms again. Raven felt the warm brush of their emotions against her and she smiled. She was glad her friends finally got married.
“Raven,”
“Constantine,” Raven wasn’t all too surprised to see Constantine by the bar. Taking one of the ready champagne glasses she joined him leaning against the bar and eyed his tuxedo in amusement. “I am pleasantly surprised to see you out of your trench coat,”
Constantine knocked back his whiskey and poured himself another shot from the bottle next to him. “Z threatened to hex me if I even thought of using my old coat,” he shrugged with a hint of disdain in his voice. He waived his whiskey glass at her. “You look amazing, by the way.”
Raven hummed her thanks and took a sip of her champagne. She briefly looked around the party, watching in mild amusement and awe as superheroes drank, ate, and danced through the party. She smiled briefly when she saw J’onn awkwardly dance with an amused Diana. Her eyes drifted towards the side of the ballroom and she inhaled softly when she finally spotted Tim talking to Commissioner Gordon. Ignoring how her heart seemed to beat loudly in her chest, she placed her champagne glass back on the bar and fished out her phone from her clutch. She felt her lips curl in amusement as she opened her phone’s camera and took a quick phot of Tim. Quickly tapping on her phone, she sent him the picture she took and dropped her phone back into her clutch satisfied.
“Didn’t know you were much of a stalker,” Constantine commented in dryly as he sipped his whiskey. He eyed her curiously.
Raven shrugged and grabbed her champagne glass again. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Tim pull his phone out of his pocket. Turning back to Constantine, she leaned against the bar with her left hip and offered an amused smile. “Picked up a new hobby,” she told him.
“Hah,” Constantine laughed. He tipped his glass at her and grinned. “Z told me to pick up a new hobby too,”
Raven snorted and raised an eyebrow. “That isn’t drinking?”
“I’d like to think mixology is an excellent hobby,”
“With you, I wouldn’t go as far as to call it a hobby, John,” Raven countered.
Spotting Zatanna and a few other female members of the League re-enter the ballroom, Constantine pushed himself away from the bar and offered Raven shrug. “Z’s back from her bathroom break with the rest of the ladies, why do you need to go in groups?” he asked absently. “I’m going to back to our table. Nice seeing you, Raven,”
“Bye, John,” Raven waved at the warlock’s retreating form. Taking a sip of her champagne, she felt a warm presence behind her. A warm tingle ran down her back as she felt the faintly familiar press of emotions against her.
“You still owe me a dance,”
Raven laughed and turned around, an inexplicable warmth spreading across her chest as she stared up at a highly amused Tim Drake leaning against the bar. She felt her lips curl into a smile as she stared into warm blue eyes. “Oh?” she breathed, a pleasant thrill ran down her spine as she watched his eyes appreciatively sweep down her figure before settle back on her face. “Didn’t you say you’d save me a dance?”
“Hmm,” Tim hummed and tilted his head lightly in amusement as he looked down at her. Raven felt his emotions tickle her. “You’re right, I did.”
Feeling like she could drown in his blue eyes, Raven tore her eyes from his and looked at his tie. Dark blue. She inhaled softly and felt her heart beat loudly in her chest. “Nice tie,” she commented and titled her head up at him.
Tim let out a soft laugh and leaned his left elbow against the bar as he fully turned to her. Raven watched as his other hand smoothed over his tie and she absently thought how handsome he looked in his tuxedo. It was ridiculous how distractingly handsome he was. “Thanks,” Tim said and offered her a gently smile. “You look beautiful, Raven,”
She felt her cheeks color and she shifted her weight under his gaze. It was absurd how flustered she felt after all those weeks of flirting with him over the phone. And now here he was, looking like that and looking at her in such a dangerous way that shifted the air around them and had her slowly go weak in the knees. She wondered if she had too much champagne. “Thanks,” she breathed.
She watched the corners of his lips curl as he continued to look at her. “Do you…” he trailed off and tilted his head towards the elaborate patio doors that lead to the Wayne Estate gardens. He tapped his whiskey glass thoughtfully while waiting for her reply.
“Oh,” her eyes darted from the patio doors to back to Tim’s gaze. She smiled and nodded. “Sure,”
Grabbing her champagne glass and tucking her clutch under her arm, she slipped past his gaze. Gently touching his elbow, she walked past him and headed towards the patio doors. She felt Tim next to her as they navigated through the crowd and shared amused smiles at each other. When they reached the door, he opened the door for her and gently paced his hand on her lower back and lead her outside. The touch sent a warm shiver up her body.
“How did your mustard run go?” asked Tim as they walked out of the grand patio and into the beginnings of the Wayne Estate garden. They stopped by the elaborate stone banister and stood next to each other, elbows touching and leaning over to look at the sprawling garden in front of them. They were alone and it was much quieter outside compared to the partying inside. They could still hear the muted dance music drift through the air.
“It’s sorely disappointing how Gotham City has so very few stores that carry one liter bottles of mustard,” Raven said followed by a soft chuckle.
Tim snorted. “Does it warrant a strong worded letter to the Gotham Supermarket Association?”
“I think Wayne Enterprises should definitely make this a priority,” Raven teased, throwing him an amused look before turning back to the rose bushes in front of them.
Tim laughed and took a sip from his whiskey. “I’ll make sure to bring it up at work on Monday,”
Raven hummed. A soft breeze swept past them, rustling the trees and bushes in front of them. Her purple hair tickled her chin and she pushed it behind her ear again. “So,” she breathed. “Are you enjoying the party?”
Tim cast a curious glance behind them as a loud round of cheers and laughter from erupted from a table close to the windows. He threw her an amused smile. “I’ll admit it’s a bit unnerving to see so many superheroes drunk,”
Raven let out a soft laugh. “You just wait until Jinx and the others make their way through all the alcohol they brought over to our table. It’s going to be very interesting,”
Running his free hand through his hair, Tim laughed. “I feel like I should be worried,”
“Victor and Karen are with them. They’re the designated drivers. So if anything, they’ll keep everyone in check,” said Raven. Her purple eyes twinkled as she looked up at Tim. “Or the very least, keep Garfield from drunk transforming,”
Tim raised an eyebrow. “And that’s not something we want to see?”
Raven tilted her head with a wry smile. “Unless you want to see him accidentally rip through his tuxedo and transform back into his human form naked,” Her lips curled lightly around the corner as she watched him make a face.
“Maybe we should ask Alfred to send them some water?”
“It’ll be okay,” she assured and turned back to watching the garden in front of them. She stared the garden thoughtfully and thought it would be nice to meditate here. “The Wayne Estate has a such a beautiful garden,”
Tim stared at her and smiled. “Yeah. It’s pretty breathtaking,”
Raven felt the warm brush of emotions against her and she caught him staring at her. His emotions were warm and she was sure he did not mean the garden right now. She felt herself flush. Raven leaned in just a little bit into his space, seeking just a little bit of the warmth of his emotions.
“That’s why I brought you outside. I thought you’d might like to see the garden,” Tim continued and shuffled just a little bit closer to her. His eyes were searching hers. “Have you been to the manor before?”
“Just a couple of times, all for work. This is my first time to really appreciate the manor,” she replied and absently fiddled with her empty champagne glass.
Tim raised his eyebrows in surprise and he smiled brightly. “I’ll need to show you the library later then. I know you’ll love it,”
His smile and energy was infectious. A thrum of emotions ran down her spine and Raven returned his smile. “That’s two promises you’ve made with me, Tim,”
Tim chuckled and tutted loudly. Placing his whiskey glass on the banister and unceremoniously plucking her champagne glass and clutch out of her hands and placing these on the banister as well, he reached out and took her left hand. “I’m not one to break promises, Raven.” he told her, blue eyes twinkling mischievously. His warm hand squeezed hers gently and tugged her closer to him. “Would you like to dance?”
“Here? Now?” Raven heard surprised quiver in her voice and she breathed in slowly. She briefly looked around them, making sure they were alone and no one caught this rather embarrassing moment. Her heart leapt into her throat. As if in cue, the band inside the ballroom began to play a new slow song with violin notes drifting through the air. She felt his warm hand squeeze hers again and pull her closer.
“Yeah. C’mon, Raven,” Tim tugged her hand and gently guided it towards his shoulder and allowed his hand to ghost over the side of her body and settle on the dip of her waist and his other hand curled around her right hand. “I promised I’ll save you a dance, didn’t I?”
Raven realized that the playful, flirty Tim Drake over her phone was vastly different from the playful, flirty Tim Drake that stood in front of her. Tim Drake practically enveloped her in his emotions. Where she thought she was prepared for whatever Tim might reveal tonight, she simply found herself slowly wrapped up in a warmth of emotions that were both his and hers. She felt her own emotions purr and a shiver ran down her spine. Allowing him to slowly lead and sway them to the soft violin music, Raven smiled up at Tim. “You’re strange, Tim Drake,”
Tim laughed, his blue eyes bright, as he continued to sway them to the soft violin music. He gently tugged her a little closer as a more comfortable air dropped around them and his hand slipped around her waist just a little firmer. “I live to please,” he told her softly.
She felt his chuckle against his chest and Raven unconsciously leaned into him more, chasing after his warmth. She could faintly smell his aftershave, sandalwood, and Raven inhaled softly, feeling drawn into his presence. Relishing the soft press of his body against hers, she absently wondered if Karen and Jinx were right and she had really nothing to worry about over whatever this was.
“So,” Tim continued, his voice low and soft. His fingertips pressed gently into her waist as he pulled her just a little bit closer. Raven could feel his heartbeat against her chest, a fast thrum as he continued to sway them to the music. “I – I,” he paused and let a soft laugh. His hand squeezed hers and he looked down at her in amusement. “Sorry, I’m – uh –maybe just a little bit nervous?”
Raven looked up at him caught his sheepish smile and she stared into blue eyes she could drown in. And she felt it, the warm press of his emotions – want, lust, nervousness, excitement – pressing into her. She titled her head and her lips curled into a smile. “Oh?”
“I’m glad you’re here, Raven,”
“Out here?” she asked. She felt her own emotions tingle under her skin and she slipped her hand from his shoulder down his chest and behind his back. Raven was sure she wanted to wrap herself around his warmth more just as a cool breeze swept past them.
His hand wanders a little further around her waist and presses gently into the small of her back. Blue eyes steadily hold her gaze and he continues to smile down at her. “Yeah, here,” he repeats.
Raven hums. “I’m glad too,”
She felt him shift against her and his hand travels just a little up her back, fingers splayed confidently across he back. She looks up at him curiously. “I know we’ve just been talking over the phone, but –“ he pauses and lets out a soft chuckle and looks at her. “I really like spending time with you,”
She felt a warm rush of emotions spread all over body and Raven felt something shift between them. She felt herself go just a little breathless and she smiled, her purple eyes twinkling just a little. “Oh,” she whispered. The corner of her lips threatened to copy his own infectious smile. “I’m not boring you?”
Tim laughed and dipped his head a little, blue eyes dancing in delight. Raven inhaled softly as he pressed himself closer. Raven was sure everything just seemed to melt away and the air still seemed so alive around them. “Far from it,” he whispered.
“Good to know,” Raven mumbled. She watched as Tim smiled, looking pleased. His gaze dropped to her lips and she felt her breath catch in her throat. She unconsciously shifted closer, heartbeat thrumming loudly in her ears.
“Raven?”
“Hmm?”
“I’ll kiss you, okay?” His breath fanned her face and Raven was sure she was intoxicated with the emotions and electricity that seemed to wrap around them.
“Okay.”
She heard him release a soft laugh before he pressed even closer and kissed her. Raven felt her emotions roar and she released his hand, grabbing onto his arm to anchor herself. The kiss was gentle but needy as his lips worked against hers and drank her soft sighs. She felt his other hand curl around the side of her neck and gently tilt her head to provide better access. Her fingers curled into his bicep as Tim pressed into her further, silently seeking for more.
It was like a floodgate of emotions opened and headily wrapped around her as Tim coaxed her lips open and groaned softly into them. Raven was sure that his lips, tongue, hands, and emotions were burning her – and she desperately chased after his heat. Sighing softly into Tim’s lips, Raven allowed herself to be wrapped into their heady want and relished his eager kisses.
After a few more long, desperate kisses, Tim gently pulled away and inhaled shakily. Pressing his forehead against hers, his hair tickled her cheek and he grinned at her. “Wow,” he breathed against her. “I’ve been wanting to do that for weeks now,”
Still reeling from the press of emotions around her, Raven held on to him. She let out a softy breathy laugh and the corners of her eyes crinkled. “Really?”
“Really.” He pressed a soft kiss against her lips again and pulled her flush against his body, hand sliding down low and stopping at the just at the swell of her ass. Pulling away again and inhaling shakily, he looked into her eyes and his thumb gently swept against her cheek. “Be my date to the wedding?”
Raven chuckled in amusement. “I’m the Maid of Honor. I’m already there,” she teased gently.
“Well,” Tim breathed softly and chuckled. Pressing a kiss to the corner of her lips, he looked at her in amusement. “I’ll save all my dances for you then,”
“I’d like that,” Raven whispered into his lips and kissed him once more.
Hands sliding over her sides and leaving a hot trail down her back, Tim pressed into her. “You know,” he whispered against her lips and Raven felt his fingers curl into her sides. “I need to thank Jinx for sending me that photo,”
Raven chuckled and pressed into him. “Shut up and kiss me, Tim Drake,”
“Gladly,”
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Risque Rouge pt1
... Finally. Welp, I know I’m also in the middle of my IkeSen thing right now and this would be the first long fic I have done for IkeVamp here and it sort of took over. I hope you all enjoy it.
Tagging: @umbralaperture @otome-smut-queen @silver-fox-of-azuchi @tsundere-mitsuhide @jennacat84
General warnings for the whole fic: Angst, some fluff, Mental health issues, emotional things, trauma, blood, death and possible triggers. Please read responsibly.
Darkmindsotome Masterlist
---
Chapter 1
For those of you searching for a little entertainment and a performance with a little je ne sais quoi. You could do worse than set your sights to a little building in the more bohemian quarter on the outskirts of Paris. Here you could rub shoulders with a Prince as easily as you could a street merchant as all were equal under the ruby lights.
As long as you paid your coin you were all set to be whisked away into a land of fantasy. Everything here was the stuff of dreams the only nightmares were beyond the gates on your journey home. It was a strong selling point and drew a lot of custom from the streets of modern Paris to explore the artistic world and indulge in pleasures without fear of judgement.
His feet once found the establishment by accident. Wandering around to stave off the boredom of yet another endless night. The books didn’t hold his attention, music was lost in the air and the mansion felt somehow empty even with the souls residing in it. This happened every few centuries, he had an itch that couldn’t be scratched and his feet took him wandering in search of a distraction. The distraction tonight was the same as the one he had discovered by chance a month ago.
The stage was lit up with a combination of harsh electric and gas. The tables and chairs around the room were tightly packed and none of them matched. Elegant dining chairs mixed with milking stools and benches. Tables of nothing more than upturned barrels or balanced planks on brick were the standard here. It was so haphazard and yet felt so warm and inviting with the melted candles pooling on them without containers. He couldn’t help but smile at the creativity of mortals and their desire to live life to the fullest no matter how few resources they had to achieve it.
Brushing his long coat neatly under him he took up a seat and a girl sauntered over to him. Black stockings clearly visible through the splits in her flowing skirt, with a tight white blouse that was straining under the pressure of her bosom.
“Something to drink Monsieur?” She asked with a smile, her eyes roaming from his head to the tips of his dress shoes.
“Oui merci.” He returned her smile and nodded. As she turned to go and retrieve a drink for him, he called out again. “Ah pardon Madame, would you be so kind as to tell me if the nightingale has done her turn?”
“You mean Evie? No Monsieur her performance is still to come.” She seemed to pause thinking of something for a moment before doubling back to his side to lean just a little too close, making sure to press herself against his shoulder as he leant in to whisper into his ear. “If you get tired of waiting for it, you could give me a call. I’d be happy to entertain you while you wait.”
“You honour me, Madame. I shall continue to wait though thank you.” He took her hand and brushed a kiss to the back of it his golden eyes glowed and the woman walked away as if she was in a dream. She returned with a selection of bottles for him to choose from. One was the colour of deep emerald, another was brown. There was also a yellow and one with a rosy blush.
He had not really cared to learn much of the drink until he started coming here, even with a rather famous patron of the beverage being under his roof. Darker green seemed to mean a purer distillation. Yellow was aged, the rose was coloured with fruit and the brown was not made with the leaves and blooms but the roots of the wormwood. Among these discoveries, he also learned it had no real effect on him. Indicating the dark emerald bottle, he was presented with a small tray. On it was an absinthe spoon that looked like an ornate item from a palace, balanced on a glass with a small stem. There was also a bowl of roughly formed sugar cubes and a long spill.
Left alone, he noticed a few of the other men in the establishment glancing in his direction. A faint smile and inclination of his head seemed to send their eyes elsewhere as he balanced a sugar cube on the spoon and poured a dose of the liquid over it. Taking up the spill he lit the end from the candle on the table and then set light to the sugar. The flame flickered as the alcohol burned and the melting cube dripped slowly through the spoon dropping into the glass. He watched the flame dance in the reflection of the drink and the clear emerald liquid begin to change.
It was a popular drink and more commonly known as la fee Verte or the green fairy. It also had another name and one which he found himself almost preferring, the devil’s drink. There were other methods in enjoying this drink but the drama of fire and alcohol seemed to be prefered here. As the flame died with the last of the sugar falling, he took up the spoon and stirred the mixture just as the music and the lighting changed. He attended this place every day for a week while he worked out the schedules and knew this one act only performed on a few nights for about an hour at a time. He brought his glass to his lips the medicinal scent filling his nose as he took a sip. His eyes never leaving the stage for a second as the performer took their turn.
---
It was always like this. Her whole body turned to a boneless mess backstage as she waiting in the wings for her turn in the lights. Worrying if she was going to mess up and forget a line. That was to say nothing of the fear she would be so badly out of step with the other girls on stage, making a complete spectacle of herself before the next act performed. She checked and rechecked her stage make up in the long mirror propped against the wall. Ghost-like white skin with dark make up on her eyes and shockingly red lips. Under the lights it balanced out and from a distance it didn’t look bad, but up close? She actually hated how it looked like a painted death mask.
“Almost time Evie!” A cheerful voice called down from the rafters. She turned her head to look up and found a smiling youth a little younger than her, his hands busy operating different ropes that changed the lighting for the stage. She couldn’t speak and gave a weak smile back as she nodded and stepped to the edge. The light cut a hard line through the shadow and part of her really wished to stay hidden, but that wouldn’t do. She owed so many for her life and this was the only way she had to repay her debt.
The ice-white feathers and pale sky-blue fabric wrapped over her figure, revealing her curves but also denying complete exposure. It was a tantalising taste of erotism that kept a lot to the imagination. Small strips of glass beads gave an eye-catching gleam to the outfit in all the right places, just enough to be suggestive but still tastefully teasing. Other establishments had reputations for being far more provocative than this.
Actually, even here there were performers and people on staff that went much further. She was constantly referred to as the Little Princess backstage because she was never pressured to go further and the owner always met that kind of demand with firm disapproval. The name was not something intended as a slight, she was in fact well-loved among the performers. Each had time to shine and all were given equal billing, so the need for petty arguing and fighting was never something to plague this performing house. No performer here was ever asked to do something they hadn't already consented to, a policy that saw the rejected stars from elsewhere flocking to them for continued employment. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. This was her show, her performance and the Nightingale had to shine.
The two giant ostrich feather fans snapped open as she held one behind and in front and stepped out into the light. The music turned more up-tempo with a clearer beat. It was easier to follow even as the lights blinded her. Dust in the air mixed with smoke as it danced in the agitated air through the beams of light making the stage feel magical. The nerves she had in her stomach relaxed and she twitched her hands swaying in time with the music. Right now, in this moment, it was only her and the music.
A flick here, a flutter there, just enough to give a glimpse and tease of what the feathers hid from view. One remained in place as she gave a wide arc with her arm holding the other. Her eyes that had been mostly cast down now looked out into where the audience was. The tables close to the stage were lost to her it wasn’t until about halfway back into the room that she could make out some shapes. Focusing her eyes as best she could on one point, hoping it was enough before dropping them again.
Her fan dance continued even after the song finished, a paper wall appeared behind her. Slipping behind it as the other dancers hit the boards to join her. She dropped the fans and the second part of her act begun. Her voice found its volume in partial hiding and the wall became a shadow theatre of sorts allowing only a silhouette to be shown to the gathered crowd as she began her striptease.
---
Mesmerising. It was the only word he had that could describe the performance and also the only adjective he had left in his vocabulary to say how he had been affected by it. She was skilled in her art and the charming innocence of her captivated the audience easily. Each patron fell under her spell one by one and when she looked up her eyes seemed to lock with his. His drink sat half drunk as he moved to the side of the room and slipped into the wings.
Furniture, fabric, ornate household items that were intended for props and décor choices were piled high on either side of the narrow space. He was careful not to disturb them in his path through them all to locate the owner. He was a proud supporter of the arts and more than once supported it in various forms when financially the artist struggled. Will had been a beneficiary of such interest in the past and continued to this day, placing pen to paper and showcasing performances that shocked and amazed. When he expressed an interest before, he was informed the Nightingale was not for sale. Clearly there had been a misunderstanding and that was what he wished to sort out tonight.
Showgirls, performers and all manner of people milled about the crowded backstage area in various stages of undress. They were rushing to change clothes, getting ready for their next turn or in a couple of cases already combined in trysts. Yes, mortals really were a colourful and lively bunch. He still couldn't shift the notion that something didn’t sit exactly right with him and the idea that such an innocent should remain here without assistance. A flash of his friend came to mind and he could practically hear the other man calling him an interfering busybody. With a wry smile on his face, he knocked on some upturned crates and waited for a response from the man sitting in lamplight surrounded by stacks of papers that could only be described as a fire hazard.
“Yes?” A middle-aged man with slicked-back oiled hair snapped his head up at the noise. He had on a shirt with an open collar and a printed scrap of fabric tied around his neck in a poor attempt to imitate a cravat. The pattern was so faded with wear it was hard to make out even its colour. It had probably once been high-quality silk but it was little more than a rag now.
“Ah Pardon. I was hoping now might be a good time—” His smile was ignored and his words were cut short as the man briskly stood and grabbed his jacket from somewhere behind himself. The fraying hems telling the same tale of the worn-out quality as his tie.
“A good time Monsieur? A good time?” He was animated more than agitated as he pulled the jacket shut and buttoned the front. “I believe I have already told you that the little princess is not for sale.”
“I understand however I do believe we are at odds as to the meaning behind my offer.” Le Comte nodded in understanding. He had been right his offer before had clearly been misinterpreted.
“Well? What is it to be then? A fine gentleman such as yourself taking an interest in the entertainment of this place is nothing new. Neither is the interest in our Nightingale. But Monsieur,” The short man brushed blithely past Le Comte glancing over his shoulder. Le Comte followed behind gracefully avoiding the obstacles in his way while the owner almost collided with them all in turn. “Not one such person has managed to obtain that which they looked for and none have received my blessing to so much as talk to the girl.”
“You are very protective.” Le Comte’s voice was soft like that of an old friend showing approval.
“Naturally the child came to us as little more than a babe in rags, found her myself and raised her here. You might say she is something akin to a daughter too me. Whatever else happens here Sir is the business of the individual but I shall not see the child bothered with such things.” The man huffed as he grabbed a couple of the sandbag weights, moving them to the side revealing a crate of bottles. He reached out dragging them closer and began counting silently with moving lips.
“Admirable to be sure. We are in agreement on several things I see which would mean we should be able to reach an agreement if only you would give me the time of day to speak Monsieur.” Le Comte’s words were polite but held an edge to them that demanded attention.
“Very well, speak. I have duties that need tending too.” The owner sighed and straightened his back to look him directly in the eyes.
“I should like to offer my assistance financially in support of the young lady. I have no ill intentions and only a desire to see she be able to live comfortably in a lifestyle of her choosing without fear of the poor house or ill health taking her security.” Le Comte’s hushed tone rang clear as a bell the owner’s eyes widened as he gave an audible gasp.
“Y-you truly want nothing more than that?” The man stammered as his arrogance of earlier seemed to melt under the strength of those amber eyes looking at him. He prided himself of being able to spot a charlatan and there was nothing in the man reflected before him that told him his words were anything but true.
“That is correct.” Le Comte nodded and found himself wondering how he managed to maintain a stoic appearance when the man he had finally managed to reach an understanding with suddenly doubled over in a dramatic display of grovelling that would not look out of place in any number of reputable theatres.
“Monsieur I should offer you my deepest heartfelt apology I fear I not only did you a great wrong but also caused you great insult in the process of protecting the child.”
“Think nothing of it. Instead, I should consider the matter settled if you would accept my offer?” Le Comte allowed a small chuckle to escape him in order to break the tension. The owner recovered himself and the stern expression he wore earlier was replaced by a much more relaxed one.
“Such generosity. However, I might act as the child’s guardian but I also have no legal right to do so. If you would come with me, I believe the girl should have her say on this matter.” He began moving again checking every few steps he took that he was still to be followed as if expecting the generous man to evaporate.
“A splendid idea.”
---
The performance was over and she was now free to retire to her room. Unlike most of the performers who had other accommodations elsewhere, she was given the luxury of a private space. A gown had been handed to her as she stepped back into the shadows of the stage and she had gratefully accepted it pulling it tight over her exposed skin. The smile on her face didn't fall until she was safely inside her own room. Her door was nothing more than a heavy curtain but once it was dropped the noise from the other side faded a little and she let out a sigh.
She didn’t know when it had started to happen but she was getting increasingly more tired after every performance. The doctor had been called back several times after she collapsed in the past but nothing was done, except a suggestion of increasing her medicine and suggesting eating more food. She sat down at her dressing table and slumped over onto it. The cool surface on her forehead gave a little comfort as she felt her body shudder in a cold sweat. With a shaky hand, she pulled open the drawer and removed one of the vials. She turned it in her fingers against the lamplight, a milky white substance that looked like liquid moonlight.
After pulling the sealed cork from the glass she downed the mixture knowing it would remove the tremors from her body. When she regained a modicum of her former composure her vision stabilised and fell on the tray of food left for her on her chaise longue. She moved to stand, her legs feeling heavy as she dragged herself over to the tray and began to devour the offerings.
The first bite was all it took for her to abandon the cutlery and start taring through the cooked chicken and vegetables using nothing but her hands, finding that even then the food did not seem to go to her stomach fast enough to fill it.
A movement out the corner of her eye caught her attention and she saw herself reflected in her mirror. The appearance she had taken on with food covering her hands and face was like some sort of wild animal and suddenly the insatiable need to fill the void inside her was overridden by shock.
“What on earth am I doing?” Her voice came out in a pitiful confused cry.
She bolted over to her washbasin and poured fresh water from the jug into the bowl. Plunging her hands deep into the water she closed her eyes and visualised the fear and uncertainty melting away from her. Her fingers rubbed against her skin removing the remnants of food and brought water up to her face. The cold water running in cascades back into the bowl felt refreshing as the air she didn’t even realise she was missing returned to her lungs.
There was a knock outside and she could hear someone call her name.
“Evie? Are you in there Princess?”
“Y-yes!” She replied grabbing a hand towel to quickly wipe her hands and face.
“Is it safe to come in dear?” The voice was familiar and friendly but there was something about it that made her think it seemed more formal than usual.
“Sure.” Her answer was almost automatic and came before remembering the tray of food abandoned on the chaise. She scurried over and covered the tray with the towel in her hands moving it to a table next to her before the curtain to the room was drawn back.
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2018
January --
Trip to Florida with Grandma in the first week. Dark when we leave New York. The under-the-belly fly away feeling when the plane takes off. The loudness of the plane (I didn’t remember it being that loud). There is no forgetting that we are in a giant metal tube barreling through the air. Florida is strange. The warmth is unnatural. I realize I’ve finally come to accept New York winters and the beauty of rest. Florida lives in a state of constant temperance. The trees look exhausted.
We stay in a giant apartment complex next to eight or nine similar buildings on the same street that runs parallel to the ocean front. They stand unnaturally like giant dominoes, fifty feet apart. Boca is extremely cultivated. We go to Wal-Mart, we eat at P.F. Chang’s.
We go to the beach. There is no salty sweet smell here (like the one at the beaches in Jersey). Uncle (with whom we are staying) is unwell and has been for years. He repeatedly tries to get me to down alcoholic beverages and whenever my grandma isn’t around, talks about sex. He brushes my ass with his hand on the beach as we walk, and I ball my fists up in anger and walk faster. I don’t tell my Grandma because she is hesitant about staying here, and I want her to enjoy her time.
I fly back after two days, as was the plan. I am relieved to get back to the small, cold airport in Westchester, to see my little red Civic and rich, who drives it up to the pick up area.
On my first night back, I realize how good it is to be home, and also how much it feels like home, more home than original home, my little family with rich and crowdog. I ask him to marry me and he says yes. The next day he buys a ring-pop and leaves it on my nightstand.
February, March, April --
Back to School. I left in 2015, and am finally back. Spring Semester. I’m taking the Novel with Michelle Woods and Seminar in Critical Practices with Vicki Tromanhauser. I’m amazed how each class goes by so quickly -- I am always disappointed to hear that final tone-shift in the professor’s voice when she says that’s enough for today, we’ll pick up here next class. I read Anna Karenina, Crime and Punishment, The Master and Margarita, We, Lolita, The Waves by Virginia Woolf, The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood, St. Mawr by D.H. Lawrence, a short story by Ursula Le Guin, and the eco-critical theories of Morton, Harraway, Derrida.
I’d forgotten how much I loved reading and learning. I raise my hand in class and talk to other people. We go on a field trip to the Nature Sanctuary for my Seminar class and take a class photo. I save it to my computer when I realize it’s full of friends.
I write two papers that I’m extremely proud of, one about peasant dreams in Anna Karenina, and another about listening to Joanna Newsom’s Have One On Me as an eco-critical breakup album.
May, June --
My first semester ends, and my sister graduates from high school. I’m definitely old. I take an online summer class on Utopia/Dystopia with Cyrus Mulready.
July --
A trip to Long Beach Island, my place. rich and I stay crammed with my parents and my sister and her boyfriend in a two bedroom upstairs rental --the one that we used to stay at when I was little. We sleep on the pull-out couch, which was even less comfortable than that sounds. We stay for two nights. I eat oysters for the first time. My mom and I play kadima ball along the shore, and I eat a Spongebob Pop on a hot day, and his red pants drip down my hand. It’s a short trip, but enough. The year has been full but relentless, and here I have a few moments of actual content.
On the way back home, my radiator blows on the Garden State Parkway. We pull over and call rich’s cousin, and then we macgyver the shit out of it so we don’t have to get towed home from Jersey. The GPS decides to almost take us through the city instead of the normal way home, so a three-hour trip turns into seven hours -- but it was nice. We stayed fairly calm and worked it out, and it made me appreciate the shit out of our relationship.
August --
The dog days of summer. Everything is wet. We’re in the process of moving houses (something that I’ve done every summer for the past six or so years). Dealing with the old landlords in the final weeks is absolute hell. But we end up getting all of our security back, and we’re moving to a good house --it belongs to the Grandmother of the kids I used to babysit when I was in high school/early college.
We move in and I love the smell of the house. It’s a good place next to a stream. Everything is so wet that we start to notice mold on the furniture in the sunny room, and we fight it back.
September --
This is a very hard month. In late August, I wait and wait and wait for my period. It keeps threatening with cramps, but never comes. I take a pregnancy test and it’s positive. I make the decision that would be best for another human, not for myself. I can’t just have a baby because I want something cute, or because it’s “possible” to do so. We’re not ready for a baby, now or even ever --I’ve always been theoretically conflicted on if I wanted to bring someone else into this whole Thing against their will. And now I have to confront that hypothetical in my reality.
I make an appointment at planned parenthood after rich and I talk about it for a few days. It’s hard to get in, so I have to wait a few weeks. The house starts smelling awful. I get debilitatingly nauseous every time I go home. The smell of lavender dryer sheets (that I used to love) make me want to die. The world becomes a constant state of nausea. I get nose bleeds, I find out, because pregnancy changes SO MANY THINGS about how your body operates. Your body temperature goes up and your blood thins. Your teeth are more prone to infection and your body is circulating much more (like up to 50 percent more) blood.
At the appointment, the nurse is extremely nice and takes my blood without making me feel lightheaded. I find out I’m eight weeks pregnant and that I’ll need to schedule a termination procedure for the next week. I’m nervous but I want to get it over with. The doctor takes an ultrasound and shows me a picture of the “fetus” - it’s a small, black and white oval dot.
In the middle of September, I go to the Poughkeepsie planned parenthood to get the procedure. I decide not to take the sedation. I take four ibuprofen and they take me to the pre/post waiting room. I meet a woman who’s stocking up on granola bars, ginger ales and condoms, shoving them into her purse. She tells me this is her sixth procedure. “Are you nervous?” she asks. I say “no.”
It’s over quickly and it’s not more painful than some of the periods I’ve had. I get lightheaded afterwards and they keep me for an extra 20 minutes or so, but then I can walk out and go home. I tell rich to stop at mcDonald’s and we get burgers, and then I go home and sleep.
The first two days after the procedure I feel amazing. I’m no longer nauseous and I don’t have cramps. On the third day, the cramps start and so does constipation. I have extremely painful anal spasms at work one day. The bleeding and cramping stops around 2 weeks after the procedure, but begins again when I start birth control.
This all happens while my Fall Semester is starting, so there is no time to stop and rest and consider this whole thing. I keep going at the same pace because that’s what I have to do.
October --
My Fall semester is really great despite all the stuff of the previous month. I’m taking my Senior Seminar class about the Materiality of the Text with Mulready, and I’m taking The Epic Tradition with Thomas Festa. I read the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid, and Dante’s Inferno, Frankenstein, Hamlet, and a ton scholars that focus on materiality: Ong, Calhoun, Silverman, Sherman, etc etc etc. I’m energetic but anxious.
We have a housewarming party and it’s not a disaster. It’s mostly family and then some friends afterwards, but we’re old and tired and clean and go to bed pretty early, and I’m okay with that.
November, December --
Extremely exhausting and busy two months. Throwing myself into school work, I write two more papers that I’m fairly proud of: one on the materiality of Dante’s Inferno and the other about the myth of diaries, explored by looking at a few weird Frankenstein diaries.
Even New Year’s Eve was shot with a full day’s work followed by my first BioAnthropology exam (I’m taking a winter class), and I fell asleep at 10pm. Things will calm down in a few weeks hopefully (I’m done with classes after the 17th!!) and I can actually reflect on all the nonsense that happened this year.
Things are pretty good though, and I’m thankful for a lot. I challenged myself this year and it paid the fuck off. I made some new friends and wrote some things I’m proud of and I live in a pretty nice house with my family. I finally stopped bleeding, and I’m doing okay physically now too.
For Next Year:
- I want to bring my lunch to work at least twice a week!
- I want to stretch and do some type of exercise (so I don’t get winded so easily)
- I want to save some money and take a good trip.
- I want to stop scrolling so much!
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Cold December Night
Pairings: Tom Hiddleston x Reader
Style: One-Shot
Prompt?: Anon: #41. “Does that stocking have my name on it?” Where Tom Hiddleston can’t stand the reader but he’s the host of this years MCU xmas party and he wants everyone to feel loved and special, so he makes her a stocking of things he knows she’ll love and maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t hate her after all. Btw, you’re a fantastic writer! Loads of love! -V xx
Warnings: Language, but otherwise just FLUFF. Are y’all seeing a theme w this challenge yet? lmao
Word count: 1.2K
Summary: You’re attending Marvel’s annual Holiday Party rather begrudgingly, and the night seems to be a lame one until you realize that a certain Tom Hiddleston has made you a stocking with all of your favorite things inside. Small cameo by ScarJo & Chris Evans.
A/N: Phew! Day 5 of this challenge with just a minute to spare until midnight! ;) I literally wrote this in pieces throughout the day today and just fell in love with this idea. I’ll be dreaming about Tom making me a stocking for Christmas all night... Anon/V I really hope you enjoy this one, thank you for requesting it! I had a blast writing it. :) xoxo
The most wonderful time of the year, my ass. You thought to yourself for the hundredth time that night. Ordinarily, the song was right - Christmas was your most favorite time of year – the snow, the music, late night chats by the fire with good food, cocoa, and even better company. But this year, oh man, this year had been mapping out to be one of the worst and weirdest Christmases ever.
It’s not that things weren’t good for you. Things were fine, to be clear. You’d landed your first real gig in the upcoming Infinity War movie and your career was finally taking off. You’d made friends with Scar, Seb, both Chris’s, and the like… but something about L.A. just wasn’t settling well with you. Maybe it was the fact that there was no snow on the ground (not at all what you were used to around Christmastime, being from Ohio), or maybe it was the fact that it was 80 degrees yesterday, or maybe… just maybe…it was that you had to attend this year’s annual Marvel Holiday Party with a certain Englishman who hated you.
…Yeah, that was probably it.
“Hey, Y/N.” Scarlett pulled you away from your thoughts, bringing you back into the room where the party was finally starting to get some life to it. “Didn’t see you come in. Beer?” She asked, holding one out in offering.
“Hey, Scar. Nah, I’ll pass. Gotta drive home later.” You say, though in reality your refusal of the alcoholic beverage had nothing to do with the driving home aspect and more to do with the fact that your nerves were wreaking havoc on your stomach and you weren’t sure you could handle the buzz that a few beers would bring. Better to just avoid it altogether.
“You sure it’s because you have to drive home and not because of a certain someone, whose name rhymes with bomb?” Scar sees right through you and raises a brow, assessing you beneath her cool eyes.
“No comment.” You scowl as Scar smirks.
“And what are a buncha gorgeous ladies like you doin’ in a place like this?” Chris’ Bostonian accent rang loud and clear as he slung his arms sloppily around both you and Scar’s shoulders, his heavy, muscular body weighing you down just slightly.
“You a little drunk there, bud?” You ask, grinning. A drunk East Coaster, now that’s what you were used to around the holidays. Right up your alley.
“Not drunk, just merry.” Chris drawled out the word, flashing you a lopsided grin.
And the night continued like that: you joking with Chris and Seb, and Scarlett’s cold commentary hilariously sprinkled throughout. Through the night, you had happily managed to avoid the Englishman who paid no attention to you, and instead insisted on being the most gracious host known to man. Ensuring everyone had a drink in hand at all times, had enough food, was warm enough and not bored, etc. You almost admired how gracious and warm he was – that was, until he would lock eyes with you and his smile would fade slowly to a thin set line.
You sighed. You almost admired him. Leaning over to grab your coat, you almost successfully had it on and were about to head out the door before Scar stopped you, her hand gently resting on your shoulder.
“I think you’re forgetting something.” She said quietly, nodding towards the tree. You furrowed your brows, not understanding what she was saying. Scar rolled her eyes, nudging you towards it, where Tom was standing – laughing heartily at someone’s joke. His features looked radiant against the light coming from the fireplace.
You swallowed hard and did as Scar suggested – slowly walking towards the tree. Tom’s eyes flickered to yours from the movement, only momentarily, before continuing his conversation with whomever he was talking to. As you approached the tree – you saw what Scarlett was talking about. Your eyes widened as they settled on the lettering in disbelief.
“Does that stocking have my name on it?” You blurt out rather loudly, interrupting Tom’s conversation. Tom hesitated, before excusing himself from the small group and joining you by the tree.
“It isn’t polite to interrupt, you know.” He scolded, folding his arms across his chest as he towered over you. Not menacingly, just tall. You’d never noticed how tall he actually was because he always kept a solid three to five feet distance between the two of you at minimum. At all times. Now, you were well aware of how tall he was – and how good he smelled – and it was messing with your brain.
“I don’t need a lesson in manners.” You snap after a minute, bending over to pick up the stocking in question. “Is this for me?” You ask incredulously.
Tom shifted slightly and ran his hand across the back of his neck. Was he feeling uncomfortable? Tom was never uncomfortable.
“It’s just a small tradition we have within the Marvel family. The host always gives the cast their own stocking filled with a few small gifts.”
You gape at him, not believing your ears. “You mean to tell me that you filled this stocking with stuff that I actually like? Or did you just run to the dollar tree and grab anything you could find?”
“How cheap do you think I am, Y/N?” It was Tom’s turn to roll his eyes, and a small hiss of disapproval came from his mouth.
You grimaced, not meaning to offend. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that I’m just… surprised.”
Tom scratched the back of his neck again, and shrugged his shoulders. “Like I said earlier. It’s tradition.”
“Yeah, but, it’s not like you had to do it, you could have just not given me one.”
“That wouldn’t be fair…nor would that be very neighborly of me.” Tom counters, the corners of his mouth bending into a slight frown.
“You’re not my neighbor.” You say, though a small smile plays at your lips.
“Touché.” Tom shifted his weight awkwardly, his word just hanging in the air for a moment. “Well, er, I’ll let you open that and see you later.”
“Sure,” You say, glancing up to meet his cool blues, locking eyes with him for the first time, well… ever. “See you later.”
As he walks away, you sit down next to the fire, beginning to pull apart out item that Tom had put into the stocking for you. For being so cavalier about the situation – he sure had managed to get you everything you had sincerely loved. Things that you had discussed on set with other people, secrets you thought only your core cast of friends knew about… yet Tom had somehow managed to bottle it up into this stocking perfectly.
You snap your head up, searching for him wildly. How had he known what to get you? How had this stocking been put together so perfectly? For a man who claimed to hate you, he sure did pay a lot of attention to your likes and dislikes.
Finally spotting him across the room, he locks eyes with you, glancing from the gifts in your hand, then back up to your glowing eyes. You know he can’t hear you, so you just kind of point at them awkwardly, mouthing a “How?” with an inquisitive gesture to go with it.
Tom just smiles at you and gives a small shrug before mouthing, “Happy Christmas.”
And a happy Christmas it had turned out to be, indeed.
Fin.
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You Me Her
1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 ||
Chapter Ten: Winter Formal
Word Count: 6926
↠ ♥ ↞
Riley practically runs home after her encounter with Lucas at the library. Why did Lucas have to say that? She wasn’t imagining things, he was hinting at a romantic mistake. Why now? Why did he have to say that? Riley is thankful that her parents took Auggie to Philadelphia for the weekend, that meant she had the apartment to herself to just implode, because that’s how she felt in the moment.
Riley throws her backpack on the sofa and stomps upstairs. Riley paces around her room, her breathing is shallow. The brunette rips off her coat and throws it to the side. Riley stops dead in her tracks, determined to not let this shake her. She was past this, she was past Lucas. Riley clenches her eyes shut and does her very best to focus on her breathing. She inhales, holds it as long as she could and exhales loudly. Riley repeats this a few times until the sick feeling in her stomach subsides and her breathing regulates. Riley opens her eyes and takes a seat at the end of her bed.
Rattling on the fire escape startles her. Kai becomes visible and climbs through the unlocked window, he has two black bags in hand.
“Hello,” He sings upon entry.
“Hey hey,” Riley tries to act natural but fails.
“Is everything okay, Ri?” Kai asks noticing her off demeanour. “You look really flushed.”
"It’s cold out but I jogged upstairs...Confused body temperature and all that...” Riley laughs nervously.
“Are you sure?” Kai gives her a dubious look. “Because you’d tell me if something was going on right?”
“Of course.” Riley nods quickly.
“Because we get through the tough times together right?” Kai’s look remains firm but quizzical.
“Absolutely.” Riley affirms. “Now, what are you doing here?”
“We are getting ready for the dance.” Kai wiggles the two garment bags in hand.
“And by we, you mean I keep you company whilst you get ready for the dance that I’m not going to, right?” Riley eyes him.
“Negative.” Kai says with a smile, he was still worried about Riley but he’d just silently keep an eye on her instead of pressing further. The boy in glasses rests one of the garments down and proceeds to unzip the other bag.
“What is this?” Riley folds her arms close to her chest as she looks at the baby blue dress.
“It’s a birthday present.” Kai answers innocently.
“My birthday was two weeks ago and you already bought me a necklace.” Riley’s fingers brush the dainty ‘R’ charm hanging from her neck.
“Fine, it’s an early Christmas present.” Kai sighs.
“I already know you got me travel journal for Europe.” Riley gives him a look.
“Noah told you?” Kai frowns, “Worst secret keeper ever.”
“He was excited,” Riley tries to defend him. “Plus I already know he spilled about my gift.”
“I’m totally going to love it by the way.” Kai chuckles.
Riley exhales loudly, “Is there any use fighting you on this?”
“Absolutely not.” Kai smirks.
Riley looks at the baby blue dress. It’s beautiful, a deep V cut back with slightly more modest V cut front. Fit and flare from the waist. A beautiful white lace pattern overlay with the blue peeping through from beneath and a pretty, thin, satin bow around the waist. ++ Visuals attached in the end notes ++
“You don’t like it?” Kai deflates.
“No it’s beautiful.” Riley nods.
“Then what’s wrong?” Kai sits by her. “Why don’t you want to go to the dance?”
“Mom and dad are away so I thought I could have a quiet night in.” Riley offers up an excuse.
“They’re also away tomorrow night.” Kai highlights giving her excuse little merit.
“It’s just a silly dance, who cares if I skip it?” Riley groans.
“It’s not just a silly dance.” Kai frowns. “It’s our last winter formal, ever.”
“It’s not like I’m skipping prom.” Riley sulks.
“I know this isn’t about a date, because you turned down three guys..” Kai trails off after noticing Riley’s shift in expression. “Or is it about a date, because you know I could get you one like that-“ Kai snaps his fingers.
“I couldn’t care less about having a date.” Riley lies. Maybe she would feel more comfortable with a date but that didn’t necessarily mean she wanted one.
“So you don’t have to have a date, date but you can still come along with me and Noah.” Kai grins.
“I’m not crashing your date.” Riley shakes her head.
“Are you kidding, going to the dance with my boyfriend and my best friend?” Kai grins, “I couldn’t dream of a better scenario and Noah is more than down for it, he loves you. I even got myself a bow tie to match your dress and Noah has one of those cute pocket thingys in the same colour.”
“Kai…” Riley coaxes her head.
Kai holds his finger out to silence Riley. “I thought we already agreed that there was no use in arguing with me?”
Riley lets out a groan in defeat. “Fine.”
“We have wasted enough time, let’s get ready.” Kai claps victoriously.
Riley and Kai prep for the dance. The dress Kai bought fits Riley perfectly, the drama fanatic fought Riley on the addition of thick black stockings but the quirky girl won out in the end. Riley wears a warm white coat over her whole ensemble for the subway ride to school.
Noah meets his dates at the station, cooing compliments about how lucky he was to have such attractive dates. Riley pretends to blush as he fiddles with her loose curls. “Pretty as a picture, Sunshine.”
Once at school, just outside of the gym where the dance is being held, Noah stops Kai and Riley in the empty hallway. When Kai asks what’s going on Noah just casually slips a flask out of his suit jackets inner pocket and takes a swig. Riley’s eyes grow wide knowing it’s definitely alcohol, she becomes anxious and fears being caught on school grounds. Kai accepts Noah’s offer and takes a sip himself before offering it to Riley. She declines, shaking her head like a fool and the boys chuckle at her innocence and escort her into the gym.
Riley’s anxiety kicks into high gear once inside the gym crammed with students and loud music bouncing off the walls. Kai drags his dates over to the photo corner and makes a real scene showing them off as each flash captures the moment. After he’s done crouching down and literally presenting Riley like she’s the prize on a game show he drags her and Noah to the dance floor. After two songs, Riley’s still not feeling it so she comes up with an excuse to part.
“It’s warm in here, I need a drink.” Riley shouts. Kai nods as he continues to bounce to the music with Noah. Riley spins around and collides with someone, causing her to stagger back a few steps. She’s mid apology when she flicks her gaze up to find none other than her former sweetheart, Lucas looking back at her. With the past afternoons encounter fresh in her mind Riley finds herself at a loss for words.
“I didn’t think you were coming.” Lucas shouts over the music.
“I wish I didn’t.” Riley mumbles to herself as she pushes past him and makes her way out of the the crowd.
All the brunette wanted was to find her coat and leave, coming here was a mistake. Since Kai made Riley take off her coat before entering the gym - so they could be photo ready as soon as they arrived - Riley didn’t have a clue where it was. Riley is inspecting the bleachers when Noah approaches her with two cups of punch in hand.
“What’s the matter, Sunshine?” Noah asks as he hands her one of the beverages.
“Nothing.” Riley sends him a sweet smile. “Is this...”
“Punch.” Noah finishes her sentence with a giggle. “And that smile doesn’t fool me.” He takes a seat and pats the space beside him.
“Where’s Kai?” Riley asks trying to change the subject.
Noah motions over towards the DJ booth where Kai stands with a group of guys being his usual social self.
“I saw you bump into Lucas.” Noah doesn’t allow Riley to drop the topic.
“You saw that?” Riley avoids his gaze.
Noah nods. “I thought Lucas was a problem of yesteryear, has something changed?” Noah knew Lucas would always be a problem for Riley but he still broaches the subject casually, not wanting to trigger her.
“No.” Riley shakes her head. “Lucas has zero to do with my emotions anymore.”
“Okay.” Noah says unconvinced. “You’ve been off since I met up with you on the subway and Kai said you seemed off at your apartment too... What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” Riley says simply.
“Fine.” Noah didn’t buy that for a second but he chooses not to press right now, instead he lets out a heavy sigh. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Is it your secret to tell?” Riley raises an eyebrow.
“I wasn’t at the guidance counsellor looking at other colleges.” Noah admits.
“Okay... Why were you there?” Riley questions, worried there’s an emotional reason behind it.
“Don’t worry, Sunshine, I’m fine.” Noah notices the panic in Riley’s voice and gives her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I was there talking about a few athletic scholarship offers I’ve received.”
“I didn’t know there were official offers yet.” Riley’s eyes widen. “I mean we knew there were a handful interested.. Why didn’t you tell me? Does Kai know?”
“No, only my family do.” Noah shakes his head. “That’s why it’s a secret.”
“I don’t understand…” Riley crinkles her brows.
“Two schools have made offers, Notre Dame being one of them.” Noah shares.
“That’s your first choice right?” Riley smiles. “Why don’t you look excited?”
“They offered me early admission.” Noah fidgets as he speaks.
“As in leave Abigail Adam’s early to attend there?” Riley questions, already knowing the answer.
Noah nods weakly. “I’d technically still graduate but there is a strong possibility I’d miss prom along with the actual graduation ceremony itself.”
“Oh.” Riley sinks into her place on the bleachers. This hurt more to hear than her confusing conversation with Lucas in the library. Things were changing and Riley wasn’t ready for any of it.
“I haven’t made any decisions yet,” Noah says positively, “It’s still early.”
“You should tell Kai.” Riley gives him half a smile.
“I can’t.” Noah rejects the idea. “If I tell him, he’ll encourage me to go.”
“The nerve of him for being a supportive boyfriend.” Riley says sarcastically.
“But if I leave.. What does that mean for me and Kai?” Noah frowns.
“You already know Kai has been looking into all the colleges you’ve been considering.” Riley shuffles closer. “He’s willing to follow you anywhere.”
“I can’t let him do that.” Noah pouts.
“Notre Dame has a terrific history program that Kai is genuinely psyched about.” Riley says. “And he’s been looking into drama classes and groups in and outside of the school too.”
“Alright, so lets say Kai does make a decision based on his future - excluding me as a factor - what if I do leave early?” Noah holds Riley’s gaze. “That gives him plenty of time to change his mind about the school... About me.” Noah’s eyes wander back towards Kai and a group of his friends. A sadness waving over the shy football player.
“Noah, you are his future.” Riley says softly and turns his face back towards her. “If Notre Dame didn’t have an academic program that excited or suited him, Kai wouldn’t go but he’d still look for a school that was close to you because as extreme, over the top, loud and headstrong Kai may be, there is one thing about him that’s simple and easy to understand and that is how much he loves you.”
“Boy do I wish we were all going to the same school.” Noah’s smile is small. “Then we could graduate together and all move back to the city and live in some small apartment and then when it’s time for you to spread your wings you could move into the conveniently vacant apartment across the hall.”
“And we’d laugh in the faces of anyone who called us dangerously codependent.” Riley jokes.
Noah chuckle softly, noticeably, some of his fears had melted away but Riley knew he’d ultimately feel better once he talked things through with Kai. Subtly, Noah pulls the flask out of his jacket pocket and tops his punch up with the contents of it. Again Riley declines his offer for some alcohol.
Riley takes a deep breath, Noah had been so open with her she felt like doing the same. That and the library incident had been weighing so heavily on her mind that she needed to talk about it. “I spoke to Lucas at the library this afternoon.”
“Oh?” Noah pricks up a brow as he takes a swig from his cup.
“He told me he thinks he made a mistake.” Riley is looking into the crowd of teens as she speaks. “When he chose Maya over me.”
Noah chokes on his mouthful and not because of it’s alcoholic contents. “What?”
“Then I told him I didn’t care and walked away.” Riley says like it’s no big deal.
“Exactly like that?” Noah coaxes his head.
“I froze at first and then scurried away once I came to my senses.” Riley points a weak smile at no one in particular.
“Well that explains why you’ve been so off tonight.” Noah gives her a sympathetic look. “I can’t believe he’d say that and then bring Maya to the dance.”
“What?” Riley snaps her head towards him.
“That’s why we’re upset, right?” Noah grows nervous.
“My mood is directly linked to the confusion at the library.. What do you mean?” Riley lets her eyes scan the gym trying to find familiar faces. Her eyes settle by the punch table where Lucas stands with Maya and Zay.
“Let’s leave.” Noah says hopefully. “We can find Kai and go back to your apartment, order some pizza, watch some movies...” Noah tries but he, along with Riley, witnesses what appears to be Zay encouraging a photo between the ex couple, the two blondes cuddle in doing a silly pose at first but take another where Maya stretches up to press her lips to the side of Lucas jaw.
“Come on, Riley,” Noah softens. “Let’s just go.”
“I have a better idea.” Riley turns back to him with a menacing look in her eye. “That flask still have anything left inside it?”
“Are you sure?” Noah asks dubiously but he was already a little too tipsy to rationally handle the situation.
“You and Kai are always saying how I should let loose.” Riley smiles. “So hit me.” She waves her cup in front of him. Noah ponders it for a moment but eventually tops Riley’s cup up with a liquid that smells awful and burns her throat when she downs it but that didn’t stop Riley from chugging the whole cup. The two of them finish off the remaining liquor and head to the dance floor just as the alcohol begins to take affect.
It doesnt take very long at all to hit Riley, a definite buzz almost immediately. Her blood felt warm but in a good way and it’s not long before Riley starts to feel reality distort around her but that doenst stop the first time drunk from dancing. Then it really starts to hit Riley, it’s like the room is spinning even though she stands completely still in the middle of it. Sweaty bodies move to the music around her, music that, to Riley, sounds like it’s coming from a different room entirely. Watching Noah happily twirl around her, Riley stands frozen trying to comprehend how everything sounded so far away and how people around her were moving slowly even though her head was racing.
Kai spots Riley first, looking dazed amongst their peers, then he spots Noah stumbling about to the music way more confidently than usual. Quickly, Kai comes to the realisation that both his dates are heavily intoxicated. Slightly irritated he quickly makes his way over to them for some serious damage control.
Riley doesn’t notice him at first, not even when Kai lightly shakes her shoulder but she did react to it after a couple more shakes, by then Kai had turned to scold Noah, shouting something about suspension.
When Kai turns to check on Riley he finds that she has already slipped away in a desperate attempt for fresh air. The brunette stumbles through the crowd of teens and makes her way out the gym doors, down a few hallways and ends up by the hole where her old friends got put on their first day of high school.
Riley finds Lucas and Maya having a hushed conversation at the top of the stairs. In a failed attempt to sneak past them Riley trips, not falling over completely but staggering in place as she tries to regain her balance.
“Oops.” Riley giggles when they turn to face her. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Riley are you drunk?” Maya gives her a judgmental look.
“What Peaches?” Riley exaggerates a pout, “You sad someone else got me to unfold my hands?”
Riley wobbles on her feet and Lucas throws an arm out to steady her and Riley’s giggling continues.
“I think you need to go home.” Lucas says not dropping his hold on her.
Riley pushes his arm away, “I’ll take that into consideration, thanks.”
“Just let her go.” Maya snaps, “Why don’t you go find your girlfriend.” The blonde was clearly taking a dig at her former best friend.
“Maya!” Lucas scolds.
“At least I don't have to worry about her developing feelings for any boys I like.” Riley holds her own. She salutes the couple and leaves them with faces of guilt.
Riley continues down the hall with the room still spinning around her, she uses every shred of consciousness she has to walk straight under the watchful eyes of her ex friends. Riley makes her way outside to the grassy oval and breathes in the cool winter air.
White snowflakes float down upon her. Riley throws both arms out at her sides and spins around letting the white specks tickle her face.
“Riley?” Lucas’ voice snaps her out of her quiet giggling and she seizes twirling.
“What do you want, Lucas?” Riley asks agitated.
Before he could say anything else Kai’s voice drifts over to them. “Riley, I have been looking for you everywhere!” He calls out. Kai has one arm wrapped around his boyfriend trying to prop him up as they struggle to make their way towards Riley. He has her coat thrown over his shoulder.
“Sunshine!” Noah grabs at the air as they approach Riley. The alcohol clearly was working quite the number on Noah too.
“Spin with me!” Riley takes both of his hands and they lean back and twirl around together.
Losing their grip, they break apart and both high schoolers fall backwards landing butt first into the damp, snow covered grass. They’re laughing hysterically with each other as Kai and Lucas look on at the mess.
“Up you get,” Kai bends forward and tries to pick up the sloppy footballer. He awkwardly tries to help Riley up with his other arm but they all end up fumbling back to the ground. The two boozed up teens finding it far more amusing than the sober one.
Lucas jumps in to assist but Kai snubs him, “Why don’t you just go, Friar?”
“I’m just trying to help.” Lucas frowns but is annoyed at the rejection.
“I think you’ve done enough.” Kai remains cold.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lucas eyes him.
Ka ignores him.
“Hey what’s your problem, man?” Lucas is getting worked up. “You’re acting like I got her drunk.”
“You might as well have.” Kai scoffs.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lucas glares as he repeats himself.
“HEY, NO FIGHTING!” Riley growls, “We should make snow angels instead!” Riley softens completely and lays back, wiggling her limps in the white blanket on the grass. Noah follows her lead and does the same.
“Noah get up,” Kai pleads, “If a teacher finds you out here you’ll get suspended and you can kiss any chance at a scholarship goodbye.”
“Maybe I don’t want a scholarship.” Noah slurs as he sits up.
Even though Noah’s drunk babble confused Kai he chose not to question it now, instead he turns to Riley firmly and orders her to sit up. “Riley, if a teacher catches you like this it only takes one phone call to your dad-”
“Then I’d be grounded for life,” Riley swats the air, “Fine!” She stands up with a pouty face, stomping her foot like a child. Kai helps his best friend into her coat.
“To the subway!” Noah points a finger in the air laughing like he’s the funniest person to walk the earth.
“I can drive you guys home?” Lucas offers.
“Seriously what are you still doing here?” Kai lets out a frustrated groan.
“I’m just trying to help.” Lucas tries to regain his cool. “Regardless of what you think of me as a person, I do care about Riley.”
“Says the asshole who hurt her.” Kai throws his arms out dramatically. He’d reached his boiling point well and truly.
“It was your idiot boyfriend who got her drunk.” Lucas snaps, he was tired of being treated like a villain when all he wanted to do was help.
“He has a name you know. Noah.” Kai snaps with more fire behind his words than Riley had ever heard him have before. “And how about you take some responsibility for being the asshole who broke Riley’s heart freshman year and then waits until she’s thriving in a life without you to drop some bullshit about making a mistake when you didn’t choose her before you go blaming Noah for getting her drunk because that drunk idiot has been more of a friend to Riley then you ever were.”
“You told him?” Riley frowns as she turns to Noah.
“It slipped out!” Noah throws his hands up defensively. “He was mad at me for letting you drink so much so I had to explain why!”
“Worst secret keeper ever!” Riley whines.
“You and I both know you told me so you wouldn’t have to tell Kai yourself.” Noah places his hands on his hips. The two sounded like children in a petty argument.
“Lies!” Riley says but she know he’s right. “How would you feel if I told Kai about Notre Dame?”
“Riley!” Noah gasps.
“What about Notre Dame?” Kai’s anger is momentarily traded for confusion.
“Okay, can we halt all arguments and hatred towards me for five minutes?” Lucas interrupts. “We need to leave before you get caught.”
“I can handle this, Friar.” Kai rejects him yet again.
“Clearly you could use the help.” Lucas calmly stresses his point.
“Suddenly wonder boy wants to swoop in and save the day.” Kai snaps. “Where were you two years ago? Tell me? When this goddamn ray of sunshine couldn’t go a day without having a panic attack? Three months worth of panic attacks to be exact.”
“Kai?” Riley stands there feeling betrayed. Not even Noah ‘the worst secret keeper ever’ had shared this private part of Riley’s life with anyone. Not since he told Kai about the very first panic attack he stumbled upon back in the courtyard sophomore year.
“I’m sorry, Riley,” Kai turns to her all heated from his words with Lucas. “Over the years I have been your guy. We have shared tears and laughter... We get through each day together, remember? I know I’ve played devil’s advocate in our talks about Lucas even though I know you’re right, you can’t help who you develop feelings for. I’m literally in awe of how graciously and maturely you handled the triangle on your end. But this?” Kai is back to dramatically stressing his words and waving his arms about. “This, dating your best friend for three years, breaking up with her and then telling you he made a mistake, then he brings her to the dance the very same day he claims to still have feelings for you? I don’t even like Maya and I think she deserves better than that. So Lucas can stand there looking like a wounded puppy but wonder boy is lucky words are all I’m throwing at him.”
Lucas did stand to the side looking hurt. Physically, Kai didn’t look like much of a threat to Lucas but the clear passion he had for Riley was enough to shake anyone who crossed her. That and Lucas knew that he deserved every single harsh critique he received.
“So you wonder what my problem is?” Kai scoffs as he turns back to Lucas. “Take your pick.”
“I want to go home now.” Riley deflates. “Lucas can drive, we can take the subway, I’ll walk even... I don’t care anymore.” With slumped shoulders Riley heads for the car park, not allowing anyone else to have any further input. Something about her greatest secret being shared killed her mood completely. Only Noah, Kai and Riley’s parents knew about the panic attacks that started after Thanksgiving. Now Lucas knew, the person she quite possibly wanted to keep them from the most.
“Fine, Lucas can drive. What do I care anymore?” Kai mutters as he escorts a very quiet Noah towards the car park.
Sheepishly, Lucas gets behind the wheel of his car. “Where to?” He asks once everyone is seated, Riley and Noah in the back and an agitated Kai in the passenger seat.
“My house.” Riley answers solemnly. “My parents aren’t home.”
Without another word Lucas puts his car in reverse and exits the car park. Noah looks over at Riley’s sad expression with a frown of his own. Too drunk to think rationally Noah did the best he could to cheer her up.
“Please don’t be upset, Sunshine,” Noah whispers but Riley gives him a smile filled with sadness. In a final attempt to perk her up, Noah pulls out another flask from his jacket pocket. Riley’s eyes widen with confusion, her muddled brain thought this was a magic trick, as she recalled they had drunk all the liquor already. Noah presses his index finger to his lip to tell Riley to keep it secret and he gives it to her to have more.
Lucas - whom at been checking on Riley through his rear view mirror every few minutes - noticed her take a big swig. “Are you seriously giving her more alcohol?” Lucas gets angry at his passenger.
“She’s a big girl, Lucas,” Noah scrunches up his face, “She can make her own decisions.”
“Yeah!” Riley takes another sip, her sadness had washed away now, it was like she had to prove to Lucas that she was past that emotional time in her life. “How do you know I’m not the one who got him drunk?”
“Because that’s not you, Riley,” Lucas states. Riley folds her arms and looks out the window without another word.
Once out front of her brownstone, everyone piles out of Lucas’ car, the driver included. Kai turns to him with another mean look as he struggles to help his stumbling boyfriend up the stairs.
“Look, you have your hands full with Noah, I’ll help take care of Riley and then I’ll be gone, okay?” Lucas tries to reason with him.
“Fine.” Kai huffs and makes his way into the building.
“Thanks for the lift but I’ve got it from here.” Riley tries to wave him off but he continues to follow her up the front steps leading to the door.
“Riley, I’m trying to help,” Lucas sighs.
“I don’t need your he-” Riley trips on the first step and grazes her knee on the cement, tearing her black stockings in the process.
Lucas helps pick her up but she shakes him off and continues up the steps on her own. Lucas follows Riley all the way into her living room where Kai already stood with Noah trying to baby him with a glass of water.
“You two can stay in Auggie’s room.” Riley rocks on the heels of her black ankle boots.
“Alright, Noah, lets get you into bed.” Kai has an arm wrapped around his boyfriend trying to prop him up as they head for the stairs.
Noah exaggerates a playful giggle.
“Don’t be cute. I’m mad at you.” Kai fails to scold Noah.
“Malachi.” Noah says in a baby voice, stressing the name with more syllables than it actually had.
“You know I hate when you call me that.” Kai whispers embarrassed.
“Malachi.” Noah giggles again, this time singing Kai’s full name and Kai’s groan fades as they reach the top of the stairs.
“Well, thanks for the help, Lucas, it’s been fun.. We should do it again sometime.” Riley goofily pokes up her thumb. “I take it you know your way out. Drive safe!”
“You know there’s no chance I’m leaving you like this.” Lucas eyes her.
“A girl can dream right?” Riley sighs. The brunette turns on her feet and stumbles upstairs with Lucas close on her trail. The moment Riley enters her bedroom she’s hit with a radiating heat. She slips her coat off and fans her face with her hands.
“Did you leave the heater on?” Lucas pulls at his tie to loosen it.
“The cat must have sat on the remote,” Riley pants dramatically as she searches for the remote which she eventually finds on her desk and turns it off.
“You don’t have a cat?” Lucas raises a brow.
“Auggie got one for his birthday a few months ago” Riley walks over to the bay window and opens it.
“I didn’t know that..” Lucas mumbles.
“Why would you?” Riley hangs half her body out the window trying to cool down, “We’re not friends.”
Her words stung but he knew he deserved a lot worse coming from her. Especially after what Kai woke him up to.
“You can go now,” Riley sits up.
“Riles..”
“Don’t call me that!” Riley jumps to her feet.
“I’m sorry, I’m just trying to help you,” Lucas apologises.
“I already told you, I don’t need your help, nor do I want your help!” Riley waves her hands around frantically, “I’m fine on my own. I’m not your problem anymore.”
“You were never a problem,” Lucas reaches out for her but she pulls away.
“Dont,” Riley softens, “Just please, don’t.”
“Regardless of what you think Riley I never stopped caring about you,” Lucas tries to find her gaze, “So I can’t walk away from you when you’re like this.”
“Fine, do whatever you want. I need a drink,” Riley mumbles and Lucas gives her a disapproving look, “Of water!” She rolls her eyes.
“Right,” he chuckles quietly, “I’ll be right back.” He disappears to get that for her and Riley paces around the room all worked up.
Whether it was the alcohol, her anxiety or a dangerous cocktail of them both Riley starts having another panic attack and suddenly the room is a thousand degrees again and she’s stuck with her dress zipper halfway down and the fitted bodice feels like it’s suffocating her.
Lucas returns with a glass in hand and adverts his eyes when he spots Riley half undressed. The more than tipsy girl stumbles around the room trying to rip the dress from her body.
“I’m so sorry I should have knocked!” Lucas clenches his eyes shut and backs into the door blindly.
“Help me!” Riley whines as she tugs at the neckline trying to get the dress off. It’s still soaked from her snow encounter and and feels frozen against her, even though her skin burned hot underneath.
Lucas cautiously opens his eyes and sets down the water on her dresser. Riley has her back to him as she reaches awkwardly for the zipper.
“The zips caught on some lace,” Lucas struggles to get it undone.
“Cut it off!” Riley gasps for air, “I don’t care just get it off me!”
Lucas gives it another forceful tug and it tears the caught piece of lace and the dress zips down. With her back still to Lucas, Riley frees herself from the top half of her dress and lets out a breath of relief as she clings to the dress now loosely hanging around her hips.
“Can you put something on please?” Lucas averts his eyes again by turning around, considering her whole top half is now bare except for the white lace bra he may have accidentally peeked at when he was helping her.
“Not like it matters anyway,” Riley mumbles under her breath as she takes out an oversized shirt from her drawer, “You’ve heard what they all say about me at school.”
“You know I don’t believe that right?” Lucas frowns to himself.
“The part about me being frigid or the part about me being a lesbian?” Riley asks nonchalantly.
“All of it.” Lucas answers quietly.
“Why not? Everybody else does.” Riley slips the shirt over her head and sits on the edge of her bed to remove her torn stockings. “Even Maya.”
“She didn’t mean that at the dance,” Lucas says, “We were fighting and she took her anger out on you.”
“It’s safe to look,” Riley calls from the bed and Lucas turns around to face her.
“You’re bleeding,” Lucas is by her side in a second.
Riley looks down at her exposed knee that’s trickling with blood, a blank expression on her face. “Must have cut myself outside when I fell.”
Lucas goes to get a wet cloth from the bathroom and kneels down beside Riley as he cleans her up. He gently dabs it and Riley’s too far gone to register that it should actually hurt. Instead she starts giggling uncontrollably.
“What’s so funny?” Lucas finds himself smiling at her, “Is it ticklish?”
“No,” Riley covers her mouth to hold in the laughter, “I was just thinking about the time we went to the zoo in middle school.”
Lucas finishes fixing her up and sits beside her on the bed, “You were so excited to see the meerkats you tripped over and cut your knee,” Lucas looks back fondly at memory.
Riley lowers her back and lays down on the bed with her feet still dangling over the edge.
“You should have some water and sleep this off, before you feel sick,” Lucas bites his lip looking down at her.
Riley makes a quiet humming noise with glazed eyes.
“Can I ask you something?” Lucas says quietly.
“Why not?” Riley shrugs. “Seems like everyone gets to know my secrets these days...”
“The panic attacks..” Lucas has trouble finding the words. “I didn’t know...”
“That was the idea.” Riley wriggles slightly in place. “Kai gives you too much credit.” Riley sighs. “He makes it sound like you’re the reason I had them.”
“I’m not?” Lucas asks concerned.
“Maybe you were a factor,” Riley shrugs one shoulder, “But so was Maya, Farkle, Issy, Zay.. It was after Thanksgiving. I’d lost my friends.”
“If that upset you so much why did you tell Maya you didn’t want to be friends anymore?” Lucas questions.
“Why do you think?” Riley shares a deflated laugh.
“Maya never explained anything, she just said that you two weren’t friends anymore and she didn’t want to talk about it..”
Riley rolls her eyes and Lucas notices. “That’s not what happened?” He asks.
“No it is.” Riley exaggerates a smile. “I told her that I made new friends and we had grown apart.”
“That’s not what happened?” Lucas shifts awkwardly.
“You really believe that I, Riley Matthews, would allow myself to naturally grow apart from my friends?” Riley sits up and gives him a funny look.
“I guess not, no.” Lucas mumbles.
“Yet not a single one of my friends questioned it.” Riley’s fake exaggerated smile returns.
“Riley..”
“No, I know.” Riley holds a hand up to stop him. “I can’t get mad at people for believing what I tell them but you can relax, Lucas. My anxiety was not your fault it’s my brain, my feelings. You wouldn’t understand.”
“I’d like to try and understand.” Lucas says genuinely.
“There’s no need to.” Riley shakes her head. “I worked past that years ago. I’m good now... Well actually I was good but then you opened your stupid mouth and sprouted some blah blah in the library.” The alcohol still in Riley’s system made her have hot and cold mood swings confusing herself and Lucas with how she really felt.
“I don’t think we should discuss this right now.”
“What do you mean we shouldn’t discuss this right now?” Riley scoffs. “I haven't spoken to you in over two years and then you come out with this nonsense about making a mistake. Why would you say that? Why now, with only six months left of school?”
“I know, I should have said something earlier.”
“Nooo,” Riley drags out the word. “You shouldn’t have said anything at all. The worst part of all is that you say that and then you still take Maya to the dance afterwards.”
“What?” Confusion waves over Lucas. “I didn’t- No- Maya and I are just friends.”
“I never blamed you for choosing Maya, it hurt - a lot - but I never could dislike you for it.” Riley lets out a breath. “Believe me I tried. I tried to hate you or at least feel negative towards you in some way like Kai did because hating you was easier than missing you... but I couldn’t.” Riley buries her face in her palms and laughs. “But this number you pulled today, the library, the dance... Maybe I should try that hate thing again.”
“Riley..”
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore, forget I said anything.” Riley waves her hands about. “I’m tired. I want to sleep.”
Lucas stands up and pulls back one corner of Riley’s covers and motions for her to climb in. The brunette doesn’t protest, she wraps herself in the blanket and wriggles down into a comfortable position.
Faint jiggles of a bell sees Riley smile. She snaps her fingers and softly calls out towards the noise. “Vie, come to bed.” Then, seconds later, in trots a black fir kitten with big but dark eyes. She jumps up onto the bed and snuggles by Riley’s chest.
“Good girl, Violet.” Riley pats her gently.
Lucas chuckles softly at first and then it picks up into a rather hearty laughter. “Did you name her?”
“Yes. Are you making fun of my kitten?” Riley coaxes her head.
“No,” Lucas shakes his head as he tries to control his laughter. “It’s just, Violet the kitten...”
“She’s my purple cat.” Riley smirks.
Lucas’ laughter eventually tapers off completely, his smile fades into something sadder. “I’ve really missed you.”
Riley didn’t like that Lucas said that so she doesn’t respond. Lucas sits on the floor facing Riley, his back pressed up against the bay window. Riley’s eyes flick over to him for a moment but then back on a purring Violet.
“Where did this ‘wonder boy’ comment come from?” Lucas questions.
A small smile creeps onto Riley’s face. “It was Caitlin. Hercules is her favourite Disney movie. She says she relates to Meg’s cynicism.”
“Should I be offended?” Lucas asks.
“Probably.” Riley’s smile remains. Quiet falls upon them once more.
“You lied.” Lucas says quietly after a moment of silence.
“Excuse me?” Riley knits her brows in confusion.
“You told me you were relieved when I didn’t choose you.” Lucas explains. “You lied.”
“I also told you I loved you like a brother once.” Riley says simply. “You believed me then too.”
“The first mistake of many.” Lucas sighs. “I made a real mess of things.”
“So did I but I moved past it.” Riley shrugs. “You should too.”
“Letting you go was the biggest mistake of my life.”
“And falling in love you was mine.” Riley’s words come out softly even though they cut Lucas like knives.
“Riley, I’m so sorry.” Lucas pleads with her.
“Me too,” Riley gives him a sweet smile, “Goodnight, Lucas.” She rolls over to face away from him.
“Night, Riles.” he whispers but she’s already asleep.
Around 2am Riley wakes shivering. She’s freezing cold after going to sleep in only an oversized t-shirt. Sleepily she pulls sweatpants out of her dresser and fumbles around in the dark looking for the heater remote to turn it back on. It’s as she’s about to climb back into bed that she realises Lucas is still in her room.
Riley looks over at the bay window, he’s sitting on the floor but has his head resting in his folded arms that lay on the seat of the window. He’s facing the bed, clearly he fell asleep as he watched over her. Riley pauses for a moment and then takes the throw blanket from the end of her bed and gently covers him with it. He stirs lightly but doesn’t wake up.
Even after Lucas did something that would justify annoyance and animosity towards him Riley couldn’t find it within herself to hate him and as she watched over him sleeping peacefully, Riley knew she would’t ever be able to.
END NOTES + Visuals dskjfh
I thought this dress was really pretty that I found on pinterest and would look lovely on Riley for winter formal so I thought I’d a include the picture for you all! Imagine she wore black stockings and ankle boots, maybe even a nice thin black chocker or something to play against the softness of the dress :)
Thank you to everyone who suggested colleges for Noah. The main being Notre Dame so I went with that! Thank you to everyone who messaged me and let me pick their brains about it to you are so wonderful!!! More on colleges in the upcoming chapters.
As for this one..... I hope I remembered to put everything in.. It feels messy because it is messy, things won't be explained properly until next chapter and in future chapters... Its a ride fam, stick with me lfkghdfkjlhg
I have been slack with tagging people I am SORRY!!!!! I hope I haven't forgotten any one this time ...
@jenn0bi @plutoxriley @pamela-barron @nicolecolin @brassqueen @renait-courageux @helenpenhallxw @dallas258
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