The Importance of Secrecy
Chapter 17
Lunatic With a Hero Complex
The livingroom was a graveyard. On one end, the shattered remains of a villain's pride, on the other, the desolated carcass of a hero's restraint.
It was dead air.
With the death of these concepts it seemed that Medusa had taken offense and stared the surreal scene into a living color stone tableau that Raven was sure she couldn't stand much longer. The ever eager Achilles poised to calmly pass the time of day with the latest aspiring warrior; Robin smiling calmly down his own arm at the hand that held hostage Red-X's windpipe. Smiling calmly now, but he would grow impatient.
The Titans, casualties of shock, standing frozen on the outskirts of this metamorphosis, struck dumb by this rage in the guise of rationality. Their leader was not this man. And yet, it was utterly honest that this man only was their leader. And the moments stretched.
Red-X was not a man of subtleties; it was harder for him to accept domination than most men. But he would have to. And everyone in this room knew that. It was just a matter of time, and patience. Robin had plenty of patience, but it would run out eventually.
And that was what everyone was afraid of, because if he got impatient, it would bring up the inevitable and terribly frightening question. Would he actually squeeze?
Would he really have so little trouble taking away a human life, or was he bluffing. There was a fifty/fifty chance, but it was most definitely a chance that they did not want to take. Because if it was the wrong fifty, then the Titans would have a completely different problem to deal with.
Eternity finally got spun off the merry-go-round and Red-X accepted his Beta Status, "Let's talk."
Robin never stopped smiling, "Great choice."
He climbed backwards off of the criminal and Raven was briefly and disturbingly reminded of his retreat in the gym after the loudspeaker had interrupted their hormone storm, his legs and arms all angles trying to get away without touching her inappropriately, and she shivered, whether in memory or fear she wasn't sure. He moved off, and went to the kitchen, getting a glass of water, "Can I get you something to drink, water, tea, soda?"
Squeakily polite.
Red-X's mask looked at the moving Boy Wonder silently for a second, and Raven could almost swear she saw incredulity in that countenance. "Water is fine."
Robin smiled even wider, "Alright, coming up."
He poured two glasses of water and brought them back into the living room. He set Red-X's down on the coffee table and resumed his chair across the way. Red-X didn't touch his water. And Raven supposed he wouldn't. One of Robin's few oversights, the mask in the Red-X costume did not have a mouth hole, it just smoothed over the face, with a little box for speech.
It must have been something he didn't really think about. He'd only expected to be wearing the mask for a few hours a day, he probably hadn't thought he'd need food.
Robin once again settled back and smiled, "Alright, let's hear what dire situation brought you here, into the veritable lion's den."
It was silent for a moment, as though only Red-X were the one that could get them past this final hurdle. And he pulled through, "Believe me, it is most definitely not a small thing. It is in fact, fear for my existence, though now, having experienced your hospitality, I may have made the wrong choice of ally."
Robin smiled, and it was creepily congenial, " I know, we've had rough times you and I, but I think we may be able to help each other, if we can just be patient."
Intimidation was like a pool of water, it changed shape for every person that came into it, and Robin it seemed, had intuition that was spot on. He'd discovered the very method that would make Red-X the most nervous, veiled danger.
Despite her wariness, Raven was impressed.
There was no more witty preamble. "A lot of the smaller criminals, B&E's, muggers, con artist, and a good deal of the homeless, have been disappearing. Also, all over the city, random fields of poppies have been appearing in ally ways. And when people walk in, they don't walk out, as your girls here were about to experience before I showed up."
Raven felt a little of his smugness returning, not a lot, but she supposed enough to let him keep his pride.
"Hmmm."
Robin's only comment for a few moments. And then, he looked up, the white ovals narrowing, "So you, somehow, escaped from the evil poppies. Why did you help no one but Raven and Starfire?"
It had the potential of a dangerous question. And Red-X knew it. He was careful, treading lightly on this thin moral ice, "If I had gotten too close, I thought I might be taken in again myself, and I may not know what's in those crazy flowers, but I'm pretty sure, I do not want to be a part of it."
It seemed logical, and Raven hoped Robin would take it at face value. He did. He smiled, and though it still wasn't genuine, it was much less creepy than before, "Thank you, I'm glad we were able to work around our differences so well."
He stood and gestured the criminal to follow him, "If you happen to have more information that you think would help us stop whatever is going on, you know where to find us." He led Red-X out of the living room and to the elevator, where Raven could only assume he was going down to the lobby, to send him on his way.
When the leader and his enemy had gone, it seemed as if every titan in the room breathed a deep sigh, as though the air were a little easier to breathe.
But nobody commented, choosing to let the silence say what shock they were feeling.
Raven leaned her head against Robin's headboard, and stared at the ceiling of his room, letting the scratching of his pen numb her brain slightly. He had ascended to the living room about ten minutes after he'd left. And been very pleasant. He had talked a little to the Titans about the possible meanings of this new information. Then he had headed towards the elevator and Raven had noticed the newly refreshed sheen of sweat on his forehead, and the way he was starting to slouch.
So, she'd followed.
It seemed unspoken that both Robin and Raven felt better when Raven was close. It was unclear to both of them why, and Raven was pretty sure it wasn't entirely sexual. It seemed that as she had built a record as being there to piece him together, he was beginning to feel more whole in her presence.
So she was sitting on his bed, as he did everything but sleep. He must be tired, she was almost sure of it. It was late, and he was ill, she'd forced another dose of Keflex on him somewhere in between an electronics project and his dissertation to himself on evil criminals, nemeses and the like. But he still was feverishly; pardon the pun, sawing away at whatever dilemma was facing him now.
She felt something unusual peep its head over her subconscious and it took her a moment to figure out what it was. And then it struck her as a mixture of mischievousness and what she was tentatively sure was desire.
She leaned her head back down and swung her legs off of the bed. She padded softly over to his desk chair, and stared down at the black spikes of hair bobbing in the motions of his writing. He had to know she was there. She would have to make him take notice.
She leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Robin." She kissed his neck right under his ear, and she felt his skin come alive, "Its late," she kissed a little lower and began peeling back the neck of his costume, he let out a muffled, "mmmhmm," and she knew it wouldn't be nearly as hard a struggle as it appeared to be, "and I'm tired," don't mention him. She nuzzled and then bit the muscle around his shoulders, and he made a breathy sound she was positive was not pain.
She had no idea where this was coming from but she wasn't feeling inclined as yet to stop.
"I can't sleep with you working away, and I might not be as sharp tomorrow if I don't get enough sleep," her words were almost unnecessary, as she kissed her way across his back, she could feel him slipping. She tugged his arm softly up and pulled him with her, and towards the bed. He almost resisted and she used her other arm to run her fingers through his hair and untie his mask.
He hummed and she laid him down on the mattress, still whispering things at him that made almost no sense. It felt good somehow, down in her marrow, to be soothing someone down like this, well not just someone, but Robin. It made her feel better, like a part of her was slowly healing up as Robin slowly healed physically.
When Robin was settled on the sheets and nearly comatose, she quickly moved in from the other side, again draping her body around his, holding him a little closer than the night before, but this time sure that he appreciated it, his mind shut down and the last thing she heard before his breathing evened out and he drifted out was his distant childlike mumbling, "mmm, Raven your warm." She smiled rather goofily and followed him into slumber, gripping the boy wonder a little tighter.
She did not wake up in the same way that she did the day previous, there was no lack of warmth. The body she had fallen asleep curled around was definitely still there, black hair tickling her nostrils, and soft snores tickling the air. In fact it was indeed the foreign feel of contentment that dragged her softly from sleep. And it felt fantastic.
She marveled that in the midst of all of the insane and chaotic shit that was going on around them, that she could finally find a niche of peace. It was typical of her luck and the luck of the people around her. Things did not happen normally to them. Ever.
The mass against her chest began to shift, and its breathing changed. She heard a slight yawn, and she couldn't help a small smile from touching her mouth. Robin rolled over and looked at her for a moment. He too, seemed to be a little pleasantly befuddled, as if, just like her, he thought this happiness, coming now, was beyond the normal ranges of weirdness that surrounded their everyday lives.
Raven felt as though it were only a moment until she would regain her senses and return to Titanism. It made her sad. And panicky. Before the moment could turn on her, she leaned down and caught his mouth in hers, pressing for a reaction, for more fire, for more feeling. She wanted to always know what he felt like. Always have the memory, no matter what.
He responded after a brief delay and she was delighted. She caught his lower lip in her teeth and nibbled it, leaving it slightly raw and sucked on it to make it feel better and then attacked his mouth with her tongue. By this time, she'd rolled him, and pinned him by his shoulders to the bed and she couldn't make her hands stop roaming. They touched everything, abs, hips, shoulders, face, hair. They were everywhere, trying desperately to complete the sensory memory. Robin's hands came up to her hips, locking just above them and dragging her closer, stilling most of her hand movement and causing her to almost fall on him.
Despite her imminent distraction, she knew that that would not be very pleasant for him. So she still supported herself, but her hair was nearly blinding them both, hanging as it was in front of her face as reached for his soul through his mouth.
This, though it was sudden, and though it felt as if they shouldn't be doing it now, was exactly what she felt her body had been waiting for. This is what they had been heading for in the gym. This is why she felt frustrated every time he tried to disappear behind his mask. This is what she needed.
And she knew that she was not alone. His hands were traveling up to her face, framing her head and pulling her back so he could look at her.
Something on his face was different, not bad, but different. He looked at her for a moment and a strange smile graced his lips and then he pulled her mouth back down onto hers, and laughed. He rolled them over and suddenly he was on top and laughing, and joyous, and….beautiful. Raven found herself laughing back and just letting her body collapse back on the pillow. Robin bent over her and began laughingly placing kisses allover her face.
Finally, he reached her mouth and attacked. He kissed her so hard, she felt compelled to raise up. His tongue pressed askance at her lips and she opened her mouth, letting him in. He plundered, and his hands rose past her chest and past her neck to her back, where he began to unbutton her leotard. She lifter herself a little more to make it easier and reached back to do the same for him.
She finally found the fastenings and began to pull it down over his shoulders, slowly, glorying in every inch of his body that was revealed. She got it down to his waist and let it be for a moment. Meanwhile, he was making his own progress, pulling the leotard down over her arms, laughing lightly when the sleeve tried to stick on her arm.
For the first time ever, Raven was glad that everything she owned, including her undergarments, were dark colored.
He fell to kissing light trails over her stomach, leaving designs swirling around her belly button. She felt desire warring with delight in her stomach and found that the former was winning. Her lower half was growing tight. She jerked his head back up and kissed him, hard, raking her nails down his back, not pressing too hard. His mouth broke away from hers as he gasped. Definitely not in pain. When he looked back down at her, Raven just stared. She'd woken up his own beast, and she could see the lust swirling into his one eye, making it almost black. He attacked her mouth again and began pulling her leotard lower, moving to leave nips and kisses in a fiery trail behind him.
By the time he reached her hipbone, she was breathing rather hard, and having a very hard time focusing on anything but Robin and Robin's wonderful, talented, fantastic mouth.
She felt him stop and opened her eyes, preparing to protest, and found herself staring directly into his eyes. She closed her mouth and waited, his eyes were burning, but he was worried.
He opened his mouth, hesitated, closed it again, and then forged on, "Are you okay, I mean, are you ready?"
He blushed, slightly funny, but Raven didn't laugh. She was still almost a little mad without him touching her, but she understood how much he really did not want to hurt her. She smiled up at him, "Yes," her smiled wilted into a playful scowl, "now keep touching me before I hurt you."
He grinned at her, "Yes ma'm."
He went back to worshiping her hip bones and he began to pull down the black underwear she was wearing. He leaned back up and captured her in a kiss once more. While he was still up there, his hand resumed its actions and Raven gasped as his fingers began their work. Robin just kept kissing her neck.
(edited)
Robin kissed her forehead as she found her breath again. They were both coming slowly back to the world, and oddly enough they didn't really mind it, as long as they were both in the world they were coming back to.
Raven chuckled lightly, "I hope no one was on our floor. I don't think the Titans can take too many more surprises, it might be deadly."
Robin laughed, "I don't think I have the energy to care." He buried his face in her neck, "If they heard something, they'll just have to cope on their own, their leader is currently off-duty and not planning on clocking in anytime soon."
Raven smiled loudly with sheer pride, and raised his head and kissed him soundly, then rolling over and pulling the sheet over her exposed chest and closing her eyes to sleep a little more. She heard Robin chuckle softly and fell asleep as he was draping an arm over her middle.
A/N: For full version, email me or message me. I will do my best to get it to you.
Thank you,
Lunatic with a hero complex