Lately this one-shot has been interfering with the writing of other chapters. I needed to get this out of my head so I could continue with my other stories. Don't worry I haven't forgotten about Training School or Promotions. 3rd person POV.
Warnings: OOC ahead, Set six years in the future
A head of lavender hair was nestled in his lap, the purple locks cascading down the owner's back. The empath had fallen asleep minutes ago and Richard, who had now taken the persona of Nightwing, was unknowingly caressing her bare, pale skin. Raven slept heavily, from what he observed of the many previous nights they had spent together, especially since they lived together and had been for half a year now.
The dark sheet was pushed down to her hips, directly below the raven tattoo she had magically gotten last week. At first, the former boy wonder did not approve. It seemed to be a deformity on her perfect body. The eye of the bird was a blue chakra, the slightly smaller than the one on her forehead, and was centered in the small of her back. The details of the body and wings were nearly perfect. Surprisingly, his opinion changed drastically after he view the body art 'privately.'
Richard allowed his hands to trail the raven's wings which made her shiver in response but she stayed asleep. He wished he could sleep as soundly as her but his mind didn't allow him to rest since her odd behavior had begun a few weeks ago. He constantly wondered what could be the cause of her drifting off into her own little universe with a placid tint in her eyes, or why she wouldn't emerge from the bathroom for an hour at a time in the mornings.
Robin looked across the room and saw his work desk buried under several stacks of paperwork that he brought home that day. He sighed and moved Raven from his lap without her waking or even stirring. His clothes were located in the room but he was unsure of where. After searching over several articles of clothing which were strewn around the bedroom, he found his pants halfway under the bed beneath her wifebeater.
The evil, tempting voice in the back of his head urged him crawl into bed again with the sorceress but the responsible side of him had to peak through. Those contracts Bruce wanted wouldn't complete themselves. Unless he asked Raven to perform a quick spell….No! There are no easy ways out of this.
With a flick of his wrist, the lamp expelled a soft, white glow and Robin reluctantly got to work.
Proofread this, sign that… it soon becomes tiring. He heard a soft moan and turned to see a gust of air blow throw the open balcony doors and Raven shifting onto her stomach. The dark goddess loved the cool, night air and apparently she enjoyed it just as much while sleeping.
The vigilante chuckled and continued working. Being Bruce's business partner had its disadvantages. Richard had no idea how he could be working with Bruce most of the daytime hours, rid the streets of crime at night, and still have time for his fiancé but he managed. He knew how to prioritize and Rae was always number one on his list. Ever since they were best friends back in the Titan days, that was a fact and forever would be.
Boredom was quickly overtaking his better judgment and the deadline wasn't for another few days. Besides, it wasn't procrastination if you aresure that you will finish the task, right? Obviously he thought so and stood before shutting off the lamp.
After doing a double-take, he noticed no one was in the bed, specifically the love of his life. His heart skipped a beat for no particular reason. His Raven was in no danger and if she was, she was still Raven, his partner on the streets of Gotham when she wasn't writing chapters for her new book.
Another gust of wind rose and a flutter came from the balcony. Richard stepped out and there she was, wrapped in the midnight blue sheet and staring into the sky. He stood behind her and pulled her slender form against his.
"You okay?" He whispered into her ear and she nodded.
"Fine. Just… thinking."
He opened his mouth to ask 'what about?' but decided against it. The spell caster continued.
"Do you ever think about our future together?" Raven's voice came out unnaturally soft and made her sound vulnerable, uneasy about something but he didn't know what. It bothered him to no end but he wouldn't push her.
"Of course I do. You and me. That's all I need." Richard immediately knew she wasn't happy with his answer when she frowned.
"Are you sure that's all you want? Anything else?"
What was she so uncertain about? Raven was not uncertain about anything and the fact that she obviously was, it unnerved him even more.
"Yes, I'm sure. I love you, Rae. Always will." Again, she didn't seem satisfied. Light droplets of rain started splattering on their bare shoulders and Richard tried to guide her back inside but she stood still.
"Not yet." She murmured and he stared down at her with a raised eyebrow even though she could not see him. Her stubbornness was just as strong as his, maybe more so, so he surrendered.
Mood swings were so common now with her because earlier today she was playfully wrestling with him in the living room when he walked through the door. Richard didn't know what was troubling her or if this was normal. That 'time' usually didn't last so long that he knew so that surely wasn't the cause of her behavior. She was so distant at times, a phase he hoped would soon end.
When the rain intensifed, he was blinking constantly to block the water from entering his eyes and her purple hair was dampened and stringy. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky and Raven nudged him back inside. Their feet left trails of water behind them and the telepath broke away from him to enter the bathroom.
His pants had grown heavy with the rain and getting colder against his skin. Without warning, the light from the bathroom had disappeared and the hum of electricity was gone, leaving the room incredibly silent.
'Great. No power.' He thought before something was thrown onto his face and he yelped in surprise. Snickering came from across the room.
"Why are you so jumpy? Afraid of the dark?" Raven mocked, staying a good distance from her counterpart. Lightning flashed and he saw her form in black and white and theobject she had thrown at him was on the floor.
He glared at her and scooped up the towel. She chuckled and let the sheet drop to her carpet. Her own towel, that was clutched in her delicate hand, roamed over her curves, catching rogue droplets which rolled over smooth skin.
Richard finished first and headed to find pants once again and once he had found another pair in a drawer, he stopped. There were those mood swings again, but now she was playful and smiling. These transitions were as predictable as an earthquake but at least this one was for the better.
A sweatshirt he had gathered was shrouded in dark energy and was yanked from his hands.
"Hey-"
"Stop daydreaming, love." Raven slipped it over her head and it just covered the junction of her legs. He growled and she screamed as her flung her over his shoulder and dropped her onto their bed. The shirt had lifted, revealing her to the night air.
"Thief." He whispered as he laid down beside her, an arm draped over her stomach. He felt her shrug and sit up.
"Where are you going?"
"I need something to put on under the shirt, Richard." She tried to stand but he yanked her back down.
"No you don't. You're perfectly fine this way."
"Half-naked?"
"Yeah."
She smiled but it soon fell. Damn those swings.
"I need to tell you something, something important…" She trailed off.
What could it be? His mind began speeding through possibilities. She was cheating on him? Ridiculous. She wanted to break up? Not likely. Someone was dying? There may be a chance but he would know. Everybody stayed in contact. Kori called almost every day and Garfield and Victor worked at Wayne Enterprises with him.
"What is it?" He asked, partially afraid to.
"I'm… you…. well… you got me pregnant." She said accusingly, in order to erase the tension.
He would admit he was somewhat shocked but he knew it would happen eventually.
When the two birds lived at the tower, they practically had to plan their rendezvous because one of the many occupants was bound to hear or see them. Privacy was guaranteed in their penthouse so for a while they had been careless in their random throws of passion.
He never really thought about children, at least not the details. Of course Richard wanted little Raven's and Robin's running around but…. Wait, there are no but's. What would be difficult about having a child? Besides the diaper-changing and four a.m. feedings. Thanks to their jobs, financial support wouldn't be a problem. He would be bringing into this world a child with the woman he loves. There ARE no problems, none at all.
He rolled on top of her and slid down, liftingwhat was supposed to be hissweatshirt and pressed an ear to her abdomen.
"That's why you've been so…different?"
"I didn't know how you'd react, basically. I mean, you're 24 and I'm 22. You don't think it's a bit early for our age and your career to be having kids?" Raven asked while running her fingers through his hair.
"I love you and our child. Period. Nothing else matters. Besides, you should want to be able to stand up and cheer at our kid's graduation. You can't do that in a Hover-Round."
She laughed and a three-ton weight felt like it was lifted from her shoulders.
"I was thinking about names-"
"Already?" She interrupted.
"Yes already and I think Richard is a fine name."
"And if it's a girl?"
"We're going to have a boy!" Richard whined and hit the mattress.
"It doesn't exactly work that way." Raven smiled at his childish antics as he moved back up to look her in the eye.
"I know. How far along are you, anyway?" He asked while propping himself above her and stroking his unborn child.
"I'm not sure. I have to make a doctor's appointment next week." He suddenly remembered all the time she spent in the bathroom.
"You've been having morning sickness." Richard replied and she pouted.
"Unbearable morning sickness. Especially one morning when I had to stomach your sunny-side up eggs. Ugh…" Raven shuddered in remembrance.
"What's wrong with my eggs?" He inquired with fake disbelief.
She knew nothing was wrong with his cooking, it was excellent, much better than hers to say the least.
"There's only so much that a girl's stomach can tolerate." She commented nevertheless but he let it slide.
"You're lucky that you're pregnant with my child, Ms. Roth." He said, poking at her belly lightly.
"Some would say cursed, Mr. Grayson."
Okay… it's done. Tell me if it needs work, or if it's boring, or if it just plain sucked.
Notes:
1.) Titans have disbanded. Both groups have and the only ones that continued to fight the good fight were Raven, Richard, Garfield (Changeling), and Roy (Arsenal).
2.) Raven and Nightwing are crime-fighting partners who mostly work separately. They live together AND work together, I think that they need just a tad bit of space or they'd drive each other insane. Richard works with Bruce at Wayne Enterprises and Raven is an author working on her second successful book. They are engaged.
3.) The tattoo was from the original comics. I really don't know much about it so I improvised. By the way, Raven used a spell to get it. Raven doesn't seem like a person who'd go into a tattoo parlor and let a biker dude press a needle into her skin.
4.) Beast Boy and Cyborg work with Richard. Cyborg is the head of a technology department and Beast Boy is his official tester.
5.) If they seem a little OOC, I think that marriage or a serious relationship, like they have, changes people. Not for the worse but you do go through them.
6.) Raven, after I look back, seems like a stay at home wife and I really don't like that. IF I decide to continue, which is IF I get enough requests to do so, I will be changing it.
7.) I have no idea if this one-shot should have been rated M or T. There was nothing GRAPHIC. There was nudity but not any descriptions of 'private areas.'
If you have any other questions, fell free to ask them and I'll answer them on my profile.
Updates for my other stories coming soon,
BirdsOnTheBrain