Dirty Laundry
Prologue

)O(

I've got a bad boy and that's alright with me
His dirty laundry is nothing that I can't keep clean
And when he needs an alibi
He can use me all night
- Dirty Laundry, by Bitter:Sweet

)O(

Jason felt like his body was filled with lead and his legs were going to give out on him any second as he trudged down the hall. Behind the closed doors, he heard echoes of television programs and joyful conversations from couples or families. What he wouldn't have given to have been with his own girlfriend tonight, watching the same bad TV. Oh, that's right, she was in fucking Dubai. He bit back a curse and turned the corner of the hall. If he knew that dating a superhero was going to be (technically) a long-distance relationship, he would have walked away before his heart had the chance to love her.

But, it was too late for that now.

He rolled his shoulder to try and get any kinks out of his muscles, and pulled out his cell phone, reading through his emails for any leads, but nothing yet. Three meetings today, and not one of them had given him a definitive answer on whether or not they would hire his services. There had been a lot of "we'll think about it, but you're very expensive". Of course he was expensive! He was fucking Red X. He was the best. If you wanted a job done right, on time, and professionally, you called him. That was common sense. You don't buy a Ford and expect a Ferrari, you just buy the damn Ferrari and are happy in the first place.

Biting back another curse, he glared at the empty space in front of him, feeling like his hallway was never ending. At the end of the day, he knew his patience was wearing thin. He had grown tired of being suave and charming and business-like, and he knew he'd flubbed a few of his normally well-received lines in this last meeting. It was his own fault he hadn't given the full package during the meeting, and he was just going to accept that. Besides, it was just a dry spell of jobs, he'd get back up on his feet soon and the jobs would be flowing in.

At least he hoped.

He really needed to stop being so negative. Of course, it didn't help his whole outlook on life that he hadn't gotten laid in over a month either. His current sexual outlets were phone sex snuck in at odd times when no one from her team could hear her, and masturbation to Raven's nude picture she'd given him before she left (he really had no idea that she could look like a pin-up, but somehow she pulled it off like a pro). All that was fine and dandy, but at the end of the day it wasn't as fulfilling as fucking Raven senseless, and he went to bed staring at the empty pillow next to him like some kind of sad puppy waiting for his master to get home.

Jesus, he was pathetic.

He shoved his key in the lock and pushed open the door, dropping his jacket and keys onto the counter without any thought other than finding a beer and then finding his bed. If he had to stay up and ponder life for one more second, he might actually throw himself off his balcony. He opened the fridge and pulled out a beer, smelling the soft scent of late-August rain start to sweep in through the city and into his apartment. He loved that smell. It reminded him of the time she had snuck out of the tower and came into his apartment, begging for him to take her in every way possible. On the kitchen counter, on the floor, in his office…

Jason groaned and tilted his head back as if he was in agony. A whole fucking month. She'd been bouncing around the world for the whole month, trailing dregs of the Brotherhood of Evil from Russia to Paris to Beijing and then to Dubai. Whatever they had originally chased in Russia turned out to be a lot more than they anticipated, and as soon as Raven had returned home, she was sent out again just a few weeks later. She had been tasked with trying to hunt down whoever was starting this shit again, and Jason was tasked with trying to keep his libido under control while she flitted around the world like some kind of social butterfly.

Jason sighed and ran a hand through his hair, didn't the baddies know that they were seriously impeding on his sex life? That should have been their top priority.

Rain poured down from the heavens, splattering on the cement of his balcony, and the sound echoed through his apartment like dull, tinkling chimes.

He stared at the balcony, his eyebrows knitting together. The door was open. He never left the door open.

Who could…

He set his beer down and moved toward the balcony door, his eyes trying to adjust to the inky darkness that filled the space outside his apartment. As he moved toward the open door, he caught the familiar shape of his girlfriend. He let his eyes fully adjust to the darkness before stepping closer to her. She stood in the downpouring rain in nothing more than his white shirt, left open to display her body, and smiled that nonexistent "Raven Smile" at him, as if she was teasing him.

"I was wondering when you were going to notice the door was open. I've been watching you nurse that beer for the past ten minutes." She moved backwards slowly, leaning up against the cement railing of the balcony, and letting the wet shirt drape off her body just so. "I'm back."

Jason didn't have words. Even if he had them, he doubted he would have had the ability to speak them anyway. He instantly closed the space between him and Raven, ignoring the rain that soaked his new Armani suit, and ran his hands over the smooth planes of her skin, now slick with rain. He hadn't touched her body in thirty three days, six hours, and eleven minutes, and touching her now was like exploring her again for the first time. He heard that glorious hitch in her breath as his warm, dry skin touched hers, and his name fell from her lips with the same rhythm of the rain.

Her own hands itched to get his clothes off of him, pulling off his suit jacket and nearly ripping the buttons off of his shirt as her trembling fingers trailed down the seams. She pushed the shirt off his shoulders and mumbled words in languages he didn't understand before her lips met his in a fevered kiss.

Her kisses. God, he missed her kisses. It was like the warmth of tea and the bite of gin.

His lips slid down her neck, nipping and biting until he found her sweet spot behind her left ear and suckled on it. She gave a very uncharacteristic mew into his ear and rubbed her bare chest against his. Heaven. He could have stayed in this moment and been content the rest of his life. His fingers found her center and pushed deep, feeling her instant reaction and hearing her cries in his ear. Thunder rolled in and lightning pierced the sky with a light show that was only second to the one in his arms.

He picked her up and balanced her on the edge of the cement balcony railing, pushing her legs open for him. Raven reached out and released him from his own pants, obviously tired with their foreplay as much as he was. He entered her body without remorse, listening to the pained cry that fell from her lips. It had been so long, it was like he was entering her for the first time again.

He muttered an apology against her neck, trying to control his desires until she was ready, but he couldn't help himself. He moved inside her, filling her and claiming her until she teetered on the edge of the precipice, waiting to fall. Jason was only too glad to push her over. She cried out with the rolls of thunder that echoed around them, her hands raking over his shoulders as he relentlessly pleasured her. Rain continued to pour down on them, splashing between their bodies, slicking up their skin.

Raven tilted back against nothingness, using her powers to balance her body precariously on the edge of the balcony. Watching her move with the grace of a skilled dancer, and feeling that slight twinge of pleasure-pain from being around her powers, made Jason lose his well-placed control. He gripped her hips and pounded her body until his release came, and he sobbed her name against her throat. For the first time in thirty three days, six hours, and thirty one minutes he felt whole.

Raven gasped as he pulled her back onto solid ground, rolling her under him as the rain continued to beat down on their bodies, washing away their pain until nothing was left but the pure, unadulterated feelings they had for each other.

Jason nuzzled her neck, listening to her breath mingling with the thunder rolling around them. He smiled against her skin. "You're home."

"I know."

)O(

Across the city there was the wail of sirens and alarms as a display case was broken in the dead of night. Jewels were stolen from underneath the bright, beautiful lighting, plucked from the shards of glass like the last few daisies from a field. If a person was trained to look hard at a crime scene, they would see that it was messy and tactless, as if a juvenile was playing some kind of game no one else was aware of. His steps were noisy, his movements flailing and awkward, and his destruction of the case was completely unnecessary.

As the perpetrator made his way to the door, he turned and let himself be caught on film.

Smiling under the mask with the caricature of a skull on it, he saluted the camera before running off into the night, a bag of jewels tinkling musically at his side.

)O(

So, I didn't really want to start this just yet, but I've been holding onto this song forever, waiting for the right idea to pop into my head. It did finally, and I had to get it down before I forgot. It won't be super long, but I hope you enjoy it.

In the event you didn't catch onto it, this is kind of a sequel to Seven.
Anyway, let me know what you think!