Not Your Clothes (Raven)

Participants: Roy Harper and Raven

Open/Closed: Closed
Location(s): Titans Tower
Time of Day:
Lunch time
Weather:
Rainy, but warm.
Summary: Raven and Roy catch up while Arsenal settles back into the Tower, and some new cloths.

~~~

Roy Harper had an interesting past few weeks. He had been living in Seattle recently and had spent a good chunk of time being that city's premier hero. While he had struggled to crack down on Slipknot, he had been lucky enough that Koriand'r, Starfire, had dropped by. Not only did she help him fix the Slipknot issue, but she had also made sure Roy cleaned himself up and actually got some sleep. Unfortunately, during that time, Roy had also found himself kidnapped by the Kobra Cult, along with Jason Todd. Obviously all thanks to Roy, the two managed to escape, and he had been lucky that Kory had accepted his story of his sudden disappearance. Roy had felt something budding between the two of them, but he wasn't sure, and he was surely not going to rush anything or pressure anything with a longtime friend like Starfire.

After some discussion with Kory, who had told Roy about the Justice League Cosmic she'd be heading up, the two discussed Roy's trajection. Taking the aliens advice, Roy headed back to the Titans Tower to mentor the newest group of teenage heroes. Truthfully, a lot of these younger heroes didn't really need his guidance or advice, but getting training from someone with his experience was never a bad thing.

With Kory's help, Roy had begun to move the majority of his things back to the Tower. While he had his own room, Roy had spent the previous night in Kory's alongside her. She had left earlier in the morning, siting Cosmic-related work. Roy took the opportunity to rest a bit longer, before finally rolling out of the Tamaraneans' bed. Standing and stretching, Roy adjusted the baggy and brightly-coloured tshirt he found himself dressed in; one of Kory's shirts. He could see why so many girls liked wearing their others bigger shirts. It was comforting to be close to the other even when they weren't around. Though, to be honest with himself, Roy wasn't sure what he and Kory really were.

Cracking his back, Roy left the room, still decked out in Koriand'r's brightly coloured shirt. Heading to the kitchen, Roy started up the large coffee maker and grabbed a cup from a cupboard. As he waited for the coffee, he rested his head on the counter and let out a long yawn.

It was very well known that Raven was a private creature. Anyone who met her could tell that much, just from that first interaction. And though she required healthy dosages of time alone to contemplate, reflect and recharge, she didn't always want solitude. Long ago, during her first tenure with the Titans, she'd learned just how precious time around those that you loved could be. Not just as an empath, collecting vitality and energy from those positive emotions, but as a person.

Which is why, that morning, Raven had gone through her morning rituals - hygienic, magical, meditational - grabbed the latest horror novel she'd been working on, and went to the nearest common area. She set up in the breakfast nook with a cup of floral tea, opened her book and settled in. Movement stirred her, drawing her from the spell that a good read could cast. Her violet eyes shifted, glancing up to see Roy shuffle sleepily into view and begin rummaging around to put on a pot of coffee.

Of course, he didn't notice her. Not at first. Raven was notoriously quiet, and the seat she'd chose at the table made it easy to overlook her. Whether or not that was precisely why she chose it, no one knew. Her gaze, piercing and keen over the top of her book, ran over Roy, not failing to note that she normally saw the shirt he wore on her best friend. Not the haphazard archer. He yawned, and Raven chose her moment to strike.

"Didn't get much sleep?" she asked. Her tone was so even and nonchalant, a listener couldn't possibly think she was being sly. And an onlooker wouldn't be able to see the half-smirk Raven wore that was that guile's only tell, thanks to the book screening everything below her eyes.

Roy Harper

Roy was fairly unaware of his surroundings, a common occurrence when the redhead was just getting out of bed. While he was usually very tentative, he did happen to miss a lot when he was super tired or just waking up. That was why, despite Raven even being present on Roy's path to the kitchen, she had gone completely unnoticed by him.

In mid-stretch once more, Roy was caught completely off-guard by a chilling voice. "Whatthef*&^!" he exclaimed as the coffee cup fell out of his hand after his slight jump from shock of the voice that filled his ears. The cup smacked him on the head, and Roy scrambled to catch it as it continued to fall. Fumbling, but ultimately catching the cup, Roy rubbed his head fiercely and set the cup down. His head snapped to the dark-haired woman who hid her face mostly behind a book.

"You need to let people know you're around Rae! You almost gave me a heart-attack" Clutching his chest, his metallic hand covering his heart, he tried to gleam what Raven was thinking. He was failing miserably however, as he was no empath like she was, and she was so so so hard to read even when her face wasn't hidden. "I, well. I think I got a lot of sleep, maybe I overslept honestly. Wait, are you getting at something?" Roy questioned. Looking down at the shirt he was wearing, his eyes shot back to Raven, and he quickly raised a hand. Gesturing a stop motion, the hand turned into a finger and shook at Raven. "Uh, this isn't what it looks like...or, er, what's this look like before I say that? _{Ialreadysaidthat}" Roy spoke, muttering the last part under his breath. Was there even a point in trying to deceive Raven?

No, not at all. There was never a point when lying to Raven accomplished anything.

Her lips pursed, not approving of the profanity her surprise was met with, but incapable of being unamused all the same. Raven's violet eyes were locked on the page of her book, but she used her peripheral vision to watch the comical disaster that was Roy Harper. The cup bounce off of his skull, driving a spike of warring mirth and guilt in the empath's chest (mostly mirth). Next, Raven prophesied lazily to herself, would come the gush of words.

Roy spoke, and as he did Raven slowly - so slowly - curled a finger in her book to keep her place, closed it, and lowered it onto the table in front of her. She regarded him, level and unwavering, with the most dry and least impressed look she could muster, and let him continue babbling. Roy actually cottoned on to Raven's implication much more quickly than she would've expected. The ghost of amusement darted through her otherwise half-lidded stare.

"It looks like a mess," she observed absently. "But you always do." One corner of Raven's mouth drifted upward the slightest bit. That vague smirk disappeared at once, replaced by a scrutinizing look, and then a reproachful one. "And stop that," she scorned. "You're not allowed to play dumb, staying in her room and coming out wearing her clothes. You've forfeited the right to pretend nothing's happening."

With her judgment passed, Raven opened her book and turned her attention back onto it. She let the air still between them, and, when Roy just might have found a false sense of security again, said, "I'm happy. For both of you."

Roy Harper

Raven was something else, in a strange way. A good strange way. She was different, but there was nothing bad about that. She commanded respect just by her presence and she deserved that respect too. Roy, while he did respect her, often times ended up putting his foot in his mouth on way or another around her, and his ramblings here was proof of that.

About to respond in agreement with her calling him a mess, he really was and he knew it, she added to it. "Playing dumb? Rae, you give me far too much credit" he retorted fairy quickly, before her words cut him off. Her words struck him, and he opened his mouth to respond, but really he couldn't. There was no point in trying to question or argue any of it, but Roy really wasn't 100% sure himself what was happening specifically between him and Kory. Sure the past couple or few weeks had been very productive, nice, calming, enjoyable, and very good for his mental state, Roy's own self-worth issues made him unsure what exactly was happening.

As Raven turned back to his book, Roy turned and thought. Making himself some coffee, he turned back to her and opened his mouth again to speak, but once more nothing came out. He slowly took a seat across from her and for what seemed like an eternity, silence took over. "Rae, I'm going to be honest with you, I really don't know what's happening between her and I" Roy looked from her, to his coffee, to her book, then finally back to her. "Like, I never really know what's happening, but even more so in regards to-..." There was another pause before Roy let out a heavy sigh. His shoulders slumped and his hands clasped his drink. "Nope, shouldn't burden friends with all my crippling self doubt, so how are you Raven? Haven't seen or talked to you in forever. How've you been? How's the books? You seeing anyone? Give me the gossip!"

As an empath, it was impossible to completely block out another person's presence. The more familiar she was with them, though, the more natural and less distracting their emotional states were. Having been close friends with Roy Harper for most of, if not all, her adult life, Raven had no difficulty whatsoever focusing primarily on her book as the archer took a seat with her in the breakfast nook.

He took a much longer time to break the silence than she would've guessed.

She kept her gaze trained on the pages of her book while he spoke - whether because she thought it'd be easier for him to vent without her penetrating stare, or because she wanted to finish a paragraph was anyone's guess. Surprise colored her lips, pursing them somewhat, at how sincere and open he was being. That surprise fell away when Roy (typical, typical Roy) realized what he was doing may have been healthy, cathartic or wise. So, again, typically, he sabotaged it.

Raven took a sharp breath through her nose, sorting through the many threads she could take the conversation, before selecting one. Her violet eyes snapped to Roy, severe and sharp. "You're not a burden," she emphasized, as though it were an affront to her that he'd say or imply otherwise. All at once, the razor-sharp reproach folded in on itself, replaced by her more characteristic, even attitude.

"Kory's never been into labels. Things are much more straightforward with her." Raven counted Koriand'r one of her closest friends, if not the closest. The Tamaranean was a ball of scalding, pure emotion; Raven had never experienced someone feel so thoroughly, deeply and magnificently. "And I doubt things are purely... physical on her end. I don't think she'd jeopardize your friendship like that. But, you know, if you're so worried about what's happening, you could ask Kory for her take."

Raven smiled, conveying she didn't mind being a sounding board.

Roy Harper

The sudden and sharp breath in from Raven struck Roy like a lightning bolt. Roy wasn't sure how exactly she did it, but Rae had a way about her that always made it seem like you had disappointed your mother. But a mother who would just eye you and let you think about what you had just said or done. And as her eyes shot right at him, he almost found himself shrinking behind his coffee cup. He was about to sputter out a yes ma'am to her in response, but instead he just sat up straight and looked back to her. She deserved to talk to him face to face. Despite Roy's own thoughts, he wasn't a child to be scaled, and he highly doubted Rae wanted that to happen either. They were both adults and he would reciprocate her approach.

He listened carefully and thought on her words as they hit his ears. His eyes shifted to his coffee before he took a sip. Raven always gave good advice, it always benefited people to listen to what she said. As he sipped, he nodded. He really did doubt everything between himself and Kory was strictly physical, but Roy was always not always the best at reading the situation. As he took another sip, he coughed and nearly chocked as Rae continued.

But, you know, if you're so worried about what's happening, you could ask Kory for her take

Roy keeled over momentarily, trying to clear his throat from having chocked on his drink. Ask Kory? See, that would be the smart adult decision to make, but what if it all backfired? "Ask her? Ask her? Rae, Rae..." He sputtered out before he placed his elbows on the table and rested his forehead against his palms. "I can't...just ask her what's happening Rae. What...What if, on the small margin of a chance, it is all y'know, and what if that's not what the answer I'm hoping for? I mean, all the power to her and her choice is a choice I'd respect, but..." he paused and just starred at the table. Roy wasn't a big fan of rejection. He had faced a lot of adversity in his life, but a simple no always hurt the most.

"...What if the answer given just makes our friendship weird?"

There was another brief pause from Roy, before he blurted out. "Also don't you dodge my question! How've you been, how's the book, are you seeing anyone?"[/color]

Any amusement or kindness that'd subtle brushed the edges of Raven's face died when Roy started choking. She narrowed her gaze, staring at him in borderline disgust and maybe a teeny, tiny bit of concern. Even hacking up the bit of coffee he'd sucked into a windpipe, Raven could feel his sizzling emotional reaction to her suggestion. Somewhere in that mess - because Roy Harper's emotions were just as chaotic and disorderly as everything else about him - was indignation and determination: a combination which, in this case, meant Roy saw on some level the wisdom in Raven's suggestion and was pointedly ignoring it.

Raven didn't turn her attention back to her book while Roy, having recovered enough to speak, answered. In fact, partway through his pitiful response, she neatly closed it and set it down on the table before her, clasping her hands on top of the nondescript cover. "I think the sleeping together part has already put you in the realm of "weird friendship," don't you?" Roy tried, again, to turn the focus of the conversation onto her and Raven, again, wasn't having it. For more reasons than one.

The empath gathered her considerable stores of compassion and reached out a hand to take one of Roy's. She tipped her chin forward, giving him a significant and earnest look. "You're scared she's going to say it's just a casual thing. So, when you ask her, bring that up in your question. Your feelings matter in this, too. She deserves to hear them. Diminishing your part in this-" she gestured airily with her free hand before settling on a delicate word to use, "situation isn't fair to either of you."

Roy Harper

It really was the absolute most fruitless endeavor to ever try to hide anything emotion based from Raven. No matter the conversation with Raven, it never came across as judgmental on her part. Sure, she could be judging every last word you spoke, but it was different. It was probably the whole empathy thing she had going on. Roy could never explain how it made him feel talking to her, but it was different from talking to anyone else.

Roy couldn't tell what was more intimidating, Raven speaking to him while reading her book, or her speaking with him while the book was down. Probably the latter. Her eyes were fixated on him as she spoke and Roy almost felt as if he was shrinking into himself. Roy was about to ask how she knew the two had been sleeping together, but really, wearing her cloths and coming from her room probably gave it away with ease.

As she took his hand, Roy mentally noted how much she was avoiding his own question. Either she was hiding something, had nothing to share, or just wanted to focus on him at the moment. Maybe they could circle back to this at some point. Roy really wanted to know why she was avoiding it after all.

While Roy was thankful for all the help and advice Raven was giving, his stubbornness also wanted to just end their conversation and continue to live in his despair and self-loathing. Raven wouldn't have any of that though, Roy was sure of it. "Maybe..." he responded simply. He took his hand back and grasped his coffee once more and looked into the mug. "I mean, that makes sense. That would be the smart thing to do" Roy stated, almost as if he was now just speaking to himself.

His gaze reached up and he gave a small smile. "Fine, fine. Yes, that makes sense. Okay, I'll do that, but..." Roy began, truth behind the words he spoke. While he tried to lie to her earlier, Roy really wouldn't try to actually lie to her, so what he said had been honest. "But, you have to answer my question. I'm going to take your advice and express my feelings, but I really want to know who you're seeing. The fact you aren't answering means you are seeing someone...Is it Vic? Are you and Cyborg dating?! Rae! Good on ya!"

Roy scowled. His brow furrowed. He studied his coffee. Raven, in turn, studied Roy. With the gentle air of an adult watching a child try to riddle out the pronunciation of a particularly difficult word; happy to help and encourage, but entirely faithful that they would succeed without it. Fortunately, Raven's counsel had been placed so deliberately in front of him that even Roy couldn't sidestep or jostle it.

She smiled, then, when he conceded. Raven didn't think of it as personal triumph. More Roy's little victory. She hoped that he'd actually follow through with the promises he was making to her. Raven felt nothing less than sincerity from them, but Roy could be sincere now, and let his fears and anxieties undermine them in the moment, when standing in front of Koriand'r. The human heart was so, so much more complicated than even her empathy had the power to understand.

The smile faltered, drifting back into the unimpressed, limp line more characteristic for her, when Roy started interrogating her again. "You're the one who seems to have fixated on this unfounded belief that I'm seeing someone," Raven pointed out. "As a tactic to deflect attention off of yourself." Her tone and air of infallible pragmatism made the concept of her dating, just then, seem ludicrous and silly.

With that, Raven stood up, grabbed her book, and moved from the breakfast nook. She paused to put a hand on Roy's shoulder, squeeze, and kept walking. "Besides," she said, stopping by the door. Raven looked over her shoulder and her lips twisted at one corner in a vague, lopsided smirk. "At this point, you want to know so bad that I can't tell you."

She left Roy, shamelessly drawing far too much satisfaction from leaving him in such suspense. On her way back down the hall, Raven clutched her book to her chest and her smirk faded from sly to wistful, thinking of the man that Roy so desperately wanted to know the identity of.

[Exit: Raven]

(OOC: *maniacal laughter*)

Roy Harper