Damian and Raven - One Shots

#15 - Stuck Together

First, thank you so much for voting! I think it did help with the focusing issue, so I may do it again in the future.  This wasn't my original idea for 'Stuck Together', but I really liked the idea/request for this to be inspired by 'Avatar The Last Airbender'. So, If you are still interested in the original idea let me know.  I do wanna finish the other chapters I mentioned before, but I don't want to scrap the idea either. As always, thank you for reading! (Oh curse words ahead)

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Damian had come to the harsh realization that luck was not something that he had. Right now was no exception, with the dirt and ancient dust attempting to invade his lungs with each labored breath he took. Damian had decided this was the stupidest mission he'd ever been on. If you can even call it that, he thought bitterly. He should've known something was up, Damian was raised to recognize hidden agendas, read people's true intentions, and always be one step ahead. Grayson's sudden mission that was oh so urgent and just so happened to require him and Raven practically danced with red flags, yet he didn't even give it a second thought. As much as he hated to admit it, Damian had been...distracted as of late.

So here the two heroes were, stuck. In a cave. Together.

Oh no, luck seemed to be laughing at the once assassin in the most evil, mechanical laughter known to man. Screwed. Damian was simply screwed. When they get back, he'd make sure Grayso-

"Damian?"

Raven's quiet voice snapped him out of his thoughts on how-to-make-his-annoying-brother-pay, "Yeah?" He turned to her, their steps slowing to a stop. Her face was bathed in the soft light emitting from the torch he held, grip a bit too tight. They had hardly spoken to each other all week as things have been, awkward. The hero felt his face warm, definitely from the flames and not the memory that rose in his mind. Nope, just the fire.

"I think these caves are," She brought her hands up, a flickering violet light splayed out on the pale skin before fizzling out, "magical." Her amethyst eyes looked up to his face, waiting for a response. Damian stared at her, expression grim before nodding in understanding. Great, so much for teleporting out. Their gazes remained locked on each other, unsaid questions flashing behind violet tones. Damian looked away guiltily, hearing her dejected sigh and tension fill the stale air. His emerald gaze noticed something on the wall, a small detail illuminated by the dimming firelight. He stepped towards the painted wall, light revealing more of the images and markings covering the stone.

"It looks like a story or legend of some sort", her breath caressed the back of his neck, alarming him of her close proximity. Damian had gone still and visibly tensed, but Raven made no comment on it. He cleared his throat, "You can read them?"

Raven's lips spread into a sarcastic smile, his heart sputtering at the sight, "I'm not exactly a stranger to symbols and runes, Damian." She stepped forward, shoulder brushing his arm as she focused on the markings. Now, Damian wasn't an idiot, he could decipher symbols and figure out their meanings; however, he couldn't bring himself to tear his gaze from her. It was mesmerizing really, the way her eyes flicked over the ancient designs, lips moving slightly as if she was reading it to herself, her tiny form determinedly sizing up the stone wall almost four times her height, it was cute. Raven's face fell as color warmed her cheeks,

"Oh."

Damian looked at the symbols in confusion, "What?"

The empath didn't turn to look at him, her voice barely a whisper, "I- uh...think I know how we get out of here." Damian only felt more confused, "That's good, right?"

The empath shifted her weight from one foot to the other, "Damian, this cave is magical." She sighed before continuing, "A magical cave requires a magical solution. So basically, we could be walking forever and never escape." Damian slowly took in her words, nodding for her to continue. Raven took the torch from his grasp, Damian trying not to think too much about how her fingers grazed his, "Unless, you follow the story." She held up the fire to draw his attention to a particular marking, a marking that suspiciously looked like two people...kissing.

"It's a love story, Damian".

Damian felt as though he were burning, as if the small flame of the torch burned a hundred times brighter. He knew what she was saying, but he still needed conformation, "We're supposed to...kiss?" His voice came out harsher and more disbelieving than he intended.

Raven seemed irritated at his response, "Is it really that bad to imagine?"

Damian panicked at her reaction, "No, I mean if we have to-"

"Have to?" The empath sounded offended, "Well, I'm sorry doing what you have to is such a sacrifice." Raven roughly pushed the torch into his hand before starting to walk off. She turned to him, "You know Damian, If kissing me is so bad, stop acting like you want to." Her voice was tinged with hurt, and Damian could only watch her walk away. A calloused hand frustratingly ran through his dark hair, "What is wrong with me?"

Damian eventually began to walk after her, silence deafening between them. He stayed back a few feet but remained close enough to offer her the firelight. He knew what this was about. God he was so stupid. The memory played in his mind once again. He almost kissed her. Nearly a week ago, Damian had gotten lost in a moment of weakness and lifted her face to his with every intention of kissing her...but he didn't. It was his fault things have been weird between them. It was his fault they were in this situation. It was his fault Raven was hurt.

"Raven, wait."

The empath paused, turning to look at him through the increasingly dim light. Damian steeled his nerves, "You said it yourself, walking will get us nowhere." The empath crossed her arms but said nothing. He gestured to the burning fibers in his hand, "And we're running out of light."

Raven locked gazes with him, her anger fading, "What do you suppose we do?" The vigilante stepped closer to her, "I want to." He reached for her hand, holding it gently and caressing her fingers with his thumb, "I never meant to play with your feelings or make you think that I didn't want this, and I'm sorry." Raven stared up at him, wide eyed and lips parted in an image that could make Damian's heart burst. Raven leaned into him, fire finally giving out as their lips met. The torch clattered to the cave floor, the sound echoing through the seemingly endless darkness. Damian cupped her face and pressed firmly against her flush body. All too soon, Raven pulled away with an excited smile on her lips, her gaze looking up at the stones embedded above the heroes, glowing and trailing an obvious path.

"Looks like we've found our way out." Raven began walking along the newly glowing stones, a strange sense of disappointment washed over him. At first he wanted nothing more than to get out of these stupid caves, and now a part of him wasn't quite ready to leave. The empath noticed that he hadn't been following and came back over to him. She held her hand out to him, her eyes conveying that she was offering even more to him, all he had to do was take it. So he did. His hand clasped hers, fingers intertwining.

"Let's go."

---------------

"You're welcome."

Damian scoffed at his brother who was currently holding up to his namesake, "You shouldn't have meddled in my business in the first place, Grayson." The newest Robin glared at the overconfident hero. "And you put Raven at risk! What if we didn't get out?"

Grayson let out a loud, remorseless chuckle further irritating Damian, "Oh please Dami. I had it all under control. Besides," he annoyingly ruffled Damian's hair, "I had faith you'd put on your big boy pants and finally kiss the girl. God knows you've waited long enough."

Damian scowled at him attempting to hide the growing color on his face, "Whatever Grayson. How'd you know about the caves anyway?"

The man let out another airy laugh, clearly showing he enjoyed every bit of this, "It pays to have friends."