#jerkwad

Raven swallowed slowly, her eyes never leaving his face. “Damian.” She somehow managed to keep her face completely blank, although her lips twitched. “You look…”

Hot, a voice in the back of her head hummed, as if pleased with the sight. Raven shoved that thought deep into the recesses of her mind and forced herself to calm down. She leaned back onto her heels, and crossed her arms over her chest. 

“...different.” She finished slowly.

“Tch.” His lips twitched and he stepped past her and moved deeper into the kitchen, pushing his hair out of his eyes again. “Same.” He looked at her, eyes flicking to the top of her head. “Interesting choice.”

“It wasn’t a choice.” She fingered her shaggy pixie hair, anger rising into her throat. “There was an accident with Gar and gum, and I’d rather not relive the story again.” She was still hot about it, and it was weeks ago that it had happened. “At least I have an excuse. What about you? Channeling Fabio?”  

Damian’s glare was so pointed that Raven was almost certain it speared her heart. Finally he huffed out an annoyed breath and moved to the kettle, setting it on the stove. “I was undercover in Markovia. Longer hair is in fashion, so I did it to fit in.” There was a breath’s pause, and he looked back at her. “What are you doing at Wayne Manor? I thought you were on the other side of the country?”

“Dick called on me to help with some things in Gotham. A potential cult.” Raven shifted, unable to tear her eyes away from the lock of hair that curled against the sharp angle of his cheekbone. The more she looked at him the more her heart sped up, and it was embarrassing. When had Damian grown up? And how had he gotten so damn hot? “He thought I might be able to help identify them.” 

“Mm.” He leaned against the counter and regarded her slowly, as if he couldn’t tear his own eyes away from her. “I finished in Markovia, so I’m back for the foreseeable future. I suppose we’ll be working together.”

Oh no. What a shame. Working with Damian.

Something clicked in her mind.

Training with Damian. 

Her body reacted without warning, and it took every ounce of her control not to audibly moan at the thought of him pinning her to the mats, his body blanketing her own. Damnit. This was embarrassing!

Raven nodded once, and hoped her face didn’t look as hot as it felt. “Ah. I see.” 

She looked up at him and suddenly imagined herself pulling the hair tie from his ponytail, letting his long locks slide against his skin. She wondered what it would be like to run her fingers through his hair as he crowded her space easily. She thought about his hands spanning her waist and shoving her tight against the kitchen counter. She thought about his full lips pressing against her own, drawing out kiss after kiss, until it felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her fingers would tighten in his locks, wrapping her hand tight in the silk of his hair and-

“Are you even listening to me?”

Raven panicked, her heart now slamming against her ribs. She needed to find an excuse… any excuse. “Ah? Sorry. It’s still early, I’m-”

“I said-” He cut her off and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. “-we should look over the notes together. See if we can find clues as to what we’re looking for.”

“Mm. Right.” Raven swallowed again, taking a slow breath as she stepped back. She needed to get the hell out of here, or she was going to make a fool of herself. And if they were going to be working together, that was the last thing she needed. “I’m going to start my morning workout then, and afterwards we can-”

“I’ll join you.”

Raven panicked and she whipped back around to stare at him. “W-what?”

“I’ll join you,” he repeated, taking the kettle off the heat. His face was completely blank, betraying none of his own thoughts. “I could use the change in exercise, and you can bring me up to speed with the case at the same time.”

“I don’t… I’d… I’m…” She stumbled over her words for a long moment, trying to think of a good excuse about why she couldn’t train with him, but nothing was coming to mind. Finally, she nodded in defeat and forced a thin smile. “Of course. Give me twenty and we can meet in the training room.”

He nodded in agreement and poured the water into a mug. “In twenty, then.” 

Raven, without waiting for another sentence in their conversation, bolted from the kitchen, feeling his stare follow her every step. It wasn’t until she was outside the door to her guest room that her breath started to still. She shoved open the door to her room and stumbled in, locking the door behind her. A moment passed, and then two, and Raven stumbled to her bed, her knees almost too weak to hold herself up.