Fic: Brush Strokes V - Romance According to Richard and Raven
I realize that this is notably NOT what I promised in the notes of the last Brush Stroke. The ORIGINAL idea for Brush Stroke V is still in progress; however, I got tired of waiting to post it so I decided to move THIS Stroke (originally #20 on the PLAN) to #5.
Yes. That means you have 14 more (at least) to look forward to ;P
Brush Strokes V: Romance According to Richard and Raven
By Kysra
Robin asks Raven to marry him on a cold night sometime before his twentieth birthday. They have been “together” for years though how many entailing romantic involvement is unknown as the change from comrades to friends to something more has been tortoise slow (though not for lack of effort on his part).
He knows she is the right person, feels it is the right time, and watches with baited breath as she visibly deliberates, her head on his shoulder and hand resting on his thigh.
When she speaks, long seconds later, he can only stare at the wall in the hopes his expression does not reveal his emotions. “No.”
****
Once the shock has worn off and he has had time to shake the anxiety that she means to leave him, Robin seeks her as she is brushing her teeth. “Why, ‘no’?”
He is left watching as she watches him through the mirror, scrubbing her teeth in a thick lather. Unlike before, he is not filled with anticipation or nervousness. After all, there is nothing to lose; and Robin finds himself warmly amused with the dignity she exhibits even when spitting out a mouth full of oral rinse.
Wiping her lips with a damp cloth, she turns to regard him levelly and answers with a question of her own. “Why yes?”
He thinks getting involved with Raven may have doomed him to terminal upset and sighs, wondering if he will be able to sleep tonight.
****
Weeks and more weeks later, he has not forgotten the way his heart had dropped at her refusal; and he decides it is no longer about being refused, it is about her reasons for refusing.
“I know nothing of marriage, Robin. My only examples were my parents-“ She pauses and gives him a look that clearly says ‘need I say more?’ before continuing blithely even as she moves through the kitchen in a ritual known as brewing tea, “and what I’ve read in books.”
It surprised her initially that he is a cuddler, but it has since become something of an expectation when he hugs and holds her without warning. He smiles when she doesn’t jump or stiffen or quiet. “Besides,” she meets his kiss over her shoulder because he needs the assurance, “I was not a good girlfriend candidate. I am certainly not a great candidate for marriage.”
She goes about making her tea as he loosens his hold though his hands remain on her hips and his chin finds rest against her crown. “It’s not a presidential race, Raven; and I think evaluation of your candidacy falls under my jurisdiction.”
Robin can feel her frustrated huff as a spoon is stirred through the pale liquid with more speed than usual. “Richard, I do not know how to be a wife.”
If that’s all . . . “I could teach you.” He realizes his mistake the second the last syllable leaves his mouth, and she sets down her cup to turn, positively glowing with a rare grin.
“You know how to be a wife?”
Nevermind.
****
Robin nearly dies ten months after the initial proposal; and considering he is currently half sedated with high powered pain medications, he is not responsible for anything he might do or say under the influence.
Raven, bless her, has weathered his strange requests and stranger comments with her customary grace until he has a lucid moment while she is changing the dressing beneath his scoured ribs.
“If we were married, you’d get all my money.” He giggles, “Did you know I own an island? I dunno where it is, but it’s mine.” She halts in prepping the bandages at his initial words and can only stare at him with a grim expression as he continues. “You’d get that too.”
Calming herself with a muttered mantra and the feel of his living skin under her fingers, she is careful as she begins to peel off the old binding. “I don’t want your money or your island - wherever it is, Robin.”
Vaguely, he seems hurt. “Well, why not? My money’s not good enough for you?” Pouting has never been a good look for Robin. Pouting while high on Vicodin is even worse.
“It’s not about the money. It’s about valuing your life over monetary comforts.” Her eyes are mysteriously wet, and she understands that - were he in his right mind - she would not have spoken so honestly.
Robin makes a show of contemplating that, teeth scraping along his bottom lip as she gentles a bit more of the adhesive from his skin. “Ok, well, if we got married it wouldn’t be my money, it would be ours. Then you would own an island - somewhere - too.”
Closing her eyes slowly, Raven’s lips become a firm line as she breathes out through her nose and unceremoniously rips the bandage off in one smooth movement. Robin, though drugged, responds with a girly scream and a string of unintelligible expletives that would make a sailor blush. “Drop it.”
Pouting has never been a good look for Robin. Intimidation - however - strikes her as attractive as it is the first time she’s ever seen him thus. The image is ruined when he squeaks, “Yes, ma’am.”
****
Victor and Karen get married.
At the wedding reception, Robin listens to Kori’s joyful proclamation that Karen has never appeared more beautiful then leans over to whisper in Raven’s ear, “You would look radiant in a wedding gown.”
That night, Robin finds himself sleeping on the couch.
****
An entire year has passed when he decides to try again. They lay together, her body - naked, warm and sweaty - tucked against his - also naked, warm and sweaty, basking in the afterglow.
“Marry me?”
“No.”
“We could honeymoon in the Bahamas.”
“We just spent a week in the Bahamas.”
“It’s different during a Honeymoon.”
“How so?”
“Well,” he grins into her hair and trails his fingers along her spine as she shudders. “We wouldn’t actually see the sites or even leave the room.”
Raven smiles a touch wickedly as she rises to straddle his waist. “Then, we’ve already had a Honeymoon, last week.”
“Then you owe me a wedding.”
She can’t help it, she giggles. “I think I can find another way to pay the debt.”
Somehow, he isn’t upset this time at her continued refusal to agree. “Really?”
Her voice dips low and sultry as she leans down to murmur in his ear, “Really.”
They don’t leave their apartment for an entire week and a half.
****
Though their apartment advertises ample room, they find themselves buying a house. As they mill over and sign the proper documents, he mentions that he doesn’t have a will.
She looks at him quizzically before replying that she is unsure as to his meaning in telling her this new fact.
“I want you to have the house if anything . . . happens.”
Raven rolls her eyes. “And I guess if we were married the property would automatically default to my sole ownership, yes?”
He has the grace to grin wryly, “Yeah.”
She looks at him directly, probingly, “Richard. I believe I’ve been inhumanly tolerant thus far; but I begin to weary of this topic. Why are you so adamant about this?”
It is on the tip of his tongue to ask - again - why she is so adamantly against it; but he surprises himself by thinking that maybe it isn’t so important anymore. “Don’t you want to leave the hero’s life behind and just . . . settle down?”
Her brows draw together as she twists in her seat, reaching out to trace his jaw-line. “I thought that’s what we have been doing. Did I misinterpret our life together thus far?”
“No, no. It’s just,” he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, trying to order his thoughts, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“And I with you.”
“Then, we’re in agreement. What harm would it do to have such a thing put down on paper and filed in the courthouse?”
And, just as when this first began, she answers his question with one of her own. “What harm would it do to remain as we are?”
He has no answer but reiterates, “I want you to have the house.”
Raven’s lips quirk up into a rare half-grin, “And your money and the island.”
“What?”
“Just make a will, Richard.”
****
It occurs to him one day as he is watching her putter around as they decorate the study, “What if we have children?”
The novelty glass wall clock she had been carrying suddenly falls to the floor and summarily shatters as she turns wide eyes toward him. “What?”
Setting down the level he had been using, Robin moves to take her hands, speaking in serious tones. “Children. Kids. Babies. If we have them, what happens? Who’s name do they take? If we split up, who gets custody?”
Her eyes narrow, suspicious. “If this is about marriage again, I’ll -“
“No, I’m serious. What if children enter the picture?”
Raven sighs and pulls her hands out of his. “And what makes you think I will ever reproduce?”
Robin’s expression says, I thought you were smarter than this. “We have sex, Raven.”
Her expression mirrors his. “Considering we have been having sex for years and I have yet to conceive, I find your sudden concern highly suspect.”
“We’ve been lucky.”
“That and it’s possible I can’t get pregnant, Robin. Therefore, this is a non-issue.”
“But what if we DID get pregnant?”
She sighs heavily and looks down to contemplate the remnants of her clock. “If we somehow found ourselves expecting a child, I imagine we would raise it together.” And before he can say anything in reply, she blithely adds, “And I sincerely doubt we will separate so that is a non-issue as well.”
He smiles at that unexpected declaration. “Do you . . . That is, would you mind if -“
Tentatively, Raven interrupts, tripping over her words and wondering at her inability to look at him as she blushes. “I would not mind having children . . . as long as they are yours as well.”
****
When they receive an invitation to Roy’s wedding, she waits for Robin to make some offhand (or not so offhand) comment about insurance benefits or how she will be able to decide how his body will be interred at death should she consent to be his wife.
But he says nothing, only brings her into his side, kisses her cheek, and tells her, “I love you.”
****
It is the fifth anniversary of their first real date, and they celebrate with a quiet dinner catered by Raven’s favorite restaurant. They are ready to order dessert when their waitress coos and awes at them, asking, “How long have you two been married?”
Raven opens her mouth to answer, but Robin beats her to the punch. “We’re not married.” Then he smiles so sweetly at Raven, that she feels her heart skip a beat. “We don’t need to be.”
****
That night, as he settles onto the couch for a moment of rest before going to bed, Robin is surprised when he feels her arms wrap around his neck from behind, her lips pressing against his cheek. “Raven?”
She is silent, releasing him then circling around the furniture to seat herself on his lap. “Were you serious tonight? About not needing to be married.”
“Yes,” he breathes against her neck, his arms tightening around her. “I have all that I need, right here. I just . . . I apologize for pressuring you.”
Murmuring that it is okay, she lets her head fall back as he begins to nibble at her skin. “So, how does sometime in June strike you? Perhaps Bruce will allow the ceremony to be held in his garden.”
He immediately freezes and leans back to look at her grinning face. “What do you mean?”
Raven wraps her arms about his neck and kisses his lips softly. “For the wedding. June? Bruce’s garden?”
Staring at her for long minutes, his mind is blank until clarity gives comprehension and his face fairly glows with joy. “You’ll marry me?” He must be sure, must have it verified.
She touches her forehead to his and sighs. “I wouldn’t marry anyone else.”
Laughter bubbles from him in loud, gut wrenching guffaws before he cups her face in his hands and smirks into her eyes. “You were going to say ‘yes’ all along, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why -“
“I wanted to make sure you knew what you were asking for. I wanted to know that you would be just as happy if I never said yes.”
Grinning madly Robin stands, hoisting her up in his arms and begins to carry her to the bedroom. “So does this mean you want my money and my island?”
She laughs and kicks her feet a bit but questions, “Did you ever find out where it is?”
“Nope. Why?”
“I was thinking it might be a good place for our Honeymoon.”
ENJOY!
- Kysra, who canNOT believe she forgot to email herself the novel file from work *bangs head against keyboard*
Yes. That means you have 14 more (at least) to look forward to ;P
Brush Strokes V: Romance According to Richard and Raven
By Kysra
Robin asks Raven to marry him on a cold night sometime before his twentieth birthday. They have been “together” for years though how many entailing romantic involvement is unknown as the change from comrades to friends to something more has been tortoise slow (though not for lack of effort on his part).
He knows she is the right person, feels it is the right time, and watches with baited breath as she visibly deliberates, her head on his shoulder and hand resting on his thigh.
When she speaks, long seconds later, he can only stare at the wall in the hopes his expression does not reveal his emotions. “No.”
****
Once the shock has worn off and he has had time to shake the anxiety that she means to leave him, Robin seeks her as she is brushing her teeth. “Why, ‘no’?”
He is left watching as she watches him through the mirror, scrubbing her teeth in a thick lather. Unlike before, he is not filled with anticipation or nervousness. After all, there is nothing to lose; and Robin finds himself warmly amused with the dignity she exhibits even when spitting out a mouth full of oral rinse.
Wiping her lips with a damp cloth, she turns to regard him levelly and answers with a question of her own. “Why yes?”
He thinks getting involved with Raven may have doomed him to terminal upset and sighs, wondering if he will be able to sleep tonight.
****
Weeks and more weeks later, he has not forgotten the way his heart had dropped at her refusal; and he decides it is no longer about being refused, it is about her reasons for refusing.
“I know nothing of marriage, Robin. My only examples were my parents-“ She pauses and gives him a look that clearly says ‘need I say more?’ before continuing blithely even as she moves through the kitchen in a ritual known as brewing tea, “and what I’ve read in books.”
It surprised her initially that he is a cuddler, but it has since become something of an expectation when he hugs and holds her without warning. He smiles when she doesn’t jump or stiffen or quiet. “Besides,” she meets his kiss over her shoulder because he needs the assurance, “I was not a good girlfriend candidate. I am certainly not a great candidate for marriage.”
She goes about making her tea as he loosens his hold though his hands remain on her hips and his chin finds rest against her crown. “It’s not a presidential race, Raven; and I think evaluation of your candidacy falls under my jurisdiction.”
Robin can feel her frustrated huff as a spoon is stirred through the pale liquid with more speed than usual. “Richard, I do not know how to be a wife.”
If that’s all . . . “I could teach you.” He realizes his mistake the second the last syllable leaves his mouth, and she sets down her cup to turn, positively glowing with a rare grin.
“You know how to be a wife?”
Nevermind.
****
Robin nearly dies ten months after the initial proposal; and considering he is currently half sedated with high powered pain medications, he is not responsible for anything he might do or say under the influence.
Raven, bless her, has weathered his strange requests and stranger comments with her customary grace until he has a lucid moment while she is changing the dressing beneath his scoured ribs.
“If we were married, you’d get all my money.” He giggles, “Did you know I own an island? I dunno where it is, but it’s mine.” She halts in prepping the bandages at his initial words and can only stare at him with a grim expression as he continues. “You’d get that too.”
Calming herself with a muttered mantra and the feel of his living skin under her fingers, she is careful as she begins to peel off the old binding. “I don’t want your money or your island - wherever it is, Robin.”
Vaguely, he seems hurt. “Well, why not? My money’s not good enough for you?” Pouting has never been a good look for Robin. Pouting while high on Vicodin is even worse.
“It’s not about the money. It’s about valuing your life over monetary comforts.” Her eyes are mysteriously wet, and she understands that - were he in his right mind - she would not have spoken so honestly.
Robin makes a show of contemplating that, teeth scraping along his bottom lip as she gentles a bit more of the adhesive from his skin. “Ok, well, if we got married it wouldn’t be my money, it would be ours. Then you would own an island - somewhere - too.”
Closing her eyes slowly, Raven’s lips become a firm line as she breathes out through her nose and unceremoniously rips the bandage off in one smooth movement. Robin, though drugged, responds with a girly scream and a string of unintelligible expletives that would make a sailor blush. “Drop it.”
Pouting has never been a good look for Robin. Intimidation - however - strikes her as attractive as it is the first time she’s ever seen him thus. The image is ruined when he squeaks, “Yes, ma’am.”
****
Victor and Karen get married.
At the wedding reception, Robin listens to Kori’s joyful proclamation that Karen has never appeared more beautiful then leans over to whisper in Raven’s ear, “You would look radiant in a wedding gown.”
That night, Robin finds himself sleeping on the couch.
****
An entire year has passed when he decides to try again. They lay together, her body - naked, warm and sweaty - tucked against his - also naked, warm and sweaty, basking in the afterglow.
“Marry me?”
“No.”
“We could honeymoon in the Bahamas.”
“We just spent a week in the Bahamas.”
“It’s different during a Honeymoon.”
“How so?”
“Well,” he grins into her hair and trails his fingers along her spine as she shudders. “We wouldn’t actually see the sites or even leave the room.”
Raven smiles a touch wickedly as she rises to straddle his waist. “Then, we’ve already had a Honeymoon, last week.”
“Then you owe me a wedding.”
She can’t help it, she giggles. “I think I can find another way to pay the debt.”
Somehow, he isn’t upset this time at her continued refusal to agree. “Really?”
Her voice dips low and sultry as she leans down to murmur in his ear, “Really.”
They don’t leave their apartment for an entire week and a half.
****
Though their apartment advertises ample room, they find themselves buying a house. As they mill over and sign the proper documents, he mentions that he doesn’t have a will.
She looks at him quizzically before replying that she is unsure as to his meaning in telling her this new fact.
“I want you to have the house if anything . . . happens.”
Raven rolls her eyes. “And I guess if we were married the property would automatically default to my sole ownership, yes?”
He has the grace to grin wryly, “Yeah.”
She looks at him directly, probingly, “Richard. I believe I’ve been inhumanly tolerant thus far; but I begin to weary of this topic. Why are you so adamant about this?”
It is on the tip of his tongue to ask - again - why she is so adamantly against it; but he surprises himself by thinking that maybe it isn’t so important anymore. “Don’t you want to leave the hero’s life behind and just . . . settle down?”
Her brows draw together as she twists in her seat, reaching out to trace his jaw-line. “I thought that’s what we have been doing. Did I misinterpret our life together thus far?”
“No, no. It’s just,” he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, trying to order his thoughts, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“And I with you.”
“Then, we’re in agreement. What harm would it do to have such a thing put down on paper and filed in the courthouse?”
And, just as when this first began, she answers his question with one of her own. “What harm would it do to remain as we are?”
He has no answer but reiterates, “I want you to have the house.”
Raven’s lips quirk up into a rare half-grin, “And your money and the island.”
“What?”
“Just make a will, Richard.”
****
It occurs to him one day as he is watching her putter around as they decorate the study, “What if we have children?”
The novelty glass wall clock she had been carrying suddenly falls to the floor and summarily shatters as she turns wide eyes toward him. “What?”
Setting down the level he had been using, Robin moves to take her hands, speaking in serious tones. “Children. Kids. Babies. If we have them, what happens? Who’s name do they take? If we split up, who gets custody?”
Her eyes narrow, suspicious. “If this is about marriage again, I’ll -“
“No, I’m serious. What if children enter the picture?”
Raven sighs and pulls her hands out of his. “And what makes you think I will ever reproduce?”
Robin’s expression says, I thought you were smarter than this. “We have sex, Raven.”
Her expression mirrors his. “Considering we have been having sex for years and I have yet to conceive, I find your sudden concern highly suspect.”
“We’ve been lucky.”
“That and it’s possible I can’t get pregnant, Robin. Therefore, this is a non-issue.”
“But what if we DID get pregnant?”
She sighs heavily and looks down to contemplate the remnants of her clock. “If we somehow found ourselves expecting a child, I imagine we would raise it together.” And before he can say anything in reply, she blithely adds, “And I sincerely doubt we will separate so that is a non-issue as well.”
He smiles at that unexpected declaration. “Do you . . . That is, would you mind if -“
Tentatively, Raven interrupts, tripping over her words and wondering at her inability to look at him as she blushes. “I would not mind having children . . . as long as they are yours as well.”
****
When they receive an invitation to Roy’s wedding, she waits for Robin to make some offhand (or not so offhand) comment about insurance benefits or how she will be able to decide how his body will be interred at death should she consent to be his wife.
But he says nothing, only brings her into his side, kisses her cheek, and tells her, “I love you.”
****
It is the fifth anniversary of their first real date, and they celebrate with a quiet dinner catered by Raven’s favorite restaurant. They are ready to order dessert when their waitress coos and awes at them, asking, “How long have you two been married?”
Raven opens her mouth to answer, but Robin beats her to the punch. “We’re not married.” Then he smiles so sweetly at Raven, that she feels her heart skip a beat. “We don’t need to be.”
****
That night, as he settles onto the couch for a moment of rest before going to bed, Robin is surprised when he feels her arms wrap around his neck from behind, her lips pressing against his cheek. “Raven?”
She is silent, releasing him then circling around the furniture to seat herself on his lap. “Were you serious tonight? About not needing to be married.”
“Yes,” he breathes against her neck, his arms tightening around her. “I have all that I need, right here. I just . . . I apologize for pressuring you.”
Murmuring that it is okay, she lets her head fall back as he begins to nibble at her skin. “So, how does sometime in June strike you? Perhaps Bruce will allow the ceremony to be held in his garden.”
He immediately freezes and leans back to look at her grinning face. “What do you mean?”
Raven wraps her arms about his neck and kisses his lips softly. “For the wedding. June? Bruce’s garden?”
Staring at her for long minutes, his mind is blank until clarity gives comprehension and his face fairly glows with joy. “You’ll marry me?” He must be sure, must have it verified.
She touches her forehead to his and sighs. “I wouldn’t marry anyone else.”
Laughter bubbles from him in loud, gut wrenching guffaws before he cups her face in his hands and smirks into her eyes. “You were going to say ‘yes’ all along, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why -“
“I wanted to make sure you knew what you were asking for. I wanted to know that you would be just as happy if I never said yes.”
Grinning madly Robin stands, hoisting her up in his arms and begins to carry her to the bedroom. “So does this mean you want my money and my island?”
She laughs and kicks her feet a bit but questions, “Did you ever find out where it is?”
“Nope. Why?”
“I was thinking it might be a good place for our Honeymoon.”
ENJOY!
- Kysra, who canNOT believe she forgot to email herself the novel file from work *bangs head against keyboard*