DamiRae Oneshots

The Beach

There was a reason for Damian always wearing long sleeves. Not because they were suitable (he does enjoy his turtlenecks) but because they hid something a part of him from the public eye. Scars of every size mapped his body like some kind of rocky topography: his chest, arms, legs, abdomen, back, shoulders. He studied his reflection in the mirror like an archeologist looking for historic remains - because his scars were historic remains, remnants of past failures and successes.

He remembered where he got most of his scars, and that was from the time he was under his grandfather... from climbing mountains to endless training. He looked at his phone again, reading the text message that Kori sent out to the Titan's group chat.

"Mandatory team building exercise! This time, the beach! Grab your swimsuits! 😁"

He rolled his eyes. He really didn't want to go. There were tons of other things that were more beneficial to the team, such as training. Hell, what could be more beneficial for him would be finishing up last nights' action report (Him and Beastboy the night before stopped a bank robbery by a sword-wielding ninja wannabe. It didn't go bad, but it did win Damian a diagonal cut from his left shoulder down right below his lowest right rib. The wannabe was lucky.).

He looked at the bandages. The blade made a 2 inch wide cut, but didn't go deep enough to cause Damian any real harm. Still, Grayson insisted that he'd do bandages. What came out of it was a line of ACE bandages running from his shoulder to his ribs, twice as wide as it needed be. He could've just stitched it up, but now that he knew what was going on today, he's glad he didn't.

He heard a knock on his door, followed by the voice of his older brother Grayson, "You got 15 minutes before we pack in the van!" Damian sighed as he reached for a long sleeve shirt. He didn't want to show his scars like some trophy. Not when everyone else had near-perfect skin. No, he wasn't.. envious... it was... awkward. Being the only one who looks like a battered piece of parchment. Besides, exposing his legs was enough, which didn't even look that bad compared to his upper body.

He made his way to the commons area, and found Logan, Reyes, and Grayson talking about the night before. "I'm serious, man!' Logan was saying, "He was like a super assassin! His sword was-"
"-Made of cheap metal. And no, he was no assassin. Just a fool." Damian heard himself saying. He couldn't help himself. The guy last night was no more than a wannabe-punk. Logan groaned. "Come on, Rob-man! Gotta exaggerate to look good!" Damian looked up to the ceiling, as if waiting for an explanation from a higher calling.

Being with the titans this long Damian would have thought he'd get accustomed to everyone, not just Raven. "Anyways, hows that shiny of yours? Bet you don't get those often!" Logan laughed at his own joke, but didn't receive any giggles from either Reyes or Grayson - partially because Grayson knew of Damian's past. Damian felt his back straighten and jaw clench tight. "What's that supposed to mean, Logan?" He uttered the words with little venom as he could physically allow. Logan chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, I just thought that-" Damian raised his hand to cut him off. "Forget it, Logan. I don't want to hear it."

* * *

If there was one thing Raven disliked, it was putting on a swimsuit and be gawked by boys her own age seething with lust. And they were all going to the public beach, no less. She sweared under her breath, if Garfield makes one "mama" comment.. Well, at least Damian was going, which made this entire team building exercise at least tolerable. She sighed. Damian and her were best friends, but as of late she couldn't stop thinking about him. The way he talked with his slight Arabic accent was grappling, and knowing that the both of them have had similar childhoods.. it was just easy to be as close as they were.

She looked in the mirror, her dark swimsuit fit well on her figure. It wasn't too small or tight (thank Azar) nor was it too big, it was perfect. She wore a droopy T-shirt that Kori had given her, gray with the caption "I used to be a people person, but people ruined it." Raven loved it. Kori told her she got it from Dick, who got it from Jason Todd as a birthday gift. It hung loosely by her thighs. She checked the mirror, and seeing that she looked appropriate, inhaled deeply and made her way to the commons room. They had ten minutes before they had to pack up in the van.