Chapter Text
"Were you looking for me?" The office door opened and Raven appeared from behind. At the seeing of her, Zatanna gestured a happy ah, before calling her in with her index finger.
"Sit down, dear." Raven obeyed, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the white desk as Zatanna walked to the door, closing it behind her.
Raven looked around the office. The white wall behind the desk was littered with all the important certificates, acknowledgments, and documents in the name of Zatanna Zatara . At the top of all of it, in big, gold letters shone ILLUSION DANCE ACADEMY.
She turned her face to the wall to her left, filled with photographs of the academy's multiple generations of graduates, as well as framed newspaper cuts, magazines, and some slightly more personal photographs. Raven couldn't help but smile in embarrassment as she repeatedly found herself on that wall.
Her sight stopped on an old clipping that said in bold letters DANCER OF ILLUSION DANCE ACADEMY ACCEPTED AT THE AMERICAN BALLET THEATER, along with a photo of her with Zatanna at her last gala at age 17, 3 years before that event. Her smile froze, suddenly feeling a slight twist in her stomach.
Raven shook her head, pushing away the bad thoughts and continued recalling the details of the room, inhaling several times the smell of lavender, always characteristic of Zatanna. The yellow flowers on top of the desk stand out in the white room.
The sound of Zatanna's heels alerted Raven of her approach. The black-haired, red-lipped woman sat on the desk, looking friendly. She wore a wine-colored long-sleeved leotard and black leggings covered almost entirely by a black mesh skirt.
Raven looked up to find herself face to face with the smiling woman as she crossed one leg over the other. Raven smiled back but couldn't help but furrowed her eyebrows, doubtful what Zatanna could say to her.
"I just spoke to Talia." She said, cheerfully. Raven's brows widened in relief as she recognized what this was all about. It was April, and in the next few days the school was to start the preparations for the summer festival in July. This was the school's 20th anniversary, and for that reason Zatanna had decided to take advantage of her great, long friendship with Bruce Wayne, from Gotham, to request the participation of some dancers from the renowned company of his wife, Talia Al Ghul.
"And?" Raven asked. Talia had accepted Zatanna's deal without hesitation. The only detail was that the company was completely booked, so Talia advertised that she would wait until the time limit to share who would be the dancers to participate in the festival. Judging by the victorious smile on Zatanna's face, Raven was sure they would finally know. "Do you have the names?" Zatanna nodded, leaning back to pick up a notebook next to the laptop, and read.
"We have Dick Grayson and Kori Anders for Don Quixote." Raven smiled enthusiastically at the mention of the couple, but Zatanna waved her hand for her to hold on. "Donna Troy and Jon Kent with Paquita." Raven felt joyful at the mention of her old friend and had to bite her lower lip to contain herself and let the headmistress continue. "And Talia gladly agreed to send two dancers to pair with two from the academy."
"Who..." She tried to interrupt. The level of the academy was spectacular, and they already had the solos that the students were going to perform, but would they be ready for a pas de deux with a professional dancer? Who will be chosen?
"We have Wally West for the Nutcracker, and he will dance with Jinx." Jinx was a one of the school’s graduates just like her, but she had chosen to focus on teaching while studying college. Without a doubt she was an excellent choice. "And then you will do Swan Lake with Damian Wayne."
The smile on Raven's face faded and her brain went completely blank as the words echoed over and over in her mind.
... you will do Swan Lake with Damian Wayne.
... Swan Lake ...
... with Damian Wayne.
Finally the words fell into place, and helplessly, Raven rose to her feet.
"Have you lost your mind?!" The words were out. She took a step back, pushing the seat with the insides of her knees.
“I have never been saner. And I'm not taking no for an answer." The words stunted in her throat. Having so many things to say but it seemed physically impossible to articulate a single word. Zatanna seized the moment and put both hands on Raven's shoulders, forcing her to look into her eyes. "Raven, you are ready. Two years have passed and I adore you. You know that I love having you here, you are an excellent teacher but you need to go back to the stage. And what better way than with your former dance partner?"
Raven internally cursed herself. If only ... She thought, looking down as the picture of her former partner appeared in all its glory, taking every corner of her mind. She hadn't heard from him since he left the American Ballet. She had fought with all her might not to think about him and she had succeeded. But now she would have to dance Swan Lake with him again.
A chill ran down the nape of her neck at the memory of his hands on her waist, suspending her in midair. Firm but always gentle. Her heart twisted when she remembered that tinge of sadness in his eyes the day she left New York. It was a memory that hurt more than she dared admit, even to herself.
She looked up, remembering where she was. The sight of Zatanna on her, waiting for an answer. Raven swallowed hard. "I haven't worn my points in two years."
"If I were you, I'd be dusting off the shoes." Zatanna said, sitting behind the desk with a triumphant smile. Raven sighed in resignation.
-
The 6 o'clock class had just started. Normally Raven was in charge of the majors, but since the festival preparation was around the corner, Zatanna was supervising the groups. Raven was sitting next to the player while Zatanna gave the instructions for the second exercise.
"And two battement tendu devant , battement tendu to 2nd, close to 5th position derrière en demi-plié and stretch ..."
A knock on the door called Raven’s attention. Madame Xanadu, the academy administrator, appeared from behind and Raven walked over to her.
"The choreographer from the Gotham company just arrived, he's waiting outside." Raven was surprised. The dancers were going to show up until next month and Zatanna hadn't mentioned a choreographer. She had assumed that like every year, Zatanna would be in charge of the choreography.
Raven turned to Zatanna, but she, without stopping her explanation to the class, only made a gesture with her hand, implying that she should take care of it. Raven left the room, arranging her clothes, pausing for a few seconds in the mirrors in the dressing room to verify that her hair was in place before leaving.
At the reception, she looked around but there were only a few mothers waiting inside. She turned to Madame Xanadu's desk and she pointed with her pen at the entrance. And there, through the glass door, she saw him. Her heart froze for a millisecond before it began to pump at high speed, and she truly believed that at any moment it would jump out of her chest.
The ebony-haired man had his back turned, but she would recognize that figure anywhere, anytime. She moved toward the door, and with each step it became harder for her to breathe. By the time her hand turned the door handle, her throat was completely dry.
She opened the door, and if she still needed any other proof of the man's identity, the smell of tobacco and clove made her knees buckle.
"Damian." Her voice was so low she thought he hadn't heard her, but she corrected herself when she saw his back straighten, exhaling one last puff from the cigar before turning to face her.
And there, when she found his emeralds, she let out a sigh that she didn’t know she was holding. Damian inspected her from hair to toes, and for a moment she thought maybe he was capturing every second of their reunion, but when she met his cold gaze, she remembered that they were not friends.
"Roth." His anodyne voice confirmed that the improvement their relationship once had, it was something way in the past, and now they were only two strangers who could recognize each other anywhere.
And they were going to work together again.
Shit.
-
After his effusive greeting, Damian entered the building, with his same imposing air as always. Walking the hallways as if the place belonged to him, Raven chased him from behind.
They reached the main hall where Zatanna was, explaining the fondus exercise . Unlike Raven, Zatanna didn't seem surprised, which upset Raven.
"Ah, Damian. Welcome. Talia told me that you might be early but I didn't expect to see you today." Zatana said kindly. Damian nodded before scanning the room and the students who were watching him curiously, petrified at the wooden bar.
"These are the students I will be working with?" he said unceremoniously. Zatanna answered positively with a Yes. "If you don't mind, I'm going to observe your class." Zatanna smirked as she pointed to a vacant seat behind her. Damian stepped forward unfazed by Raven who remained by his side.
“Very good, girls. Let's continue with the exercise. Raven, dear. Help me with the music. "
At least I won't be next to him , she thought, as she played the music. But as the exercises went on, Raven grew impatient, her eyes always coming back to him, but Damian was completely absorbed in the class. It ate her how indifferent he had been with her. Was he so upset with her?
"Raven." Zatanna's voice brought her back. “Please mark the transition from the ballotté to the grand rond de jambe in the adage.” Raven stood up, next to an individual bar in front of the students.
"Left foot in dégagé derriere and take it to fifth ..." Zatanna dictated the exercise and her legs reacted by themselves, knowing the steps by heart without needing to think much about them. Her right leg came up to retitré , forming a perfect P before lengthening the leg to 120° and rotating the leg to her side before finishing back in a perfect 90° arabesque.
While Zatanna gave the students notes on the posture, Raven did some stretches with her legs to avoid any injury from lack of warm-up, but stopped when she felt a look above her. Inadvertently, she turned to Damian, who indeed, for the first time in the almost half hour that he had been there, his attention was fixed on her. But the moment Raven's eyes fell on his, he looked down at the notebook on his lap and wrote something down.
After that moment, his gaze never met hers again.
-
At 9:17 PM, all the students had left but Raven was just starting to change her clothes. Zatanna and Damian had walked into the former's office a few minutes ago and there was no sign indicating how much longer they might last there.
Raven sighed in resignation, pulling her sweatshirt over her head, picking up her bag and proceeding to the reception. She stayed there for a while, while Madame Xanadu gossiped about some students' parents, and shortly after, Zatanna's office opened, and Damian appeared with her.
"I’ll see you tomorrow, Damian. Good night, Rae." She said quickly before shutting herself back into her office. Raven said goodbye to the administrator and left. Her gaze searched outside the place and found Damian just a few feet away, storing his bag in the trunk of the car.
"I didn't know you were working as a choreographer now." Raven spoke without thinking. Damian stood still. "I thought you were in London." she said, trying to sound friendly and casual. Damian closed the trunk and allowed himself to meet Raven's eyes again.
"I am working with my mother... temporarily." He walked to the driver’s door, ready to open it, but stopped. He allowed himself to hesitate a moment. He had so many things to say to Raven, so many that he didn't even know what to start with, and their first meeting after two years didn't seem like the right time to do so. At least not when they were going to work together for the next few months.
"You... You are still good." He claimed. It was as if Damian had waited for in such a short time, the training of so many years would disappear out of nowhere. "You need training, but you're still good." He corrected himself, as if he had said something better.
Raven smirked weakly. If it had been someone else, she probably would have been angry, but because it was Damian she knew that was his way of being nice. In all the years they'd worked together, she'd heard worse “compliments,” so for that moment, she was satisfied. They fell silent and Raven licked her lips unsure what to do.
"I'll see you tomorrow then." She said raising her hand in farewell but didn't move until Damian nodded in response. And so, Raven set out on her way.
Damian stood in his place, trying to stifle the need to run after her, buy her coffee or dinner, to confess everything he had saved in the last years. But even he was not sure what he wanted to share, so he only watched her walk away until she completely disappeared from his sight in the darkness of the streets.
~
Raven was reading Pride and Prejudice for the thousandth time. It was one of her favorites, and it was ideal to have a casual reading while waiting for classes to start. She looked up at the clock above the door of the rehearsal room. 7:24 AM. She still had 36 minutes.
She took a cereal bar out of her bag and began to eat, spreading her legs in a squad before continuing her reading. That morning was her first rehearsal as a principal dancer at the American Ballet and she had hardly been able to sleep because of the excitement. And when she finally got to sleep, her nerves made her wake up at 5 in the morning and left her apartment shortly before 7.
And now she was there, camping outside the rehearsal room, trying to relax so as not to embarrass herself on her first day. She had been in the ballet community for several years, and two years in the AB, but the pressure of being Odette in Swan Lake couldn’t compare to anything she had done before.
She took another bite of her snack when she felt eyes on her. She turned her head and there, standing just a few steps from her, was Damian Wayne, who would be Prince Sigfrid, watching her closely. Raven swallowed hard.
"Hello." She greeted him amicably. Damian had joined the company a year before her. They had shared a stage and a few words from time to time, but never anything extraordinary. Damian was a man of few words, but that was no excuse for not being able to have a good relationship, at least for that season.
But his only response was to meet her eyes before turning to the door and entering the room. Raven was sure she heard a "Tch" right before he crossed the doorway, but chose not to think too much about it.
He's an insufferable idiot, it's not personal, she repeated to herself. She wouldn't let his bad ways ruin her big day.
~
The next morning came. Raven had convinced herself that yesterday's events had been just a bad dream. And with that idea she continued her morning. She had breakfast while watching TV. Then she reviewed her notes from her afternoon classes, got ready, but not without first looking for her pointe shoes in the closet.
And there, inside her old suitcase lay the slippers ,stored in a special bag that Arella, her mother, had made for her. She folded them, testing their flexibility, and hit the box on the floor a couple of times. They are not broken yet , she thought. But instead of putting them in her suitcase, she simply left them on the bed and went on to prepare her food before leaving the house.
She arrived at the studio well in advance of her class. Madame Xanadu was already there supervising the work of the cleaning person. Raven greeted them both and went straight to change. She came out in a black strappy leotard, a black skirt at the waist, and a long-sleeved pink mesh top.
She connected her cell phone via bluetooth to the player and played a ballet playlist in the background while she took out the rings and other gadgets for the children's class. When suddenly the variation of Odette started playing, and that was when she realized that it had not been a dream, and for the summer festival she was going to get back on stage as Odette. With Damian, no less, as her partner.
She walked to the center of the room, letting her body remember the steps along with the music.
After five years at the American Ballet, Raven fell ill, and for a year, no treatment seemed to work until finally, with great sorrow and frustration, Raven left the company and returned to Metropolis, the city where she had grown up.
It had been two years since that event and to her fortune, Raven improved a lot in just the first year. Since her return, Zatanna welcomed Raven with open arms and has been working at the academy ever since. She enjoyed training new talents, but mentally she had been exhausted from the treatments, and throughout her stay in Metropolis, she had avoided dancing again at all costs. Until that moment.
She began to move her arms, up and down delicately, simulating the flapping of a swan. She began to move forward, remembering the directions of the choreography, until she stood in the right corner of the room. Placing her feet in fifth position, she began to do a few small jumps serenely, letting her body get used to the movement.
Sissonne… sissonne… couru… pose dégagé devant a fondu… Développe derrière… Couru… Pique
She ran to the other corner and repeated the same sequence with more substance. Her feet rose to the midpoint, their extension exceeding 90° as her torso began to come to life, gracefully accompanying the movement of her arms.
She moved back to the first corner, her gaze fixed on the diagonal.
Pique en dehors… pique en dehors…. Pique en dehors… Pique pirouette… Couru… Flutter
She repeated the sequence four times until she reached the opposite corner, regaining her confidence with each step.
She crossed her wrists at the level of her navel, bringing her legs together in first position as she turned her whole body like a block in the final chaînés and finished sliding the left foot forward, right leg stretched behind. Her arms went up through her right side, tracing a circle on, ending their road over her head, wrists snapping down as the last "TRAN" of the music sounded.
She stood still in pose, catching her breath. "Congratulations." Raven broke the pose and spun in the direction of the voice. Damian was in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, staring at her with a serious face. "This has been your most mediocre performance yet." Charming , Raven thought.
"I was just remembering, I didn't do it with the intention of affecting your eyesight." She replied sarcastically, reaching for her bag. "Isn't it too early for you to be here?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant as she pulled out a bottle of water from her purse. Damian entered the room, walking to the same place as the night before.
"I could say the same for you." It was the only thing he answered, without turning to see her.
"You know that I always arrive early." Maybe too much, she thought, remembering the mornings camping outside the rehearsal room.
"And you know that I do too, as well." Damian concluded, pulling out the same notebook from the day before. Raven rolled her eyes. He was talented as he was insufferable. Raven hid a laugh at the thought by turning around, ready to leave the room.
"You need to train." Raven stopped, turning slightly to Damian, who was making notes in his notebook.
"I heard you when you said it last night." Damian swung one leg over the other and finally looked at Raven.
"Good." Raven bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to answer back at him. It seemed like they were at the beginning of their relationship again. And that thought made her heart twist. She was aware that the way she had cut Damian out of her life was far from friendly, but acting like mere acquaintances felt bad. “The rest of the week I am going to give the intermediate and advanced classes. Your presence is required in all of them. I'm not going to choreograph anything on you if you're not at the right level."
Raven felt the blood rush from the inside of her mouth from biting too hard, but she didn't show any pained expression. Instead, she smiled sarcastically and with that same intention, she placed one foot behind, putting a classical pose, and bowed down before turning and leaving the room, slamming the door behind her.
~
For the next three days, Raven took the classes that Damian gave and he showed no mercy to her. He would pretend to ignore her, but at the smallest mistake, he would make such a fuss of it and make her repeat the step over and over and over again. It had gotten to such a point that the only thing stopping Raven from spilling a curse to him was the presence of her students.
On Thursday night, after class ended, Raven stayed in the classroom for extra time, catching her breath, while the rest of the students changed; little by little clearing the building. She couldn't tolerate Damian, but she couldn't deny that the classes suited her very well. She felt her legs burning with fatigue but instead of complaining, she smiled. Satisfied and happy to feel control over her body again.
Finally, she changed and left the building, finding Damian again, leaning against his car, smoking a cigar. For a moment she felt the need to speak to him again and try to make a casual conversation, but she resisted and turned her body, ready to continue on her way.
"I understand that you are in charge of these groups." Damian's voice caught up with her and she spun on her heel.
"Yes." She answered. Damian said nothing as he inhaled the smoke from the cigar and then let it out through his nose.
"Do you still remember the outline of the pas de deux from the American Ballet?" Raven rolled her eyes at the change of subject, typical of Damian.
"Yes, I remember." Raven replied coldly. The tiredness was beginning to grow latent in her body.
"Good." He said as he squeezed the cigarette butt, throwing away the ashes before putting the butt inside the box.
"Are you going to choreograph the scene for me on Saturday?" Raven couldn't stop her curiosity, she cursed herself under her breath, but tried to act composed.
“To your students? Yes. To you? No. But it is important that you mark the line so that the dance corps are located in space." Raven was about to say something else but Damian was already moving toward the pilot's door. She was about to turn around again when Damian spoke.
"You..." It did not go unnoticed to Raven how he lowered his gaze, an unusual gesture for someone as confident as him, but as the seconds passed, she could read on Damian's face how he put his thoughts in order, until he finally dared to see her directly, with the immutability that characterized him, "you've trained your students well." And he got into the car.
By the time Raven realized what had just happened, Damian had already started the car and left, disappearing through the streets. A laugh escaped her lips, feeling stupid how just a few "good" words made her forget how insufferable he could be.
~
Raven had walked those corridors for five years, and now being the last time walking around, everything looked so new and sad at the same time . The simple thought of not returning to that place that had become her dream hurt too much. All she wanted was to get out of there and not look back. Leave the memories of those years frozen in time.
She hadn't even had the courage to properly say goodbye to her peers, but she knew that if she tried to say anything, she would burst into tears, and she was sick of crying. She picked up her pace as she passed the rehearsal rooms. She listened to the piano in the background and allowed herself to stop to listen to it one last time.
"Raven." She was so absorbed in the music that she didn't notice the door open behind her. A chill ran through her entire being when she recognized the voice. Damn it. Anyone but him. She took a deep breath, and rubbed her eyes with the insides of her wrists before turning to look at him. She found his emeralds staring at her, almost with… concern? No, she must be imagining it. Probably a deceiving picture from the tears that were beginning to flood her eyes.
"Why aren't you at rehearsals? I've been looking for you." There was a note of sadness in his voice that made her heart clench but didn't let the idea settle in her mind. Not when she had so many things on her mind.
"I am no longer part of the company." Saying the words hurt more than she had imagined. Adding to the anger she felt, she was tired and just wanted to run away. A sad laugh slid from her mouth. “I am no longer a dancer. So I don't have any rehearsals to be in. "
"What do you mean you're not part of the company anymore? Raven what's going on?!” Damian's voice sounded exalted, he took a few steps forward trying to catch up with her, but she pulled away. Her body still ached too much, and she was sure that if Damian touched her it would burn her and she would end up crying for how much she had missed him. How much she had needed him. But she could not allow herself to be defeated, no, she would leave with her head held high. Especially in front of him.
“It is a personal matter. It's not your business. If you excuse me, I have a plane to catch and many more things to do. Break a leg in the season, I'm sure you and Cassandra will do a good job." The words were meant to be sincere. She really wished him well, but she couldn't help to sound so bitter.
"Damian, I need you inside." Damian turned to the background when he heard the choreographer calling him. When he turned again, Raven was already gone.