Raven's Will

39. Same reason as you

"Ow..."

Jett lay flat on his back, chest heaving with every gasping breath he took. Everything hurt, his limbs weighed 400 lbs each, and he was pretty sure he wasn't going to be able to move for the next three years. Yet despite all that, he felt more relaxed than he had in a long time.

He had missed this.

Boots soundlessly stepped across stone and dirt, coming to a stop a few feet away. A smile tugging at his lips, Jett turned his head to look at them, before shifting his gaze way up.

Raven peered down at him, a single brow elegantly arched. "That didn't take long."

All traces of Jett's smile vanished in an instant. He wondered what Raven would look like with a second black eye to match the first. It would suit the guy quite nicely, he thought. It'd match his black hair and flyer suit perfectly.

"You could have taken it easy, " Jett muttered, trying to sound miserable while at the same time, holding back a snicker as he pictured his brother with two giant panda-eyes.

"Why would I do that?" Raven actually sounded surprised by the idea, though Jett didn't believe it for even a second. "You lasted four minutes, maybe five if we're counting the time you ran into the wall and knocked yourself silly. That's a terrible track record, you realize."

"You got beaten up by a rock," Jett pointed out, though he still didn't buy that story. That bruise on Raven's face didn't look like the kind of minor injury one would get by falling onto a rock. No, it was the kind of nasty bruise that would take some serious time to fade.

"It wasn't a rock," Raven folded his arms. "It was a brick."

"You still got beaten up." Jett persisted stubbornly. Maybe if Raven admitted how ridiculous this whole "brick" thing was, he'd admit to what really happened. And Jett was really curious as to what sort of thing had managed to get past Raven's considerable defenses.

Raven's eyes narrowed just a fraction. "If you have this much energy to argue, then perhaps we should go for another round."

Who's arguing? Turning his head to the other side, Jett made a face. You're the one being ridiculous! He huffed. "I don't think I can move."

A pause. Then Raven said, "All right. Then how about a walk?"

"Eh?" That took Jett by surprise. It was so very un-Ravenlike that he wondered if he had misheard the man. Go for a walk? Instead of training? Not once in the past had Raven ever backed away from training. Not once had he taken it easy on him. Jett was baffled.

"Come on," Raven leaned down, offering a hand.

Wordlessly, Jett accepted it and was hauled to his feet. It wasn't until after he'd brushed the worst of the dust off his shirt and pants that he asked warily, "A walk?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Raven gave him a look, the kind that said "shut up and stop questioning me." Then he reached back to grab the blue hood of his coat, and flipped it over his head. It hid all but his chin within its shadows.

A grin tugged at Jett's lips, because he couldn't help but picture a small boy stubbornly pulling a blanket over his head to hide from the prying questions of his mother. Maybe he was just overthinking things, but Raven seemed almost embarrassed. Ha! I bet he got that bruise from something even more stupid than just tripping over a brick.

"Where are we going?" A thought occurred to Jett, causing him to eagerly step forward. "Are we going outside?" He hadn't seen in the sky in what felt like ages. There'd only been boring rock and concrete and dim lighting for the past few weeks. Or was it months? Just how long had he been down here anyway?