She found him on the roof, laying down on the concrete as the rays of the setting sun turned the sky orange. It was the last place she checked for him, because he normally didn't come up here by himself. If he was up here, the others were too, including herself, and everyone was usually engaged in a game of some sort. So seeing him with his hands behind his neck and the gentle rise and fall of his chest was somewhat odd, but not entirely implausible. Especially not now, since their enemies had been frozen in ice and securely contained, and all the honorary Titans had left the Tower to return to their home towns and cities to keep the peace there.
The warm breeze gently pushed her cloak against her legs and back as it blew in towards Jump City, helping to carry her towards him. If he knew she was there, he didn't say anything, and the mask that kept his eyes hidden didn't change either. For a moment, she wondered if he had fallen asleep up here. She knew that he wasn't the type to take naps during the day, but then she thought that maybe he was, but he'd never been able to because of how busy they used to be (and her lips fell slightly when she remembered all the times he'd practically been forced to take a break from investigating to eat or sleep). When the distance between them was closed, she didn't say anything, just stared down at him for a few moments before sitting down next to him, looking out across the bay towards the city, where she could see some of the buildings turning on their lights as the sky grew dimmer.
For a few moments she just sat there, her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms around her legs as the wind pushed her hair past her face, the purple strands contrasting with the orange sky. As she looked, off in the distance she saw the moon rising behind the skyline, almost full, but not quite. Her eyes turned skyward, where the first of the brighter stars were visible. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, wondering if maybe she shouldn't bother waking up Robin with her questions and risk ruining a genuinely peaceful evening. Not that she was anxious, in the back of her mind of her mind she knew that Robin had probably been thinking about this too, but discussing it would infuse a sense of worry into their everyday lives, ruining the sense of victory that was allowing everyone to truly relax. As her mind wondered what to do but before she could decide on a course of action, the sound of fabric rustling beside her gave her an answer.
"Hey, Rae."
"He was sleeping." Was the first thought that entered her mind when she heard his voice. It was softer than normal and a little groggy, and she realized he probably hadn't been sleeping for very long.
Robin sat up and turned around so he was facing towards the city like Raven was. She turned to look at him briefly, and Robin noted the subtle layer of apprehension in her features, the way the light in her eyes was dimmed and how her eyebrows looked like they were knitting together as she thought over something important. He raised a brow and leaned forward to look at her when she turned her gaze back towards the city. "Something wrong?"
She shook her head, and Robin relaxed slightly. "I was just thinking." She answered quietly after a moment. After a pause as she tried to collect her thoughts, she continued, "About... what we do now." Raven stretched one leg out from beneath her arms, and let her hands come to rest on the knee that was still raised.
He didn't respond immediately. He took a moment to stretch out both of his legs similar to her, leaning back and resting his weight on his arms. "Me too." Was his simple answer. Another quiet moment passed. "Now that the supervillains are gone, the city can depend on regular police officers for a change. Sooner or later, they'll stop funding us and we'll have to leave."
"... Where will you go?" Raven asked as she turned to look at him.
Robin let out a sigh. He drummed his fingers against the ground for a moment before turning to meet Raven's gaze. "Bruce contacted me after the big battle." Raven's eyes widened a bit, and Robin continued. "Said he was proud, and that if I if ever wanted to talk or needed anything, I could always contact him. I might stay with him for a bit while I think of what to do next."
"But not permanently." Raven stated.
He shook his head. "No, not permanently. I don't want to be his sidekick, or his partner. He knows that. I'd help him if he needed it, but..." He trailed off for a moment, and looked away. "I wouldn't stay in Gotham. I might end up becoming a detective somewhere. Maybe even here in Jump. That way if any of the bad guys ever get loose, I'd be here." When he looked back to Raven, he was surprised to see her frowning. Not an angry frown, but a disappointed one.
"Is that what you want to do?" She asked. "Continue to put yourself in harms way?"
Now Robin returned her frown. "Someone needs to step forward and offer to protect those who can't protect themselves. What's wrong with that?"
Raven sighed, choosing not to argue. "Nothing, it's just..." It's not what I want. The words caught in her throat, and she looked away.
"Where do you want to go?" Robin asked after a moment passed, and watched as a small smile played across her lips for a moment before disappearing.
"You know, that was one of the first things I asked myself after we beat my father. I thought, 'What will I do now? What can I do now that I'm free to be myself?' And... I still don't really have an answer." She confided in him. "I stayed with you and the others because I knew you wouldn't let me go easily, and because we still had a duty to this city." She paused for a moment before continuing. "But I knew that sooner or later, we'd have to go our own ways eventually. And when that happened, I was thinking about... traveling."
"Where will you go?" He asked quietly after a moment, and again saw her smile, this time letting out a short chuckle.
"Anywhere I wanted to." She answered, though it didn't sound like she was excited. She continued staring across the bay as she spoke, "I can teleport anywhere in the world. I can see any monument or historical place I wished, or visit any restaurant I wanted..."
"But?" Robin asked as she trailed off.
"But I wouldn't want to do that by myself." She admitted. "It would be lonely." She had never felt lonely here at the tower, even though she often chose to be by herself... She knew she would feel lonely because unlike now, in the future she might not have anyone to talk to when she needed company, or turn to if she ever needed help.
"Just because we won't be heroes forever doesn't mean we'll stop being friends." Robin quickly said. "You would be free to see us whenever you wanted. I mean, it's not like we'd just drop all contact with each other and move on with our lives as if this," He motioned around them, "Never happened."
"I know that." Raven said. "I wish things didn't have to change, you know. I like living here. I might not have liked it when we were fighting villains every other week, but I like Cy's cooking and meditating with Starfire, and even some of Beastboy's jokes..." She finally turned back to look at him. "I like spending time with you. I can't imagine how different things will feel when you aren't with me." She said as she looked at his mask, wishing that he'd take it off so she could see his eyes. Slowly, she raised a hand and peeled it away, and was glad not to be met with resistance, or feel any amount of shock or apprehension coming from him as she did so. For a moment, she just stared, thinking about how different things would be when he wasn't around; how she'd have to make her tea herself in the mornings because he wasn't there to do it for her like he normally did, being able to confide in him anything on her mind without fear of him telling the others, the sound of his voice as he talked with the others providing a pleasant white noise while she read, or even just his warmth as he sat close to her at nights when sleep eluded them both and they found each other in the common room.
She swallowed back the lump in her throat and opened her mouth to speak, but it took a moment before any words come out. "It... it's still a ways off, but..." She paused to strengthen her resolve, to ask the question she had come out here with, "When we do go our own separate ways, will you come with me?" Now that the words had left her, fear had come and replaced the space they had taken. The fear that he'd say no, that he wouldn't be able to; hadn't he just said a few minutes ago that he would find another place to continue fighting crime in? But even though she was afraid of his possible rejection, she knew deep down that it would be better than living with the regret of having not asked him.
It felt like an hour had passed as she kept her eyes locked to his, not saying anything as she waited for a response. Raven couldn't feel anything coming from his aura, no confusion or regret or happiness and she realized he must've really been mulling it over. She didn't blame him for not having an immediate response ready, it had taken months to realize that this was what she wanted, and almost as much time to gather up the courage to finally ask this of him. Expecting him to make a future decision like this in just a few moments would've been naive of her.
And then, barely imperceptibly, he nodded.
She inhaled sharply, almost doubting what she had seen, then watched as his nod become stronger and more resolute.
"Okay." He said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'll stay with you." He watched Raven blink, then smile widely, and he felt his pulse quicken as he smiled back. He knew he'd miss her, he realized. Not the same way he'd miss the others, he'd miss her the way a puzzle misses it's last piece, because anytime she was gone, she was and always had been in the back of his mind. He knew that when she left, he'd always be wondering what she was doing, how she was doing, where she was, if she was happy. And the only way to know those things, he'd come to the conclusion, was to be with her.
Raven moved towards him and wrapped her around him, linking together at the small of his back as she rested her head against his chest. "Thank you." She whispered, inhaling deeply as his arms entwined around her torso and pulled her closer to him. She relaxed into his embrace, felt his heart beating a steady rhythm against her chest and realized that even though she didn't know what the future may bring, she'd be happy because she would have him at her side.