Teen Titans belongs to DC Comics. Unfortunately, I don't work for them. If I did, things would be different...

The Voyeur II: Raven

by Lelila

It was late, shortly after midnight, and Titans Tower was quiet. Raven was just finishing up her evening meditation. Before heading to bed, she would always brush her spirit against those of her teammates, just to make sure they were all okay. While Cyborg's security system was first-rate, it had been breached before.

Cyborg was in recharge mode; other than he was alive and not excited, she couldn't tell much. Beast Boy was dreaming something heroic; his sense of accomplishment radiated from him.

Raven paused before she moved on to Starfire. Ever since they'd become a couple, touching either Starfire's or Robin's psyche was a gamble. During the day she was usually safe, but at night…at night she ran the risk of intruding on their emotional – and physical – intimacy.

She tried very hard to just touch their consciousnesses; just to make sure they were okay. But sometimes, especially when they were physically very engaged, she had to stay a little longer. Partly, she had to figure out if they were actually making love and not fighting someone off; there were moments when they felt much the same. But also, as much as she knew it was wrong and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she wanted a taste of it. Not necessarily of the sex, but of the intimacy and of the height of emotion. They always felt so…alive and secure when they were together.

And then there were the quiet times. She always lingered at those times. When they were watching the sunset together or sleeping each others' arms, or basking in afterglow. She loved afterglow. It was a combination of an adrenaline rush and the utter peace of waking to the sound of a gentle rainfall. She always lingered when she brushed up against that. She'd let herself revel in it until her conscience got the better of her.

Tonight as she touched Starfire, she felt something similar to afterglow, but not quite the same. It wasn't tinged with exhaustion the way afterglow was. It was kind of sleepy, but still alert. And peaceful. Utterly, utterly peaceful.

Touching Robin, she felt much the same thing. It was an odd feeling coming from him; he was always a little tense, even when he was laughing. He only ever seemed to relax around Starfire. And to feel no stress in him at all was rare. To have there not be sex involved was even more rare.

Raven pushed a little deeper, trying to feel both of them at once. It was like stereo; almost the exact same thing from both of them. It was slightly odd, actually.

Curiosity piqued and senses intoxicated, Raven decided she needed a closer look. She teleported through a few walls and stopped inside of the wall between Starfire's room and the outer hall. She poked her head through the wall into the room. As her eyes adjusted, she could see Robin and Starfire lying in bed. They both had straps over their shoulders, so they were clothed from the waist up, at least.

They were facing the same direction, "spooning," Raven thought was the term, Robin behind Starfire. They were snuggled together and Raven could see the outline of Robin's arm beneath the covers around Starfire's waist.

Raven probed a little deeper into Robin's consciousness. She wasn't able to read his thoughts; she knew he'd be able to sense her if she probed that far. But she could feel the weight of his relaxed muscles and the heat of Starfire's body. And the quiet. Even though she wasn't reading his thoughts, she was deep enough that she should have felt the buzz they created. But there was none. He was totally at peace.

Raven let herself float in the stillness. It was maybe the quietest her mind had ever been, and coming from someone who meditated for several hours a day, that was saying a lot.

Raven's back tingled. It took her a second to realize that Robin had run his hand over Starfire's back and Raven was feeling what Starfire had. Starfire pulled a deep breath and snuggled closer to Robin and Raven felt a warmth spread over her, as though someone had put a blanket around her shoulders. She heard Starfire sigh and had to stop herself from doing the same. Raven's whole body shivered as she felt both the gentle caress of Robin's lips against Starfire's shoulder and the soft pressure against Robin's mouth. More tingles cascaded through her body, making her hair stand on end, but in a good way.

She felt a puff of air brush past her ear as Robin whispered something to Starfire. It seemed loud in her head. It sounded like French; Raven only understood a couple of words. Something about "sweet," and "soft."

Something in the back of her head told her to roll her eyes, but considering how she felt, it didn't seem right.

Starfire mumbled something back, also French-sounding.

Raven felt Robin flex his shoulder as he tightened his hold on Starfire. His grip relaxed and Raven's eyes drooped closed. She jerked herself awake a few moments later as she realized it was Robin and Starfire who were falling asleep, not she. She drew back a bit, regaining her control.

They seemed sleepy now, and Raven's conscious was telling her it was time to go. She drew a deep breath and severed her connection with her friends before dematerializing and reappearing on her bed.

Before turning in, she took a moment to ponder what she had felt. Is this what love truly felt like? She frowned as she realized it was a silly question. Of course this is what love felt like, as was all the other permutations she had felt from them. "Love" was far from a single emotion. And not all of them were necessarily pleasant.

But they were all exhilarating, Raven had found. She knew she needed to control her emotions, but there were times, especially after feeling Robin and Starfire, that she felt dead inside; hollow. She signed as a pang of jealousy coursed through her.

Shaking her head, she crawled under the covers. They were very lucky, she had to admit.

Unable to resist, Raven reached out to feel their peace again and let herself drift in it as she went to sleep.

Again, not sure where this one came from. It's mostly a meditation on the many emotions "love" can encompass. There's no real character arc for Raven here like there was for Beast Boy in the first one; perhaps just a realization. But I needed to get it out of my head, so...

I suppose I should do one for Cyborg now too, huh? Hmmmm...