Another morning for her to wake up in a place she did not recognize. Among people she didn't recognize. It had been more than a month now and still every time she'd walk in a room of people, they would hush their voices and give her concerned looks. They never said anything. But she could feel it. She didn't know how or why but she felt everything. And they knew it. So they tried their hardest to act 'natural' around her, whatever that meant. Yet, she couldn't help but to feel like an outsider. And it didn't help that one person in particular did his best to avoid her at any cost.
Raven was walking down the hallway to go to the kitchen for her morning tea, but hearing voices in there, she stopped in her tracks and decided against entering the area. She didn't want to deal with the looks and the emotions this early in the morning. Then she noticed someone with the corner of her eye. Looking towards the end of the hall, she saw someone turn around to disappear from around the corner they'd come from. It was him. She didn't know it, but she could feel it.
"Hey-!" She called out and followed the other. "Wait-" Walking around the corner she saw him stopping, but not turning around to face her. "Damian, was it?"
"... Correct." He said in a monotone voice she'd come to know him for.
"You've been avoiding me ever since I got out of the hospital." She stated, trying to read his emotions. It was funny. This whole thing came naturally to her, she could feel all the worry, compassion, confusion, caring and love from others. But not him. He was always a mystery to her. And she wanted to know why.
"Why?" The empath finally continued, seeing that there was no reaction from the other. "Were… Weren't you and I friends like the rest of them?"
"No." His voice was cold and sharp. "We were not friends." He emphasized and kept on walking again, leaving the girl dumbfounded all by herself in the dimly lit hallway. For some reason, hearing those words she felt a sting in her chest. Like she'd just been rejected. But she didn't even know him. Even though deep inside she felt like she knew him better than anyone. And the question why still remained.
"It's been two months and she hasn't remembered a single damn thing!"
"The doctors said it could take some time, Damian. We just need to keep-"
"Keep doing what? Your methods are clearly not working, Starfire."
"Hey!" A male voice intersected the argument between the two. "At least we're doing something, Damian. What have you done to help her, huh? You haven't even looked her in the eyes ever since she's come back!"
"Don't push it, Beast Boy." The boy wonder grumbled at the other, clearly displeased with being told he hasn't done what everyone would expect him to.
But they didn't know how painful it was to even look at her when she looked back at him with this blank expression. How hard it was to not hold her hand every time they stood next to each other. How impossible it was to walk up to her and not give her a kiss on the cheek. How unbearable it was to wake up alone in his bed every morning. They didn't understand. How could they? They weren't the ones who had the love of their life standing right in front of them who didn't feel a damn thing for them. There was nothing. Just the emptiness behind her purple hues.
"What do you suggest we do then, Damian?" The Tamaranean princess asked after a moment of silence, tired of all this arguing. Of course, they all wanted this to be over and for Raven to remember everything. But the process was slow. And it was getting to everyone. Damian was the one who was affected the most, they knew that, but he wasn't the only one suffering.
"I don't-"
"Just go talk to her." Donna suddenly chimed in. "What can it hurt to at least try?" The others instantly agreed, to what the boy in question could only roll his eyes at.
"I'll talk to her when I want to. Not when I'm being told to."
"But you and Raven-"
"You know nothing about me and Raven. So stop pretending like you do." He snapped back at her and left the room. Damian wasn't going to get bossed around here. Not when he knew exactly what he was doing. But… A part of him did want to see her. Sit down with her. Talk to her. And so, without even realizing it, his feet had brought him to the rooftop of the tower. It had always been her favorite quiet place. Guess at least some things didn't change because he found her sitting right at her usual spot just by the edge of the roof. Shuffling his feet for a moment, he finally decided to approach the girl.
"Hey…" He started quietly, trying not to startle her.
"Hey…" Raven looked up over her shoulder, slightly surprised to see him standing there like that. A moment passed and the silence between them lingered, so she decided to speak up again. "You're nervous."
Caught red-handed. She was getting better. Nodding with a small sigh, he sat down next to her as she followed his every move. He could feel her stare right at him and it made him almost uncomfortable.
"I haven't talked to you much."
"Well, you did say we were not friends."
"It was-"
"Though, I don't believe it's true."
"You don't?" He looked at her in surprise.
She shook her head. "You wouldn't care if I was around had we not been friends before. You wouldn't avoid seeing me. Or talking to me. You said that we weren't friends because… Because we were more than that. Weren't we?" Her head slowly turned to look at him and it was the first time she actually got to see his green eyes. The tingle she felt in her stomach the moment he looked back at her let her know that she was right.
A part of him was surprised that she'd deducted that out of nowhere. But a bigger part of him knew that she wasn't dumb. She had never been. And even with the lack of control over her empathic abilities right now, she could feel that something was up. So there was no point in denying it.
Another small nod and his gaze turned to the city before them. There was a sting in his heart now that she'd brought it up, but he was also happy. Even if it was just sitting next to her like they'd done countless nights before in this very same spot. It felt nostalgic. Happy, but with a pinch of sadness. And for the first time he didn't try to hide it from her. Mostly because he didn't fully realize that until she spoke up again.
"Tell me. About us." The violet-haired girl requested and softly placed her hand over his. This instantly made him look down at their hands, his heart trembling. Oh, how he wished to take her hand and press it against his hold her and tell her everything he'd never said to her. Or didn't say enough. All the things she deserved to hear from him but never did because he was a coward. Afraid to let his own feelings known. Taking it for granted that she was an empath, thinking that she knew it anyway. He wished to take that time back and start all over. But how could he when there was so much inside of him and she had nothing?
Frowning, Damian flinched away from her hand and stood up. "There's nothing to tell. I failed you. End of story." And with that he left. Raven started to feel like that was a common thing between them. Because she felt like she was looking at him walking away from her for the dozenth time and it was breaking her heart.
Delicate fingers moved from one drawer to another, swiftly and quietly combing through various documents. There was a sense of urgency in the room. Mumbled sentences being the only thing disturbing the surrounding silence.
"What are you doing in my room?" A sudden voice disturbed the cloaked girl and she quickly turned around.
"I- I'm trying to find something." She stuttered trying not to look directly at the figure in the doorway, hidden in the shadows of the room.
"And what could that possibly be?" Damian asked dryly and walked inside without bothering to even turn on the lights. He didn't need them to see her.
"Something- Anything from our time together." There was a hint of desperation in her voice. "It can't be that there's nothing. No pictures, no late night texts, no clothing items lost in each other's room." Raven had no opportunity to find these things on her own, as her phone got destroyed in the accident and she'd already looked through her own room for signs of anything.
"Why would you need that?"
"Because I want to see it. I need some proof, some- something tangible."
The way she uttered the very last word was like driving yet another dagger through his already punctured heart. "What we had was far more than just the material…" With a decisively silent stride, he stepped closer to her, taking her hand to press it against his chest. "Can't you feel all the proof you could need?"
Blushing and completely taken aback by his sudden demeanor, Raven didn't even know what to say. Purple hues darted back and forth trying to figure out what was the meaning of all of this. One thing was for sure, his heart was racing. And so was hers. It was the first time they'd been so close to each other for longer than ten seconds and the feelings were overwhelming. After months of not sensing much from Damian, all of a sudden she felt everything. There was anger, bitterness, impatience, despair, but also hope and love and she could feel his heart breaking.
"Damian, I…" She spoke in a tone of voice barely above a whisper and her hand lingered on his chest even when he let go of it. "I just want to remember…" Tears filled her eyes and a sigh escaped her lips as her head dropped to look down at the ground.
"And you will." His voice softened all of a sudden and he gently cupped her face, lifting it up. "You're making progress already."
"What?" She let out an incredulous laugh. And if it hadn't been dark, she could've sworn she saw him smiling.
"I intrigue you, Raven. I always have." He stated, a grin widening on his face as he let go of her and walked around her. "You always wanted to figure me out. To understand how I'm evading your abilities. To know how I hide my emotions so well." She listened to him carefully, watching him walk over to his jacket on the chair and pulling out a wallet from its pocket. "I figured if I stayed away, but close enough to peak your interest, you'd want to pursue your 'quest' all over again. And somehow the fact that you sneaked into my room tells me I was right."
"So, in other words, you just decided to be a jerk about it." She concluded, but couldn't help but to release a chuckle.
"Oh, you love me like that." Damian returned with what seemed like a piece of paper in his hand, his grin never having left his face.
"Do I?" She grinned back.
"Yes." And with that he handed her a picture. Probably one of the only pictures they had ever taken together. Neither of them had ever been keen on taking pictures. But they'd both agreed that they wanted something to look back at someday. Damian had never imagined it would be like this.
Taking the picture in her hand, Raven instantly walked towards the door to take a look at it in better lighting because she didn't want to turn on the lights and blind both of them. So the dim lights in the hallway were just perfect. They both looked happy in the picture. Spending time somewhere out in the city. An amusement park, from what she could tell. Looking at it made her smile.
"Tangible enough for you?" Damian asked as he walked up behind her. She nodded. "Don't lose it-"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not giving up on me." Raven turned to him with a smile as she held the picture against her chest. "For not giving up on us even if I'm… like this."
Although surprised at first, his features soon softened and he offered her a smile back. "I would never." Happy to have found what she was looking for, the girl then retrieved back into her own room, his gaze following her all the way through.
It was their first genuine moment together ever since she came to her senses after the accident. It had been nearly three months. And she showed little to no signs of recovery. Only small glimpses here and there. And it was torture. But for the first time ever, Damian felt like there was hope. There was still something there. She might not realize it yet, but it was there. He knew it.
He was going to bring her back to him, whatever it takes.