Saw Josh Groban on Graham Norton the other day. Not only was the most hilarious couch ever, I fell in love with "Higher Window" and then felt obligated to write a oneshot. So here's that oneshot. Also; I know I'm messing with the comics a lot in this, but just go along with it. It's not like they don't have complicated plotlines in the comics themselves. What does it matter if the timeline's a bit messed up?
All Our Cards
By nature, both Raven and Robin were quiet, observant people. They were not the type to express their emotions openly like the rest of the team. They were subtle, the time of people to set lines and expect them not to be crossed without telling anyone that the line had been drawn at all. Usually, the other Titans respected this and saw the lines without having to look too hard.
The problem was when the lines were crossed. It wasn't something that happened often, and it was usually Beast Boy's fault, but when it did, Robin knew Raven would be there for him, and vice-versa.
Robin's relationship with Starfire had been short lived. The naïve princess didn't understand how to read his body language or hear the subtleties in his voice when he spoke, and in the end, she couldn't take his closed personality. He had gone to Raven with this after Starfire had broken up with him, appearing behind his best friend on the roof as she read, not saying a word. Feeling his presence, she turned around and, upon seeing his face, put her book down and got up to hug him.
It was that sort of wordless communication that Robin cherished, the kind that only the best of friends had. He had been very upset and torn up over the breakup, and Raven had known it before he had even spoken a word.
Robin, if he was honest, had set his flag in no-man's land after the breakup, feeling very torn up about the whole situation, feeling like it was entirely his fault, even though the guilty party was made up of two.
He felt like he had drawn his line, once again, about his love life, and after Starfire, he hadn't planned on having any romantic connections with any one for quite some time. He had had enough, as far as he was concerned, and he wasn't anywhere near ready to put his heart on the line again.
Or, so he thought.
He wasn't quite sure when he noticed that he and Raven had a more dynamic relationship that the rest of the team, but he slowly came to realize that he got on better with her than the rest of them. He realized that he watched her more carefully, paid more attention to her. Some part of his mind argued that it was because Raven was someone you had to pay attention to to know what was going on. Some other part knew that it was because he had become attracted to her.
But then, things started to drastically change around Titans Tower.
Ever since the defeat of the Brotherhood of Evil, the various Titan allies that had been acquired drifted in and out of the West Tower. It was really the headquarters, and Robin understood and dealt with it. Raven, not so much.
Ironically enough, however, it was Starfire leaving on a diplomatic mission to Tamaran that finally did the irrevocable damage. Robin had been spending a much need weekend away, knowing that Starfire was on Tamaran, but when he came back, Raven was gone. He hadn't thought anything of until he saw Cyborg, and then he knew. Raven hadn't just gone, she had left.
He hadn't known what had caused it. For all that he knew her the best, Robin had not seen her departure from her home coming. And he thought that perhaps part of her going was his fault, precisely because he hadn't seen it coming. What good was their warm and silent symmetry if he could tell that she was happy?
It was times like these when Robin felt like he needed to be reminded why anyone would chose to be a superhero. It was a miserable life, and, in the end, left you with nothing.
FIVE YEARS LATER
Richard settled into his new Bludhaven apartment with something one might call trepidation. The apartment, not to mention the town, was filthy and almost made his skin crawl. Crime was rampant and he had almost been mugged twice in the span of ten minutes.
Of course, that was why he had come here. It was close to Gotham, and, by extension, close to Batman, though he still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. And, obviously, the crime was so bad he had a hard time finding a friendly face in the crowd. Everyone walked with their heads down, averting their gazes from any and all passersby.
The Titans had broken up not long ago. Raven's departure, though sad, had done nothing serious to the team dynamic, in terms of fighting crime. After a few months of lacking a fifth Titan, they had come across Donna Troy, Wonder Woman's step-sister, adopted her as Wonder Girl, and tried to pretend that she could replace Raven.
Dynamically, she had been a great addition. She filled the gaps that had been left by Raven when they went off to take care of trouble, and she was funny. They appreciated her company, liked her, even, but she was no Raven.
They had all gone their separate ways, now. Somehow, it only made Richard, now Nightwing, miss Raven even more. He had had contact with her a few times, and he knew that she still spoke with Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg, but none of them knew where she was or what she was doing with her life. She merely checked in with them on occasion, and while she knew what everyone else was doing, Richard knew that none of them had any idea what she was doing. They had never thought to ask, and she had certainly never told.
Sometimes, Richard thought of calling her and asking her if he could come and visit her, but he stopped himself as he picked up the phone every time. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like Raven was a part of his past that he shouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. He was somehow very certain that if she had stayed, they would have grown closer than they already were and would have started something very special.
And yet, he felt it was too late. Contact or no, she had walked out of his life, and he was wounded enough that he wasn't sure that he wanted her back in his life.
In the morning, Richard donned a suit and drove down to the police station as the new Detective Grayson. Unlike the population of Bludhaven, the men and women of the police force were kind and open, if a little haggard looking. But Richard liked his new job as a homicide detective, even if it kept him busy and forced him to deal with the scum of the Earth. He was doing the community a double service – Detective Grayson by day and Nightwing by night.
Crime went down in Bludhaven quite drastically with his arrival, though it was in no way better than somewhere like Ventura, California, which boasted one of the most crime free populations in America. But if it was just a little safer to walk the streets, Bludhaven had Nightwing and Detective Grayson to thank.
It was with this in mind when Richard walked into a coffee shop late at night, tired after a long day in the squad room, but ready for patrol that night. He hoped that it was going to be quite one; he had had a rough day dealing with murderers and he didn't want to have to deal with many more.
He saw her at the counter, a cup of what was obviously not coffee in her hand, a small smile on her lips as she talked to the girl behind the bar.
He recognized her at once; how could he not? All of the times he had missed at her came back at him full force, causing him to take a step back. Memories assaulted him, and a part of him wanted to turn around and simply walk out of the little café without acknowledging her. That would certainly be the easy way out.
Except, he never took the easy way out.
Steeling his resolve he walked up to her and tapped her on he shoulder. She turned around slowly, her eyes reflecting her emotions as they always had.
"Raven,"
She shook her head, whether or not to contradict him or dispel her confusion he couldn't tell. "My name's Rachael, not Raven. You've got the wrong girl." She turned back around and resumed her conversation with the barista, shrugging in response to something the girl had said.
She may have denied it, but Richard knew that this woman was Raven.
She looked different, he'd admit, but didn't he, too? They were, after all, five years older than they had been the last time they'd seen each other. Her hair was longer, silkier that he remembered, and no longer the shocking violet of her youth. And though her eyes were bluer now than he had remembered them, he was sure that the woman before him was Raven.
"Raven," he said again, and she turned to him once more, her eyes clearly displaying her annoyance.
"Look, mister," she chastised him. "I don't know who you are or what you want, but my name's not Raven and I'm pretty sure I don't know you."
She made to turn back to the barista, but Richard grabbed her arm in a moment of instinct.
"Raven," he said. "It's me. It's… Richard."
He daren't say Robin, lest the barista or any of the few customers in the café put two and two together, but Raven knew him, and he knew who he was. As Titans, he had told her his story on a rainy night as she told her his, and they knew each other.
Too late, Richard realized that she had known who she was the entire time and didn't want him in her life. Had that perhaps been the reason she had left the Titans in the first place?
Her eyes briefly flashed with sympathy but it was gone as she turned to grab what was now clearly tea. She said goodbye to the barista and whirled past Richard with a grace she had never lost.
Mindlessly, he followed her, not caring about the consequences. She was faster than he remembered, but she was still no match for the former protégé of the Batman, and he caught her up quickly.
"Why are you avoiding me, Rae?" he asked after grabbing her arm to pull her to a stop.
"I wanted my space. I thought you would have understood that, Robin."
He didn't bother to correct her; he knew she had called him Robin on purpose. She was connecting the man in front of her with the boy she had known in her Titan days.
He didn't understand what she meant by she needed her space. He couldn't mean at the present moment. He was touching her, true, but he was not really invading her personal bubble. But surely she couldn't mean in the past? He had always respected her boundaries then.
"I don't know what you mean," he admitted, reluctantly letting go of her arm.
She scoffed. "I needed to get out of that Tower. I couldn't stand it anymore."
Still, he didn't know what she meant. "What was wrong with the Tower? We all respected your space."
Her eyes danced with emotions. "Respected my boundaries? HA!" She crossed her arms under her chest and met his eyes with such an expression he wasn't sure how to react. "You respected them so much you wanted nothing to do with me,"
Her voice was full of venom and it threw Richard off. "Nothing to do with you? Are you kidding me? Raven, you were my best friend!"
"You sure had a funny way of showing it."
He felt guilty, like perhaps he had read Raven too well and she hadn't read him well enough. He took her by the arms, staring deep into her eyes, trying to find his best friend somewhere in their pools.
He felt, rather than heard her gasp when he probed their bond, the one forged after the incident with the hallucinogen in Slade's mask. He felt her emotions flow through her, and let her feel his. He understood now, what she was feeling, and when he leaned in to kiss her, he was received with apprehension but not malice.
He pulled away, leaving the kiss chaste. He smiled at her, the years of missing her melting away as he saw her roll her eyes and smile back at him.
"It's not too late, is it?" he asked, and Raven shook her head.
"No, not for you, anyway. For me, though?"
He laughed. "No, Rae. You're my best friend. It's never too late for you."
He hugged her, and he felt at home, there on the dangerous sidewalk of a hot Bludhaven night. But he was with his best friend again, reconciled with her, and things were right. He had put all his cards on the table, and it had paid off.
He had never felt so good about his decision to move to Bludhaven. In his opinion, it was the best damn choice he ever made.
END
So, that was really long for a oneshot, but I hope it was all worth it, even if there was next to no dialogue.
Points to you if you find the lyrics to "Higher Window" in the text. Some of them are obvious, but others of them are cleverly hidden.
To those who are going to ask: I have a backstory for why Raven is in Bludhaven. If you review and tell me you want to hear it, I'll write it and put it up (though I don't guarantee that it'll be on this site) somewhere and link it in my profile.
Please review! I want to know what you guys think of my playing around with the comics and if I should do stuff like this more often. Thanks!
