(I know I'm late for RobRae week, but I'm assuming these will still be enjoyable when they're late. I'm still working on new chapters for the other stories.)

~RavensMind~

Between Lovebirds: A Series of Shorts

Scene 1:Worry Warning

Late nights had been all too common over the years, but nobody had seen him quite so active in a long time. While the rest of his friends slept well, he worked until he couldn't justify getting up to make more coffee. Most of the villains were locked away or frozen. Only one kept him up nights. One of the few who had gotten away.

Robin's obsessive pursuit of Slade had been paused for a while, right up until the team received an ominous signal from their worst enemy. Ever since, he had become a voluntary insomniac. Cyborg had told him he'd help search during the day, Starfire and Beast Boy had offered to do more patrols, but nothing satisfied his need to know. Somewhere, Slade was planning another trauma for them all, and he wasn't going to let it happen again.

He hadn't anticipated that his late night work would be taxing more than just himself. The bond between he and Raven allowed his empath teammate an exclusive track into his head, and she had been monitoring him ever since they got Slade's signal again. It took him a while to see the evidence of her shadowing him in the night. She well knew the cost of him putting too much stress on his mind and body. As she hovered in the kitchen, watching him sit and pour over maps and data on the big screen across the room, she dared to wonder if her concern was more than just worry for her leader and friend.

She needn't have asked herself, she had known her emotions and feelings for him were deep seated and they nagged her when he was in the room. The worst part of it was that he had noticed her too, and she had been trying to distance herself, but it was impossible when he was doing this to himself.

His chair turned quickly and she didn't move out of his line of sight fast enough. He jumped in his seat and made a futile attempt to hide his work on impulse.

"Couldn't sleep?" Robin asked her.

"No. You've been keeping me up," Raven said flatly. There was no accusation in her words, just tired concern.

"I uh, didn't know at first. I guess I should've noticed sooner, blankets don't cover me themselves," he said with a laugh.

"And coffee mugs don't take themselves to the sink, they do float over there, with help, though," she said with a tiny smile.

"Right, thanks, but you don't have to stay up with me, I've got things covered," he said.

"It's not entirely a choice, boy wonder, you're stressing your mind so much that it's keeping me from sleeping well,'' she said.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry. Guess i should think more softly," he joked.

"As if. That's not the point though and you know it. You haven't gotten a full night's sleep in a week and it's showing. We can help, don't suffer Slade's threats alone," she said.

"So the rest of the team has said, but it's the first I'm hearing it from you. You've been avoiding me...and i know why," he observed.

Raven turned away from him and grabbed a cup from the kitchen, filling it with water as the silence between them stretched. Robin got up and made his way over to the kitchen, watching Raven from the other side of the bar. He didn't want to press his luck too much, but he needed to say something. She took a sip from her cup and then sighed before she faced him.

"We should just be honest with each other. I miss hanging out with you. I don't want things to be awkward forever," he said.

"I'm worried about you, you're obsessing again and it's stressing both of us. Yet you want to talk about this...now," she said.

"Just tell me why you're avoiding me," he said.

"You know why."

"Say it anyway."

She hesitated and took another sip of water. He stood his ground and kept his eyes on her, waiting for her to speak.

"I...see you as more than a friend, but I can't risk what my powers might do to find out if that's what's right for either of us," she explained.

"I want to find out. This has been stressing me out more than Slade's signal. I wanna fix this, so...Would you go out with me?" he asked.

"Just like that? You'll stop staying up nights if I go on a date with you?" she asked.

"Yep. Then I'll know for sure, we both will," he replied.

"One date?"

"Yep."

"Okay, when?"

"Friday night?"

"Deal."