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Good Enough, Always
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"I wasn't always like this you know."
He's the first one to break the silence and I'm surprised.
"What do you mean?" I ask carefully, tucking my wind-tangled hair behind my ear with difficulty.
"Always this serious. Always this unforgiving. Always this relentless."
His voice is almost as emotionless as mine, and I wince slightly at the coldness emanating from him. I know I have to be careful in what I say now – he could tell me everything, or he could clam up and not talk about this for our entire lives. Like walking on broken glass. Carefulness is essential for both of us to come out unscathed.
"You're a good leader. That's enough for us," I say quietly when he doesn't add say anything more, both of us looking over at the horizon where the sun still sits halfway.
He abruptly turns to look at me, and I turn my head to meet him. "Do you really think so?"
It's more like an attack than a question. Harsh and almost angry.
"Yes, and so does the rest of us."
Well, it's the truth. We all look up to him. We're thankful for his guidance and his hope at all times.
He lets out a snort, looking back at the city. "Like he'd think so…"
And I know who he's talking about. Who wouldn't, he is famous around the galaxy ever since he created the Justice League and started zooming off into space as well. But this comment is not for me. So I wait.
The wind tugs my hair free and makes it wildly whip around my face. I reach up to tuck it back behind my ear. His black cape flaps against my blue one and I almost want to hug his forlorn shape. But of course I don't. That's Star's job, and I wish she was here right now instead of me.
"With him, I always tried to be good. Good enough. He was so dark so I took on the role of light, I guess. Because we needed balance."
More wind. A long pause. The sun is properly over the horizon now, almost meeting the fat, fluffy cloud a few inches (from my vantage point that is) above the ocean.
"He wasn't dark from the start. Most people think he was…but he wasn't. He could laugh, smile, have fun in the beginning. Maybe it was the crime fighting. Maybe it was his Bat persona rubbing off on him. Maybe it was some sort of mid-life crisis that didn't go away. I was sick of it. Sick of pretending, sick of joking around just to lighten things up, sick of never being…"
"Good enough?" I whisper.
He nods. Shrugs. "And sick of me being like him. I knew he'd rub off on me. I was sick of his violence, but I was becoming the same."
I wait again. The sun is properly up now, but the sunlight is blocked by the cloud. That looks like a butterfly.
"I guess it did rub off me," he says finally, with a faint chuckle. "Look at me."
"Or you just want to be good enough in his eyes, so you try as hard as you can. And the methods you know are his."
He smirks. "You make me sound like a wimp."
I glare at him. "No I don't!" I snap. "That's not a wimpy thing at all. He was your father, damn it."
"I didn't know Raven swore," he says rather playfully, but he doesn't say more as I continue to glower.
"You're right. On both," he finally mutters.
"Robin." I call his name. For the first time today. It makes him look up again. I seek out his eyes. Or where they should be anyway.
"I love your seriousness. I love your relentlessness. And I think you're very forgiving, so I disagree with that."
He smiles. A real smile, something with relief stamped on it with love on the side. But I'm not done talking.
"And we all need you for that. What would our team do without you? We'd be fooling around. We'd get hurt because we were unprepared and untrained. We'd be still lost on the streets."
"Thanks," he says.
I shrug. "It's just the truth."
His eyes again stray to the sea and sky.
"That's what she loves about you, so don't you dare break up with her."
Half-frowning, he stares at me.
"Raven," he says warningly. "Did you – ?"
"Not on purpose. But we do have a connection. Easy for you to forget maybe, but not for me."
He opens his mouth, then shuts it again sheepishly. He opts to laugh quietly and look back at the brilliant sky.
"You coming for breakfast?" he asks.
I smile softly. "You go on first. She's waiting anxiously for you."
He grins at me then rushes down the stairs, leaving me shaking my head at his ardency.
I look up at the sky again. I know Starfire will jump at Robin, hugging him like there was no tomorrow, that he'd shyly return the hug with a smile while trying to shoot glares at Cyborg and Beastboy at the same time. I know Beastboy and Cyborg will tease Robin while arguing about tofu and meat. I know Robin will tell them to cut it out and just make breakfast while he despairs taking his eyes off of Starfire even for a second.
The sun has risen to its full glory.
I start down the sun-filled stairs.
Nope, it's not RobRae. But I love their friendship. :D Really really much. And I'm a firm believer of "love" other than romantic love. Who says love has to be romantic love only? Yes they are on the rooftop. :) But it didn't fit the criteria for "The Rooftop" so it's just a oneshot. Just a random thought that popped up into my mind.