Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans or any of the associated characters or settings, I do however take creative ownership of the storyline (:

Midnight Hearts Chapter 1

Home Sweet Rooftop

Beast Boy observed their handiwork, their party preparations for the evening. They'd done a good job, there were banners circling the walls of the living area; a strong, sweet aroma from the food cooking away in the kitchen and Cyborg's mock-up stage and sound system was coming together and nearly complete. All that was left was for him and Robin to collect the last few pieces from a store in the centre of Jump City.

"Come on Robin, we're going to be late otherwise," he whined, hopping up and down on the spot.

A deafening squeal shot through the room and Beast Boy leapt into the air, a green chicken landing on the floor and running round in circles. Cyborg popped his head up from behind the speakers.

"Sorry dudes. Wrong wire," he laughed, embarrassed. That was until he saw Beast Boy running around, clucking. "Well if that isn't the definition of headless chicken!"

Beast Boy quickly changed back, his face becoming flustered and a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his forehead. He shot a look towards Cyborg, but he'd already retreated back behind the sound system. He looked towards the kitchen, just as Robin emerged, holding the final box of banners. He places it onto the sofa that had been pushed to the window and brushed the dust from his trousers. He looked at his watch, realising the time, and signalled to Beast Boy to leave.

Robin and Beast Boy reached the door just as Starfire floated in, Raven walking through a couple of paces behind her. The Tamaranian was full of glee, zipping around the living area. Raven was less amused by the prospect of the night's events, it was all she needed on a Friday night, and especially after the long week they'd had.

"Come Friend Raven. There are more banners to be hung! Tonight's going to be glorious, no?"

Raven looked up as Starfire as if she'd just said something completely insane,

"Of course, loud music and lots of people screaming and making mess. Wonderful."

Cyborg came out from behind the stage, clapping his hands together. "Come on now, Raven, tonight's going to be fun. You'll enjoy it, I know you will."

His pep talk didn't seem to do the trick, as Raven simply raised an eyebrow and then took one end of a banner, flying upwards and pinning in to the ceiling, allowing Starfire to fumble with the other side. Watching her look at a drawing pin as if it were an unsolved Rubik's cube almost made Raven laugh…almost.

It took another hour for Robin and Beast Boy to return to Titan's Tower, in which time the girls had retreated back to their rooms in order to get ready for the party. Starfire had been incredibly excited about the prospect of wearing jeans and a black T-shirt – one of the two options for the dress code, the other being a black shirt and skirt – and her eyes had lit up when she'd tried on the jeans in the mirror on the door of her wardrobe.

Raven had decided to go for the skirt, not being one to enjoy trousers. Tights were one thing, but trousers felt too restricted for her, although she wasn't best pleased that she wasn't allowed to wear her usual outfit. It was like being an ordinary citizen, the sides of the titans' lives they'd kept hidden for many years.

The guests began showing up around seven o'clock. The first to arrive was Bumblebee, followed soon after by Aqualad and Speedy. While Speedy and Robin caught up and shared new stories about assignments they'd taken on, Aqualad entertained Starfire with some crafty water manipulation tricks. Starfire looked at him as if he were made of gold and eagerly followed his hands and the ball of water floating above it.

For Robin, it was good to have the Honorary Titans at the tower as it enabled them to get closer and share stories and adventures with each other. As the room filled and the music began to play, Robin's smile grew wider and wider. Although he couldn't for the life of him pick out Raven in the crowd. He dismissed it as his eyesight in the dark of the room, the only lights coming from the stage and a few candle holders dotted around the room – part of the finishing touches Robin and Beast Boy had gone out to collect.

After an hour or so, Cyborg hopped up onto the stage, which creaked under the weight of his boots. There'd always been plans to have a karaoke, some of the titans being better talented in the vocal department than others.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's the time you've all been waiting for…Titan Karaoke!"

A few cheers went up around the room as the music carried on playing in the background. As Cyborg began to take down the running orders of those wanting to take part, Robin scouted across for Raven once more. When he was certain that she wasn't here, he left the living area, glancing down the corridors. She wasn't in her room, or the training room and she wasn't even in the library. Thinking about where she would be, he tried to think like Raven.

"The roof," he muttered as the thought clicked in his mind. The quietest place at Titan Tower was always the roof, especially now when the warm summer night's silence would be flawless, away from the music echoing round in the tower.

Climbing up the stairs of the tower, the music gradually quietened and Robin could begin to hear his thoughts once more. It was only here that he realised what a din the party was causing downstairs. He rubbed his head, almost immediately having become hit by a small headache from the significant change in volume. He reached the top floor and clasped the handle to the door leading onto the roof. It was cool to touch, but as Robin turned it, the night warmth flooded in, making his cheeks turn rosy.

As he stepped out onto the stone, he saw the shadow of Raven behind an air vent opening. Raven was sat in the lotus position and hovering a couple of feet above the floor when Robin strolled around the air vent. Not being one to interfere with Raven's meditations, he simply sat beside her and waited. She could be finished in seconds or minutes, but sometimes Raven had managed to stay in meditation for almost an entire day, possibly even longer but not so to Robin's knowledge.

It was approaching nine o'clock when Raven shifted, slowly lowering towards the floor and opening her eyes. She turned round and jumped, startled by Robin and accidentally releasing a small surge of energy, cracking a few of the stones on the wall guarding the edge of the roof. Her look was icy when Robin met her eyes, but he'd always had to smile whenever he saw her like this.

"Robin, what are you doing?" she asked, without any genuine interest. She spread her legs out in front of her and leaned forwards to touch her toes, removing the stiffness caused by sitting in the lotus position for over an hour.

"Waiting for you, obviously. There's no point in having a party if we're not all there Raven. Come downstairs and join in."

Raven looked at Robin as if he'd just made a really bad joke, and an embarrassed smile crept across his face. He was determined to spend the night in Raven's company, but getting her down to the party would be a bonus.

"You know I'm not a party person Robin. People are screaming, acting stupid. I just…don't see the point."

Robin put his arm round Raven's shoulder, who flinched from the contact. Robin didn't falter and left his arm wrapped around her, and when she acknowledged that he wasn't going to give in, she reluctantly tried to relax. His touch was soft and light, so Raven soon found herself welcome his company and unusually taking satisfaction from this physical contact. She'd worked to restrain her emotions for so long, that Raven sometimes found it hard to distinguish between them, but she knew that although she'd never be able to show it, Robin held a small part of her heart, unlike any other person she'd known. So for this one moment, she allowed herself to remove the walls around her more stable emotions, and enjoy the moment she shared with Robin.