Raven rolled over in her sleep. She now faced the large window that overlooked Jump City. Her sleep was far from peaceful; she wore a pained expression, and every few minutes she would mutter "no" or "please", in the most fearful voice that I, and likely anyone, had ever heard her use.
Even asleep, with her purple hair fallen out of place, she was beautiful. She still wore her leotard, which brought out her feminine shape. It showed off her strong, pale legs. However, her shape and her legs were never my focus. More than anything else, I wanted to see her bright, violet eyes. For sometime now, they had been my favorite of her features, not that she would ever look at me with anything other than hate.
She tossed and turned again, this time settling on her back, with her head slightly tilted away from me, and she groaned "no." She sounded hopeless. As much as I had wanted to wake her up and comfort her, I knew better. She would never accept it. There was no way for me to take back the times that I had hurt her, or hurt her friends. Even now, I continue to attack the city, to fight the Titans. No longer to harm them or to achieve personal gain, but only so that I could see her. I could be close to her, even if it was just as she fought me to defend the city she considered so precious.
Distracted by my own pathetic self pity, I hadn't realized she woke up. She sat straight in her bed, holding her bed sheets over her body, and surveying the room. "Who's there?" she called out.
I didn't move, frozen in place just outside her window. I hung in the air, suspended by the ropes tied to the roof of Titan's Tower. For all her psychic abilities, my cloaking devices were superior. She looked right through me, and then glanced away to search the rest of the room. I knew stepping forward would certainly lead to interesting results. I truly doubted she would listen to why I was there, and I was even more certain that she wouldn't believe me. The most likely outcome was that she would attack.
"Show yourself," she demanded. My own hand twitched forward towards her window, daring myself to do it. The window was already slightly open, so if I just pushed it, I'd have her attention.
Before I reached a decision, a green cat jumped onto her bed, rubbing its chin against her ankle. Raven sighed. "Beast Boy, you shouldn't be in here."
The cat changed shape, becoming a short green man, seated on the side of her bed. "You were having a bad dream," Beast Boy said. "I heard you from my room."
Raven replied, "You shouldn't eavesdrop."
"Can't help it. Big ears." Beast Boy made his ears twitch up and down, grinning at his own comical features.
Raven frowned, pulling her bedsheets around herself. "Thanks for checking in but I'm okay."
Beast Boy's smile faded, and he nodded. "Okay, Rae. I'm just down the hall, if you need anything... You don't have to deal with everything alone." He waited for a reply, but it was clear that none was going to come. Raven slid back in the bed, and he dismissed himself from her room, pausing in the doorway to give a small wave. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Beast Boy," Raven replied. The door closed behind him, and Raven sighed, staring up at the ceiling. She took a deep breath, and whispered her mantra, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Then, she exhaled. Nodding to herself, she rolled over to face the window and stared out at the city lights. "I'm okay. I'll be okay."
It took about an hour for her to fall asleep again, occasionally whispering self assurances. I could tell she was asleep again when she flinched, and muttered, "Don't hurt them, please, don't hurt them." I knew it was another dream about her father, Trigon the Terrible, the want-to-be destroyer of the Earth. I wanted to tell her he was gone, that he couldn't hurt her or her friends. All she had to worry about now was… me. The man who forced her to work for her father. The man who continued to put her life and her friends lives in danger.
I slipped in through the open window and stood at the side of her bed. Carefully, I brushed hair out of her face, and I watched her sleep for another minute. With each breath, her breasts moved up and down. Her face twisted, flinching from the imaginary foe in her dream world, when her true foe stood inches away from her in real life.
I unclipped my mask, the very symbol of everything she hated, and I removed it. I was no longer "Slade - Enemy of the Teen Titans". Now I was just Slade Wilson, an old man who was too in love with an underaged girl. Either way, I had no chance with her. Still, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to her forehead. When I pulled away - perhaps I only imagined it - she looked more relaxed. At the very least, her muttering had stopped.
I went to the window and pulled my rope in, dragging up the bag I had tied to the end of it, and placed the gift on her end table beside her bed. "Goodnight," I whispered. I was long gone before the sun rose over Titans Tower, when Raven woke up to find her mysterious gift.
Raven's first sound of the day was a sigh. The night hadn't left her feeling well rested, and she wasn't ready for a new day yet. The new addition to her end table caught her eye. Raven rose out of the bed, summoning her cloak and wrapping it around herself. She peered in the top of the gift bag before touching it. Then, reaching in, extracted a pot with three stems planted in soil, each supporting several dark purple blossoms. A little sign was stuck in the dirt, labeling the plant a hyacinth, and leaving her care instructions. The rest of the bag was empty except for a small note reading:
"Like the hyacinth, great beauty can come from tragedy."
Raven flipped the note over, looking for a signature. When she found none, she placed the note beside the plant. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for anything else that had changed during the night. The only other thing that was different was her window. She knew she had left it closed the night before, but now it hung open. Raven floated over to it, glancing out at the day. The sun was peeking above the city, and the morning breeze was smelled of ocean water splashing against their island. Nothing was notable or suspicious. Raven pushed the window shut, and with two fingers, pushed the lock down. Tonight, and every other night, she'd be sure it was tightly locked. There would be no more visitors while she slept.
Before she left her room, Raven glanced back over her shoulder from the doorway to double check. Everything in the room, except for the plant, was exactly as she had left it the night before. Her eyes settled on the hyacinth, and she smiled to herself, closing the door behind her.
Author's Notes:
Written by Marina Montenegro
Marina is a gender neutral writer from New York City. For other work by Marina, you can check ners website, marinamontenegro dot com, or follow nem on Facebook (fan page: Marina Montenegro) and twitter, MarinaxRose.