A/N

Italicized text indicates flashbacks.

~An Odd Thing to Fear~

The Titans had headed to the private beach 20 miles south of Jump City to relax. The Mayor had granted the area to them six months ago, but so far they hadn't been to it once yet. It was the middle of the day, with no clouds in sight and a pleasant, cool wind blowing in from the sea. The sand was warm beneath Robin's feet as he walked over to Raven, who was sitting on a towel and reading beneath an umbrella.

Starfire, Beastboy, and Cyborg were all out in the ocean goofing off, but Raven had yet to join them. He knew that she was reserved and usually liked to keep to herself when it came to socializing, but so far she'd seemed hesitant to even join them on the trip.

"What's the point in travelling somewhere just to go the beach? We live on an island."

They'd all argued with her, but eventually they managed to convince her to come along.

"Hey, Raven." He greeted casually as he sat down beside her. They were both in swimwear; Robin a pair of red and yellow swimming trunks and Raven a blue, two piece bikini. It felt nice to get into the shade after being beneath the beating sun all afternoon. "You wanna build a sand castle?" He asked.

"No thanks." She muttered as turned the page on her book.

"Hmm… how about going fishing?" He asked.

"I'm fine right where I am." Raven replied. "You should go hang out with others, I'll be right here."

Robin frowned and his demeanor slumped. He didn't want to force her to do something she wasn't comfortable with, but at the same time he didn't want her to waste the day away from everyone else. "Are you sure you don't want to come swimming with us?"

And just for a second, so fast he couldn't even be sure it happened, he saw her tense up and fear flash across her eyes. It faded just as quickly as it appeared, and she quietly responded with a simple, "No." She didn't look up from her book, in fact she hadn't at all since he sat down beside her, but now it seemed as if she were trying not to look at him.

He wondered what was wrong. Should he try and talk to her about it? Couldn't hurt to try. "Is something wrong?" Robin asked tentatively. He leaned back, placing his hand behind him on the towel they were sitting on.

"No. I just want to read." She told him.

He was prepared to let it go, but he was getting an uneasy feeling from the bond between them. Looking over her, he could see that her shoulders were squared and she was flexing her toes against the ground. Her fingernails were digging into the cover of the book, and her lips were pursed tightly together.

Robin recalled the time so long ago when they'd first built the T-Ship and headed underwater to find Trident, the first time they encountered Aqualad.

"Robin, I can't go on this mission." Raven had pulled him to the side while they watched Cyborg working on their underwater vehicle.

He looked at her, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"I… just can't. I don't have a good feeling about this." For the first time since they'd formed the team, he saw something akin to fear in her eyes.

"Raven, we kind of need five people to pilot the ship."

"Are you sure you can't do this without me?" She pleaded.

"What's wrong? I don't think that you've ever asked off for a mission before." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's…" She trailed off, looking away.

Robin sighed, but placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look, if it makes you feel better, you can be in charge of our defense systems. We'll be counting on you to keep us safe."

That did it. She sighed in defeat, but her eyes shone with resolve. "Alright."

In the end, he never found out what it was that made her want to request off. "You know you can talk to me if something's bothering you." He playfully bumped her shoulder with his, and she looked over to him. He smiled, trying to reassure her.

Raven set her book down, looking down at the ground. "I don't think you'd understand." She responded quietly after a moment. Now, she wasn't even trying to hide the fact that something was bothering her.

"I can try, if you want to talk about it." He said without missing a beat. His tone was still light-hearted, but he meant what he said.

Raven put a bookmark between the pages of her novel and set it down before she stood up, looking down at Robin. She offered her hand and pulled him up, then started walking south along the beach. "Follow me."

Robin was confused, but followed alongside her nonetheless. They went farther than he expected, so far that the sounds of Beastboy cannon-balling into the sea in the form of a whale and Starfire and Cyborg splashing each other with water faded several minutes ago. They kept walking and walking, and it got the point where Robin couldn't see the others on the horizon, but Raven continued anyways.

"Where are we going?" He asked. If she wanted to talk to him without the others overhearing or interrupting them, she'd certainly gotten her wish.

"We're almost there." Raven said. They walked for about 4 more minutes, until they stopped in a seemingly random location. She stepped towards the ocean, just enough to let the tide reach up to her ankles.

"So… what's so special about this place?" Robin asked.

Raven didn't look back as she asked, "What do you see?"

That was simple. "I see the ocean." There were a few rocks that peaked above the water when the tide pulled the waves back, but other than that there was nothing else of note. No boats on the horizon, no other people (but that was to be expected since this was a private beach), not even seagulls in the air.

"I see myself."

His brow furrowed at her response. "What do you mean?" He walked forward so he was standing beside her, but Raven kept her gaze on the horizon.

"I'm not too different from the ocean before us." She said. "Much like myself, the ocean is full of dark depths that can't be explored. It's full of broken things, sunken things, objects and memories swallowed by the raging waves, lost forever. It's dangerous, but you wouldn't know it from a distance." Raven wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes. "Just like me, the ocean is restrained, but at any moment its true nature could break free and destroy everything, sweeping it all out to sea before returning to its normal self. I don't like the ocean, because I see myself in it. Just like the ocean, I could lose control and destroy everything. Just like the ocean, I have secrets hidden away in a darkness people can't explore. When I look out there, over the crest of the waves, I feel… uneasy."

Robin didn't respond immediately. The sound of the waves rolling up on shore was the only thing that broke the otherwise still silence.

"Why do you think people are fascinated by the ocean?" He asked Raven after a moment.

She looked over at him. "I don't know."

"It's because the ocean is beautiful." Robin said. "Sure, it can be dangerous. It might consume everything without warning, but you know what?" He smiled as she raised an eyebrow. "People treasure the ocean. They'll treasure the things they find hidden away in the deep, when the ocean lets them in and allows them to explore the darkness beneath the surface. It's full of wonderful things, and every now and then it reveals something amazing about itself."

He reached down and picked up a sand dollar from the ground, putting it into the palm of her hand and closing her fingers over it. "People brave the darkness because they love the ocean, regardless of whatever dangers it might hold."

Raven held up the sand dollar, turning it over in her hand. She looked out over the horizon, but this time she didn't feel uneasy or afraid when she gazed upon the waves. She felt calm. "Thanks, Robin."

"You wanna head back?" He asked.

She nodded, and the two started walking back side by side. Raven reached down and took his hand, the sand dollar clasped between their palms.

~An Odd Thing to Fear~

A few days later, Raven was sitting in the common room, reading the novel from her trip to the beach. She was nearing the end, but the door swishing open caused her to look up. Beastboy had walked in, giving her a casual wave as he started up the GameStation. Raven nodded at him, before going back to her book.

Beastboy started playing, the buttons clicking and the sounds from the TV occasionally distracting her. She finished the last few pages of the novel and stood up, intending to go grab another book and to make some tea.

"Hey, what's that?" Beastboy called out, causing her to stop. "When did you get a necklace?" He tilted his head, pausing his game and setting the controller down.

She pulled up the necklace, letting Beastboy lean in to examine it. "Robin gave me this sand dollar when we went to the beach the other day. I put it on some string." She explained, letting it fall back against her chest.

"Oooh, I see. Cool!" He said, sitting back down and picking up the controller again. Raven nodded and walked out of the room. When the doors swished closed Beastboy shook his head and grinned. "Lovebirds!" He chuckled.

~An Odd Thing to Fear~

A/N

At this point I should change my username to RobinxRaven writer, amirite?

This has been in my head in so many forms, and it's gone through so many re-writes and reboots on paper, but I'm happy with it as it is now, so I hope you're happy with it too!

Oh boy I can't wait to upload my valentine's day one-shot for these two :)