Insomnia

Hey, everyone… *waves sheepishly*. I'm back after a LOOOONNNGGG hiatus. I apologize, really. I've finally managed to actually knock some sense into my brain into writing a new story. College life has been taking a lot of my time; I practically have exams almost every month. And since I still don't have my own personal laptop, there's no way I can update that often.

So, this is a story that I have conjured up for quite a while but didn't get to write it. I do have other one shots coming around. Seriously, watching TV shows are just so inspirational~

The good thing is; they brought Teen Titans back. The bad thing is; they're all in their chibi forms. Oh well, at least I still get to listen to the voices of Tara Strong AND Scott Menville!

Disclaimer: If I do own it, I'd fire the staff who thought of making them so cute and revert them back to their sexy "adult" forms!

Chapter 1: Robin

"If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep."

– Dale Carnegie

"Okay team, you guys did well today. We all deserve a good nights rest. Hopefully no idiots would trigger the alarm again." Robin rubbed his gloved hands together. "Titans, dismiss."

Cyborg gave a huge yawn. "Alright… Guess it's time for bed, y'all. Come on, tofu boy, no sleeping on the hallway." Yawn. "If I were to carry you, you have to let me feed you my newly bought juicy steak tomorrow." He grinned sleepily and started towards the direction of his room.

Beast Boy's dog head jerked up from the floor. He switched back and pointed at Cyborg's retreating back. "PFFT! Not if I raced ya there!" And thus, both mechanical and green zombies were transformed into rockets, and off they blasted.

Starfire giggle. She turned to Robin and Raven. "Well, friends. I guess this is where I wish you a good night!" She floated drowsily and let out a small yawn on the way out.

The door towards the main room closed and the whole room was bathed in silence. Raven, after watching the rest of her teammates run off in pursuit of a good nights sleep, turned to Robin and asked, "You going to bed any soon?"

Robin stretched his aching muscles and said, "I dunno. I still gotta write up the incident report on Johnny Rancid. Seriously, can't he have chosen a better time to rob a bank instead of going around rampaging the whole city at…" he glanced at the nearby clock, "12.46 in the morning?"

Raven shrugged slightly. "Well, evil never sleeps. It's why the city has us." She smirked as she crossed her arms. "You're not one to complain. Your eager, cocky, egotistical spirit is always what keeps us awake at night. I'm still surprised the team hasn't said a word about you being nocturnal and all. You should take over the role of the Tower's alarm system. I'd bet that 'Titans, Go!' shout will boost all of us out of Sleepyland."

He chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Well, guess I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Raven gave him a slight nod, and replied softly. "Tomorrow then…" She gazed at him a bit longer before turning on her heels and threw a sheepish "Good night" over her shoulder.

Robin grinned. As the door closed behind Raven, he let out a huge sigh and began checking the Tower's computing system. He made sure he quadruple-checked everything grimly before heading to his own room to write out the report. There was once where due to his carelessness, Control Freak managed to bypass the security system and ended up having almost half of the Tower turned into the battlefield of Counter-Strike.

The trek to his room was a long one; he went from floor to floor, inspecting every exit, ensuring the windows are closed shut and that everything's in place. Door to door he went as he inspected the evidence room, the laundry room, the gym and so on. He passed by Cyborg's room and heard the low hum of his machines, and also his loud snores. The cyborg has been blasting his sonic canon and "Boo-yah!"ing all day. Robin smiled and shook his head slightly, venturing on to check on Beast Boy.

Reaching the green-changeling's room, he placed his ear gently to his door and listened. Whispered "Cyborg, stop… not the MEAT!" floated into his ears and he chuckled under his breath, knowing that his friend is probably having another "Meat vs. Tofu" nightmare. He went on to Starfire's room and was glad to hear no distracting sounds coming from the alien's bedroom. Starfire rarely experience any bad dreams – Raven once told him that her mind was filled with optimism and cheerfulness. Satisfied, he walked towards the emergency stairs and went up a floor to where his and Raven's room were.

Without breaking stride, he burst out through the door, went straight past his room and onto Raven's. He knew she often doesn't sleep well, even after the conflict with her father. She always tends to worry about what's to come, though she doesn't show it in front of anyone. But Robin isn't just anyone; he's the adopted son of the world's greatest detective, for God's sake! Just a slight twitch of her eyebrow and he knows she's confused; the way she starts mouthing the words whenever she reads meant she has reached the story's climax; her shoulders only tense up when she's got a lot on her mind, usually regarding any dangers that are to come.

He strode lightly towards her door and held his breath in an attempt to heighten his hearing. There was the slight rustling of sheets as she turned about in her bed, and he heard a soft sigh. He imagined her in bed, turned onto her left side, all curled up like a child. He smiled at the image, and proceeded to his room.

After a long and stress-releasing shower, he donned comfortable sweatpants and a T-shirt and made his way to the table for another late night report-writing. The chair groaned as it accommodated his weight. He let out a huge breathe as his blue eyes, sans mask, looked from object to object spread out messily on his work desk. Past reports which he had accidentally forgotten to file up (He groaned as the thought of going through the whole pile of paper just to find details of various newly-released inmates popped into his mind) was probably jumbled up with various letters and printouts on recent criminal activity, all weighed down by the few birdarangs and ice discs he planned on examining. He bit his lower lip, his gaze moving here and there while his forefinger tapped the table furiously; signs of a very stressed out man.

Okay, okay, deep breaths. You can finish this, just as long as you don't bring the anal-retentive meticulous attitude out of the box. Thus, he started the onerous work of completing the day's report.

Word by word he kept on writing until his eidetic memory could no longer pin out any anonymities. Once he ended the form with his signature, he set down the pen gently and glanced at the digital numbers on his clock and noted the time. 2.09 AM. He stretched until the sound of his back cracking could be heard before relaxing. 2 AM. 2 AM and my brain still isn't turning into mush. He shook his head gently. I should've whacked Bruce in the head whenever he keeps us both awake. It's still a wonder the man has no bags under his eyes.

His bed stilled looked the same since the last time he made it. It has been four consecutive nights since he actually got in between the sheets and fell into a blissful sleep. One thing Robin hated about closing his eyes and entering unconsciousness is that his mind just wouldn't shut up. Every time he closes his lids, events from earlier in the day would seep into his thoughts and bring about a drastic positive feedback. Images of the team sustaining injuries, bystanders wounded because he couldn't reach them in time, criminals escaping due to his lack of pre-planning. Instead of being indifferent, his mind would bring him into the darkest corner where glumness and pessimism reside. Besides, ruffling the blankets and propping the pillows would do him no good; no matter how comfortable he got the death of his parents and the demons he met on the way until this day would continue to haunt him in his slumber.

Giving his bed one last glance, he made up his mind to pump his system full of caffeine. He strode lazily to the kitchen, thinking about everything and nothing. The doors slid open as he approached its sensor's range and it came as no surprise to him to find his next door empath up and about, her herbal tea prepared and ready to go and in the midst of preparing his own cup of coffee.

The kitchen's low lights were on, and he could see her silhouette hovering near the cabinets, obviously placing spoons of ground coffee into his so-called favorite "I'm the Bird" cup Beast Boy hilariously got for him during Christmas a few years back. Raven palpably was focused on preaparing his cup of steamy coffee, so when Robin moved soundlessly until he was almost chest-to-back with her and spoke softly in her ear, she jumped and nearly dropped the spoon.

"Little bit more…"

"Oh my God… Robin, would you not do that?" She gave him a slight glare as she tried to compose herself – as in trying hard not to blush.

Robin chuckled, "Sorry, I thought you would sense me, seeing as I rarely scare you outta your pants." She narrowed her eyes. "Okay, I'm SOR-RY. Happy?"

"Very…" She muttered, and returned to her task. He moved to stand next to her, watching her placing another two scoops of coffee before grabbing the hot kettle and filling the cup til the rim. She handed it to him gently with the spoon in place; he held the cup by its holder and walked towards the island to enjoy his cup of Raven-made coffee. Raven quickly cleaned up the mess before reaching for her cup of lukewarm tea, following him out of the kitchen.

They sat facing each other, Robin on one side sipping his coffee and trying not to burn his tongue; Raven on the other drinking her tea without a care in the world. Raven wasn't that shocked in seeing him without his mask, but she did hope he was wearing it now, since he wouldn't stop glancing at her as he drank. If it weren't for the fact that she's feeling a little bit drowsy now, she would have reached across the table and choke him to death.

Robin, on the other hand, was bored. Since Raven was in his range of vision (and more pretty to look at), he kept switching his gaze from the brim of his cup to her amethyst eyes. Whenever she looked up at him, he would glance away. Judging by the way she's fidgeting in her seat, he's clearly irking her; he found out that this entertainment is not only keeping him awake, it's entertaining.

His trance was broken when Raven spoke. "You through analyzing me?" She asked with icily.

"Nope," he answered curtly, "it's obviously better than looking at all the gloomy furniture."

She raised a delicate brow. "Oh, so I'm a chair?"

He laughed. "Nah, unless you want me to think you as one." He grinned.

Raven gave him the devil eyes but he could see the bare hint of a smile as she raised her cup to her lips. Comfortable silence took over for quite a while before she spoke again. "Remember to lend me your shoulder to sleep on."

The comment was so abrupt that it took Robin a few seconds before his mind could process its meaning. He nodded and gave her a soft smile as gratitude. "Don't I always."

At 3.03 AM, Robin found himself on the couch, watching the night sky idly through the Tower's floor-to-ceiling windows, while Raven dozed off next to him, her head perched on his shoulder.

Author's note: Yes! I'm done! Seriously, I've been trying to get this off my Things-to-do list and finally, it's freakin' done! Hope you guys enjoyed it. Note to all: I won't be updating that often. Don't blame me; blame life.

Now, go REVIEW!

Hardcore RobRae fan, over and out!