Okay, this was inspired by the song "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder. I absolutely love the song, and this has been running around in my head all day. It's in Robin's point of view only. It hasn't been beta'd, or edited, and I don't know that it's all that good, so if you hate it, that's alright, I had to write it. It was driving me nuts. If you haven't heard the song, you're missing out. It's GREAT!
The ringing phone startled Richard from his place at his desk, his computer screen casting an eerie glow around the room, the sun having set long ago with the room's occupant not noticing the growing darkness in his state of concentration. He glanced at the clock and was startled to see that it was shortly after midnight. He quickly grabbed the phone before it could wake his sleeping girlfriend in next room.
"Hello?" He waited for a few seconds, hearing nothing on the other end. After repeating his greeting, he was preparing to hang up, when he heard a quiet sob on the other end of the line.
"Richard?" He froze, his eyes widening slightly as he glanced at the clock once again, wondering why she was calling so late, why she was in tears.
"Raven? Why are you calling so late?" He kept his voice low, hoping Kori was still sleeping and hadn't been awoken by the ringing of the telephone. He also didn't want her privy to this conversation, feeling slightly guilty at the pleasure that flooded through him at the sound of her low voice speaking his name. It sounded so sweet, even after all this time.
"Richard, can you talk now? I'm sorry for calling so late, but I needed to talk to you." Raven's voice was soft as well, as if she was trying to keep this conversation as secret as he was. He froze again, barely breathing as he heard soft noises from the next room, before relaxing slightly as they stopped.
"I can't really talk right now, but what's wrong? Why are you crying? Is everything alright?" He felt his heart catch slightly at the idea that something was wrong with her. He found himself reaching for the picture hidden in the bottom drawer of his desk, taking it out and staring at her perfect face staring at him, her lips turned up slightly, her eyes deep and mysterious, drawing him in even from the picture frame. His finger traced lightly over her lips, the lips of an angel he remembered all too well.
"I…." She paused here, as if uncertain on what to tell him, as if unsure about his reaction to it. Richard heard her take a deep breath before continuing in a soft voice, a slight hitch telling him that she was perhaps not as calm as she would like to be. "I had a dream Richard. It was like it was before, after my father, but….before everything went wrong. It was so perfect…do you…" She paused again, her breathing slightly heavier as she tried to control her tears. "Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we hadn't said goodbye?"
Richard stared down at the picture in his hands, his thumb tracing the curve of her face, thinking back on what they had once shared. "Yes." His voice was soft, almost more a breath then an actual sound. "I had a dream about it too. A few days ago." Admitting this brought a sharp pain to his chest, the realization that they had never really moved on, settling into him and bringing forth a flood of memories. His shoulder's hunched slightly as he remember that Kori was in the next room, sleeping peacefully, waiting for him to come to bed, believing in him, believing him to be faithful. Although, he had never been unfaithful to her, did it count if he sometimes found himself wishing that she was a purple haired half-demon with a remarkable temper and the lips of an angel?
"I miss you Richard." The words reached his ear in a soft whisper, the tone one of regret and pain. He felt himself grow weak at the idea that maybe she missed him as much as he had missed her for the past two years. He thought he had let it die, and had moved on, had settled down with Kori, but perhaps neither of them had really put it behind them.
"It's funny that you called tonight…I was thinking about you and Roy today, wondering if there were going to be wedding bells in the future." His thumb stopped tracing her face at the thought of her boyfriend, probably asleep somewhere in their apartment across town. He had seen it only a few times, right before he and Raven had broken up. It was her apartment, newly purchased, newly decorated. Richard had believed that he was the one who would be living their with her, not Roy. "Does he know you're talking to me?" It had taken them awhile to become friends again, but they had eventually managed to do so. Then Roy happened. He still wasn't sure how they had gotten together, only that it had changed everything. "Will it start a fight?" His hand clenched harder around the phone at the idea of Roy being mad at Raven for talking to him. Possessive jerk. The anger crossed his mind briefly, followed by the flash of guilt that accompanied the realization that Kori had no clue that he and Raven were once again in contact.
She sighed into the receiver, and he swore he could feel her pain across the line.
"He's not home. He doesn't know. I don't know where he is actually. Nor do I especially care. We had a fight. About you actually. He says I haven't gotten over you, says that I compare him to you, and apparently find him lacking. I lashed out at him in return, and he stormed out. Hasn't been home since. Happened about 6 hours ago." He sighed at her words, feeling guilt settling more heavily onto his shoulders, weighing them down with the fact that he was the cause for her unhappiness.
"Honey, why are you calling so late? You could have called me earlier." The endearment slipped out, without conscious thought on his part. He had called her "honey" for the better part of 3 years, and it felt so good to say it to her again, never having used it for Kori. It would have betrayed what he had with Raven.
"I didn't want you to have to explain to Kori why I was calling. I…..I didn't want to risk talking to her. How could I tell her that I have yet to get over her boyfriend? Especially when I have one of my own." Her voice lacked strength, she seemed to be drained of energy. "I realized that after Roy left actually. That he had been right. That I did compare him to you and find him lacking, that I never had gotten over you. I miss you Richard." She paused for a moment, whether to give him a chance to respond, or to gather her thoughts he didn't know, incapable of answering her either way, his thoughts jumbled at the idea of not being the only one still stuck in the past. "I love you Richard. That's why I called so late, I had to tell you." The phone clicked in his ear, signaling the end of the conversation, his emotions awhirl with what he had just heard.
Raven still loved him. The words made him weak in the knees just thinking about it. It was so sweet to finally have it vindicated, to finally know that she still felt that same. That he was not alone in that. He hung up the phone slowly, knowing that she wouldn't talk to him again tonight, that even if he called her back, she wouldn't respond to him. He stared down at the picture of his ex-girlfriend in his hands, her perfect features frozen in a happier time for both of them. He was lost as to what to do. If Raven even wanted to do anything about it. And what about Kori? He had promised to be faithful to her when they had started dating. But Raven…
He sighed deeply before putting the picture back in its hiding place, shutting down his computer and making his way to the bedroom that was lit from the full moon, its light making the red hair of his girlfriend glow. He stared down at her for a second, before climbing into the opposite side of the bed, his back turned towards her. He closed his eyes and tried to find a comfortable spot, trying to block all thoughts of Raven and her declaration out of his mind. He didn't know what he should do, and couldn't decide tonight. He needed time to think, time to decide what course he was going to take. Kori turned and snuggled up to his back. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, remembering the feel of a different woman at his back, her arm wrapped snugly around him in sleep. Grey-tinted skin and deep amethyst eyes haunted him as he tried to relax, tried to fall into the gentle rhythm of the land of dreams. They followed him into his dreams, into a happy time that he had tried to put behind him. It was hard to be faithful to the woman at his back, when he had never really moved on from the woman with the lips of an angel.
Well I hope you enjoyed it, and if not, that's alright as well. Please let me know in the wonderful review button below. Also, let me know if you think I should continue it. I'm a little indecisive about whether I should or not. It didn't go quite as I had hoped, but I rather like it. Probably cause I"m still listening to the song. LOVE IT!
Also, please understand, it's not that I don't like Kori, I couldn't really think of another person that would make sense, since I adore Raven and Robin.
I'm working on the next chapter of "Only New Beginnings", but I make no promises on when it will be out!
Ciao for now!
Aurora Mikayla