Authors Corner - Okay, I went out on a limb on this one. I have absolutely no idea where it came from, but I was practicing piano and suddenly wondered what would happen if I were to go against everything and try to write a Raven/Robin fic. So I did, and here it is.

Disclaimer – The Teen Titans don't belong to me, and neither does the piano. However, the plot-line does, and so does Raven's song. Steal and die.

Sweetly Sings the Raven

A frown creased Robin's face at the sound of a melody coming from a room just off of the main recreation room. It was something in a minor key, gloomy and depressing, yet strangely beautiful in that way that a piano was able to flawlessly sing any melody. But his question wasn't where the sound was coming from; that much was obvious. It had been just the week prior that the mayor of Jump City had presented the Titans with a baby Grand Piano, a reward, he said, for keeping the city safe for so long. Robin's theory was that it was actually a reward for managing to keep the city safe without destroying anything in the process for three weeks straight.

He'd thought it to be a fairly pointless gift. Sure, it looked nice, but he'd thought it to be wasted on them. He'd been sure that no one on the team was able to play, yet he'd apparently been wrong. Whoever it was, they were a fairly adept player. His mind reeled as he tried to figure out who it could be, without actually entering the room and disturbing them. It couldn't be Starfire – the alien girl had been thrilled at seeing the instrument, but it hadn't reminded her of anything from her home planet. Cyborg had looked at it in interest, but then turned away. He'd been a jock before joining the Titans, and had said himself that he couldn't do anything with music but listen to it. Beast Boy was a very doubtful possibility, which only left… Raven.

He inwardly raised an eyebrow; Raven, a pianist? He'd never have thought it of her, but supposed that she was the likeliest of any of them to actually play an instrument. He approached the door and it slid quietly open to reveal the dark Titan sitting at the piano bench, playing by the light of a single candle that cast eerie shadows throughout the room. Her hands moved with the awkward fluency of someone who was becoming re-used to something that they hadn't done in a long while. He moved to get a glimpse of her face, surprised that she hadn't yet noticed him – he knew she'd have stopped if she had. He was surprised to find that her eyes were closed – it explained the occasional erred note – she was playing by feel. Her features were schooled into a calm expression – much the same expression as when she meditated.

He stood there for some moments more as she brought the piece she'd been playing to a close, and watched with an amused smile as her eyes snapped open and her head spun to look at him. A light blush covered her cheeks as a fire entered her eyes, daring him to say something about her playing. He rose to the bait, being unable to help himself.

"I didn't know you played," he said, taking a seat beside her on the edge of the bench. Too close – she shuffled over, away from him. "You play well," he continued, noticing that she was pointedly looking away from him, and that her shadowed face sported a darker shade of red.

"I had lessons as a child," was her clipped response. But that was just like Raven – she offered enough information to make more questions form, and then stopped, closing the conversation and making it difficult to restart it. Normally, he'd leave her in peace at this point, but today he felt a strange daring; something that told him to keep the conversation going. Something that told him she'd be willing to speak, if he initiated a discussion, or, if he asked a question.

"What was that you were playing?" he asked gently. His eyes took in the sheet of parchment that was sitting on the piano before them. It was covered in a strange writing, and with other strange symbols that made him believe it to be music. Raven's eyes were locked on it as well.

"An Azarathian song," she replied. One thin, grey hand reached up to touch the parchment, and Robin saw something that looked oddly like sorrow flash through her eyes. What did it mean to her, to cause her to show so much emotion in front of someone else?

"Can you sing it?" he asked softly. It was daring, and he had no idea where the question had come from, but it had caused a reaction in Raven that he had been trying to avoid. Her barriers went back up, eyes becoming expressionless as she regarded him coolly.

"Ravens don't sing," she said flatly. He grimaced, as much as at the bird reference as at the tone in her voice. He forced himself to nod slowly, though he wasn't agreeing with her by any means, and was completely unwilling to give up. Somehow, he was sure that her emotionless monotone could give life to a beautiful voice, if she was willing to let it. But of course, she wouldn't be willing to if her barriers remained closed to him. He'd have to work them down again; he'd have to get Raven to trust him completely.

"No, but I'm sure that girls who are named after ravens can," he murmured. This gained another blush – he was getting somewhere. "Besides, robins may sing – kind of – but I'm tone-deaf," he watched her face for a reaction as he said it, and grinned inwardly as a ghost of a smile flitted across her face, momentarily lighting up her violet eyes.

"I haven't sung since before I left Azarath, Robin," she said softly, lifting the parchment and letting her eyes trail over it. Robin shrugged and smiled at her. It didn't matter to him, either way. He just wanted to be the one to get something out of her that wasn't completely monotonous.

"That's alright, I don't mind," he responded. Her eyes regarded him with a droll expression, and she looked at him in this way for a moment before sighing. He grinned – Beast Boy wasn't the only one who could give a pleading puppy face – he just usually chose not to show it.

"It doesn't leave this room," she replied. He noted that she'd already begun to let go of the monotone, revealing a pure, alto tone that had been hidden beneath. She pushed him off of the bench, catching him off guard and resulting in him crashing to the floor with a grunt. He looked up at her to protest, but stopped when he saw that wicked grin on her face, and instead gave a resigned sigh. "I need the space," she explained after a moment. He gave a wave of dismissal.

His eyes fixed on her hand as she rested them over top of a section of the keys, before they launched into the same haunting melody that she'd been playing before. This time though, it was accompanied by a beautiful line of vocal melody, almost choral in the way it was sung, and very operatic in nature. He was surprised to find that she was singing in English, instead of whatever language was on her page. But all distracting thoughts about the delivery of the piece were dispersed as his brain registered the words that she was singing.

"Love for one who is not,

Forgotten memories of one who still is.

Hope sings from above,

And loses itself in the wind…"

A long passage of piano interlude followed, and he noticed that, this time, she played no wrong notes. There were no stutters, no finger slips; Raven was letting her heart play with a pure love for music and, perhaps, a love for someone else. Did he dare hope for it? Did he dare hope that Raven's heart, which had been hidden for so long, was reaching out for him?

"Love, crossing through the air…

Losing itself in the wind…"

He found himself sitting on the bench next to her again, closer than he had been before. Close enough to feel her cloak brushing against his bare arm, and close enough to wonder why she hadn't yet shied away. A feeling of hope rose in his chest – the type of hope that she had sang about – and, as the song came to a close, he took a risk and carefully, slowly, put an arm around her, fearful that she'd startle as easy as her namesake. But she didn't move away. Instead, she moved toward him, into the embrace. He placed his other arm around her gently and met her eyes as she looked up at him.

"Some Ravens can sing," he said softly. A genuine smile appeared on her face without a sign of disappearing.

"Thank you," she murmured softly, and he gasped at the sudden gratitude and love he felt, flowing in waves through the air. He quickly realized that they were emitting from Raven's empathic abilities, broadcasting her emotions for all to feel. They vanished after a moment though, yet the look in her eyes told him that she wanted him to understand.

He kissed her chakra gently and grinned. The candle snuffed out as he – barely – heard the words 'I love you' murmured from the figure in his arms.

"I love you too, Raven," he responded, sealing his words with a gentle kiss.

End.

Review please!