Their Fortunes

"Good bye, friends. Though it has been great fun, it is time for me to leave you. My family and my planet need me." And just like that, she was gone. It had broken Robin's heart.

That was five months ago. Almost half a year. Now, still, Robin only came out of his room to fight crime and eat. He even stopped obsessing over Slade. No matter what the rest of the team did to try and cheer him up, nothing worked.

Today was Jump City's annual carnival. Everyone went, including all the thieves and villains, yet there was never any crime on this particular night. Each year the Titans would dress up in civilian clothes and join in on the festivities. It was a tradition for the Titans. This year was not going to be an exception.

"Robin! Open this door! We're going to the carnival whether you like it or not! You can't spend the rest of you life locked up like a hermit! Get your puny little butt out here!" yelled Cyborg, banging on Robin's door.

"Easy there, Cy. Don't want to break the door down. Again. Go make sure BB is ready. I'll talk to him."

Ever since Starfire left, Raven had become a lot nicer and less temperamental. She even showed her emotions a bit more, but it wasn't because Starfire left.

"Hey, Robin? Come on, we're all going." She spoke softly and lovingly, like she understood what he was going through. "It's a tradition. Star wouldn't have wanted you to stop your life for her." The door opened, reveling a bare chested Robin in baggy jeans riding low on his hips.

"Fine. I'll come. Tell Cyborg and Beast Boy I just have to finish getting dressed, and I'll be there. And you are going to change, right?" Robin asked, eyeing Raven's leotard.

"Yeah, yeah." Raven grinned and playfully punched Robin. "See you soon."

After changing into normal clothes, Raven walked to the common room. The door opening caused Robin to look up at Raven, who was just entering. He ran his eyes up and down Raven's body. He knew that was completely inappropriate, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. He didn't recall Raven looking that good last carnival. He had been too caught up in Starfire. She wore a simple tight black dress, ending a good few inches above her knee. There was a slit in the skirt, running up her thigh. It wasn't slutty, but it left little to the imagination, but Robin could tell the guys at the carnival would have vivid imaginations.

The carnival was the same as last year, and all the years before it. This year there was an extra little booth tucked away. It might have been there before, but it wasn't noticeable. The sign above it read "Madam Theresa's Fortune Telling…Just like magick."

"Ohhh, lets go guys!" cried Beast Boy, dragging the rest of them over to the booth.

"Just like magick," Raven snorted, but then she looked puzzled and wrinkled her nose.

"What's wrong, Rae?" Robin asked.

"It's strange. I feel some type of magick. This lady, Madame Theresa, she might not be a fake after all. Go a head Beast Boy, see what she says."

Beast Boy slipped through the curtain, returning minutes later with a smug grin on his face. "Dudes, guess what? She said I'm gonna end up saving your butts in a battle! Step aside for the all mighty Beast Boy!"

"Okay, so maybe she is a fraud." muttered Raven, with a slight smile to her lips.

"Hey!"

"Alright, yo, my turn. Let's see if it's any more realistic." Cyborg came out almost immediately. "All she said was, 'Ask her, she'll say yes.' What's that supposed to mean?"

"Bumblebee. My turn." Raven replied. Cyborg blushed and looked away as Raven entered the booth.

"Happiness is coming my way, apparently. I thought I was already happy." Raven deliberately left out the love part of her fortune. She didn't need three guys teasing her about supposedly finding love.

"Come on, Robin, go!" Beast Boy said, pushing Robin through the curtain.

A few minutes later, Robin came out. His face was such a mix of emotion that even Raven couldn't tell what he was feeling.

"What she say, man?"

Robin paused. "She said I'll find love soon. True love. Some girl, two years younger, born in November. She said I'll know from a 'true love kiss', or something like that." While he said that, a dazed, puzzled expression marked his features, but suddenly he blinked and his eyes seemed to focus. "I need to find her."

Cyborg and Beast Boy shared looks of obvious amusement and were obviously trying not to laugh. Raven shot a look at them. The message was clear: don't laugh at him.

Robin followed the others through the carnival the rest of the night, only coming out of his daze once to ask where Raven had gone.

"She's over there, man, talking to that guy." The guy was good looking, Robin could tell, not just by the surrounding girls, pointing and whispering. Raven was leaning against a wall and the guy had positioned himself above her, his hands on each side of her, holding him off the wall and Raven.

Robin knew that pose. He had used it numerous times of girls he thought were hot. "Raven!" he yelled, obviously angry, but for what, he didn't know.

Raven turned to look at him, eyebrows raised in surprise. "What?" she mouthed to him.

"We're leaving. Now." Raven turned back to the man leaning over her. Robin couldn't hear them over the noise of the fair, so he read their lips.

Raven: I have to go. Sorry. My ride's leaving.

Other guy: I'll give you a ride home. My motorcycle can fit two. You can have my helmet.

Absolutely not was he letting Raven out of his sights with that guy. He started over towards them.

Other guy: Could I get your number? Maybe call you sometime?

Robin saw Raven rattle off her cell phone number. The guy never wrote it down.

Robin made it over to them just then, hooking his arm around Raven's waist, pulling her away, saying they had to go. Raven started protesting, but the guy said, "I'll see you soon Rae" and said her phone number back to her. He just had time to kiss her on the corner of her mouth before Robin dragged her away.

"What the hell was that about, Rob? I was having a good time!"

"I didn't like the looks of that guy." Robin replied vaguely, making it clear he didn't want to talk any more. Raven didn't talk for the reminder of the ride.

When Robin got home, he immediately signed on to his computer and searched for all the girls seventeen years old, born in November. There were seventeen results. But how was he going to be able to kiss them all? Drastic times call for drastic measures, Robin decided. So he was just going to walk up to their homes, ask for the girls, kiss her, and run before he could call the police.

Over the next month, he had tracked down all the girls, followed them around, getting a grasp on who they were, what they were like, and when the time was right, he would swoop down and kiss them.

Yet still, none of them were his true love.

In that month, Robin became just as withdrawn and depressed as he'd been when Starfire just left. He would only leave his room to grab food, which he ate alone in his room, and to fight crime.

Until one day, when Robin was woken by Cyborg banging on his door.

"Robin, man, we get that you're depressed, but incase you'd forgotten, today is Raven's birthday, and even if she won't admit it, we all know she'd be upset if you weren't there."

Raven's birthday. Cyborg was right; he had forgotten, but he still had the gifts he had gotten for her months ago.

"I'm coming, Cy."

Robin grabbed the gifts and headed to the common room, not bothering to change out of his pajamas, which were just a pair of plaid pants. But that was okay, seeing as the rest of them hadn't bothered to change either. Beast Boy wore a pair of boxers and Raven wore short black shorts and a skimpy tank top. If she had been going out like that, maybe to meet up with the guy she had met at the carnival and had had a few dates with, unbeknownst to Robin, he would have flipped.

The rest of them were sitting on the couch, with a pile of gifts. He added his to the pile and wished Raven a happy birthday as he say down next to her. Raven picked up a box first, sloppily wrapped and obviously from Beast Boy. It was a personalized video game controller, purple with a black raven on it.

Raven laughed and thanked Beast Boy, leaning over Robin to hug him. Raven's long hair fell over her shoulders, giving off a wave of perfume. She smelled like lavender. He wanted to bury his nose in her hair.

The next gift was Cyborg's. He got her a coupon promising no chores for a week, a journal with a beautiful intricate cover, and lavender-scented candles.

Robin didn't think the candles smelled like lavender. He thought they smelled like Raven.

Lastly was Robin's gift. He had gotten her a book of William Blake's poetry and a box of teas, imported from places like India and China. Raven's eyes lit up and she threw her arms around his neck. He moved gis head a little so his nose was in her hair, which was tickling his naked chest. He put his arms around her waist, hands on the bare skin of her back, where she shirt had ridden up, but that was for less then a second before she pulled away.

"Thanks you guys so much." Raven said, and picked up her gifts to bring them to her room, leaving the tea and her new controller so she could play Beast Boy later.

While Raven was gone, beast Boy and Cyborg brought out a cake.

"Don't you guys think it's a bit early for cake?" questioned Robin, getting up to look at it.

"Never too early for cake, my man!" stated beast Boy, slapping Robin on the back. In black and purple cursive, the cake pronounced "Happy 18th Birthday Raven! November 13th, 2010." She was eighteen. Born in 1992. He was born in 1990. November birthday. He was getting ahead of himself. He couldn't love Raven, could he? She was like his sister. But he knew that was a lie. Raven had always been his friend. They talked to each other about everything. They had been each others shoulder to cry on, but Robin couldn't remember a time when either of them had cried.

"Rob, dude, are you okay?" Robin looked up. Cyborg and Beast Boy were staring at him. He realized his knuckles had turned white from gripping the countertop so hard.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He made it through the cake and ice cream without staring at Raven too much. As soon as it was over, he made a quick retreat back to his room.

He lay on his bed, throwing and catching a baseball rhythmically, while looking at a picture of the Titans, back when there were five of them. He had his arm around Starfire, who was hugging his waist. Besides them, Cyborg and Beast Boy had their arms around Raven who was rolling her eyes, but the slight smile to her lips gave her away.

There was a knock at the door. "Robin?" It was Raven. "Can I come in?" Robin panicked. What should he do? He didn't want to see her, he couldn't see her without thinking what it would it would be like to kiss her.

She came in without him answering, phasing through the door. "Robin, what's wrong? You've been acting strange. And I think it's only around me. You were fine with Beast Boy and Cyborg. So….yeah. What did I do?"

Robin sat up slowly. He didn't know what to say. She hadn't done anything wrong, couldn't do anything wrong. Raven was practically perfect. Robin didn't think telling her the truth would fly really well.

"Robin?" He realized he had been staring.

"Raven…please don't hate me." He said, standing up.

"Rob, I could never—" She was cut off by Robin's lips on hers. One arm encircled her waist, crushing her to his bare chest, the other in her hair, not allowing her to anyway to escape, if she had wanted to.

The kiss was hard, not rough, maybe passionate. Raven didn't know. All she knew was how good it felt, how she never wanted him to let go, how if Robin wanted to go farther, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop him. Her hands had traveled up, one arm around his neck, her hand gripping his hair.

Robin broke away, still holding her close to him. "Raven? Oh, God. I think I'm falling in love with you." He stuttered out, looking in her eyes.

"Well, that works out, because I think I'm falling for you too." whispered Raven, rising up on her toes so she could kiss him again.

Her reply did something to Robin, cause the next thing she knows, she is as close as possible to Robin, her skin hot where her shirt had ridden up and was now pressed against Robin's hard abs.

Her feet no longer touched the floor; he was holding her up so he could kiss her better. She wrapped her legs around his waist and promptly found her back against the wall, his tongue tasting the deepest crevices of her mouth. Raven explored his back with her hands, feeling him shudder when she ran her nails up and down across his muscles.

Raven pulled away from Robin's searching mouth and started trailing hot open mouth kisses down his neck, biting his earlobe, sucking on the place where his neck and shoulder met. When she reached a particularly sensitive spot, he gasped, attacking her mouth with his and moving her to lay on the bed.

Pulling her tank top over her head, Robin latched his mouth onto Raven's nipple. She gasped, her eyes flying open as she arched her back. With one hand he massaged her other breast, the other pulling down her shorts.

Matching purple lace bra and panties were all the graced Raven's features now, and Robin was steadily growing harder.

Raven flipped them over so she was straddling his waist. She traced the outline of his muscles with her tongue, occasionally biting, making him arch into her.

"Rob! Is Raven in there with you? I wanna play her on my new video game!"

Robin tried to even his breathing before answering. "No, I don't know where she is, Beast Boy."

"Okay, well if you see her, tell her I want her." Beast Boy shouted as he walked away.

"Well, he can't have you." noted Robin, biting Raven's neck. "Happy birthday, Rae."