Olo everyone, had already had half of this written down so I decided to go ahead and finish this chapter. Merry Christmas/whatever you celebrate, and hopefully Prince Chamring will also be getting an update in the next couple of days. It's the middle of the night where I'm at, and I haven't really gone over this too much, so please point out any obvious errors so I can go back and fix them later. For now, enjoy.
.~.
It took Raven almost two hours to track down their spiky haired leader. Two long, miserable hours walking in the disgustingly wet spring weather. Her shoes were soaked through from all the water on the pavement. Which is why when she entered the Hot Shots Bar and saw Robin, she was ready to wring his neck. Heartbroken or not, the little shithead shouldn't be out getting drunk and leaving the rest of the team to deal with finding him. Oh right, it was just her, she thought bitterly.
"Hey Dick!" A few giggles burst out from the end of the bar, but Raven couldn't be bothered dealing with that right now. The closer she came to Robin, the more...off everything seemed about him. Slumped down against the countertop, moving a glass of what looked like whiskey back and forth over the table. And he hadn't seemed to hear her either. She tried not to show her disgust as the reek of alcohol wafted towards her the closer she got to it. Even if Raven was partial to a strong drink now and then, it was in moderation in the seclusion of her room. Not drowning in it publicly.
"Are you planning on killing yourself with this?"
He turned, and Raven almost flinched.
"Why aren't you wearing your mask?"
Robin picked up his glass and downed the rest, his eyes never leaving hers. The edges of his sky blue eyes were now tinged with red. Had he been...crying?
"Didn't you hear, the less a man wears the sexier he is?" He grinned, rocking back and forth on the cracked leather barstool.
"Not when the man in question is drunk off his ass. Let's get you home." Raven grabbed his arm and pulled in the direction of the door.
"NONONO," Robin yelled, waving the arm with his empty glass about in the air.
"Calm down," she hissed, looking around nervously. The rest of the bar's inhabitants seemed too drunk to care one way or another, but she didn't fancy being forcibly removed from the place. He looked like he was about to protest, so she quickly took the seat next to him. This seemed to relax him considerably, and Raven resigned herself to sitting here as long as it would take to get Robin to go back to the Tower with her.
As if sensing fresh money, the greasy bartender oozed his way over to her.
"What'll it be, baby?"
"A glass of scotch, and if I were you I wouldn't call me baby again, mkay?" Raven gave him her brightest smile, but it didn't seem to charm the man very much. He paled, mumbling something about demons, and turned away from them.
"He's not wrong," Robin mumbled while he stared at the bottom of his glass. She was surprised he was alert enough to decipher that much.
"More alcohol isn't going to magically appear in there, you know."
"Maybe if I believe hard enough it will. Isn't that what they always tell you to do, believe in yourself?"
"Been watching a lot of Disney movies lately, have we?"
"It's all a load of bullshit anyway."
"You didn't answer my question." He laughed, a short barking thing which makes Raven feel like she's doing this whole thing wrong. Then silence.
But the bartender handed Raven her scotch, shamelessly slid another glass towards Robin, then left to prey on some college girls. Robin grabbed at the fresh glass as if it would give him the answers to all of life's greatest mysteries. Fine. Two could play at that game. Raven took a sip of her choice in liquid courage for the evening. It wasn't as nice as anything she kept in her personal collection, but it was good enough for now.
She turned to face Robin, looking him up and down as he moped. She narrowed her eyes. He was dressed up pretty nicely for a Thursday night. Dress pants and a button down shirt that almost captured the color of his eyes. Were he and Star-
"Who did she leave me for?" Robin asked. He tried to appear nonchalant, but a clenched jaw and shaking hands gave him away. Raven lowered her head to her glass, mimicking him.
"Why do you think that? Did she say anything to you?"
"She might as well have. We'd been dating for years, Raven, do you think she can hide that from me?"
Raven circled her index finger over the rim of her glass. It was shameless stalling, but telling Robin the truth right now could potentially set him off further, and in a public setting?
"If you promise to come back to the tower with me, I'll tell you." Surely his insatiable need to make himself more miserable would motivate him to acquiesce.
"Why should I? I'm done with the Titans."
"Haha birdbrain. Very funny." Raven glanced around. Robin looked up and caught her eyes, brimming with an emotion she couldn't quite place. She shifted in her seat and looked away.
"I'm serious, Rae."
"And who would lead us, huh? Beast Boy? You're really going to leave us all, just because Star broke up with you? I never thought you were the type to act this petty."
"It would be the best for the team, I can't be around her, not anymore."
"Really Robin? If I went by that logic, I'd have quit the team within a week. We all suck in our own ways, we're all massive pains in the ass at times. Everyone has baggage. You're no different." Raven downed the rest of her drink, letting her last remnants of logic slip away. She leaned in closer to Robin.
"Do you wanna know something?"
"What?"
"I...I used to date Beast Boy." Robin sat up straight in his seat, and looked more alert than he had even two minutes ago.
"No way. You're making this up."
"I wish. It was like two or three years ago. We dated until spring this year."
"Damn. Did anyone else know?" Raven shook her head, keeping her eyes fixed on the table.
"We didn't make a big deal out of it, although I'm surprised he was able to keep his mouth shut. I always thought Cy suspected, but he never said anything to me."
"Why'd you end it?"
"Why are you assuming I ended it?" Robin blinked.
"You're not telling me...no."
"Yup. He wanted to make it public, but I didn't. And he thought that meant I wasn't ready for an "actual" relationship. His words, not mine." Raven looked up, and was startled to find a level of softness in Robin's eyes she had never seen before, not towards her. It took everything in her not to turn away right then.
"I know you and Star were an item for much longer, with a lot more publicity, but you're not the only one who's been through a failed teammate romance, if it helps."
"Thanks for that," Robin muttered as he took another sip of his drink. They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. Then he turned to her, and if Raven didn't know any better, she'd say there were tears in his eyes.
"It's Cyborg, isn't it?" Her silence was all the answer he needed. Robin clenched his fists, his knuckles turning whiter and whiter.
"Robin, please." Raven's hand was on his arm before she even knows what she is doing. She stood, not loosening her grip on him, and fumbled in her pocket for some money, setting it down on the bar
"I'm not going with you, Raven," he said, slamming his glass on the table. A few heads turn, but by this point many of the bar's patrons are well on their way to getting wasted.
"Robin, enough." She heard her voice turn to steel, and is gratified as the boy wonder shudders slightly. With this, she hoisted him off the stool as gently as she can manage, and dragged him out of the bar.
The night air blasts in her face, and she couldn't help but close her eyes and imagine how nice it would be if she had experience this after a peaceful night of reading at the library. It had a sobering effect after the sleepy warmth of the bar, but unfortunately Robin seemed to feel this too.
He nearly tugged her arm out of its socket, and before Raven knew what was happening, he had already dragged her halfway down the block. Deeper into the city. Further away from the tower.
"Robin, no. We have to go back." Before she could rip her arm away, he turned to face her, a dull gleam in his eyes. He leaned in closer to her, and she couldn't help but mimic him.
"Rae, if you make me go back to the tower now, I promise you that I will hurt Cyborg worse than I've ever hurt anyone in my entire life." His voice is filled with gravel and Raven shuddered in spite of herself. She didn't doubt it.
"Come out with me. I know a place just a block over that has the best DJ."
"No, this is ridiculous, no clubs. You've had enough to drink already and there's no need for you to embarrass yourself further through dancing."
"I disagree." His eyes were twinkling, and his hand slid down to meet hers. Although Raven would rather have this than the death grip on her arm, she felt more ruffled than she would have liked. She tried to free her hand, but instead of letting go he simply entwined his fingers with her. Raven grimaced.
Leave it, a small voice inside her murmured. What's the harm?
What's the harm indeed, another voice snorted. Raven tried to push them out. She refused to let her emotions control her more than they already had this evening. But as Robin pulled her forward, she began to doubt herself further. What in the hell had she gotten herself into?
.~.
Apologies that it's taken me a month for any updates, but I've been swamped. Hopefully I won't have more than a month's delay in the future for any story updates, but since it's break you should be able to expect more soon. Lemme know what you think, and constructive criticism is more than welcome.
