Angel_of_Darkness has sent you an invitation on Skype.

Red X stretched for a moment before clicking the accept button on his computer and Raven's tired face popped up on his screen. She smiled when she saw his dark brown eyes and friendly grin and rolled her eyes when he said, "Well good morning, beautiful." He loved complimenting her because she always looked kind of embarrassed to hear his praise and it was refreshing to see that in a woman.

"Good morning, Alexander." She wasn't big on nicknames.

"So how have you been, sweetheart? I haven't seen you in a while." He had been pulling on a white T-shirt while he spoke and he moved his damp brown hair out of his eyes to look into her inquisitive lavender orbs.

She shrugged. "I just spent the last few hours explaining Judaism to my four roommates. I think they got the gist of what I said, but I was pretty sleep-deprived so it's possible that I was less intelligible than I remember."

He chuckled as she rubbed the back of her neck in a familiar sleepy gesture. "Maybe you should go to bed, then, hon. It's no use trying to figure things out if you don't have the right amount of sleep for it." He knew that she had a habit of pushing herself too hard and tried his best to make sure she took care of herself. At any other time, she was Raven: the Titan but, when it was just the two of them, she was Rachel: his friend and he took responsibility of her because it felt like no one else would help her if he didn't.

She shook her head. "I think I'll just hit up the cafe. It's been too long since I've had a good cup of herbal tea."

He shook his head back. "What you really need is a vacation. Not just any old week-end stay, either, but a full-fledged month-long get-away vacation." She rolled her eyes again. "I'm serious. You need time to get some rest, take a break from whatever kind of work that has you so stressed, and just enjoy life without having to worry about anything but how you're going to make the most out of all your free time."

She sighed, stress-fully rubbing her face with both hands. "I don't take vacations. I never have before and I probably never will. My work is my life, Alexander, there is literally nothing else for me." Though she would never admit it, the other (and main) reason that Raven never wanted to take a vacation was that she wouldn't feel right going anywhere alone because she felt that she didn't know enough about normal society to pass off as a regular person.

Alexander was thoughtful for a moment. He really cared about Rachel and he wanted to help her in any way that he could but there was always a line that the both of them stayed away from to keep their identities safe from the other. On the other side of that line were things like meeting face-to-face or mentioning what they did for a living, though they had both admitted to living in Jump City, and she wisely censored the names of the other Titans whenever she said anything about them. He had the beginnings of an idea in his mind, a stupid and potentially dangerous idea, but he needed to run it through to someone else before he told Rachel so he could work out all the bugs. Then he remembered that he was still on Skype. "Hey. I've got to go. I think I'm late to meet a friend of mine. I'll see you again sometime later, okay Rachel?"

She cocked her head to the side at the use of her actual name as opposed to the usual fond moniker but didn't comment on it. "Um... Okay. See you later."

They both signed out and Alexander almost immediately grabbed his cell and called his cousin Seth who also lived in Jump. Seth was the kind of guy who loved giving advice to anyone who would listen and would always answer his phone on the first two rings so it wasn't surprising when his cheerful voice sprung out of the device. "Hey, Alex, how's it going?"

Seth was way too happy to be awake at six in the morning but Alex tried to be nice. "Hey, man. Let me run something by you real quick."

"Okay. Shoot."

Raven's brows drew together in a puzzled expression as she shut down her laptop, wondering what Red X had been thinking about just a few moments ago. She had known that Alexander was really Red X from the first time they had gotten on Skype and she had felt his familiar energy, she was not an idiot, though she been trying to figure out why he had seemed like someone that she had met before since they had begun messaging each other. For a few weeks after that, she had avoided talking to him because she had been worried that he had only started the acquaintance to study the Titans and their weaknesses and she didn't want to have to explain to the others that she had been talking to a known criminal online to escape her hectic life. She also hated the thought of someone pretending to be her friend for their own personal gain and she didn't want to be burned, not again. Then one day, she logged onto her computer and received a message from him saying, 'Hey. You don't have to message me back or anything and I'm sorry if I'm bugging you but I just got word that my dad died in prison the other day and I'm not sure how I should be handling it. I didn't really know him that well but he did some pretty messed up stuff. I know that my mom loved him but she's not around anymore either so I have no idea how she would take the news. I don't know what I should do but I feel better telling someone about it.'

She hadn't even hesitated in answering 'Forgive your dad for the decisions that he made, visit his grave if you can, but don't try to forget. Remember that your mom did love him and, at least at one point, he loved her back. Try to think of him fondly, mourn him for however long that you think he deserves, and be glad that he lived because he gave you a life of your own.'

A few minutes of no activity went by and Raven remembers wondering if she had overstepped herself in her reply and had almost resolved to send an apology when another message popped up. 'I legit just cried a little. Thank you so much. Sorry about unloading all this on you and all but you're really really great for helping me out. Thanks again.'

She had no idea if this had been a rouse or if he had been telling the truth but from that day on she had made a point of talking to him and making sure that he was feeling okay. She also felt relieved that when she spoke with him he refrained from asking personal questions about her living situation and occupation. Thus, through conversational dancing and many long hours staring at a screen, their friendship flourished.