Chapter Seven: Timid Love


Robin stopped at the end of the path as Bravery instructed and came to a towering grey wall that opened into several pathways. He examined the maze for a moment and realized there was no top to it. If he could run along the edge above, he wouldn't have to go threw it. He reached for his grappling hook then remembered Raven's mind was never this simple, and everything he did needed to be with caution. He searched around the ground and picked up a small rock, reclining his arm back he tossed it high above him. The rock reached the top of the wall and struck an invisible ceiling. It sparked and crackled, settling the rock aflame before sizzling into dust.

"Perfect," He huffed. Well she said someone would be waiting for him, but he saw no one around. He cupped his hand over his mouth, "RAVEN!" He yelled, growing a tad impatient. Now that he thought on this, there was no concept of time in here. He could have been in her mind for an hour or several days, just that realization alone left him a bit unsettled. Hopefully the team could handle themselves with him.

"Do you really have to yell that loud?" A small voice spoke from behind him. Robin jumped back as Raven appeared before him in a grey cloak that she wore draped over her entire body.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." He replied, watching her curiously. This Raven looked almost child like in her features. She was so withdrawn from everything, her eyes were slightly puffy like she had been crying.

"This way" Raven replied, starting to walk ahead of him into the maze. "Oh right." Robin spoke, he could already tell what emotion this was and wanted to be careful not to upset her. They walked into the maze and the two large walls closed behind them.

"No turning back now," Robin voiced, suddenly realizing he had to put all of his trust into this new Raven that seemed rather reserved from everything. Robin couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she seemed very fragile and timid, like everything she encounters was too much to handle. Even though this was surprising, he could tell this was an emotion Raven exercised a lot, the snippets of her life he did know about was full of tragedy and sorrow.

"The maze isn't that bad, no one else seems to like it though. I'm usually alone here." She said.

"I can see why." Robin mumbled.

Her large eyes perked up as she realized his distaste this place too, her one safe haven. "Oh" She sniffled, "I'm sorry you have to be in here with me"

"Oh no I didn't mean it in a bad way!" Robin winced, raising his hands honestly.

"It's okay." They continued to walk in silence and Robin wondered how he'd be able to talk to her without upsetting her.

"By the way I'm so sorry for what happened Robin." He looked over at her surprised she spoke first. "Back in your room? It's no big-" suddenly, she began to cry and Robin halted his steps.

"Woah woah Raven, There's no need to cry." He lightly placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm so sorry," She continued sobbing.

"It's okay, its more my fault that it is yours. I shouldn't have gone in your room like that."

"But because I used the book, you're trapped in here and it's all my fault." She looked up at him with large grey puppy-dog eyes. "I'm sorry I took the book Robin. I felt so helpless."

"I'm starting to understand now why you did it." Robin replied. After all he's seen and dealt with he knew extremely well why she took the book, her emotions were a lot to manage.

"But that doesn't make me a Titan! Titans aren't criminals! I'm no better than Jinx!" Her tears flowed down her face like a steady stream and honestly Robin hated seeing Raven cry.

Just the sight of her large eyes teary eyed like a small helpless animal was enough to make him cringe. "Raven you're just as much a Titan if not more than we are. And if anything, everything here happened for the right reason."

She wiped her tears and looked up at him curiously. Bad things happening for a reason? "Really?" She asked.

"Yeah," He smiled, "everything is all right, I'm here to help." He outstretched his hand for hers and she took it shyly.

As they continued walking Robin realized that once she began her apology spree she wasn't going to stop. This side of Raven was very good at putting herself down, even for the smallest of things. As they weaved through the maze, she was able to apologize non stop for several minutes. She even brought of things years ago he had long forgotten.

"Oh and I'm so sorry for not offering you tea...And I spilled it all on the floor! It was so embarrassing!"

"Raven Raven! Please enough! I forgive you!" He replied. She looked away from his tiresome gaze and pointed in front of them. "There's the end." He turned around to see a large structure with a vortex of swirling colors.

"The forbidden door." He smiled. He turned back around to thank her but she was already gone.

He ran towards the vortex eagerly wanting all of this to end and find Raven. When he stepped through the portal he ended up right back on the other side.

"What?! NO!" Robin exclaimed, walking back through the portal he again ended up stepping out on the other side where he started.

"It's not working?! But I don't understand? I met and surpassed all her emotions?" Putting his hand out in front of him he counted all of the Raven's he had encountered.

"Intelligence, Sloth, Sarcasm, Joy, Rage, Bravery, Sadness...what else is left?" He asked himself. Where would she be?

Little did he know the eighth and final Raven stood far off behind a large bolder hiding from him.

Her face was a bright red and her heart pounded violently in her chest. Just hearing his voice made her swoon; she clutched her violet cape in despair. He made it she thought. He's finally here with her... alone. There had been a few times Raven daydreamed of her and Robin being alone together, just the thought of those fantasies made Passion's cheeks red and knees knock together.

"Pull yourself together!" She scorned, standing up straight. If I don't do this the others will be angry with me. She bit into her lip, peaking out from behind her hiding place watching Robin pace back and forth angrily.

If you really care about him you'll set him free. He'd probably be better off with Star-fire anyway. Turning around she stepped out from behind the bolder and at the first sight of Robin's lean frame in skin tight neoprene she whimpered and fled back behind the rock.

"I can't do this!" She yelled in a soft voice. "I can't tell him how I feel, I'll just be rejected or worse, receive his pity." She pouted at the thought. She wasn't Star-fire, she wasn't anything fit for a man like Robin. He deserved someone adventurous and outgoing! Someone playful and attractive...She shook her head, trying to unravel her conflicted thoughts. But there was no where else for her or him to go, What a nightmare. They'd be trapped in here forever if she continued to hide from him.

"No" She spoke. "I have to try" She was the reason all of this happened in the first place and she needed to own up to it. She erased her pout and replaced it with a look of determination.

"What do I do now?" Robin asked officially out of ideas.

"Hello Robin" She voiced.

He turned around and took in the sight of her bright violet attire. There was something about the color of her cloak that was almost. . .sensual to him. The girl in front of him looked like Raven, but strangely had an aura entirely different, something alluring about her. Which is a word he never thought to associate with Raven, until now. "Hi..." He voiced, glancing up and down at the Raven who stood timidly in front of him with her hands clasped behind her back.

"What emotion are you?" He asked.

Her face blossomed, "I Uh I'm..uhh" She looked away, too shy to look him in the face and answer such a question.

Robin arched his brow and stepped toward her only to see her immediately step away. Like getting too close to her was a bad idea. "Well I kinda need you to get home, To help Raven."

"I know" She whispered biting her lip again.

Robin was completely puzzled by her, what emotion of Raven's could she possibly be? What is a side of Raven he has yet to see?

"Why don't we just sit and talk?" Robin asked sitting down and she cautiously joined him. Maybe if he talked with her he'll find out who she is. "Why are you here in Raven's last chakra?" He asked.

"You see..I think all of this is truly my fault." She confessed. "I'm here because I'm probably the most difficult to face."

"Huh Really? You must not have seen what Rage did to me." He replied.

"I'm sorry about that!" She replied, realizing her choice of words was taken in a more literal sense. She thought for a moment how to rephrase what she was trying to explain.

"Well, I'm the emotion Raven couldn't control. You see, I'm sort of new to her. I don't think you or your friends have ever seen me before"

Robin titled his head as he studied her and she couldn't help but feel so vulnerable under his gaze. "Yeah, I can't seem to wrap my head around it."

"That's a good thing for now" She smiled again, breathing a sigh of relief. Robin noticed her deep rosy blush and that's when it hit him.

She had been blushing this entire time. She was also too timid to speak to him, but not in the same way sadness was timid.

She was an emotion Raven was not familiar with and that also would explain why she would go to such lengths to distance herself from her them. After all, her emotions controlled her powers; having one out of her control threw everything out of balance. When she broke her tea pot that morning he approached her, Robin could tell she was uneasy.

All of the Raven's knew of this emotion and even they didn't know what to think of her. Rage was angry at herself for letting this emotion flourish and Joy noticed Robin's affection for star-fire was different than his for Raven. Intelligence mentioned he might find out what they were so secretive about in order to finish this mission, and Robin just connected all of the pieces.

The retired Boy-Wonder smiled, he was more flattered than surprised. This was Raven's big secret?

"Love" He whispered.

"Huh?" Raven gasped placing her cupped hands over her chest. At the sight of Robin's reddened cheeks and sly smile she realized he found out who she was. She immediately stood up and began to fly away; her heart pounding against her chest like a bird tapped in a cage.

"Raven wait!" Robin yelled capturing her cape in his palm. She hovered there for a moment as his outstretched arm kept her anchored from flying away. Her body temperature seemed to sky rocket and she felt like she would implode. She lowered herself to the ground and silently placed her hood over her head. "You know who I am now, you should be able to go through the forbidden door." She lied.

"It's more complicated than that." Robin replied, knowing very well this was as awkward for her as it is for him. He wasn't very good at spilling out his emotions either. "I knew you were acting strange. The team just wanted me to surpass it but I know you Rae, I know when something is truly bothering you."

He paused, "That first night I came to you, and I told you you could tell me anything. That it wasn't healthy to keep things bottled up. And I meant it, please. . .Tell me"

Raven inhaled a large breath and closed her eyes. "I like you Robin...A lot." She finally confessed, the knots in her stomach finally unraveling. "You're the reason I couldn't control myself, I don't blame you but, I wish I would have handled this differently."

She turned around and met his gaze. "I should have just told you, I should have just accepted it and moved on. I don't expect you to love me back, but I want us to continue to have this connection."

She reached up to him and carefully removed his mask. If it was anyone else but Raven he would have stopped them, but she already knew who he was underneath that disguise. Looking into his blue eyes she bit her lip nervously. "I know everything about you Robin, it's only fair that I let you in as well."

Something bout those words warmed him. Raven from the very beginning was a team mate none of them knew very much about. She was this introverted girl that showed up one day with a universe of worries and yet, proved to be a trustworthy ally and eventually their friend. He felt privileged to have finally uncovered this grand mystery of her, that she allowed him to explore it. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she squealed gripping tighter onto his mask.

"Robin?" She whispered wide eyed, not fully convinced on what she hoped he was about to do.

"Rae." He smirked. Rae...She smiled inwardly, that nickname never ceasing to make her melt.

He captured her lips in his in a faithful kiss. Raven's heart fluttered uncontrollably and he intertwined her arms around his neck as they continued. "Robin." She moaned as he pulled her flush against his chest. She dropped his mask and wove her right hand into his hair tugging lightly on the jet black strands. She opened her mouth wider as his tongue ran across her bottom lip. Their tongues dancing together as they continued to kiss passionately.

Raven laid on the floor in the bare white room silently, all this pain of fusing with her emotions had numbed her. Robin had done it, he actually finished reversing the spell. She was complete and whole again, now dressed in a stark white cape and leotard. She closed her eyes and drifted away, seeming to evaporate into the atmosphere freeing herself of her mind's chamber.

As they separated from their passionate kiss Raven gasped and pushed away from him. Robin was equally as stunned to see it was now Raven, the REAL Raven dressed in all white looking at him like she was downright terrified.

"Raven!" He smiled. "You're safe!" He moved towards her but she stepped away from him again. He could see the collage of different emotions read on her face and was confused as to why she wasn't just as happy the spell was lifted. Raven brushed passed him and flew towards the portal. She felt a wash of embarrassment as the imprint of his lips on hers was still fresh. She finally got what she wanted, and a part of her knew it wouldn't change anything.

"Raven!" Robin yelled as he followed her through the forbidden door.

Raven woke up in a large gasp, earning the attention of the three titans that had watched over her for the past two days.

"RAVEN!" They all beamed happy to see her awake and breathing.

"You're finally awake!"

"Robin reversed the spell?!"

"Where is he? Are you okay?!"

Raven looked at them stunned and overwhelmed that they were all so attentively focused on her. She was lying on her bed and from the looks of it Beast Boy didn't deface her room or appearance like she'd predicted. Her room was clean, the book was closed on her dresser, and everything seemed to be normal again.

"Thank you..for all your help." She began as her eyes watered. "But I'd like to be alone now, If that's okay..." she finished with a dry throat.

"But Raven, Where is Robin?" Star-fire asked helplessly.

"I'm fine" Robin voiced walking into Raven's room causing the purple-haired girl to look away from his gaze.

"Let's give Raven her space, I might need to lie down for a few hours myself." He replied rubbing his neck as he made his way to his room.

The three titan's stared at each other in shock. What happened to the two of them that didn't warrant an explanation?


That following night Raven was up pacing her room as usual. She couldn't sleep thinking of all that had happened. They kissed and she told him how she felt and he didn't say the same in return.

"What does that mean?" She whispered. Do they just continue on like nothing ever happened? For the most part that's exactly what they did, they both even silently agreed not to tell the other Titan's what had gone on in the past two days of their absence.

She huffed, realizing her worrying was useless. There wasn't even a one percent chance he-There was a sudden knock at her door and she did not hesitate to answer it. Mostly because she knew who it would be and there was a small flame of anger in her chest she wanted to stifle. If they both agreed to be open, Robin wasn't really holding his end of the deal.

As the automatic door slid open she had no time to react to his sudden stride forward. He placed his hands under her chin and kissed her. She stood there for the first couple of seconds, wide-eyed looking at his face pressed against hers. He continued to kiss her until he realized she wasn't kissing him back. Pulling away he examined her shocked face and realized he probably warranted such a reaction.

"You don't have to do that." She voiced secretly enjoying the fact that although he pulled away his hands were still cupping her face.

"Yes, I do." Robin replied moving in to kiss her soft lips again but was stopped by the pad of her index finger against his mouth.

"I don't need your sympathy." She replied turning her back to him. He didn't have to fake his affection to save her ego. "You're not hurting my feelings. . .anymore" She confessed. Turns out his tampering with her chakra's was enough to reverse the spell and telling him she loved him was enough to keep that pesky emotion under control enough to function regularly.

She arched her brow at the sound of his laugh. "It would be hypocritical of me to tell you it's unhealthy to keep things bottled up when I've been doing just that."

Raven's cheeks blossomed again as she turned back around to face him. "You have?" She asked, her voice cracking nervously.

Robin bit his lip, looking at her earnestly, "I have."