Hello everyone, I'm back from the dead after three weeks. Trying to get back into the groove of this fic, so here's a first attempt. R&R!
A few days of relative awkwardness passed. A moment of brief eye contact here, followed by an embarrassed smile. A brush of the shoulders there and a nervous laugh. Although the two birds had made an agreement, it still didn't feel real to either of them. Perhaps it was the acknowledgement of the situation, or the suddenness after a time of turmoil for Robin. Either way, the air around the two had definitely changed.
Raven poured a mug of her usual tea and sat down at the counter, her eyes lazily skimming over the front page of the newspaper. Starfire stood at the stovetop, cooking some Tamaranian stew while Beast Boy and Cyborg sat on the couch, flipping channels. Record for Grand Slams broken, man tries to rob bank with a lasso, more insight on current presidential administration…Raven yawned. The news was a steady stream of the same story.
"Dude, did you see that?" Beast Boy exclaimed, his eyes transfixed to the TV. "They're making a movie about you!"
"Say what?" Cyborg answered confusedly.
"That's right, dude. In 2020!"
"What?! That is such a long time away!" Cyborg declared indignantly.
"Please, friends," Starfire interjected. "I am sure Cyborg's recent success on his cooking show has made him more popular, and the creators of the extended moving pictures wish to capture what makes him…tick, as you all would say."
"Alright, team," Robin announced as he entered into the main room. "Finish up breakfast quick. We're gonna hit the training course hard today since we've been going easy the last few days. If none of us messes up, we get through this quicker." Cyborg and Beast Boy groaned and reluctantly got up from the couch while Starfire hurried to finish her stew. Raven sat still, staring at the remaining liquid in her mug. She almost didn't feel the light tap on her shoulder at first, realizing it only after the second touch. She glanced sideways, catching a glimpse of his green glove as he pulled it back.
"I was thinking," he began in a quiet voice. "We don't have anything planned tonight. Do you maybe want to…"
"Maybe," she replied. Maybe Robin was just imagining things, but was there a hint of…playfulness in her voice? Raven never did playful. "Actually, that's not a bad idea. You know if we stay here we're going to either be subject to a TV marathon or a trip to the arcade or mall."
"So avoid those places for our potential…hangout," Robin said with a smile.
"Hang-out," Raven drawled, putting up quotation marks with her fingers. Robin sighed.
"You know what I mean."
"We can discuss this later, Boy Blunder," she said lowly, eyeing around to see that the other three were still preoccupied. "After training, okay?"
"Sounds like a plan," he agreed.
Cyborg fired up the training course and begrudgingly set the difficulty level to Extreme as ordered by Robin, and the team lined up at their spots. In his trademark seriousness, Robin had demanded that their training grow more intense to make up for the recent lack of action. The course was now custom designed for each of the five Titans, and they would go through one by one. Beast Boy was up first, with the course quickly shifting landscapes to test his adaptability and reaction times for transforming. The other Titans went through their courses with varying degrees of success until only Raven was left. She exhaled and put her hood up as the course changed to fit her. Raven's course was designed to test the limit of her powers as well as put her through more physical challenges than she was used to. She heard the signal and started running as bumpers popped up to try to trip her up. She surpassed the first part and arrived at the second, where a giant slab of stone blocked the path. Focusing, she closed her eyes and held both hands out.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she yelled, slowly lifting the block in the air. Just as she was about to hurl it to the side, the blasters popped up and started firing. The sorceress grunted and put one hand up to shield herself, while the block dropped precariously lower. Mustering her remaining strength, she lifted the block up again and tossed it to the side, making her way through the blaster fire with her shield. She reached the end of the course after a few more obstacles, dragging her feet to the finish.
"Good work, everyone," Robin commented, looking at the times on the screen. "We managed to collectively shave 25 seconds off our previous times. Let's shoot for another best next week. Combat practice up next!"
Screw him, Raven thought. Looks like I'll be doing laundry sooner than expected this week. The team sparred for a solid hour, and although they knew each other's tendencies inside out, it pushed them to improve and come up with new fighting techniques. Afterwards, Raven retreated to her room, taking a long shower in cold water to cool her off. She threw on a fresh leotard and cloak and laid down on the bed for a minute, before getting up to meditate. She was 15 minutes in before a knock at the door came. Opening one eye in annoyance, she decided not to go get the door. Besides, she had a feeling she already knew who it was.
"Come in," she called from her bed. The door slid open and Robin took a few steps in before closing the door behind him.
"Are you not hungry?" he asked.
"I am, but I have to finish meditating. My focus is more important than my hunger."
"You should really get something to eat. We worked hard today."
"Speak for yourself," she muttered. "But you didn't come here because you were worried about me being hungry, now did you?"
"No, I didn't," he admitted. "So, about tonight—"
"What do you want to do?" she asked.
"To be honest, I don't really know. I don't really wanna be cliché and just go to a movie or something…"
"Or the pier," she added. "Okay, so two most cliché places off the list. What else?"
"There's some new virtual reality game center that just opened up," he offered.
"Video games are pointless," she shot down, shaking her head.
"It's not a video game," Robin protested. "Think of it like a simulation."
"Video games are simulations. Just not in 3D."
"Point taken," Robin sighed. "Maybe one of your cafes you like?"
"You don't have to do this for me, Robin," Raven told him. "Let's try to find something that will keep us both happy."
"Ice skating, maybe?" Robin suggested. She visibly perked up at the option. "The rink will be busy this time of year, but it won't be too bad tonight."
"Interesting," she murmured. "I've never been before."
"You'll fall more times than not. No using your powers," he teased.
"Let's do it," she said annoyedly, as if wanting to prove him wrong. "I can't be much worse than you. How many times have you been?"
"Enough to handle myself," he responded. "We should dress appropriately. It'll be cold on the ice."
"And hopefully no one will notice us without our usual clothes," she added.
"We'll go after dinner?" he asked. "We can take the R-Cycle there, spend a few hours. Have a good time."
"Sounds like a plan," she agreed, nodding her head. "Can't wait to hang out."
"It's a date," he said, irate. "Are you happy now? We're going on a date."
"I'll meet you tonight," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. Robin smiled and left her to meditate.
The Boy Wonder breathed a sigh of relief as he went back to his own room. He figured that he would have to make a move soon, and he didn't know what to expect from her reaction. Judging by it, he had done a decent enough job. The empath had been on his mind nonstop, and ironically, even trying some of her meditation techniques hadn't helped him. He had circled this date on his calendar, seeing as it was a free night, but couldn't get close enough to her over the past few days to have a moment to ask. Finally, he ran out of time to procrastinate and had to spring the question. Robin opened his closet, searching for his non-uniform clothes to put on. He settled on an old sweatshirt and pair of jeans, and kicked back, biding his time until the night.
After dinner, Robin nodded at Raven, and she began to follow him into the hallway.
"Hey, where you guys going?" Beast Boy commented. They both froze and looked at each other. Robin scolded himself for not being smarter. You knew the others would ask.
"We're gonna go and, uh, get some fresh air," he quickly lied.
"You two have been getting a lot of fresh air lately," Beast Boy said sarcastically.
"Nothing personal," Raven interrupted. "But I'd rather not stay here watching you enter more tofu contests and binge watch whatever stupid late night cartoons are on."
"Let it go, B," Cyborg said, patting his shoulder. "Starfire and I were gonna go check out that new virtual reality game center anyway. You can tag along." Raven shot a sideways I told you that was a bad date idea glance at Robin, who shrugged a little.
"Well, if you guys don't mind, we'll be on our way," Robin said. "Don't stay out too late." The two Titans walked into the corridor, the door closing behind them.
"I would've expected someone with your acumen to be a little more detail-oriented than this," Raven commented.
"We'll change and head down immediately," he said, ignoring her jab. "The others will take a little bit of time lazing around to do chores before heading out."
"I'll be quick," she said, nodding. A few minutes later, both emerged from their rooms and headed for the elevator. Robin took a look at Raven's outfit and saw she was dressed similarly to him, with a blazer and jeans. Casual did look good on her…
"How far away is this rink?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"Uh, shouldn't be more than 15 to 20 minutes," he answered. Arriving at the garage, Robin fired up the R-Cycle, Raven holding onto him in the backseat. True to his word, they arrived at the rink 20 minutes later, Robin parking the R-Cycle far away from the entrance to not attract attention.
"You don't think anyone will recognize you with the same hairstyle and mask?" Raven remarked as they headed for the counter to rent skates.
"People are dumber than you might think," he replied. "Besides, how many violet-haired girls are there in this city?"
"Point taken." They sat down to put on their skates, Raven struggling with hers. Robin tied his and stood up, hobbling over to her.
"Need help?"
"No matter how tight I tie these, they still tilt around like crazy," she grumbled.
"It's supposed to be like that. In case you fall, if your skates are too tight you won't roll an ankle or something," he explained. She took his hand to stand up, but quickly let go of it to try to balance herself out.
"How do you walk in these things?" she groaned, swaying precariously from side to side.
"Really? Walking in them is easy," Robin said amusedly. "Just wait until we get on the ice."
Robin got on the ice first, sliding a few feet before stopping and looking behind him to check on Raven. She confidently took a step onto the ice, before slipping and grabbing onto the handrail. Some experienced skaters whooshed by as he tried to make his way back to her.
"Ice is slippery. Who would've known," she deadpanned, annoyed.
"Push off with one foot and switch up to go forward," he instructed. "Then to turn you just lean your weight to one side. Really all there is to it."
"And how do I stop, Boy Blunder?" Raven asked, still clinging to the rail with one hand.
"Uh, I usually just tilt one of my skates to the side. It's a little risky but it works for me."
"Sounds promising," she sighed. "Okay, let's go." She let go of the handrail and hesitantly pushed off with her right foot, slowly moving forward. Raven wasn't used to the sensation of sliding and founder herself swaying back and forth. "Whoaaa," she let out, as she continued to slide slowly forward.
"You have to embrace sliding," Robin offered. "Don't be afraid to keep going. It helps to lean forward."
"Yeah, okay," she muttered, pushing off with the other foot. She still stood mostly straight up, her arms flailing wildly before grabbing ahold of the handrail again.
"I'm gonna go on ahead," he told her. Robin was rusty since he obviously didn't have time to skate a lot normally, but he managed to work his way up to a decent speed and relative control. He scanned the rink, eyeing other couples, families, and teenagers on various parts of the ice. Completing a couple of laps, he slowed down to find Raven inching her way to the one fourth point of the rink.
"My ankles burn and I've almost fallen four times," she muttered. "Remind me again why I thought this was going to be fun?"
"I wouldn't know. You never told me," he said, shrugging. "Need a hand?"
"I can do this myself," she said determinedly, and let go of the rail once again to move forward. This time, she pushed ahead with reckless abandon, one foot pressing after the other.
"Raven, slow down!" Robin called, skating after her. "You're going too fast!"
"I can handle it!" she yelled back, as she reached the curve in the rink.
"Turn! TURN!" he shouted. Raven tried to lean towards one side, but she was going too fast now. Robin watched as she slammed into the wall, falling flat onto the ice.
"You okay?" he asked as he skated over to her. She looked up at him with a grimace.
"My face hurts and my ass is frozen."
"It'll only get more frozen if you sit there," he said, extending a hand. She took it and gingerly lifted herself up, brushing off her clothes. "Let's try not to bite off more than we can chew."
"If I slip one more time I'm using my powers to skate."
"It's more fun to do it normally," he replied. "Especially with another person," he continued gently, taking her hand. Her annoyed glare softened and she gripped his hand tightly.
"Lead the way, Boy Blunder," she said with a smirk. "At least when we fall it won't be my fault."
"Follow my lead," he told her. He pushed off with one foot and she carefully copied his movement, allowing them to skate side by side at the same speed. They were out of sync at first as she tried to adjust to his patterns. She almost slipped again before Robin slowed down to help her balance. After working it out a few more times though, Raven got the hang of it. It was easy to follow him; when Robin turned, Raven naturally did as well. They circled the rink multiple times, for what seemed like hours. Finally, Robin started to slow down, and she tried to imitate his braking motion as best as possible.
"See? It's not so bad," Robin remarked.
"Eh." The response was curt, but Robin knew she had grown to enjoy it, if just a little bit more.
"You wanna get a snack or something? I'm a little hungry."
"I think I'm gonna try skating a little more," she replied. "You can go on. I'll meet you later." Robin nodded and exited the rink, heading for the concessions while Raven continued on the ice. She started up again, being careful to dodge slower skaters and maintain control. Having learned her lesson, she bent down lower to keep her balance, while not going too fast as to not be able to turn the corners. Once she settled into a rhythm, it was quite peaceful to be able to glide with little effort. She felt calm amidst the commotion of other skaters and the chilliness of the rink. Not only calm, but…content.
Robin sat down with a plastic boat of nachos and had just started digging in when Raven came over. Still awkwardly walking on the carpet, she took a seat across from him and raised an eyebrow.
"Nachos?" she inquired.
"Nothing else looked good."
"Some of us must have different standards then," she said, looking in disgust at the cheese.
"Nobody's forcing you to eat them," Robin replied, as he took another scoop with a chip. Raven sat silently while he ate, seemingly in thought again. He finished up quickly and got up, throwing away the boat. "Wanna skate for a little bit more?"
"Sure," she said with a small smile. She got up and took his hand, this time leading him back to the ice. Robin was a little surprised by the gesture, but he didn't mind. She learned pretty fast, he thought to himself as they started skating again. The two birds slid around the rink, which was now starting to clear out as it got later in the night. They moved in harmony, and each could feel the warmth of the other's hand. Finally, the two slowed and exited, returning their skates and boarding the R-Cycle to go home. Heading up to the main room, they saw that the others still hadn't returned from their own jaunt into downtown. Raven turned to gaze out the large glass windows, and Robin walked to stand next to her.
"How was tonight?" he asked.
"It was fun," she said simply.
"Glad you enjoyed it," he murmured. He took her hand, grasping it while they both continued to look out over the night sea.
"I could get used to this, you know," she remarked.
"Get used to what?"
"The little things. Nice moments. Sparks. The like," she listed.
"I get what you mean," he agreed. "It is nice."
"Shall we do this again sometime soon?" she quipped. He turned his head to look at her, her expression a combination of playfulness and curiosity.
"Sure thing. I don't know how much longer we'll be able to snoop around though."
"We'll figure it out," she replied. "I already have an idea for where to go next."
"And that would be?"
"You'll find out," she said, smirking. "For now, let's just try to find a time we can get away."
"Sounds like a plan." Raven drew closer and he pulled her in for a brief hug, not overly long but just enough to send chills up her back from his warmth. They let go after a moment and she turned to head for the stairs.
"Good night, birdbrain."
"Good night, Raven, you eternal source of sunshine," he sighed, shaking his head at the name-calling. She looked back and gave him a wink, and the smile reappeared on his face. He fiddled with the security systems for a bit, making sure everything was still working, before retiring for the night as well.
I currently need to take some time to sort out the next few chapters and how I want to get to the ending, so it may be a bit longer for the next update. In the meantime, I plan on writing a short (read: basically really long one-shot) Teen Titans and Star Wars crossover fic that I had the idea for, so stay tuned on the crossover section of the site for that. Thanks to everyone again for their support!