Chapter Ten: Love Hurts

By lunch time, the Titans were finished with damage control in the slums. Em had said goodbye to her old home without much sentiment. The streets had been cruel to her when she was younger.

After lunch at the pizza parlor, Em and Robin hit the gym for some training. Cyborg had already perfected a training exercise for her involving targets that were affected by different elements. Em watched Robin thoughtfully as he pummeled a punching bag. She blasted her final target and resumed normal form.

Robin punched the bag and it swung away. He waited for it to swing back. When it reached the top of its arc, Em asked loudly, "Hey Robin, what's going on between you and Starfire?"

His reaction was similar to Star's. He turned sharply, eyes wide, and managed to stammer "Wha-" before the punching bag swung back and knocked him off his feet. Em caught him by his arm and looked down at his shocked face.

"Love hurts," she said, smiling. Robin stood up and pulled his arm out of her grasp. She backed up a few steps, grinning innocently at him with her eyebrows raised.

"Star and I aren't… I mean I don't… But I'm not in lll…" he couldn't seem to finish his sentence. He fell silent, blushing. "Star and I are just-"

"Friends?" Em cut him off swiftly. She walked past him, still smiling. "So I've heard," she said as she walked out to door, leaving Robin gaping after her.

Em was glad to see that her questions had not affected anything between Robin and Starfire. They did, however, start to avoid talking about each other while Em was around after a particular instance in which Starfire was talking to Em and Raven. Starfire said something about Robin being such a wonderful friend and had stopped abruptly when she saw Em grinning at her. Em had simply shrugged said, "I know that you know that I know," leaving Raven completely in the dark but making Starfire blush all the same.

Em began meditating with Raven on a daily basis, training hard to gain control over her mind. She was very dedicated, but as Raven said, it took time. She was progressing slowly but surely.

During one of their meditating sessions, Raven opened her eyes and said, "You're doing much better. Let's take a break." Em whole-heartedly agreed. She would never admit it, but the strain on her mind was getting greater as she tried to hold it back.

"Raven, can I ask you something?" Em said suddenly as Raven handed her a cup of herbal tea.

Raven figured it would be something about her personal life and hesitantly replied, "Sure."

"Have Robin and Starfire always been completely crazy for each other?"

This took Raven by surprise, but she smiled. "Pretty much."

Em grinned. "Thank the lord! I thought I was the only one who noticed! So why aren't they together?"

"They're both too shy to tell each other. I suppose they're also afraid of rejection," Raven said with a shrug.

"And nobody's ever given them a hint?" Em asked pointedly.

"Oh I have, trust me. They're just clueless."

Em rolled her eyes. "Oi with the poodles already!" she groaned. Raven nodded with consent. "I definitely shouldn't mess with them. They're such a cute couple; I wouldn't want to screw things up for them. I'll wait it out for now," Em sighed, raising her tea cup to her lips.

"Probably a good idea," Raven replied, smiling.

"This is good tea. Ever try green tea?" Em asked.

Raven shook her head. "I'm more partial to the healing affects of herbal."

"The Japanese believe green tea has astounding mystical properties. I have to agree. It's very calming," Em said.

For the first time in her life, Raven began debating trying another kind of tea.