They had a party the day Robin came back to the tower from the hospital, or at least that's what Starfire insisted on calling it. Robin said he could have gotten out of the wheelchair but was strictly forbidden to do so while Cyborg was so hyperkinetic in his efforts to establish normalcy that he utterly defeated his own purpose. It wasn't much of a party. Essentially, they had a cake with dinner and wore hats but other than that it was just dinner. Raven considered that it would have been better, would have gone much further towards establishing normalcy, if they had just eaten as usual. Gar was quiet and everyone knew he was in pain but it went unmentioned as he clearly desired.
Robin had through-and-through wounds inflicted by three of Mike's hurled bearings, one in the meat of his trapezius (thankfully above the shoulder bones), one through his upper bicep that had just missed his brachial artery, and the worst in through his stomach and out his lower back. He retired early, Starfire solicitously carrying he and chair together up the stairs much to his embarrassment.
As soon as Robin had left the room, Cyborg actually took a deep breath and seemed to sink in on himself, the false front falling away. He gave the two of them a small but honest and hard earned smile. Gar grinned back but Raven, much to everyone's surprise including her own, went to him and held him for a long moment. He was stiff at first but then relaxed into the embrace. As if by mutual consent, they parted without speaking, he turning to go to his room and her to sit with Gar.
Twenty hours of sleep and a full day's meditation had brought her back to her full power but Gar was still in his cast, would be for some time, and was badly bruised and battered. "I've been thinking," he said. He half expected an attempt at dry humor but she just nodded for him to go on. "Until Star and Rob and I are healed up, it's pretty much going to be you and Cy."
"Star will be better soon," Raven said.
"Yeah, but not for a while. Longer for me and even longer for Rob." He looked at her seriously, "You have to be careful."
"I will," she said, gravely.
He heaved a great sigh and gave an expression that was far too worldly for so young a face. "I'm tired, Rae," he said. "I need a break."
"Then we'll take one," she said.
Starfire was back in action in about a week and Robin in about three. Thinking to take advantage of the Titan's weakened state and many of their old foes turned up. They managed. The old saying goes "They also serve who only stand and wait," but those who had to do so didn't find it easy. Gar especially hated not being at Raven's side. During the time the team was recovering and she and Cyborg were carrying the weight alone, Raven had been exhausted and spent, or just busy, nearly constantly. They had little time together and they slept in their own rooms simply due to fatigue on her part and soreness on his. It had reached the point where each, though unwilling to admit it, had begun to miss the other in the bitter watches of the night.
Once they had a few fights under their belts as a full team and the mood around the tower had normalized somewhat, Rae and Gar left for a while. Robin had offered them the use of a safe house he and Bruce had in the high Cascades. It wasn't large, having only five rooms, but it was expensively appointed. There was a lake, small and clear, that reflected the pure blue of the high mountain sky. They were surrounded by snowcapped peaks and they were, most importantly, utterly alone.
They flew in just as the sun was setting in a breathtaking display of red and yellow, all reflected in the lake as if it were a second sky. She came to a landing and just stood for a moment taking it in. Gar transformed from his falcon form and also stood mute for a long moment. "Wow," he said quietly, slowly looking around.
"We have to thank Robin," she said, taking his hand and leading him towards the little cabin. He nodded agreement. Once inside, she saw that the luggage they had shipped here in advance of their arrival was in the living room and the kitchen was stocked. "We really have to thank Robin," she mused. Gar pointedly glanced at the pile of luggage and then at her. They made eye contact for a moment and he couldn't stop himself from grinning and blushing a little. She fought it for a moment but then grinned too, chuckled and shook her head. "Get them," she said. "I want to pick which room we use." Before he could answer she all but ran up the stairs. He smiled and followed her.
One of the two bedrooms was obviously the master. It had a large bed and floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the lake as well as a furnished balcony. There was a nook in the corner with two chairs and a coffee table. Gar took one of these, being perfectly content to live out of his suitcase for two weeks, while Rae put her things away neatly. He gazed, relaxed and silent, out the window at the magnificent view. Once she was finished with her things, she fell onto the bed with a happy sound and also took a moment to contemplate nature. Gar watched her and slowly, deliberately, stood up from his chair and walked to the bed, his expression calm and serious. His feelings roiled off him and her empath's senses could feel his deep affection very near the surface of his consciousness. His love… and stronger then she had ever felt it, his desire. His feelings filled her and echoed her own. He settled onto the bed and neither hesitated an instant as they reached for the other.
Raven awoke late that night, slid nude from the bed, and felt wonderfully decadent for doing so. She padded silently to the windows and was surprised at how much light the moon and stars cast here, so far from the things of man. Most of her time on Earth had been in the cities and when she was elsewhere, she had little time for stargazing. The stars flowed in the celestial river, the Milky Way, and shone like she had never seen before. They were reflected in the lake, distorted by ripples from the light breeze that rustled the branches of the trees. The mountains were black, sharp-edged shadows that were visible only as silhouettes hiding the heavenly glory. It was purely beautiful. They would have to come back when there was snow. She touched the glass to feel the cold outside, colder then she would have expected but then it was late autumn and they were very high up. Perhaps it would snow. They had not set a date for their return to the tower. Robin had said they could stay as long as they wanted, subject to emergency recall. Raven could not just then imagine ever wanting to leave. She turned back to the bed, the chill finally overcoming her desire to gaze out the window.
They awoke at nearly the same time that morning, it being unclear which moved first and disturbed the other. After the necessary moment it took for them to orient themselves, Gar went in for a kiss but Rae turned and he got the cheek. He looked a little surprised and she said "Morning breath" as she sat up and pulled on the long shirt that had ended up thrown carelessly on the floor. He found his shorts and waited as she tended to her morning ablutions, then dealt with his own. When he returned she was wrapped snugly in the comforter and sitting up. Slightly to his disappointment, she still had on the shirt but she did lift the cover so he could get in. The snuggling was now automatic. "What do you want to do today?" she asked.
He smiled. "Nothing. Eat. Hike. I may go swimming."
"In this cold?" she asked.
"As, like, a seal or something," he explained.
She nodded and considered for an instant how the fact that she took such a comment as commonplace and obvious said a lot about her life. She yawned and stretched. "Food first. Oats. Fruit." She pointed out towards the breakfast set on the balcony, which was set next to a wood stove. "Out there."
"OK," Gar said and, after looking thoughtful for a moment he smiled in anticipation and asked, "Have you ever built a fire?"
"No, I actually haven't."
"Then fetch breakfast, woman," he said already getting ready to dodge inevitable retribution, "and the man will tend to the fire." He was expecting for something to fly across the room towards him but instead she chose to toss him gently out of the bed. He changed a hummingbird in midair and landed neatly, already sticking his tongue out at her. Then, taking advantage of his incorrect assessment that she was finished, Gar was clobbered by first one, then the other pillow from the bed.
A short time later, they were sitting comfortably in the chill morning air, warmed by the fire and slowly eating. They were silent longer then was usual for them. Rae could sit in comfortable silence for hours but Gar was a talker. Ironically, that made her want to talk. "You're quiet," she said while they were lingering over tea and coffee.
"I guess," he said.
"Why?"
He shrugged. "I actually did try to think of something to say but… well… I couldn't."
"Since when has that been a problem for you?" she asked with a hint of humor. He threw a piece of tangerine peel at her, which she casually caught with her TK. "Why not?"
"Well," he said pensively. "I wanted to tell you how happy I am about last night and you being my first but I couldn't come up with a way that didn't sound dumb to me. I wanted to say that being here with you like this is just about the best thing that ever happened to me. I just… I love you."
"You said it pretty good," she said quietly and with a smile. "I love you too."
"And here's the thing, Rae. I'm all in." She looked a little confused. "Like those poker players on TV," he explained, "I'm all in." He made a gesture that vaguely indicated the two of them. "Everything I got's bet on this… on you and me. Morning breath and bad moods and sex and breakfast together. The whole shooting match. I'm all in."
Raven blushed and smiled and said, "Call."
Mike sat quietly in the prisoner's viewing room to watch one of the seeming endless hearings before his trial on a video monitor. The court had, in its wisdom, opted to keep him in the strongest restraint possible. He was ever conscious of the thick, heavy collar made especially for him at Belle Reeve and armed with extra explosives in case he got out of line. Suddenly he heard a pair of muffled thuds and the heavy vault style door to his temporary cell opened. A tall, heavy man who looked to be about of an age with him stood there wearing a bailiff's uniform while obviously not being a bailiff. For a long second neither spoke. Finally the other man said, "You Mike?"
"Who's asking?"
Putting out his hand, the tall man said "Slade."