There may not have been a dream training for the Titans, but Raven was all too happy to finally lay down and rest. The moment she shut her eyes, Robe was standing and waiting for her with a mound of books behind him. The room appeared to be a library in complete appearance, so she was fine with that. She just wasn't expecting how many books she had to read. The pile of books easily towered over him and could have filled the library room twice! On looking at him with a questioning glance, he chuckled at her. He easily sensed her confusion.
"Raven, there is much you need to know. And we're running out of time. We'll have more time to be lenient after those tests are done. This is too important. I know practically every book in Elvey's library. I simply put what I knew into mental replicas for you to read. I will read with you to increase the knowledge. We have to do this," he said gently.
"I know. I was just...hoping that I could get to know you more," she admitted.
"I don't want you to become too involved in me. I know why you want to do this. Trust me! I do! And it's not that I don't want to do the same. You just need to remember. I'm not an actual male figure. I can give you sensations, but only what you would expect. I can't give you anything in reality," he said softly. "I can't give you a family. I can't make you a mother. I can't do any of that."
"I know you can't," she trembled. He sighed and walked over to her slowly. He placed his hands on her shoulders to have her look into his eyes.
"What's really bothering you, Raven?" he asked. "You can trust me."
"I know I can," she shivered. "It's just...remembering all the bad things that happened..."
"But, a lot of good came of it, too, right?" he smiled. "If those things didn't happen, then you wouldn't be who you are today. Right?"
"True."
"Yes, you want to show that you can be tough. Strong. Independent. But, you also need strong friends to pick you up when you feel that you can't do it anymore. Friends that can challenge your doubts and help you see reason. If it wasn't for those friends, you wouldn't have been able to conquer that which you feared. You wouldn't have been able to triumph over your failures. Watching you learn and grow has been something that I liked to see. I still like to see it. To watch you succeed."
"You do?"
"Oh, yes, Raven! To watch you grow and expand your mind further than what it already is? To know that there's someone out there ready to lend you a helping hand? Yes, I am a mentor to you. I will teach you everything I know and more. But...you can't keep yourself from your friends, Raven. We are just getting to know each other. Don't keep yourself from missing out on what you already have."
"What about Beast Boy?"
"Think of it like this," Robe chuckled. "I can learn what I can do, and what I shouldn't do, from him. I can use him as a role model. I've never dated before! I don't know what to expect. So, think of having a possible relationship with him as a means for me to learn. Will I be able to pick up the slack from what he lacks? It's possible. But, just remember this. There is only so much that I can do for you. I care about you, Raven. Very greatly. I won't see you hurt or suffer. I'll do whatever is in my power to keep that from happening. Just...don't use my name in vain. Certain things I can do. Certain things I want to do. But, if it's too much, there will be things that I simply won't do."
"As you told me before," she nodded. "Um...can the reading wait another night, though? I know that it has to be done, but I really do want to know you better."
He sighed and smiled gently. "Fine. Just for tonight. And only because you do have a point. We do need to know each other a bit better. But, the books are staying where they are. It was tough getting them to sit like that!"
She giggled softly, and he looked over at a wall. A door appeared here, and he opened it to reveal a small sitting room with a roaring fireplace. On the table in front of it was a small tea set ready to be used. She nodded to him, and he helped her sit down in a plush chair. After two hours of sipping tea and chatting about his long life, he looked at the grandfather clock along the wall.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Hmm. Still have a bit of time left," he mused. "No, nothing's wrong. I'm just trying to think of something else we can do. Ah! Do you know how to dance?"
"Me? Dance? Are you kidding?!" she smirked. "I'm never one to dance."
"That needs to change," he mused and rose up from the chair. Glancing at another wall for another door to appear, he gestured for her. Blinking softly, she sighed and got up to join him. When this door opened, she stared in awe at the small ballroom before her. Soft, twinkling lights of various colors lit up the place over a marble-tiled floor. It wasn't as grand as the one in Ambrosia's castle, but the feeling of such splendor was all the same.
"Wow," she smiled.
"As we dance, don't think about it," he chuckled. "Just move on your own."
"I might step on your toes," she warned.
"I'll live," he grinned softly. She blushed and accepted his hand. For an hour he taught her various traditional Fae dances. With all the royal Fae they may be visiting, he had to teach her the dances. It was something she needed to know. She actually started to enjoy herself.
"This is kinda fun!" she chuckled and got twirled.
"If you let yourself enjoy it, anything can be fun," he chuckled back. When he pulled her back to him, the dancing took on a slight change. They were gazing at each other and dancing without thought. It was a slow, close waltz that they did now. It was tender and caring. Almost border-line protective. As the dance finished, he gasped with realization. That was our dance. "Incredible..."
"What dance was that?" she asked.
"Do you remember," he said slowly. "what I told you about Fae dances in general? The...importance that happens with them?"
"How a dance of the heart can be done?" she asked. Then she paused. Now she looked at him with her jaw dropped. "That was...us?!"
"Yes. It was," he trembled slightly. Raven worried her lower lip and finally moved her hands to pull him down to kiss her. He gave in to it easily. He pulled back and sighed. "This was why I also wanted to start your mental training. I knew that it was only a matter of time...that this was building up...that is. I didn't expect it to be so soon."
"What do you mean?" she asked him.
"As much as I want to say that me appearing to you like this was a mistake..."
"It wasn't a mistake," she said and hugged him. "I don't care if you're just my robe out there. I honestly don't. I just...wanted someone to care about me."
"You have those that care about you!" he said and hugged her back.
"And, yeah, I like Beast Boy. But..."
"What?"
"I like you more," she admitted. He winced at that. "I'm not infatuated with you. I care about you, too. It took time for us to talk like this. It took a few weeks for me to understand you. This wasn't some childish game to me. You're not manipulating me, either."
"I could never bring myself to stoop so low," he growled.
"I know I could...teach you a few things," she said with a soft blush. "Not fully...but..."
"Raven!" he said with a dropped jaw. "No!"
"This is my mind. In a way, it's my dream, too," she smirked at him. He looked at her with complete shock. Now she looked at a mirrored wall for a door to appear. Pulling him to it, she opened it up to reveal her bedroom. He let out a hissing sigh of disbelief.
"Raven...we can't. We shouldn't..."
"Would you do it if I said your name?"
"Don't! Don't do that!"
"Then tell me that this isn't what you wanted, too," she said in a slightly stubborn tone. He went speechless and seemed to glare at the ground. This was what I wanted. He knew it all too well.
"Fine," he said with a sigh of defeat. "I just...don't say my name. Don't order me to do this. If I want this to go right, then I want to do this of my own free will. I don't know what all I can do..."
"It would be a first for me, too," she said with a shrug. He found himself smiling with a soft blush. "Neither of us knows what to expect. Right?"
"True."
"We can call this a 'specialized' training dream," she grinned. He gave her a wry look at her beaming smile at him. He found himself laughing.
"Fine. But, you'll have to lead. You do know more, in a way."
"I can do that," she said in a soft whisper. He let her pull his head down to plant another kiss on his mouth. Then he closed the door for the rest of the night to slip away.
