Hey all, sorry for being AWOL but real life's been making some heavy demands on my time. As a way of saying 'I'm sorry' here's a RobRae for you! Wait, no, it's not really… is it? Only one way to find out! Mwahahahaha!

-=oOo=-

The Bond

Raven paused in front of the Ops room door. She closed her eyes and focused her senses, trying to determine if Richard was inside. The space beyond the door felt vacant, but there was something… something less than usual, as if there was a void inside the emptiness.

He was obviously in there, doing his damned best to suppress his emotions and put chains on the bond they shared. In any other situation she would smirk at his attempt to hide, but there was nothing funny about what happened between them last night.

If only it could be so easy. If only she could put on her impassive mask and pretend nothing was wrong. If only she could forget the astonished look on Garfield's face, before it was replaced by hurt and anger. If only…

She gritted her teeth. Running away from the issue won't fix anything. With a resolute movement she opened the door and stepped inside, ready to face Richard and make him – force him if necessary – to acknowledge the reality of what they did and to help her find a solution.

-=oOo=-

The cloak fluttered behind her as she approached the counter, avoiding looking at him. She busied herself with her morning tea-making ritual to buy some time and gather her courage. Her hand closed around the steaming mug in a desperate grip and she took a deep breath, turned and walked over to sit beside him.

"Richard," she tried to growl at him but it came out as a half-broken, distraught whine. He remained silent, but the newspaper he held in front of his face like a barrier rustled as his fists clenched.

She closed her eyes, whispered her mantra, cleared her throat and swallowed. "Richard, we have to talk," she said in a much more controlled voice. "Hiding behind a newspaper won't resolve anything."

A deep sigh came behind the paper wall before it was lowered, folded neatly and placed on the coffee table with slow, deliberate movements. Her eyebrow went up; he was maskless. His ice blue eyes met hers, their expression pained and forlorn.

"I know, Rae," he groaned and his hand went through his spiky hair. "We have to fix this. Somehow."

The sorceress nodded. "I…" she choked, then forced herself to continue. "We have to explain it to them. We have to make them understand," her lower lip trembled. "If Garfield leaves me… Azar help me, Richard, I don't know if I could go on without him."

He grasped her hand in both of his. "I know, Rae. I know." His brows came together in a frown. "Do you think I won't care if Star breaks up with me?

"I'm sorry, I…" she whimpered, her eyes moistening. He noticed it and lifted his hand to wipe the tears away with a gentle thumb.

"Hey, it's okay," he whispered reassuringly. "They'll understand. We'll explain, and they'll understand."

In an uncharacteristic action, Raven moved closer and hugged him. "How did this happen, Richard? Why did it happen?"

"Our bond," he replied as his arms enveloped her in a warm, comforting embrace. "You know that as well as I do. What we share... It's something beyond simple intimacy. We were careless, we let our walls down…"

She gripped him tight and her head fell on his shoulder. "I know. I just…"

"Don't worry," he smiled as he stroked her hair. "Everything's going to be fine. They know about the bond we share and how our feelings affect us. They'll know it was something that shouldn't have happened, something that won't happen ever again."

Raven pulled back and regarded him through slightly amused, if still red-rimmed eyes. "Are you sure?"

"It was a one in a million chance, and we won the lottery," he shook his head. "The timing… You know we both block the bond to respect each other's privacy. It was all an enormous fluke that at the exact same time we both…" his words trailed off. Raven smirked.

"Lost control?"

Richard blushed. "That's one way of putting it."

"Poor Gar," Raven sniffed the last of her tears and chuckled. "You should've seen his face when I screamed 'Oh, Starfire!' as I…"

The Boy Wonder grinned back. "Probably not as shocked as Starfire's when I shouted 'Garfield, I love you!'"

Raven giggled at the mental picture, then grabbed Richard's hand and rose from the couch. "Let's go and talk to Gar and Kory," she said as she pulled him up. "I hope they'll get a good laugh out of it."