author's note: Does this sound a little familiar? Yeah, I wrote it before on my old account that I lost access too. This is the updated 2020 version I re-wrote last year because I loved the concept. Enjoy.
As the dragon reared back, revealing its soft spot, the archer struck. With his bow in hand and an arrow at the ready, he prepared to fire the final blow. The Oracle had predicted he'd die by the beast but the archer refused to accept such a fate. He believed one created their own destiny and that it could not be predetermined even by the Oracle herself. With one last word of prayer, the archer released his arrow, aiming for the dragon's exposed heart.
Knock! Knock!
"Really?" Raven couldn't help but scoff as she slipped her favorite book mark between the pages of her favorite novel. She already knew how it ended, having re-read it thousands of times before, but still she grew excited with each page she turned as if it were her first time reading. In any other situation she would've ignored the intruder interrupting her private time, but having spent a few weeks in the tower, she'd come to realize that certain members of the Titans either were unable to pick up such social cues or preferred to ignore them.
"I'm coming!" she replied dryly as she made her way toward the automatic door and pressed her thumb to the scanner. She was careful to open the door just enough that she could see who was knocking, but could use her body to shield them from looking into her room. The Titans hadn't been a team for very long and though she was beginning to grow more familiar with her teammates, she still didn't trust them enough to share too much about herself or her past.
The enchanted items that sat on her shelves and decorated the space around her bedroom may look like normal objects to the average outsider ('just some plain white candles and dusty old books' in the words of Beast Boy the one time he'd managed to sneak past in rat-form and gotten a quick look around the area), they held a magical essence that she was not yet prepared to share with the other Titans.
"What is it now, Beast Boy?" Raven snapped upon the door's opening. He was the only one dumb enough to bother her after dinner, during her self-imposed 'quiet time.' It caught the young sorceress by surprise to find that it was not Beast Boy at her door, but the Teen Titan leader himself.
"Oh, uh, hi Raven," Robin replied, raising a hand in greeting. Raven had never seen him so uncomfortable before. There was a nervous energy about him. When she didn't return the greeting, Robin slipped the hand behind his head and scratched his neck awkwardly, his focus slightly above her head instead of meeting her gaze.
In any other situation, Raven would appreciate this power she seemed to hold over others. It was always safer for both parties to fear her rather than see her as an equal. Still, it was slightly unnerving to see Robin in such a position. She hadn't known him long but in training and on the field he was usually rather confident and composed. The Boy Wonder standing before her now looked as though he'd rather be anywhere else than standing before her.
"Robin? What do you want?" She hadn't meant for the second part to come out so aggressively and couldn't help but feel a little guilty when Robin noticeably flinched at her tone.
"Well, uh ..." Robin trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words now that they were face-to-face. Though the one hand was behind his back, Robin's other hand was clenched strangely at his side. It seemed as if he was holding something in it, but was trying not to be too obvious about it.
"What's in your hand?" Raven asked, half curious and half eager to end the awkward energy between them.
It was as if she'd flipped a metaphorical switch and lit the lightbulb above his head. "Oh yeah, yes! Here, I brought this for you." He offered her his clenched hand, palm upward, and revealed the item within it. Though it was a little broken from the force in which he'd held it at his side, Raven could see the remains of a fortune cookie - probably from the dinner the other Titans had shared earlier that evening.
"You bothered me for this?"
Robin's face, despite the mask that covered half his face, flushed pink at the response. "Well, you missed dinner and I figured you might be hungry ..." He trailed off, once again visually uncomfortable as if he were a young student being scolded by his teacher for asking a stupid question. "... Or uh, maybe you'd like the fortune since you like superstitious things?"
Raven scoffed in return, uncomfortable with the strange thoughtfulness of the gesture but unsure of how to process it. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not in the market for any useless fortunes written by some bored restaurant owner."
Not wanting to hear his response, Raven pressed her thumb to the pinpad again, preparing to close the door and hoping to end the conversation, but Robin was quicker. Before the door could close all the way, he slipped the toe of one of his boots in the doorway.
Does he have steel toes in there? Raven couldn't help but wonder knowing that the door was quite heavy being made of rather sturdy metal and that Beast Boy would've cried out in pain had he attempted the same move.
The surprised look on her face must've been comforting because Robin continued on as if nothing had happened, his tone becoming more confident as he spoke. "Look Raven, we're worried about you! You haven't eaten in three days! Not to mention you barely come out of your room unless it's for training! We don't want to see you get sick because you're not taking care of yourself and we don't want you to feel like you have to hide from us!"
Despite the mask that covered half his face, Raven was almost certain his expression was serious, eyebrows furrowed. The speech had given off the same energy as the 'talks' Robin had with Beast Boy whenever the latter misbehaved.
She wasn't sure when places had reversed and Robin had taken the dominant position, but she couldn't help but feel a little like a child whose parents had told them they weren't angry, just disappointed. She hated when Robin was able to make her feel such a way. None of the other Titans ever struck her in such a way. But there was something about Robin that when she made him proud, she couldn't help but feel this pleasant feeling in her belly and when he was disappointed or upset with her, it was if some archer had sent an arrow straight into her heart.
Taking her silence as the cue that she was listening, Robin continued, his voice noticeably softer, "I know all this is new and it's hard to trust new people, but we're your friends okay? I'm your friend, whether you want me to be or not and trust me, it'll be hard to get rid of me."
Unable to think of a retort, Raven simply nodded and mumbled okay, offering up her own hand, "I'll take it, but I already told you I'm not hungry."
Satisfied with her answer, Robin held out the cookie again and dropped it into her palm with a smile. With anyone else, the smile would've seemed demeaning, almost like a sign that the opposer had bested her, but Robin's smile was genuinely warm and kind. "Thank you, Raven."
She rolled her eyes at him and as coldly as she could, replied, "Now could you get out of the way. I want to get back to my book."
Still smiling, Robin nodded. "Of course, sorry to interrupt. If you are hungry, there's some extra food in the fridge that I was able to hide from Cyborg. It's under the veggies in the crisper." And with that final comment as his goodbye, Robin pulled his foot from the doorway and walked back down the hallway to the main living area where the rest of the Titans were waiting.
Still holding the cookie in her hand, Raven watched him go as the door clicked back into place, once again leaving her alone in her bedroom. She placed the cookie on her bedside table beside her lamp, attempting to rationalize another reason for not eating it other than spite at being bested by the team leader.
Raven crawled back into bed, crossed her legs, and pulled one of loose blankets around her like a shawl. Her bedroom suddenly felt very cold and dark and she internally cursed out Robin for interrupting what had originally been a pleasant time reading. Though she attempted to get back into her reading, she couldn't help mind wandering. She wondered what the other Titans were up to, what movie they were going to watch together or what video game the boys were playing with Starfire acting as a third party referee. She thought about the fridge and tried to picture what Robin had hidden for her in the crisper and how he'd managed to swipe anything from Cyborg's plate. The thought of it made her almost laugh, but she was able to keep herself from doing so.
Raven returned her book to her side and grabbed the cookie from her bedside table, feeling the weight of it in her hands. She wasn't ready to fully trust anyone on the team, but she'd always been good at picking up on auras and emotions and in that moment Robin's had seemed pure and true.
Raven squeezed the cookie in a clenched fist, revealing the fortune inside. She pulled the fortune from the crumbled cookie bits and placed it at her side before throwing the handful back into her mouth and swallowing. It wasn't the first time she'd had a fortune cookie, but the usually flavorless cookie tasted slightly sweet. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe the Titans had tried a different place than where they'd ordered back in the beginning when she'd been doing them for dinner those first few days in the tower.
She wished she'd been able to say more to him when they'd been standing in the doorway, that she'd been able to voice the concerns she felt regarding her upbringing and the horrible prophecy that she'd been told her existence would bring.
Raven eyed the small piece of paper beside her with feelings of apprehension. She hated how much fear that little slip of paper gave her and fought back against the urge to rip it to shreds.
The people of Earth devoured the cookies without a single thought, laughing at whatever had been printed on the tiny pieces of paper hidden within. To them, it meant nothing but to the people of Azarath, words like fortune, fate, and destiny were not thrown around so lightly.
With a sigh, Raven retrieved the paper and held it up to the lit candle she'd been using to read. Written in a font that had bled from the perspiration of Robin's clenched fist and the confines of the stupid, little cookie, Raven could make out a single sentence that made her breath catch.
Trust in those you hold close.