2. "It reminded me of you."

Pairing: Raven and Jason (Red Hood)

Setting: Comics / Idk, some AU probably

Age: 20-25

"What are you doing here?" Raven broke the silence that had fallen when she walked in and saw a figure standing amongst the shadows of her room. But for the longest time there was no answer, the silence between them thickening with each passing moment.

Her blue eyes stared at the figure intently. Only part of his face was lit by the street lights coming through the blinds of the open window and she could tell that he wasn't even looking at her, but rather out the window. A sigh escaped her lips and she turned back to reach for the light switch.

"Don't." His voice suddenly echoed through the room, sending a chill down her spine and making her stop in her tracks in an instant with a soft gasp. She looked back at him again and saw that his gaze was turned to her now as well. Suddenly, her breath got stuck in her throat and her heart was beating just loud enough for her to hear it in her ears. In this intense silence it almost seemed like the loudest sound in the world.

"Why?" She managed to muster a whisper, all the while trying not to make it come out too shaky.

'Because I don't want to see your face' was the first thing to come to his mind. And it wouldn't be too far from the truth. In reality though, he was afraid that if he got to see her in all her glory, he wouldn't be able to leave again. Just like he always did. But he couldn't tell her that. So he decided to go for a more… light-hearted tone.

"I don't know, guess I like the mystery." The smirk on his face was very evident in his voice, even if she couldn't see it in the dark. The response didn't really please her, however, and her brows formed into a frown, which, again, was left unseen.

"You know you can lie with your words, but-"

"I know, I know. No need to remind me."

"So what are you really doing here?" The empath took a step closer to him, clutching her night robe tighter around herself.

"I came to see you." Jason's response was blunt as he just shrugged it away.

"In the dark?"

"Hey, what can I say? I'm kinky like that." He chuckled and inched himself towards her as well. And even in this darkness he could see her blue eyes as clear as the day, looking at him with so much confusion, so much sadness and anger, and yet- there was also hope amongst all that.

Despite him trying to keep the mood light and make himself seem so carefree, he couldn't deny the pain in his chest that he felt in the moment he gazed into her eyes. They had seen hurt and pain too many times…

"Jason-"

"I brought you something." The male quickly interrupted before she could say anything further. Because if they allowed themselves to let free of everything that was dwelling inside of them, it would get ugly. And it was the last thing either of them wanted. Surely, this sudden proclamation took her by surprise. Unsure how to react at first, she then let out an incredulous laugh.

"Why?" There was almost a hint of anger in her voice. But he tried not to mind it as he fished a small box out of his pocket and glanced down at it for a moment, trying to come up with a reason. There was none, really.

"It reminded me of you." With this simple response, a shrug rolled down his shoulders and he extended the box to her. But she was too frozen in her spot to take notice of it and a part of him was afraid that she wouldn't even accept it.

So he slowly reached down to her hand to lift it up and gently place the box in her palm, which finally made her break eye contact and actually glance down. None of this made sense to her. She didn't want to accept the fact that he was there only to give her some present that he probably didn't even get in an earnest way. That even after all this time he still didn't want to talk and sort things out. And yet he always found his way to her, over and over again, with every goodbye being harder than the last one.

Jason knew all this well. Staying any longer would make it harder for the both of them, so his hand slipped away from hers, while she was seemingly still deep into thought. But feeling his warmth leaving her, she squeezed the little box tight in her hand and quickly grabbed his hand with the other. And he knew exactly what that meant.

"Raven-"

"Stay." She pleaded in a whisper and her eyes looked at him so intensely they pierced through his entire being. His heart dropped and his body became weak.

"Pretty Bird," letting out the softest of sighs, he turned fully to her and gently released his hand from her grip to graze his fingers against her jawline, "you know I can't…" His voice barely above a whisper, Jason pressed his forehead against hers.

Their eyes closed and the world seemed to have stopped just for that moment. Everything else faded away in the background. It was just the two of them, right then and there. Nothing else existed. Just the warm breath against his skin, just his warm touch against hers. If she could, she would pray to all the gods for this moment to last forever. But they both knew it wasn't bound to happen. Not this time.

"If only things weren't so fucked up." He sighed and lightly nuzzled his nose against hers before he had to force himself to pull away and quickly leave through the window he had come in. If he didn't do it fast, he wouldn't be able to do it at all.

And surely, Raven opened her eyes and there was no sight of him anymore. Letting out a shaky sigh, she approached the window and looked outside, a faint hope sparking in her that she might still see a glimpse of him. But, of course, she didn't.

So then her gaze turned down to the box in her hand. Opening it, tears filled her eyes almost in an instant. Out of all the things he could've gotten, he brought her a necklace with a golden wing and a red jewel pendant. Now this was going to be a constant reminder for her of him.

A constant reminded of everything they were and everything they could have been.