Birdcage

Chapter sixteen

The groom made the first move as he charged at Jinx. This was of course a mistake as she launched herself up and over his head. A blade of electricity hit him from behind and he was knocked off his feet, landing hard on his already injured face. As he struggled to get back up Robin turned to join the fight, standing next to Jinx. Their opponent turned his glare in Robin's direction now.

"You've been a pain since the beginning of all this," he sneered at the hero. Robin brought his weapon up and grinned back.

"Good," he replied. The enemy stretched his hands out towards them and closed his eyes. His fingers started to turn black and he charged at them both. Without hesitation he grabbed Robin by the neck before hitting Jinx in the back as hard as possible. Whatever dark energy he was using was stronger than she realized as she went flying into several pews. The nightmare then lifted Robin off the ground, bringing his face dangerously close to his own. The metal staff fell from his hand and clattered on the floor as he tried to grab at the hand at his throat. A satisfying grin spread on his enemy's face as he watched him struggle. Finally Robin was able to swing his legs back then forward in order to kick off his chest. The grip on his neck was released and he fell backwards hard against the floor. Before the groom was able to attack again, Jinx sent one of the broken pews at him. Lazily, she made her way back over to Robin to help him get up.

"This fights too direct, don't you got a smoke bomb or somthin you can throw at this guy?" she pulled him to his feet and he cleared his throat before responding.

"They got ruined earlier, remember?" Their opponent was throwing broken pieces of wood off while letting out an annoyed growl.

"Oh yeah," Jinx itched her cheek before letting out a heavy sigh, "You know, I kinda get the vampire thing more now that I've met this guy. Whole thing is exhausting," she whined before pulling another pew up. Robin couldn't help but glance back at Raven. She had remained where she was but now her expression seemed pained. He couldn't tell if she was still worried for his safety or if it was more than that. His attention was brought back to the fight when Jinx launched the wooden bench towards their enemy. He grabbed it out of the air and swung it right back at the two of them. Robin was able to duck in time but Jinx was hit hard again, this time she slammed against the far wall and slid to the ground unconscious. Robin took several steps backwards almost losing his balance on the way but quickly finding his footing. His enemy walked slowly towards him, grinning even more than before. Robin grabbed something from his belt and flung three small objects at him. The groom glanced down at the birdarangs embedded in his shoulder and effortlessly brushed them off. Robin could feel Raven's gaze and turned to her again.

"Can you please just stop fighting him and leave before things get worse," she asked him.

"I can't, this couldn't possibly be what you want?" He glanced back to see his enemy still making his way towards him and he reached for his staff again.

"How would you know? It's like he said, I chose to come here. There's nothing left back home anyway," she explained. For whatever reason the groom seemed to slow his progression, taking each step painfully slow as though something was effecting time. It gave Robin a chance to talk to her.

"I know this isn't what you want, it's what he wants. Don't let him control you."

"He's not!" Her tone revealed that this conversation was starting to make her angry. Robin blinked at her statement several times as though there was something more to it. He glanced back at his opponent who had all but stopped moving. He thought about the Titan fan room and the guides that helped him find her.

"You're right," he realized, "He didn't do any of this, it was all you." Her expression shifted and he couldn't tell if she was relieved by his observation or not.

"I don't know why any of this matters, I came here to be left alone and want you to leave. Why can't you understand that?"

"But I don't think you really want to be alone, otherwise you wouldn't have created him," he brought his attention completely back to her and put his weapon away. Walking up the three steps to get to her, he brought his gloved hand forward and pressed it against her cheek. She reeled suddenly feeling all his emotions. A vibrant fire that was painfully determined to find her. It could have knocked her off her feet. She closed her eyes, taking in everything coming off of him. He stepped closer and leaned his forehead against hers, sighing deeply. Everything around them faded and there was suddenly a light breeze that tossed her hair over her shoulders. It caught Robin's cape as well bringing the fabric around both of them. There was the soft sound of waves in the distance and she felt the warmth of the sun on her skin. "Raven," she heard him say her name quietly and she opened her eyes. "I've tried for so long to ignore how I feel about you but I can't anymore. You created a place to be with someone that made you feel loved because you didn't feel that way back home." She dropped her gaze to the side unsure of what to say. She wasn't sure if she could drop her guard yet despite his words.

"I didn't see a scenario where you would come back. I just expected you to stay on Tameran with Starfire and that was fine, she made you happy."

"But I came back. To be honest, I had planned to leave but when I saw you there by yourself I knew I couldn't," he reached down and took her hand in his, dropping his gaze as well knowing he couldn't look her in the eye as he spoke or he'd lose his nerve, "You might think that you need us...the team, in order to feel more human but the truth is...I...I need you to feel grounded. Going to Tameran and being with Star,...it was so frustrating at times, everything was an explanation or a fight just trying to tell her how I felt. She never really paid attention unless I brought it up, constantly having to make myself seen and I'm not even that needy of a person," his gaze shifted back up to hers and she could feel the pain from before. He inhaled sharply before speaking again, "But you've always seen me, have always known what I'm feeling even when I don't even know," Now Raven couldn't keep eye contact and pulled her one hand up to brush her hair away from her face. "I guess what I'm saying is that I need you but if you don't feel the same and want to stay here with him then I will respect that decision but I needed to hear it from you."

Raven's thoughts were all over the place and she was trying to figure out what to say. She had said that she wanted to keep him safe but that wasn't really true. She could have taken care of her creation at any time but he really was just an embodiment of her own insecurities. She knew there were feelings stirring in her heart for Robin but wasn't sure if he would ever want to be more than just friends. And why would he? He had just been through that with Starfire. She assumed the last thing he would want is another friendship ruined. She had been protecting herself and never bothered to find out how he felt. Here he was telling her that she was the only person in his life who actually considered his feelings but she hadn't.

"You might have decided to stay...for me...but I was the one who ran away. I chose a made up world over you," her voice came out quietly as a conclusion to her own thoughts, "I don't know why you even bothered to..." he cut her off as he gently lifted her chin and leaned down, kissing her lips softly. This time she didn't overthink the moment as she brought her arms around his neck and closing her eyes. He sighed deeply as his other arm wrapped around her waist. After so long he pulled away slightly, his nose still brushing against hers.

"Because I love you," His words made her heart flutter in her chest and she leaned up again, this time initiating the kiss.