Author's Note: This chapter was a little more tragic than I thought I'd be. And it somehow reflects how I think a relationship between Raven and Robin would occur on the show. Thinking about how neither like to voice their feelings and how both are incredibly stubborn, I wonder if each would ever admit it to themselves, let alone each other. I am a Rav/Rob shipper normally, but I was trying to think realistically. I may or may not have succeeded, please tell me your thoughts.

Also, this chapter is a follow up to the previous, like an epilogue, therefore it's shorter. Thanks.

Carly

The Good Fight: Raven and Robin (cont'd)

""I begged you not to go, I begged you, I pleaded. Claimed you as my only hope, and watched the floor as you retreated. Does it comfort you to know you fought the good fight? Basking in your victory, hollow and alone. You boast your bitter bragging rights to anyone who'll listen while you're left with nothing tangible to gain."—Dashboard Confessional, "The Good Fight," Swiss Army Romance

She knocked quietly on my bedroom door. I didn't say anything. I didn't really care if she came in or left. Not now, anyway.

She opened the door anyway, despite my lack of response. She was still soaking wet. I guess she didn't really feel like changing out of her clothes. Now that she was in my room, I wished that she would leave. I pretended to sleep, but somehow she saw straight through me. She always did.

"Robin?" she whispered. "I know you're awake."

I made no reply. She sat on the edge of my bed.

"Fine," she said. "If you don't want to admit you're awake and talk to me, I'll just say what I came to say and be done with it. But you better damn well listen because I'm not repeating it."

I couldn't help but smile at the small underlying empty threat in her voice. She knew I'd always listen to her.

"I didn't mean to snap at you outside," she said. "I wasn't… I mean, I'm not mad at you or anything, it's just… God, I wish I knew how to say this."

"Admit it," I said, sitting up in my bed. "That's all you have to do."

Raven looked at me warily.

"What am I suppose to admit?" she asked. I smiled at her.

"You know it, because you feel it. Just acknowledge it." If she said it, it would be OK. If she just admitted it, gathered up all that courage to for once voice her deepest emotions, then that meant it wouldn't be so bad if I said it too. Just as long as she said it first. I wouldn't admit it before she did. Maybe it was my pride, or my favorite habit of hiding my own emotions, but I would never, in a million years, tell Raven, of all people, how I felt about her.

But unfortunately, I was disappointed.

"There is nothing to admit," she said stubbornly.

"You felt it up there, didn't you?" I asked her, with a curious raise of my eyebrows. She had to say it, or else we were all doomed.

"All that happened on the roof was I fell victim to the pesky teenage hormones that cause these pointless feelings. It was a split second, and then it was gone, and now it's over. I just wanted to apologize. I was mad at my annoying hormones acting against me. I was not mad at you, Robin, because I lo--"

She caught herself and stopped, holding her breath for a split second as she tried to snatch back the half-word that had come out of her mouth.

But it was just as useless as trying to hold mist in her hand.

I grinned. She almost said it. Did that give me grounds to admit how I felt?

No, I thought to myself. She didn't say it. Therefore, if I say it first, she'll deny it and she'll rip me to shreds. I'll be damned if I say it first.

She was staring at my bed, hoping I hadn't caught her slip of the tongue.

"I love you, Robin," she said slowly, "because you are one of the best friends I have."

I was ecstatic. She'd said it, that meant—

"You're like my brother."

Shit. My spirits fell. She didn't mean that. I saw her up there on the roof. Damn it, why did she have to be so difficult about it? All she had to do was admit it, and it would all be OK.

"Right," I said, sardonically. "That's how you feel about your brothers, huh? You freak out when they try and take your hand?"

"That's not what brothers do," she said to me coldly, her eyes burning.

"And that's not how a human being reacts," I retorted. She looked away from me. I'd gone too far. "Raven, I'm sorry—"

"Don't," she said quickly. "Don't apologize. Don't even talk to me."

Was she trying to make me say it first? I grinned. If it was a battle of the wills she wanted, I would come out on top. I always did.

I licked my lips, trying to think of what to say. "Raven… the things Starfire said to me last night, about me needing to love someone. When she left and you were there, I… I never realized how beautiful you looked, even in that rain… And you listened to me."

Raven didn't move. I wasn't quite sure how she'd react to that. Would that little bit of encouragement work for her?

"You want me to admit it so much…" she whispered. She looked up at me. "Why?"

She'd totally shocked me with that. I recovered quickly.

"Why not?" I said. "You know it's true."

She looked at me with what must have been pity in her eyes. "But Robin… What if it isn't? You want me to say it so badly, just because you want reassurance. You want a reason to say it too."

I was stunned. This wasn't a game. She saw straight through me, as usual.

"How do you know that's true," I started, "if you didn't feel the same way?"

The sides of her mouth twitched into an ironic smile. "I wish this were possible, Robin, and I'm sorry for you, I really am, but I just don't care for you that way."

I'm sure that even if I'd have admitted it first, it couldn't have hurt as bad as it did. Nothing burned me more than the cold indifference of her voice. She meant it. She must.

Taking my stunned silence as a cue, she rose from my bed with her smile still in place and made her way towards the door. I could do nothing but stare.

I should have said it first.

"Raven?" I called after her. She hesitated. Better late than never, I thought… But no. I would never say it. Especially after that. "Never mind."

Raven's shoulder's slumped and she left my room.

Once outside his room, I leaned against the wall. My mind was racing. Why hadn't he said it? Why did I tell him that?

I leaned against the wall in devastated defeat and for the first time in years, I cried without caring.

If I'd only had the courage to tell him… He was the only one who could possibly understand what it's like to feel so much and try to ignore it. Why hadn't he said that he loved me?

Or more importantly, why hadn't I said that I loved him…?

Damn the teenage years. Their only purpose is to torment and bring bad memories. Could there be such a thing as true love when one is so overwhelmed with new thoughts and emotions and hormones?

No. It can't be real. If what I feel for Robin was real, then I've lost myself forever. It's just a crazy teenage crush… Isn't it?