Chapter 2: Beautiful
:1:
"Someone went into my room," Raven said.
The room hushed suddenly and four faces turned big eyes onto her rigid, shaking figure. Video games suddenly paused and puddings were left in the mixer. The other Titans took a step back and snuck looks at each other. Raven's wrath was an unstoppable force—none of them wanted to experience it.
"I bet it was BB," said Cyborg finally.
"Hey!" Beast Boy protested. "I learned my lesson the last time. I bet it was you."
"Why would I go into Raven's room?"
"Well, it couldn't have been Starfire or Robin! They were shopping," reasoned Beast Boy.
Raven's eye twitched. Reaching out with her power, she caught a handful of Robin's shirt and pulled him towards her, hanging him six inches from the floor. "Ok, Boy Wonder," she asked dangerously. Nearby, a stove broke. "What were you doing in my room?"
Starfire's eyes went wide—as did Cyborg and Beast Boy's. "Robin?" they chorused.
"But I wasn't in your room!" Robin said, struggling to get out of Raven's grip. "I have always respected your privacy! Let me down!"
A lamp went out behind Raven. "Right. Then why..." she pulled Robin down and whispered into his ear. Robin's mask stretched wide as saucers and his mouth dropped open.
"On your bed?" he asked incredulously.
"What's on Raven's bed?" asked Beast Boy, starting to smirk.
"Yes, Friend Robin. What is on Friend Raven's bed?"
Robin gulped at the deadly glare Raven was sending his way. "Uh... I'll tell you later. Right now I have to get something from my room...." He rushed off to avoid a sulking Raven.
"I'm going to my room."
"Can I come?"
"NO." A window cracked.
"Oh, Friend Raven, what has Robin done? Has he deposited a glamforg nabork on your bed? Or a vamglork trulbag?" Starfire's great green eyes watered up with guilt for her beloved friend and clasped her hands together. "Is it truly so bad?"
A vein in Raven's forehead pulsed. "If you really want to know, ask him yourself."
:2:
"But I don't understand why it would be on your bed. It's not like Red X popped up and kidnapped you sometime before or something." Robin said, scratching his head. "After all, he IS me."
Raven had conveniently left out the fact that Red X had accosted her today; it would have been too embarrassing to tell them what he did. Robin fingered the smooth shape and looked back at Raven's bed. The bedclothes had been ruined, so Raven put in orders for more violet covers. An old, slightly moldy turquoise one was on her bed, one that, despite several threats from the dark girl, she had to use.
"And besides, who would have known I kept the props from my Red X stage in the third drawer of my cabinet? It's not like someone could have tapped into our security system and watched us from our own cameras, right?"
They exchanged glances.
:3:
"You want what?" Cyborg stared at them as if they were crazy. "Why would we replace the entire computer system? It's not like someone's stalking you."
Robin cleared his throat and Raven narrowed her eyes. "Fine. Then as a security measure, change all the passwords. Twice," Raven said, her voice more angry than cold.
"Don't you think that's a little extreme? All someone did was put an X on your bed. It's not like they're going to rape you or something. And the security measures in the Tower make it imposs..." Robin was cut short by a not-so-friendly cuff on his head, courtesy of Raven.
"Someone put an X on your bed? A Red X?" Cyborg began to chortle. "Wow, I could tell why you thought it was Robin."
"Don't you dare tell anyone," snarled Raven. "Too many people know already."
"Don't worry, it was probably Beast Boy pulling a prank on you."
"Right. And he knew exactly where I kept my stuff?" asked Robin, rubbing the spot where Raven had hit him.
"Um... BB could have looked for it while you were out... we didn't start playing video games until an hour ago. You were gone what? Four hours?"
"Four hours?" Raven looked at Robin quizzically.
"Heh. Starfire insisted on visiting everyone of the shops, even the ones that sold maternity clothing."
"Maternity clothing? Are you trying to tell us something?" Cyborg teased. "Will a little spiky-haired, starbolt-flinging kid be coming sometime soon?"
"Shut up!" Robin's ears started to turn pink. "Starfire wanted to feel the babies kick in their mother's stomachs."
"Riiight."
"And I was telling her that it was rather embarrassing. Teenage girls kept pressing their noses up on the glass to stare at me, talking with a pregnant lady."
"Hello? My problem? Red X on my bed?" Raven asked tiredly. The two others continued to argue about Starfire and babies. "All right. I'll just change all the passwords myself and not tell anyone. That way, when the bad guys get here, I'll be the only one with access to the Tower security measures."
That got their attention. "NO!" Cyborg said.
"We'll help," said Robin.
Raven gave an irritated sigh and turned to the computer. "First password?"
:4:
She couldn't sleep. Shadows twisted on her ceiling, dancing and laughing at her insomnia. All around her, the darkness swirled like imprisoned demons in the night. It was raining outside, the little drops of water tapping at the window like knocks on the door. She pulled the cover up to her chin and shivered as she remembered Red X. Then the smell of moldy blanket overwhelmed her and she pushed it away, wrinkling her nose.
Why was she still thinking of him? What was so interesting about Red X? Was it his voice? Was it his strength? Was it his knowledge of her weaknesses? Did she get some perverse pleasure knowing that he would dominate her? And would he? After all, Red X was Robin, no one else.
She sighed and turned on her side, a few strands of violet hair falling in her eyes. She pushed it away absently. Was it because he had called her beautiful?
A statue she had since she was five blew up and the fragments scattered like rain.
No man she had known before referred to her as beautiful. Her mother, Arella, had once said she was beautiful, but that was when she was a child. Her father—who was she kidding? Her childhood had been rather isolated, in order for her to learn to control her powers. None of the boys she knew then would look at her twice. Her face was too ashen, her eyes too cold, her personality to frigid. But Red X—Robin—had called her beautiful.
Not that it was important. He was kidding, of course. He was teasing her about leaving that book on the chair, about her jaded view on love. He didn't really think she was beautiful. He thought Starfire was beautiful, sunsets were beautiful, defeating villains, even, was beautiful to obsessive Robin. But not Raven. Not the cold, distant girl with weird powers. Not the half-demon child who, when her powers go out of control, would kill for fun. Oh, no, not Raven.
"Not sleeping well, my Lady of Sadness?" purred the distorted voice of Red X. Raven turned to see him sprawled on her bed, his head propped up on his hand. His skull-like mask was painted with the shadows of her room, making it seem as if he was leering at her.
"What are you doing in my room? On my bed? Next to me?" Raven hissed, her heart pounding.
"You called, Lady, and I answered." He said in mock reverence.
"I didn't call you!" she said, sitting up. "Get out, now!"
His hand moved behind his mask and a little twing met Raven's ears. "I was just seeing if you were all right," he said, in Robin's voice.
Robin's...
Raven reached out to pull off his mask, but Red X rolled away. "Naughty, naughty," he laughed, fixing whatever it was he did.
"Are you Robin?" asked Raven angrily. "And why would you be in my room at this time of night?"
"I said before, Raven. You called me, and I answered." His gloved finger traced a circle on her palm and she pulled away.
"I don't like to be touched," she said testily.
"Well then, we'll just have to work on that, won't we," said Red X in a sultry tone. "Good night, my pretty. Sleep well." He retreated from her bed into the shadows of a corner of her room where he vanished like smoke.
Raven sat there, as if glued to her bed, for a shocked moment. Then she jumped out of bed, pulled on her cloak, and made her way to Robin's bedroom. Without knocking, she opened the door and stood over the sleeping form of Boy Wonder disbelievingly. He was snoring.
"Titans, go..." he mumbled, swinging out his arm and catching Raven's leg. Hell, Robin fights in his sleep! "Slade..." he said, pulling Raven down. She fell on the floor with a loud thump and Robin woke up.
"Umm... what are you doing here?" he asked after a second of staring at each other.
"You don't sleepwalk, do you?"
"No. Why?"
"Good."
"What, did Red X..."
"He was in my room."
"...and?"
Raven simply looked at Robin. She was not telling him about what Red X said, of course. In fact, if it was him, then he should know.
"Well... should we check the security?" he asked, struggling to comprehend what she had just revealed.
"You know what, you go to sleep."
"What about you?" asked Robin worriedly.
"I'll deal."
"Eh, thanks..." said Robin, already half-asleep.
Raven shook her head in frustration as she exited. It was possible she had a stalker on her hands—but vanishing in corners? She was starting to think Red X was a figment of her own imagination.
:Fin:
Disclaimer: Teen Titans aren't mine. WAHHHHHHHHH!
Ravenn03: Of course I'm gonna make the chapters longer! I actually got the idea watching the episode and thinking: Wow, he's got a nice bod. I like his cape.... It seems like Red X and Robin don't have exactly the same physique. Red X seems to have more muscle. Or wear a more tight-fitting shirt. [cough] Anyway, I thought, wouldn't it be weird if he started to court Raven and freak her out? So that's where I got the idea.
Le Chat de Darigan: Yeah, I know it's kinda like that... weird, huh? I actually read the summary of the episode but I didn't give it much thought until I came up with the idea of Red X seducing Raven. Heehee... I'm also trying to make it a little creepy, cuz he's basically turning up when she doesn't expect it and whispering in her ear about lust. And, like I said to Ravenn03, of course the chapters are gonna be longer!
To my other reviewers—May you be showered in chocolate, flowers, and creepy dudes with tattered capes! [Insert devious, suggestive, wriggling eyebrows here.]