Vermillion

Chapter 8: Indescribable

:1:

He pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth, curling strands of her hair in his fingers. She fidgeted a little beneath the weight of his body and felt unusually warm. He shifted his weight, leaning back on his legs and kissing his way down to her collarbone. He gently blew on it and she blearily opened her eyes. They were laying in the grass in a dark, misty landscape on a warm night. He was stripped down to his dark pants. She... she was in the nude. She struggled to cover herself, but he only laughed and gently stilled her. You are beautiful as you are, his eyes told her. Don't try to hide it.

She relaxed, stretching out under him. He stroked her ankle, running his fingers up her legs. As they reached mid-thigh, he lifted his hand and began to trace circular shapes on her stomach. The strangest thing was, her emotions were not trying to escape. They were content—settled—and it was as if she could act without expecting them to destroy everything around her. Acting on impulse—a privilege she had not had for oh, so long, she reached down and pulled him up to meet her. She gave him a firm kiss and felt his face heat up with a blush. She opened her eyes again and stared at his face. Then she noticed his eyes. His blue, blue eyes.

Somewhere in her mind, Lust was laughing.

:2:

Robin awoke with a tortured cry.

The door opened with a slam and Cyborg charged in. "Robin! What's wrong?" He caught sight of Red X standing above Robin's writhing body and lifted his cannon as X was about to teleport off. The beam caught Red X in his stomach and he was thrown back into the bookcase. Cyborg pulled him up and slammed him into the wall. "What did you do to him?"

"What he had always had coming," Red X replied. He held out his palm and an X shot out, wrapping around Cyborg. Red X jumped away and pulled the knife from Robin's stomach, causing more blood to spew out. Starfire, charging in, sent a stream of starbolts at Red X, eyes glowing viridian angrily. Red X tumbled to the ground and Beast Boy, having morphed into a dinosaur, caught him by the death of his uniform. Red X, struggling to break free, stabbed the now-bloody knife into Beast Boy's shoulder. Beast Boy let out a roar and subsequently dropped Red X. He morphed back to his human form, clutching the wound in pain.

Robin let out another moan, distracting Starfire for a moment. Red X took advantage of that time to wrap a binding blindfold around her eyes. Starfire, in surprise sent out a stream of starbolts that melted holes in the walls. Cyborg leaped towards Red X, but in one deft moment, he leapt up and secured the disabling device onto Cyborg's back. Cyborg tumbled to the ground, electricity crackling around him.

Raven arrived, a little too late. "What n the name of Azar...?" Her eyes narrowed. "What have you done?"

Red X saluted her mutely and pressed the X on his belt, disappearing into thin air.

Raven assessed the situation and ran to Robin first. Her hand glowing periwinkle blue, she gently rebuilt the walls of his stomach and gradually slowed the amount of blood flowing out of him. She melded the wound together, rushing along the body's natural recovery.

Starfire finally pulled the blindfold from her eyes. "Raven! How is Robin?"

"He needs to get to a hospital, fast. I can't help him much longer," Raven replied, growing pale. The healing was draining her of her energy. "Help Cyborg and get the T-Car ready," she said. Starfire pulled the device from Cyborg's back and rushed Beast Boy down to the garage. Cyborg, brushing himself off, picked up Robin and carried him down to the car.

Raven followed after a moment. Behind her, a skull-like masked chuckled.

:3:

Weeks later, Robin was allowed to come back to the Tower. Ashamed Red X had taken advantage of him, he spent most of his time brooding on the couch, flipping channels. Unable to move faster than a walk, unless he wished to beget pains in his tender abdomen, he was temporarily disabled. While his friends fought crime, he pounded his head on the tables. While his friends chased Slade, he contemplated getting a wheelchair.

And then came the fateful day when Raven unbound his bandages to glance at the stitches on his stomach. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"You don't want a scar, do you?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh... do you have to untie the thing?" Robin asked, attempting to cover up his bare chest.

"Yes." Raven replied in her usual monotone.

"...oh." He relaxed then, and Raven placed her glowing hands over the stitches. She worked quietly, trying to ignore the unsure glances Robin was casting her way once in a while. When she was done, she noticed something strange. Something else was healing Robin—something that shouldn't be there. She traced it to his hands... and stopped.

"What?" asked Robin, aware of the sudden change in her features. Surprise played across her face. "Is something wrong?"

"I know what Red X is."

:4:

They gathered again at the control room. Raven herself stood in front of the big screen, displaying pictures of Robin and Red X side by side. "I'm sure you know why I've called you here today," said Raven.

Beast Boy looked at the glum expression of Robin. "Uh... You've decided to marry Red X?"

Cyborg cuffed him.

"Red X has been plaguing me for a while now. He has been acting like a crazy stalker, and I know why. We haven't captured him on our cameras. He hasn't triggered any security measures coming into the Tower. He disappears into walls. Why? Because he's insubstantial. He isn't real. When I told him to go away a while ago, he faded into the air."

"You mean he's a ghost?" Beast Boy asked, eyes bulging.

"Yes, and no. He has a connection to me. I know that because he said that I called him, once. How? I thought about him, and he naturally responded. The fact is, he was made from my power."

"But I thought your emotions were not disturbed," said Starfire.

"He was made with my power, but not with my subconscious. The reason he looks like Robin is because he IS Robin. In a sense, anyway. He's Robin's bad side. He's the evil Robin that Boy Wonder has been suppressing for a while now," Raven said.

"Ha! I knew it was all Robin's fault!" yelled Beast Boy, jumping up in glee.

"Remember that time when I made dinner? Robin was stupid enough to pick up the tray without using mittens, and so he burned himself. I touched his bare skin—his fingers—and a little of my power escaped into him."

"Come to think of it, I was feeling a little weird after that..." Robin said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Then why did Red X begin to follow you?" Starfire asked, the truth beginning to dawn on her.

"Because Robin has been suppressing something else, too. I believe that he... he had feelings that he didn't understand, so he hid them. He had been pushing those emotions away, so through my power the bad Robin found a way to materialize himself. I found traces of my power in Robin's hands when I was healing him this morning."

Cyborg scratched his head. "Why didn't you find it sooner?"

"I was too worried to think of other stuff when he was bleeding to death," said Raven, raising her eyebrows.

"Do you mean to say that Robin has these... feelings for you? But... how could that be? Robin, I... I feel a great affection for you. Can it be that you do not return these feelings?" asked Starfire, her eyes wide.

"Star... I – I don't know," said Robin, burying his head in his hands.

"What proof do you have of this?" Starfire demanded. "Robin is my boy!"

Raven turned her face away. "If you want proof, then the best thing to do is for Robin to admit to this bad side of his, and for him to admit to everything he has been suppressing. Red X will naturally disappear."

"Go on, Robin," said Beast Boy, crouching next to him. "Admit to it! You know you want to!"

"Or, if not, then Red X will gain more individuality and pretty soon, sever himself from you," said Raven.

"But if Red X was the incarnation of Robin's love for you, then why was he so jealous?" asked Cyborg, puzzled.

"Robin does not love Raven!" Starfire declared, her eyes glowing green.

"Okay, okay," said Cyborg with a sweat drop. "But say if he did..."

"Because though Red X is Robin's bad side, Robin is still his own person. His feelings... I believe they continued to grow. And who wants a copy when you can have the original? That was why he wanted me to accept him so much—because he knew that sooner or later Robin would understand himself and compete him," Raven explained.

"Fine, fine!" cried Robin. "I admit it. Sometimes I have the urges to steal. Sometimes, I want to gut Slade and hang him by his skin from the top of the Tower!"

Almost at once, Red X materialized in front of them. He looked around frantically and grabbed at Raven. "Stop him," he said, watching his hand pulse and fade. "Don't make him say anymore! I don't want to be trapped again."

"So here's your proof," said Cyborg to Starfire.

"I admit that I do want to step on the other side of the law once in a while," continued Robin. "And I admit... I do have indescribable feelings for Raven."

Red X looked around in fear, clutching at Raven's shoulders. He began to fade slowly, wavering in and out of sight. "Don't. Raven, you know how much I love you. Let me stay, damn it!"

Raven pulled away and watched with a slightly perverse satisfaction as Red X disappeared completely. His costume fell to the ground in a pile and Robin leaned over to pick it up. "Are you satisfied?" he asked in a small voice.

Starfire's eyes watered up. "You do have feelings for Friend Raven," she whispered. She flew into the air, holding her arms as if she were shivering. "You do love her."

"Star!" Robin said, getting up.

Before she exited the room, she turned to face the other four Titans, tears running down her face, unabashed. "Raven, I cannot be angry at you. But I would like for you to know that my heart is splintering."

With that, the door slid open and she flew off.

"STARFIRE!" Robin yelled, taking off on his crutches. "STARFIRE, WAIT!"

He followed her at a considerably slower pace and exited the room, leaving only three.

"Uh... you aren't mad that Robin went after Star, are you?" asked Beast Boy, sneaking a peek at Raven's expression. It was calm—sad, almost.

"No," she replied, lifting her hood. She picked up the X costume and fingered it. "I did what I had to do. What Robin does now is none of my concern."

:5:

And thus, our story concludes.

It's not finished, idiot. There's still the epilogue.

Shush. They know what Red X is now, so it's basically ended.

No, it's not.

What do you know? It's my story anyway, Annoyance.

It's Raven's story, not yours.

It's mine! I am Raven!

Romantic Raven—one of her least used emotions.

Well, it's not my fault I'm not cranky like you.

I am not cranky!

Ahem. And thus, our story concludes. Romance is a wonderful thing, no?

NO.

SHUT UP!

:Fin:

Disclaimer: Teen Titans is not mine.

AHHHHHH!! Sorry for not updating! One thing just led to another and another and (summer homework stinks. School starts tomorrow for me and my dad kept kicking me off the computer.)

First place goes to:

solarka: You got the theory from watching Charmed? Charmed?

Peace215: Very good.

Second place goes to:

Ripdos A.K.A The Bad Ash: Sort of an emotion, yes.

Ramandeep: Oh, very close. Very close.

Queen: Inner demons indeed.

Thank you to all my reviewers and my readers for sticking with me. I love you all! Candy for everyone!

Be sure to wait for the epilogue, which will be up soon.