Teen Titans: The Only Way
Chapter Nine: Can We Talk?
Disclaimer: Don't rub it in.
Raven thought more often about what she had decided over the next few days and each day, her convictions only grew stronger. This was definitely something she wanted more than anything and it constantly plagued her thoughts; but she was okay with that because this idea was something she took great pleasure and happiness in. She thought about what this idea would entail and hoped that Robin, her boyfriend, would be okay with it too. My boyfriend, she thought one afternoon two days after her revelation. Robin is my boyfriend. And I am happy. I am in love. Her thoughts often drifted to these random professions of emotion and Raven found comfort in the fact that she was always thinking about how she felt. Never before had she felt this free with herself; she knew that she was not wholly free yet, and that idea made her feel somewhat scared and somewhat excited for everything that was soon to come.
Raven and Cori practiced meditation almost endlessly and even threw in some emotion exercises when they had a spare moment or could not bear to meditate any longer. Mostly they just talked, as they had so much to still recount and Raven enjoyed having someone she felt comfortable with to talk to about important matters, especially when they were about Robin. "Sister," Raven piped up that same afternoon while they were taking a break from meditation. "May I speak to you about something rather important?" Cori settled herself back down on the ground and opened her eyes to look at Raven. "Of course, Rae," she replied. "What do you want to talk about?" "Well," Raven started, tugging at the edges of her dark blue cloak beneath her. "Lately, I have been having some, er, thoughts and I think... Well, actually I do not know what I think..."
Cori lifted her eyebrow at the vague statement, but remained silent as she waited for her sister to continue. Raven's face got slightly screwed up as she pondered her next words carefully. "Cori... these thoughts I have been having are different and I was wondering if I might talk to you and try and sort them out?" Cori stared at Raven, trying to figure out the hidden meaning behind the cryptic words, but failing miserably. "How different are we talking here?" she questioned, possibilities racing through her mind. Raven shifted and spread her legs out to her side, sitting princess-style. She decided she would not beat around the bush and would just come out and say what she needed to.
"Different enough for me to need to talk about with someone who will be honest with me," Raven said quickly. "You know that I am always honest with you, sister," Cori replied, realizing this was something extremely big. "You can tell me anything, you know that." Raven visibly relaxed. "Yes, of course I know that, but that is not my dilemma." She paused and took a deep breath. "This next step that I must take in order to control my powers? I think I have figured it out." Cori tensed up inside but did not let her discomfort show. "You have?" she questioned. "Do you think you will not be able—" "That is NOT my problem," Raven interrupted quickly. "In fact, I do not have a problem with it at all and I think THAT is my problem."
Cori just sat there for a moment. "Wait, you do know exactly what the next step is, right?" Raven smirked a bit. "Of course I do. I figured it out awhile ago. I knew I wasn't ready then, but I think I am ready now. My only issue is the fact that I consider myself ready so quickly. I am worried that he will disagree with me and—" Cori smiled and placed a comforting hand on her sister's. "First of all, Robin is, after all, a guy and I think you will not find him, um, unpersuasive when it comes times for that situation to arise—no pun intended!" Raven smirked even more as Cori continued. "Second of all, do not worry about being ready too early. That time comes at a different pace with everyone and it should never be a source of discomfort. For Charlie and I, because of the inexperience of emotions with us, we hit this step after only a week. But I have never regretted it because we both were ready and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. I'm glad we made that move when we did, any later and I think I might not have gone through with it."
Raven smiled big and felt more at ease with herself and her thoughts. "You think it really will be okay? That everything will turn out fine?" Cori simply nodded and Raven let out the breath she did not know she was holding. Then she grinned mischievously at her twin. "Only a week huh?" she teased, earning a glare from Cori. "That's pretty quick sis. I guess you were just desperate, right?" "We were young!" Cori said, trying to justify her past actions. "We were only sixteen and we got caught up in the moment! So, don't even try to make me sound easy or anything, you little brat!" With that, she used her powers and threw a pillow and a barrage of stuffed animals from her bed at her twin. Raven did not anticipate the attack and shrieked at she was caught off-guard. The two laughed heartily and collapsed in a fit of giggles as Cori's possessions glowed slightly black in the aura surrounding them coming from the purple-haired girl on the floor.
They calmed themselves down and Raven felt at ease about her decision, but suddenly a new thought popped into her head and she became quiet and fearful once more. Cori picked up on this quite fast and wasted no time getting to the bottom of her newest fears. "Rae, what's wrong?" she asked soothingly. "It's just, uh," Raven stammered. "It's, um... I know when I want to approach Robin about this, but there really is no privacy here and, well, I remember what happened the last time we got carried away and I don't want anyone to get hurt." "No, there really is no privacy here, is there?" Cori responded with a gleam in her eyes. "And I, too, remember quite well what happened last time, but you have a little bit more control now and I have confidence that you are ready for this and everything will be fine."
"But what about privacy?" Raven questioned ferociously. "I want that moment in my life to be the most wonderful thing to ever happen to me, to us, but I cannot have that if I am constantly hearing video games and fighting from down the hall!" "Oh, Raven!" Cori laughed at the panic in her sister's voice. "I understand where you are coming from, but don't worry about it! I promise you I will take care of everything. I had something planned for when this moment came; I am thoroughly prepared and I think I can manage something." "You, you do?" Raven asked uncertainly. "Of course I do," Cori answered. "Just talk to Robin soon, tonight if possible, and then give me a few days so I can get it all situated. I promise everything will be perfect as long as you can promise me that you can wait a little while longer to put the next step off. I'm only asking for, at the most, two days time. Can you do that for me?"
Raven sniffled a bit and nodded her agreement. The two exchanged hugs and then Cori decided they had practiced enough for that day and let Raven spend the rest of the night with her love. Cori made some phone calls and had her ideas all planned out before Raven even found Robin and was able to talk to him. "Robin?" Raven asked as she found him lying down on his bed, thinking of her of course. "Can we talk?" Robin smiled and patted the spot next to him, indicating Raven to come lie down next to him. "Sure Rae," he said. "Something on your mind?" Raven moved over to him, took her cloak off and snuggled down next to him, resting her head and one arm on his chest and entwining her other hand with his by her side.
Raven took a deep breath and said what was in her heart. "Robin, I have thought quite a bit about the next step that I am to take and I have decided that I am ready for this part more than anything. Cori agrees with me and she feels that I have enough control to continue on successfully. That is what I need to discuss with you tonight." Robin looked down upon her draped form across his chest and felt more love than he knew he was ever capable of. "That's great, Raven!" he encouraged her. "I'm glad that things are going well. But what, if you don't mind my asking, exactly is this next step you are most ready for?" Raven gathered up her courage, as well as her body, and sat up so she could look her love in the eyes.
"The next step," she began calmly. "Is one that is quite meaningful and will give me almost complete control over my powers and my emotions. It is a step we must take together and I would not dream of pursuing this if you were not okay with it." She paused and took both of his hands into hers. "Robin, I love you more than anything and I feel that I am ready to express my love for you. This is the next step that I have to take in my training, although, my training has nothing to do with my decision. I have come to this conclusion of readiness based on my own accord; it is what I feel in my heart and in my soul every time I look at you or even think of you." Robin's eyes grew wide as realization of what his true love was saying dawned on him and he was taken aback. "Wait," he said slowly. "Does this mean what I think it means?"
"Yes Robin," she said lovingly. "If you will have me, it is my deepest desire to prove my love for you; I want to move to the next level in our relationship. I want you, Robin. I want to make love to you and I want to show how much my love for you has given me emotions beyond my wildest dreams. I love you, Robin... will you let me express myself and will you make love with me?" Raven looked at her boyfriend with a deep sense of longing in her eyes as she pleaded to hear his answer.
Robin, at first, didn't know what to say to Raven's confession. She had just said everything he had ever wished to hear from her beautiful lips. "Raven, I love you more than life itself and I always will, no matter what. I'm not lying when I say that making love to you has been my greatest desire ever since I first laid eyes on you. You are my angel and I would wish for no one else to be my first; the woman who would make me a man and who would claim my heart as hers." Raven's eyes welled up with tears of happiness at hearing his loving words and she could not hold them back as she hugged him tightly and the two embraced for a long time.
They kissed passionately as they laid back down and soon after fell asleep in each other's arms. Robin did not pressure Raven as to when they would take their relationship to the next level; he knew it would happen when she was ready and willing. The knowledge that she was ready to go that far with him was more than enough and he gave her whatever space she needed. The next morning Raven left the warm confines of her lover's arms and went to find her dear sister and tell her the news. She found Cori on the roof watching the sunrise by herself and so she told her the good news. Cori was overjoyed at her twin's revelation and the two embraced fiercely as her happiness for her sister overflowed inside of her.
Cori then told her that everything was set up and she would find out at breakfast what she had planned for the two lovebirds. They walked downstairs and were greeted by a light hug and gentle good-morning kiss from the two young men they loved so much. Everyone else was already up and at the breakfast table; the two couples went and joined them and Cori decided to put her plan into action. "Friends?" she asked, slightly raising her voice so all could hear her. "Would it be too much if I asked of you a great favor?" Everyone shook their heads and told her that no favor could ever be too great. "All right," She continued, beaming. "Well, you see, I think that everyone here has been quite wonderful in letting myself and Charlie stay here for as long as you all have. I believe that you all have been so kind and I would like to propose a mini vacation for everyone. Charlie and I would like to share our home with you as you have shared yours with us. I would like to invite you all to come and stay with us back at our home in Metropolis for this coming weekend. What do you say to that?"
"Come and stay with you?" Beast Boy questioned. "In Metropolis? The home of the Superman? Really?" "Yes," Charlie answered him warily. "We would like you to come and meet him and the rest of our friends and teammates." "No way!" Cyborg exclaimed, nearly knocking his plate to the ground. "That would totally rock!" "Yes," Starfire chimed in animatedly. "That would certainly, as Cyborg puts it, be a rock!" "Terra? BB?" Cori asked, turning to them with hope in her eyes. "Sure!" Terra agreed. "My only chance to ever meet Superman?" BB questioned sarcastically. "DUH! I am TOTALLY in!" "Oh that is excellent!" Cori grinned, quite excited that her plan had gone down this easily. "I was thinking we could leave tonight and stay for about three days. Is that okay?"
Everyone agreed that it was more than okay and everything was going smoothly until Starfire brought up the question Cori and Charlie had been dreading. "But wait friends!" She stammered, looking perplexed. "What about Friend Raven and Friend Robin? You have not asked them yet if they want to come. Are they not invited?" "Uh... Of course they are invited Star," Charlie said reassuringly. "It's just that—" "That someone needs to stay and watch the tower Starfire," Raven interjected quickly. "I talked with Cori about that this morning and Robin and I will stay here and keep an eye on things." "Oh," Starfire replied, looking a little glum. "I see. Then... you will NOT be joining us on our vacation of mini?" "Don't be sad Starfire," Robin said soothingly. "It's okay. You guys go and enjoy yourselves. Raven and I will be more than okay here by ourselves. You go and have a good time; besides it is only for three days. Everything will be fine. I promise."
Robin's words comforted her and she was satisfied with leaving them now. After a hearty breakfast everyone but Robin and Raven went to go and pack for their little excursion to Metropolis. Later that night they all went out for pizza so no one would have to cook or clean dishes and they could enjoy their last day in Jump City. They went back to the tower afterwards and began to assemble their belongings into a limo that Charlie had arranged to pick them up. Raven and Robin said their good-byes and waved to their friends as they were left alone for three whole days. Cori gave her sister a hug and a peck on the cheek as she wished her good luck and then did the same with Robin. Both of the titans blushed at her words, but quickly recovered and began to look forward to the long weekend that lay ahead of them.
Once the limo was out of sight the two walked back inside, holding hands, and began to make their way upstairs. Each one was nervous and yet wonderfully excited at what they were going to be doing; this was a big step for both of them and neither one could be happier for it. They walked down the corridor that housed their bedrooms and headed for Raven's room. The door slid open with an anticipated whoosh and Robin picked Raven up bridal style, carrying her over to her bed. He laid her down gently on the mattress and then stared at her for a moment, drinking in the mere sight of her. He began to descend upon her as her door closed quickly on the two, closing them off to the world outside and creating an environment full of more love, desire, and passion than anyone else had ever possessed.