Okay, back to weekly updates. I was going to go by a week and a half to two per update, but a week is my choice, and for a reason. Maybe it's a dumb reason… I don't know. I'll explain in my starting note to the final chapter, ten. Still getting nice and good review on this. It's very pleasing to see. Thanks to all of you that have reviewed so far. It's a real big help to my confidence in how I write. Anyways, three chapters left. Some interesting developments in the next couple of chapters. I've got everything planned out, and it's just a matter of putting them down on paper, or computer, whatever. Hopefully you'll all enjoy this one, even though I'm worried you won't. I guess I'll have to wait and see the reviews. So read on.

I do not own Teen Titans.


Chapter 8: Saved

Robin's View

It was like something out of a dream. Well, perhaps a nightmare. He told Raven that he liked her, and what did she do? She rejected him, just like that. Then he went and talked to Starfire, who gave him a hug out of nowhere. And while he wondered why she was doing it, she would soon tell him everything that he had always wondered about. Starfire liked him, in a like like way. But he had no interest in her, and that was making her sad. And Robin was still there, trying to calm Starfire down.

"Shh…" Robin said softly. He tried to console the silently crying Starfire. She had confessed to him in tears. The fact that he didn't like her like she liked him didn't make her angry, only depressed. He wished that she wasn't upset over it, but that wasn't the case. He did the best to calm her, hugging her tightly and whispering in her ear. It seemed to work a little bit.

Something gave off a sharp noise, and Robin's head snapped over to the hallway. He didn't see or hear anything at the moment, but something had definitely made a noise. Robin shrugged off the thought that him and Starfire were being watched by someone. His paranoia was bad even when he was in the tower.

"I am sorry for this, Robin. I am weak… I should not have told you," The Tamaranian girl muttered sadly. Starfire had released Robin from her hold and had her head hanging low. The tears had stopped, though she was sniffling every few seconds. Robin took a gloved hand and wiped away some of the wetness from her face.

"It's alright, Star. I'm glad that you told me," He said truthfully. Starfire looked up and smiled widely at him, nodding her head slowly.

"You will not look at me differently, will you?" She asked, biting her lip. Robin shook his head, keeping on a smile.

"I would never do something like that," Robin said. He stood up from the couch and helped Starfire to her feet. She hugged him again, though she let him go after just a moment.

"What will you do about Raven?" Starfire asked curiously. Robin stared at her, confused. Was he supposed to do something?

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You are not going to give up, are you?" Starfire replied. Robin let out an involuntary laugh.

"It's not like I have a chance anyways. She doesn't think that we can work out. What's the point of trying?" Robin shot back. Starfire looked sad once again.

"You have never given up before, even when all seemed lost. Robin, you are my best friend, I want you to be happy. If being with Raven will make you happy, you should try and work things out," Starfire said. Robin stared blankly at her, impressed. He had never heard Starfire talk like that.

"You know what… I think you're right. I can't just give up. I won't!" Robin said, raising his voice. A sudden confidence came over him as he turned towards the halls and began to walk away. He turned back. "Thanks," He said to Starfire, hugging her quickly. The alien girl nodded, and Robin heard her sigh as he left the room. He kind of felt bad about making her sad, but he had other things to worry about.

'You can't get worked up over this. Be persistent, don't give up. Maybe if she sees your dedication she'll give you a shot. Raven isn't heartless, she'll feel something' He told himself. Robin turned each corner anxiously, partly hoping that Raven would be there waiting for him, but she never was. Soon he had reached her room, but couldn't find the courage to knock. It was a lot harder than he thought it would be.

"C'mon, you can do this…" He whispered to himself. That didn't quite help him as much as he was hoping. "You're Robin, the Boy Wonder. You've beaten some of the toughest villains in the world, surely you can do this. Just walk in, talk it out with her…" He said. Robin shook himself up a little, then raised his hand slowly. He let out a deep breath, and prepared to knock…

"Yo, Robin!" And urgent voice said from his side. He gritted his teeth and slowly turned his neck to the right, cracking it in the process. Cyborg was standing at the end of the hallway, waving Robin over. The Boy Wonder lowered his hand and walked over to him impatiently.

"What? I need to talk to Raven. This had better be important," Robin said through his teeth. Cyborg shrugged and looked over at someone. Beast Boy crept out from behind the younger, looking angry.

"Have a good date with Raven?" The changeling asked. Beast Boy sounded downright vicious, nothing like his usual self. Robin struggled to hold back a smile at the memory of Beast Boy getting slapped by Raven.

"It wasn't a date, but yeah, I had a pretty good time," He said. It was only a half lie. A lot of the time he did have fun, even if his time with Raven ended up with him getting rejected and Starfire crying on his shoulder.

"Beast Boy, shut up!" Cyborg said loudly. The changeling grimaced but didn't say another word. The half machine looked back at Robin. "Don't mind him. He's still getting over how bad his time with Raven went," Cyborg said and smiled. Robin smiled too. He couldn't help it.

"So is there a reason you called me over here or are you just trying to stall me?" Robin asked, still grinning. Beast Boy's stony looks went away for a moment as he looked over at Cyborg.

"Ask him…" The changeling whispered out of the corner of his mouth, then went back to his cruel act. Looking mean wasn't really Beast Boy's style.

"Ask me what? What are you two talking about?" Robin asked. They were up to something, they just didn't want to tell him. Cyborg stepped up.

"Well, me and Beast Boy were walking around and we saw you, and you looked kinda nervous and we were just wondering what you were up to at Raven's door at night," Cyborg blurted out quickly. He let out a deep breath.

"You finished?" Robin asked. Cyborg nodded. "I have to talk to her about how I feel, no matter what. So if you'll excuse me…" Robin trailed off, turning around.

"And how do you feel?" Cyborg asked. Robin stopped in his tracks. Why did he have to ask questions that he already knew the answer to? The Boy Wonder turned around on one heel and marched up to Cyborg, staring up into his friend's human eye and frowning.

"I think you already know the answer to that question. Aren't you the one who first accused me of liking her in that way?" Robin asked. Cyborg stared at his friend blankly not saying a word to him. Robin crossed his arms, waiting for Cyborg to reply to his question.

"So you do like her? Why didn't you just say so?" Beast Boy spat out. Robin gave him a glare that made the changeling look down at the ground awkwardly. He started to dig the toe of his boot into the ground as Robin looked back at Cyborg.

"I just had to be sure. Didn't know if you actually felt that way…" Cyborg muttered. "So what are you going to do about it?" He added. Robin shrugged, then looked over at the door to Raven's room with a certain sadness. He knew exactly what he wanted.

"What I want is to go in there and talk things out with her. What I want is to show her how much I care. What I want… is to be with her," Robin sad quietly. He turned back to Cyborg. "But I'm not sure that it can happen. She doesn't think that things between us will work out at all," He added.

"She said that to you? When did you guys talk about this?" Cyborg asked. Robin thought back.

"Not too long ago. When we got back I tried to tell her how I felt, but she wouldn't allow anything to happen for us. I wanted to try and-"

"She told you that she didn't want you and you're still trying to make her go out with you?" Beast Boy cut Robin off with an outburst.

"That's not how it went. What she pretty much told me was that she liked me but the obstacles were too great to overcome. But I disagree. I think that me and her can beat whatever comes our way, no matter what." Robin finished his statement proudly to a now dumbfounded Beast Boy. Cyborg was smiling widely.

"You know, man… If you can sound even half as confident as you do now, she might actually believe that you two can have something together," Cyborg said. Robin beamed at him.

"Now, if you two will excuse me, I've got something to attend to," Robin said. Beast Boy grumbled quietly as Cyborg gave Robin a pat on the shoulder.

"Good luck, you'll probably need it," Cyborg said, still smiling. The Boy Wonder gave him a thankful nod before turning and walking up to her door. Cyborg ushered Beast Boy around the corner and out of sight. Robin took a deep breath.

"This is it…" He whispered to himself. Robin lifted his hand and brought it down before he could decide otherwise, then knocked on the door quietly. There was no answer. He frowned, puzzled. Robin knocked again, louder this time. No answer, again. Maybe she was asleep? "Raven?" He called through the door. He thought he heard her voice, but couldn't be sure. Robin gripped the edge of the door, and with some difficulty, slid it open.

"Go away…" Raven's dry voice came from the corner. She sounded more depressed than usual. Robin couldn't see her in the dark. Her room was only lit by a small sliver of moonlight that went across her bed. He felt around for something, and found a lamp. He switched it on, and stared at the horrible sight before him.

"Raven…?" He asked seriously. The goth girl was curled up in a corner. She wasn't crying, but he knew she was in pain, emotionally and physically. Her arms had cuts lined up them, and the blood was running down her, falling onto her cloak under her. Raven lifted a hand, which glowed a dark blue before she waved it over her arms. The cuts sealed up, leaving only dim red lines where they were. "What are you doing?" He asked in a worried tone. Raven gave a forced smile to him.

"What does it look like?" She asked him. Robin dropped down to the ground in front of her and crawled over, holding back the extreme urge to take her into his arms.

"I know what you're doing… but why?" He asked. Raven frowned, and for a moment she looked up to him, and he sensed something from her, as if she wanted him. But it was gone a second later.

"It doesn't matter. Why would you care?" Raven asked venomously. She sounded sad, angry, and hostile all at the same time. Robin attempted to keep his cool, but almost lost it as Raven cut her arm again. She quickly healed it using her powers.

"Why wouldn't I care? Raven, I like you. I like everything about you. But what I don't like is seeing you hurt yourself. Stop it," He ordered in a nicer tone. Raven's grip loosened on the blade she was using to hurt herself.

"You like… everything about me?" She asked hopefully. Robin nodded. "Everything? How mean I can be? How distant I can get? You even like the fact that my emotions are messed up?" She asked.

"It's all put of who you are, and I like who you are. Why else would I want to be with you? Why else would I be here in your room?" He asked.

"You don't want to be with me. You want to be with Starfire. I saw you two hugging." Raven's voice sounded angry again. Her grip had tightened on the blade once again.

"That wasn't what it looked like, it really wasn't. Believe it or not… I was comforting her," He said honestly. Raven observed him, as if she was trying to tell whether he was lying or not.

"Really…?" She asked him. Robin nodded, and he could see that Raven wanted to believe him. He smiled on the inside. On some level, he was getting to her.

"I wouldn't lie to you, believe me," He said. Raven grimaced.

"You've lied before. Not just to me, but to all of us. Remember Red X? You could have told us, you could have trusted us!" Raven yelled. She cut herself again. He had never seen her so upset at a member of the Titans. It just had to be him that she was mad at.

"You've already yelled at me about this before. But still, I am sorry for the Red X incident," He said. Robin took out a bird-a-rang calmly and flipped it open. He took off the glove on his left hand and pricked a finger with his weapon. It was sharp. Robin put it down to his arm. "Stop cutting yourself… Every time you do, I'm going to do it as well," He said. Raven's mouth dropped open. She looked shocked at his random statement. But her looks became stony just before she cut herself again.

"You wouldn't," She said, sounding confident. Robin was hoping that she would stop once she saw he was serious, but she obviously didn't believe that he would do it. Robin dug the bird-a-rang into his skin, then dragged it along his arm to make a long, deep cut. He gritted his teeth together. It was a lot harder to take pain when you do it yourself rather than have others inflict it upon you.

"I just did. Now stop, unless you want to see me hurt again," He said. Raven looked down at the blade in her hand and moved it away from her arm. She slowly lowered her hand to the ground, then dropped it all at once. Raven put her arms around her knees and stared at him. Robin put away his bird-a-rang.

"I- I'm sorry… Thank you," Raven whispered. She sounded sincere. The half human ran a glowing blue hand over her arm, the cuts disappearing right away. She leaned over to Robin and did the same thing, and he felt the pain miraculously evaporate. He smiled at her.

"Thanks. And you don't need to be sorry. Don't worry about it," Robin said. He bit his lip before crawling over beside her and leaning against the wall next to her. Raven didn't object. She instead stared at him, her large violet eyes never leaving his face.

"Did you mean what you said? About liking everything about me? About wanting to be with me? You weren't… lying?" She asked. Robin nodded.

"Of course I meant what I said. I want to be with you. I mean, why wouldn't I want to? You're more like me than anyone else on this team. I can be just as mean as you. And we both know that I've distanced myself before from everyone. True, your emotions are messed up, but so are mine… even if yours are a little more," Robin said with a smile. Raven smiled back, but only for a second.

"Still, don't get your hopes up. I told you, us being together wouldn't be easy. We both have a lot of problems. And don't deny that you don't have problems," She said. Robin nodded his head quickly.

"I know that I have problems. Everyone does. But I think the best way to get over those problems is to be with the person I care about most. And the person that I care about most is you, Raven…" Robin said softly. Raven stared up at him with a mix of shock and wanting, and then she did something that he never expected her to do. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Robin, I want to be with you. The last few days have been… confusing. When I figured that I liked you, I wasn't sure what to do. And then Beast Boy confessed that you had set up the entire team trying to help me. As much as it angered me that you thought I couldn't handle my depression on my own, it made me feel good to know that you cared… And now… I know you like me, and I like you…" She said quietly. Robin turned to face her.

"And…?" He asked hopefully. Raven bit her lip and kneeled in front of him.

"And… I guess…" Raven trailed off, and Robin suddenly noticed how close their faces were together. Suddenly, a loud noise went off behind him in the halls, and Robin turned his head slightly back.

"What was-?" Robin was cut off as he felt Raven's presence near him, and suddenly her lips were upon his. Robin awkwardly sat there for a moment before putting a hand behind her head and shutting his eyes. They both sat there for a moment, locked in a sweet, soft kiss. Robin reluctantly backed away after a few more moments. "Um…" He started.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done-" Raven began, but Robin cut her off by putting his hand on top of hers. Raven gave a small smile.

"I'm glad that you did it, because I'm not sure that I ever would have been able to do it myself. You don't know how good this makes me feel to know that you like me enough to do something like that," He said.

"It makes me feel good to know that you didn't get the urge to back away," Raven said. She sounded almost embarrassed. Robin grasped her hand tightly. "I know this sounds odd for me… but I feel… happy," She muttered. Raven blushed, causing Robin to laugh.

Robin put his arm around Raven, then drew her into a tight hug. Raven hugged him back after a moment of surprise. Then the Boy Wonder leaned down, and whispered into her ear, "And you know what, Raven? I feel happy too…"


Took me a long time to write that. Perhaps next time I won't take ungodly long breaks in between my writing periods. Not feeling too good about this chapter. Get the feeling that it wasn't very good. If I'm wrong, by all means please tell me in a review. Or you can flame or whatever if you wish. Now, though I could easily end this story right now as a happy go lucky ending, I have some things that I want to put. Two more chapters after this one. Anyways, I'm done. Thanks for reading. Review if you wish to.

Next Chapter: Now together and happier than ever before, Raven and Robin enjoy the start to their relationship. But all goes wrong when a familiar villain shows up. Why is Slade here this time?

"To the mobile of some sort!"

-SinFire