Dick closed the door to Raven's room, the bag of movies in his hand. He turned a corner…and bumped right into Beast Boy and Cyborg, both of whom looked every inch like the cat who caught the mouse.
"I thought you two had gone to the movies with Starfire," Robin said.
"We decided to get tacos instead," Cyborg replied. "There are some video games that need playing and a Cray mainframe Bat-computer to play them on!" Then the machine man nudged him in the ribs. "But it seems you've been having some fun yourself, huh, Rob?"
Oh boy, here it comes.
Beast Boy grabbed the movie bag. "We heard you and Raven laughing it up all the way in the living room. So, what flicks were you two watching in the dark of the pretty lady's humble abode?" he said with a suggestive leer. The green-furred Titan dug up The Little Mermaid. "By my stars and garters," he said with flair, "this disc's still warm! So, it was a romantic Disney film you two were watching?"
Dick sighed. "Laugh it up, you two. Raven's had a bad day today. Hell, she's had a pretty rough week. I just wanted to cheer her up."
"And cheer yourself up at the same time too, right Romeo?" Cyborg continued to rib him. It was starting to hurt.
"Would you guys just lay off?" Dick said, growing annoyed with their antics. "Don't try this on Raven, either. She's having a hard enough time as it is. So please, just give it a rest. You two hamming up some fantasy romance between us is the last thing she needs right now."
"Chill, dude," said Cyborg, raising his hands defensively. "It was only a joke."
Dick sighed. "Sorry I snapped at you. I'm just…well…Raven's got me worried. I guess I'm just getting a bit worked up. Sorry." He turned and left.
Beast Boy harrumphed. "What's his problem?"
"Call this a wild stab," Cyborg ventured, "but I think Robin may actually be in love. With Raven of all people."
"Yeah right. It was funny at the beginning, Cy. Rob's only interest is his work, you know that." The green-furred Titan was silent for a moment, and then said, "You really think those two are in for each other?"
The machine man tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, recently, they have been spending a lot of time together."
Beast Boy suddenly smiled very, very wickedly. "You know what this means, right?"
Cyborg was smiling too. "Of course. The good kind of torment for them and the best kind of fun for us."
"I'll get the popcorn."
"I can do this…I can do this…."
Raven sat down, folded her legs under her, and closed her eyes. She could do this. In front of her was a lead ball. It weighed six pounds. She could do this. In her mind's eye, she saw it float two inches above the floor. She sucked in a steadying breath and let it out slowly through her nose. She could do this. Her mind clear, she willed the ball to obey her whim, demanded that reality bend for her and her alone.
The ball didn't move.
Raven's hands tightened into fists, clenching so hard that her nails cut into flesh. She felt hot blood flow.
"Why can't I do it?" she groaned.
Moping here isn't helping any either, she told herself firmly. Maybe I should go take a walk or something. Get my mind off things. Try and calm down. Yeah, I'll try and relax. But she doubted that she could; uncertainty and worry had her done up in knots.
She made her way out of the Manor and onto the beaches beneath it. She didn't go to the beaches around Titan Tower too often—Beast Boy would be goofing off by the sandbars, Cyborg would be playing ball, and Starfire would be examining any "adorable" flora or fauna. They were distractions that the dark-haired girl could live without. But this wasn't the Tower and everyone was still in the manor, so the shoreline would at least be deserted.
Or so she thought. She saw Robin, once more in costume, sitting pensively on a boulder, tossing bits of driftwood or small rocks into the water.
"I guess I'm not the only one who needed to get away to think," Raven commented.
Her friend turned to look at her. "Beast Boy and Cyborg were giving me some grief," he said guardedly. Then he looked uncomfortable. "Um…yeah." He shook his head, as if clearing it. "What brings you down here? Your powers?"
She nodded.
"Still nothing?"
Raven sighed and sat down on the boulder as well. Their backs pressed against each other. Raven, who usually didn't like this kind of proximity, found it…relieving. "I think my powers are gone, Robin. Permanently."
He didn't say anything. What could he say?
Raven felt his hand grip hers, squeezing in quiet support.
"Thank you, Robin. I…I don't like admitting this, but I needed that. Thank you."
He smiled at her. "You've changed a lot in the past few weeks, Raven. I like the change. You're more open than you've ever been before, and I feel glad that you want to invite the rest of us into your life. I'm sure that we can find a way to fix your powers…all of us together."
She shook her head. "I don't know when it started or why, but I'm glad it did. But you're wrong. The only one I'm open to is you, Robin. You're the one I want to invite. You're the only one who understands. The only one who could." Suddenly, impulsively, she drew him into a tight embrace. Her fingers curled tightly into the fabric of his cape. She could feel his hands around her waist, his fingers gently stroking the curve of her back, consoling and caring. She didn't want to let go. This was someone who understood her. "Thank you," she said, almost too quietly to hear.
"Do you want to go back inside?" he asked. "It's starting to get a bit cold." He hadn't broken their embrace.
"No. I'm fine right where I am."
The Titans returned to their city the next day. Robin was in his room, unpacking a few things, when Beast Boy and Cyborg burst into his room without so much as a knock. Before the Boy Wonder could even react the invasion, the two other Titans had scooped him up and carried him to the TV set. They threw him on the couch; he landed with a whuff.
"What are you guys doing?" Robin demanded, rubbing a bruised rump.
"Just look at the TV," ordered Cyborg.
On the screen was a commercial for a local lottery. The winner would receive two dinner tickets to the grand opening of the city's newest restaurant, the Crème De La Crème. "Don't be taken for the fancy name, folks," the announcer admonished. "This ritzy place not only caters to the wealthy and sharp, but to the members of today's youth. The Crème combines the personality, atmosphere, and drinks menu of a the most fashionable restaurants in Europe with the trance and techno of a dance club."
"What's this?" Robin asked.
"You and Raven are going to that," Beast Boy answered. "We've already dropped in lotto tickets for you. We're sure you're going to win." At this, he nudged the machine man in the side. "That's because Cy here took certain…liberties…with the lotto tickets."
Robin sighed tiredly. He should have known these two would jump over any chance to give him a hard time. "Look, there isn't anything going on between me and Raven. So you two can stop."
"Nothing going on my tin foot," huffed Cyborg. "And what did you call your heart to heart with her last night on the beach, hmm? That was pretty touchy-feely, if you ask me."
"Notwithstanding the fact that you were spying on me, which I'm shocked that you did, Raven needed someone to talk to. That's all." Robin stood up abruptly, intending to return to his room to finish unpacking. Then he stopped to throw a look back them. He didn't know why he wanted to say it, but he did: "And for your information, what happens between me and her is none of your business."
Then he left. Beast Boy gave Cyborg a bright, wide smile. "Think he fell for it?"
His accomplice grinned back. "Oh, he's thinking about it. We just have to make sure he keeps thinking about it. We'll be hearing wedding bells soon enough."
"Beast Boy and Cyborg: Matchmakers the Fun Way." Beast Boy raised a hand, and Cyborg smacked it with a loud high-five.
Why did you say that? Robin asked himself for the tenth time as he took his shirts out of his bag. Why are you letting them get to you? Who cares if they know you and Raven talked last night? That isn't a crime, and it certainly isn't grounds to tell them it's none of their business. Logic, logic, logic. None of it settled with him, though. He could rationalize everything, but he would still have said the words. Robin asked himself for the tenth time as he took his shirts out of his bag. Logic, logic, logic. None of it settled with him, though. He could rationalize everything, but he would still have said the words.
Shouldn't be thinking about this, he admonished himself. Should be thinking about how to help Raven. Suddenly, he had an image of her in his mind. The cape, the leotard that showed off those amazing legs…Robin shook his head. Why are you even thinking about that? He knew why, of course. He wouldn't have been worthy of being Batman's partner if he didn't. It was obvious that he was thinking about Raven that way because Beast Boy and Cyborg got him to. It was a clever trick. And it worked.
The last thing she needs is you pining off after her over some stupid infatuation that may or may not reflect your real feelings, Robin told himself sternly. He hoped he would listen to that little inner voice.
Then he heard some rustling by the door. Probably Beast Boy and Cyborg again. But no one entered. Instead, two slips of paper slid under the door. Robin groaned. He didn't need to pick them up to know that they were the dinner tickets. Won't they just stop?
But Robin picked them up and put them in his pocket. He should have thrown them out, but he kept them.
Well, maybe I should. A night out would cheer her up. Just a friend taking a friend out to dinner, yeah. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. Despite his reservations, he found himself outside Raven's room five minutes later, the tickets in hand. He tried to stop himself one last time.
It didn't work. He knocked on the door.
"Hey, Raven. Um, you've been pretty down lately, so I thought you could use a change of scenery. Want to go to that new restaurant?"