Author's Note: Sorry that it took a bit longer for me to update this time, everyone. My computer's speakers were on the fritz and I just can't get those creative juices flowing without listening to the Robin/Raven mix I've created on repeat. (Including such illustrious tracks as Ray Lamontagne, "Hold You In My Arms"; Damien Rice, "The Blower's Daughter"; Bif Naked, "Lucky"; and, courtesy of Al the Pirate, John Mayer, "Comfortable"…)
Disclaimer: Yadda, yadda, yadda…
Blackbirds Singing In The Dead Of Night
It's late. I have no means of actually validating this fact, but I know that it must be.
I'm still in the gym - correction; we're still in the gym… and have been for a great deal longer than our injuries ought to have gone unattended. And I am confident I will pay for it come morning…
Robin's weighty slumbering form is presently lying across my progressively numb lap while his sleep heavy arms drape loosely around my waist, his powerful fists clenching the fabric of my cloak like he's imploring me to stay and allow him these few moments of uninterrupted peace. Yeah, like I can move with his hefty-ass on me anyway.
Somewhere amid his violent sobs of anguish and my remarkably absurd words of comfort, he managed to pass out cold on me… and no, I'm not exaggerating. One minute Bird-brain was cursing the world and every deity in existence and the next he was drooling steadily on my upper thigh. Just think of it as fuel for years and years of ridicule, I think, cringing as I feel the uncomfortable wetness of my cloak clinging to my skin. Gross.
My interest deviates back to Robin as he trembles uneasily in his sleep. Instinctively I run my fingers through his messy black hair in what I assume must be a decidedly soothing manner. He calms instantly, breathing in deep before returning once more to his peaceful dreams.
A strange sort of protectiveness washes over me as I gaze down at the tranquil expression on his bruised and battered face, and I can not control the deep sigh of resignation that slips from my lips. Regardless of how much I may toy with the idea, I will never be capable of holding any of this against him…ever.
I lovingly- err- I gently brush a stray lock of hair from his masked eyes. He looks so much younger in his sleep; a great deal younger, almost childish really. I figure it probably has something to do with his inability to maintain a hardened and dedicated presence whilst dreaming. His superciliousness in the conscious hours of the day would never permit such an innocent tone of bearing. Although, I suspect all the monsters that we deal with on a day-to-day basis would eat him alive if they ever saw him looking this way. A very peculiar sense of privilege swells within me as I submit to the idea that I may be the only person alive to have ever seen him like this. It's not often one catches their captain with their guard down.
Resting my hands on either side of my body, I tenderly lean my head back once more against the wall that I've grown to loathe in the last few hours. I'm still in an inordinate amount of pain and I know that before to intolerably long I'll have to wake "Boy Wonder" so that he can help escort my broken body to the medic-wing, where I can get at least a little medical attention before retreating into a remedial meditative unconsciousness.
I wonder if Cyborg will even help me, I consider miserably. I've lost a lot of blood and I know that it's going to take more than just one night's rest and my own curative powers to get me back to my full strength. If Cyborg is unwilling to help me… well I suppose passing into a coma wouldn't be too bad, at least I'd get to be left alone.
Robin stirs restlessly once more, but this time I make no attempt to lull him once more in to slumber. Instead, I tilt my head curiously to the side and watch the gradual awakening process of our team leader.
He stretches out his arms languidly and furrows his brow quizzically as his hands brush against my abdomen, apparently not use to such an obstruction in his usual sleeping arrangements. I can not help but smirk, he has no idea where he is.
To my astonishment, he seems not all that interested as to his own whereabouts, and, before his mind even has the slightest chance to recall what has taken place, he is burrowing his face farther into my lap and his hands, having released my cloak from their vice-like grip, are now tunneling beneath me.
"I'll have you know, oh fearless leader, that what you are grabbing at now is by no means a pillow."
I could not have incited a more surprised reaction from him if I had been in a chicken suit.
With admirable speed, he flings himself off of me, and, in a rather entertaining show of discoordination, scuttles on his hands and knees until he is several yards away. He collapses to the ground before looking over at me wildly through sleep hazy eyes, his expression betraying his alarm. "R-Raven?" He stutters in a thick voice.
"Although," I continue as though I have not heard him, "I can not deny that I was in desperate need of a good frisking." My tone is so dry you could conceivably use it to kindle a fire.
His brain is far to foggy to understand my humor and he just stares at me in surprise for a moment before pushing himself up off of the floor and in to a sitting position. I watch in amusement as he runs a hand down his face, wincing as he comes in contact with his swollen lip and bruised jaw. He breathes in deep and takes in his surroundings, processing as best he can what has transpired here tonight. "How long have I been out?" He asks finally.
"Longer than I should have let you be," I say honestly. My voice is nasally and I cringe internally, thinking once more how badly I need to get to the medic-wing.
Robin's eyes blink heavily as he slowly grows accustomed to the light inside the gym. Once his vision clears enough to see me plainly, he scrutinizes my appearance, visibly startled by the amount of damage he has done. "Oh man, Raven," he says softly, "you look horrible."
I scowl, "Thanks."
If he notices my disdain he displays no indication of it. "We need to get you to the hospital-wing," he states matter-of-factly as he rises to his feet.
"You've read my mind," I concur before making a rather lame attempt to stand on my own. Before I make it even halfway to a vaguely horizontal position, my legs buckle beneath me and I slump painfully against the wall. "Oh God, how I hate this wall," I declare audibly to no one in particular.
Robin promptly rushes to my side and grasps my shoulders gently, preventing me from falling down any further.
I look up at him preparing to express my thanks, but any statement of gratitude dies on my lips when I take in how unbearably guilty he looks. I purse my lips defiantly before articulating as clearly and forcefully as I can muster, "This is not your fault, Robin."
He looks away from me in shame, evidently not at all comforted by my words. "I shouldn't have-"
"-No, Robin," I cut short his self-deprecating rant before he has a chance to really begin it in earnest. "You had every right to grind my bones to make your bread. I knew you would. It's what I was trying to get you to do."
He shakes his head, "No, no I went to far. You didn't have this in mind…"
Okay, now I'm getting annoyed. "Robin," I say very slowly as to make clear my growing irritation, "there are very few things I will stomach being called, and a liar is not one of them. So if you please, believe me when I tell you that you did nothing wrong and are in no way to blame for the disarray I find myself in."
I can tell that he still doesn't believe me, however, seems to be in utterly no mood to argue about it either. So he just shrugs in defeat and then, as if dealing with someone made of paper rather then of flesh, he takes one of my arms and drapes it across his shoulders before wrapping a protective arm around my waist. "You think you can make it to the hospital-wing if I help you like this?"
"No problem," I say confidently before taking a step and collapsing against him. Oh this is humiliating. "Okay, so maybe not."
If this were any normal instance of injury, this would have been Robin's cue to make a witty statement about my current predicament, but from the way his brow has drawn together and the way that his lips have transformed in to a thin line, I can tell he thinks of this as no laughing matter. "You can't walk on your own, Raven," he states plainly.
Thank you Captain Obvious. "Yeah, I was getting that too," I say sardonically. I glance around the gym for inspiration, "Maybe we can use something to push me-"
But before I have any hope of finishing that thought, Robin has dropped his arm under my knees and lifted me up off the ground.
"-Or maybe you could just carry me," I say thickly, bending my head down as I feel heat begin to creep up my cheeks. Oh God, I'm never going to let myself live this down. "I don't think this is such a good idea, Robin," I advise him as he begins to walk us to the door, "you were hurt reasonably bad too." I wonder if my pretext sounds as lame to him as it does to me…
"No dice, Raven," he says as he punches in the code to open the gym door. It swooshes open and he walks through, pausing only a moment to close it once more before turning in the direction of the steps that will lead us to the medic-wing.
I stare at the staircase before us. This should be interesting. "Okay, Boy Wonder, let's see if you've been keeping up with your strength training."
I hear him mumble something incoherently under his breath which sounds suspiciously like a string of dirty words before he starts up the steps. His face contorts in pain with each step he takes, causing me to feel twice as guilty that I am to weak to help him any.
"Maybe we should call one of the others," I suggest as Robin stumbles slightly halfway up the staircase.
"I can make it, all right?" He says, he tone suggesting his growing irritation. He pauses a second to re-adjust the grip he has on me, before continuing up the steps.
"All right," I acquiesce, "and when we fall down these steps and break our necks, the world can lay blame on your ego."
He ignores me and continues on. "Wrap your arms around my neck," he orders, as he falters once again, "It'll help balance out our weight."
With the kind of extreme tentativeness that can only come from years of practice, I reluctantly do as he directs. By now I am so far past the point of mortification, that the light of mortification will take one billion years to reach Earth. I sincerely hope no one sees this or I will be forced to go to Pluto to start again…
By the grace of a benevolent force, we make it to the top if the stairs without incident, but, just as I am preparing to applaud Robin on a job well done, the indicative thud and subsequent squeal of surprise and pain, signifies that we have collided with a very red looking Tamaranian. And the million dollar question is whether she is embarrassed or mad.
"Starfire," Robin says, his voice seeming to lack the customary softness it usually has when saying the red-heads name, "go get Cyborg and tell him to meet me in the hospital wing ASAP."
She pauses a moment, seeming to be too confused to move, before she observes the physical injuries he and I have sustained, "Robin what has transpired-?"
"-Now, Starfire!" Robin exclaims, making the green-eyed girl flinch before turning and flying towards Cyborg's room. He shows no sign of having noticed his own abruptness with the golden-skinned alien, and, before I can remark on his rudeness, he is dashing to the medic-room door.
"What's your hurry?" I ask him as we draw closer to the entrance, "Neither of us is in any immediate danger…and whoa, why is the room spinning?" Colors and images of the hall and of Robin are whipping around me and the lights are brighter than I remember… and I just feel so tired…
"Stay with me, Raven," Robin's voice cuts through the fog of my brain and my eyes flutter open once more, "you're loosing a lot of blood…"
I can feel it now, the warm stickiness, dripping down the back of my scalp… I must have started to bleed again as we were coming up the stairs "Robin," I moan, my voice sounding dreadfully foreign to my own ears, "I don't feel so good…"
I sense a distinct feeling of panic emitting from him. "Hang on, Raven," I hear the unique breathing sound of the medic-room door opening, "Cyborg is on his way… you're going to be fine." He doesn't sound very convinced.
"Darkness there, and nothing more," I mutter inexplicably, having ventured past the point of sense. A very distant part of me becomes aware than Robin has set me down on a cot, and that the door has swooshed open again, admitting Cyborg and Starfire inside.
Colors and light and sound are all blurring together and I am so tired and if I can just close my eyes for a little while…
"Raven? Raven!"
His voice is the last that I hear before succumbing to a flood of welcoming darkness.
To be continued!
Syaoronsangel: Thank you so much! I watched 'Birthmark' again today as well… helped inspire me to get this fic underway!
Rubianca: Thanks! throws more confetti in honor of Robin/Raven fics everywhere
Katie: Yeah, I had always wanted to see a good fight between the two of them. Originally I had planned a much more extensively written fight, but alas, I didn't think Raven could handle much more than what she got…
Lynx16: Thank you!
Gentlewriter: I'm glad you feel the passion; hopefully before to much longer it will become a little more evident. And I can't believe I struck someone speechless. (glows)
Chica De Los Ojos Café: Thank you!
Azarathgirl: Men should cry more often… especially men like Robin. They keep all that emotion inside and they are bound to burst.
DNAngel90: Thank for one of the bestest reviews I've ever had! And the fact that you said 'bananas in pajamas' makes you totally cool in my book.
The Light of Darkness: I'm glad they feel in character… I spent a lot of time agonizing over what they should say and feel and all that, so it feels good to know someone thinks it was worth it!
Raspy: Thank you greatly. Again, I'm so glad that you feel that Raven is well written. She's a hard minx to get inside.
Hollywoodstarsandeves: I'm so glad that you find this creative! I feel quite smug now. (smile)
Siren's Call: Thank you!
Witch01: I'm so glad you are continuing to enjoy my little story. I hope I can continue to impress you… (crosses fingers)
Queenie-97: Glad you liked my fight scene. I was really worried that people wouldn't and it's good to be wrong. (hug)
Jinnai: And I love you for loving my fic!
Punkchick16: They should be together, dag nabit. But you're right, they more than likely will not. But perhaps we'll get lucky and the writers of the comic book will wise up to the idea of a romance b/w them… I'd be satisfied with that!
Sharawolfdemon45: So sorry for leaving you hanging… NOT! Muahahaha! I am evil and plan to leave you hanging after every chapter so that you will come back to me regardless of future suckyness…(smile)
DarkRavenCosmos: Well, this update wasn't nearly as fast, so please do not feel shame friend… oh dear god I'm beginning to sound like Starfire…I need to get out more.
Shadow290: Sorry about the shortness of my chapters… but if I make them longer than updates won't be nearly as frequent… they will probably get a bit longer once the story progresses, but I make no guarantees. I like having one big scene per chapter, makes it easier for me to write. I'm very glad you liked the ending of the last chapter and I hope you continue to read!
Cherry Jade: I'm glad I scared you, but I promise that I'll never let Robin kill Raven… directly anyway (wink)
Majestical: One of my sincerest hopes is that I continue to make you happy!
Love you all! (hug)