Holy shit. I'm speechless. . . holy shit! All of yall who reviewed do not know how much you made me smile when I checked my email and found 15 new review alerts in my mailbox. I swear, other than Rhea Hiryuu posting the sequel to her AWESOME fic, Spellbinder, this has really made my day. All answers to reviews will be at the A/N at the end of the chapter. If you remember from the first chapter how Raven said she identified Robin by his kiss, then this is the flashback that will explain it.

As the Ball Drops

Chapter 2: Feather

Flashback

I couldn't sleep again. After all, it had only been a week since Malchior- . . . Actually, I would much prefer that we don't hit that topic. Anyways, I quietly padded out of my room and into the kitchen where I made myself a warm pot of tea. There was a shuffling noise behind me, and I got another mug from the cupboard. It was only Robin. We had already become accustomed to seeing each other on restless nights. He accepted the tea that I poured for him and silently nodded thanks. We then sat at the table in companionable silence for a few minutes, sipping tea. When both of us were finished, we made our way to the training room.

Robin and I both knew that one day; we might encounter a villain who would take away my powers. In order to get ready for that, he taught me how to fight with my hands. The first few nights, he taught me a little kung fu, but after he realized that wasn't really my cup of tea, he started teaching me how to use his Bo Staff. First he showed me simple things, such as blocking attacks, and later we moved on to the harder stuff, like blocking things that are thrown at you from above.

This evening, he told me that I had already learned pretty much everything that I would need to know, so we would spar against each other in a match. At first, Robin went easy on me, but as I began to beat him, he worked harder. It wasn't until then that I realized that he was attacking me with full power. I used my swiftness as an advantage, and made sure that I either dodged or blocked every attack that he made. We were both lagging and getting tired, but neither of us would still give up. Finally, Robin knocked the staff from my hand, and collapsed onto the floor. I did the same.

"Wow," he said in between heaving breaths, "that was one of the hardest fights I've ever had." Breathing heavily, I smiled coyly and replied.

"Well, my teacher wasn't half bad."

In return, Robin flashed a grin and said, "Well, he was the best."

"Not to mention that he was very modest too."

Robin stifled a chuckle at my reply. Once we had partially regained our energy, we sat on the bleachers next to the sparring circle, guzzling down bottles of water. Even though the match was meant to tire us, the only thing it had achieved was invigorating us. We sat back on the bleachers and decided to talk and pass the time. Unfortunately, our conversation turned to Malchior.

"Raven, pull up the sleeves of your leotard."

"What?"

"Look, just do it."

Reluctantly, I agreed to do so and pulled up the sleeves, revealing faint scars that were obviously from a knife. Robin looked at them and then me. I was a little shocked that he could guess.

"Raven, How long have you been cutting yourself?"

The cold tone in his voice seemed to make me answer truthfully.

"About a week now."

Suddenly, I found myself gazing into the white film of his mask. His face was uncomfortably close to mine as he said, "Listen, Raven. I'm worried about you. Kitchen knives have been 'missing' from the kitchen, and you'd never guess just where they always seem to go: your room. Look, I've had someone who I thought loved me betray me before, and it was no walk in the park. However, I managed to get over it, and look at me now. I'm living a great life with four friends who I have grown to care about more than anyone else in my life."

I forced a small frown to my face and raised an eyebrow.

"You've been going through my room?"

Immediately, Robin cringed, and then regained his composure quickly.

"Raven, it was for your own good. If you keep on cutting yourself, then those scars won't heal. I know the weakness in your power, Raven. If it is you who inflicts the damage on yourself, then you cannot heal it. Otherwise, however, if it is somebody else hurting you, then you can easily heal yourself just like that. What if Trigon possesses your body, and kills you? He would merely jump into some other little kid. Do you want to spread your father's evil to the rest of the world?"

I looked down, and my hair hung in my face. This time, he hit the nail on the head. I remembered telling Robin everything about myself when we had first met in a dream. I had appeared to him in his sleep and convinced him to co found the Titans with me.

"I never thought of it that way. No. . . I can't let the rest of the people in this universe be affected by . . . by . . . by him."

The last word that came out of my mouth sounded so vengeful that Robin found it to be a good time to change the topic. Before he could think about his actions, he asked me, "Did Malchior ever kiss you?"

I was completely caught off guard. I didn't expect for him to say that.

"W-w-well. . . you see. . . umm. . . well. . . ok, yes he did. But it was only once. And it wasn't even like a real kiss . . . It was just like kissing a book. I even got a paper cut on my lip and—"

Robin shushed me with a simple finger on my mouth. He was a little surprised at my little outburst. It's not too often that I tell more information than is needed or already known. When I thought about Malchior's kiss, I lost it. I started to tear, and then cry uncontrollably. How could this happen? Equipment began flying all around the gym in a menacing circle. Just as I regained my composure, I looked up at him.

The look on Robin's face was one of pure, genuine kindness as he offered me a corner of his cape. I wiped my eyes on it and muttered a thank you to him. Suddenly, I felt a strong hand, his strong hand, pull my chin up so that our faces were parallel to each other. He gently placed his lips on mine, and pulled me into a tight embrace. I felt my cheeks turn red. Normally, my emotions would go haywire at this very moment, but with him, I felt this sense of I don't know . . . chi, or karma. It was as if I was in my center, my core, my purest, most perfect self. He pulled away and looked at my outfit in surprise. Somehow, it had turned as white as the purest snow for a moment, then back to its normal purple hue.

The sound of Beastboy and Cyborg arguing brought us from our trance. I mumbled a small farewell and made my way to the kitchen, leaving Robin in the training room. Unbeknownst to me however, the moment I left, a large, white feather fell from the sky, and into Robin's waiting hand.

A/N: FLUFF, FLUFF, and more FLUFF. That's all that this chapter really was. Oh well, hope the next chapter sounds better.

Preview: PAINT. LOTS AND LOTS OF PINK PAINT. Also, Raven finds out a shocking secret that may make her and Robin's date a little more . . . interesting.

Answers to Reviews

krissy-08: i'm glad you think i 'sould'. haha, sorri, couldn't help myself.

Darkest Flame- salve?

Brotherhood-of-Darksouls-1: 1.i sed gold 2.oops. . . oh well. . . uhh. . . heheh.

darkaurora333- spork army?

aly-of-tribond: oh don't worry, i will.

Darkmoon Knight: yes, i will update Darkest of Worlds soon. I've been grounded lately and i have had a severe case of writer's block. nice to see you again. also, i'd like to apologize for an email that a friend of mine (Randy Reeves) sent you. He is an immature young boy who thinks he's an adult trapped in a teenagers body.

To everybody else- THANK YOU SO FRIGGIN MUCH FOR MY REVIEWS! Its thanks to people like you that ii continue these things.