3. Strange Happenings
Clock struck midnight. Raven drifted silently down the dark hallway from her room to the living area, making for the kitchen, not bothering to flick on the lights.
Raven hated not being able to sleep. She thought that rather funny, as before 2 months ago she hated sleep. She had never dreamed; she had nightmares, and they had come more often and more devastating as the Day drew nearer. He had always been there, a shadow she couldn't see but out of the corner of her eye, whispering to her that she couldn't escape, how her destiny was coming ever closer.
She opened the cupboard door, seeing freshly stocked shelves.
They must've made a grocery run, she thought, Robin couldn't bare to live on tofu alone.
She reached for a tea box in the dark, knowing where by memory. Her pale fingers met a neat wall of tea boxes, looking like they had been placed with an obsessive amount of care. They were even color-coded; orange and green ones separated evenly from purple and gray ones.
She sighed, smiling appreciatively. Robin always went out of his way to make her feel better, even buying a shelf full of tea and organizing it with every obsessive-compulsive bone in his body. It seemed trivial, but Raven's insides always gave a pleasant lurch whenever she came upon on of these instances.
She picked out and orange box, labeled ginger, and studied it. She'd never bought ginger tea before, usually sticking to green or jasmine tea. It seemed Robin had just gone through and picked out a bunch of whatever he found. She shrugged nonchalantly and grabbed a mug from an adjacent cupboard.
"What're you doing up?"
Robin's drowsy voice shot through the quiet, giving Raven a start, which she disguised as a glance over her shoulder. The fluttering came back to her, this time unwelcome.
"I could say the same." She replied, filling her cup with hot water.
"Couldn't sleep. Heard you get up and thought I'd join you." He sauntered across the room and pulled up a stool, resting his elbows on the smooth stone countertop. Raven faced him, dunking the teabag in her cup and letting it soak. She pulled up a stool across from him.
"Thanks for the tea," she said, gesturing with her head at the cupboard. "And so neatly arranged." She smirked at him.
"No problem, Rae. It seemed like you needed a pick-me-up after this morning." She made a "phht" sound from behind her cup and sipped sparingly at the hot liquid, testing the new flavor.
Spicy.
She recoiled a little, the taste mixed with hot made her tongue feel burny.
"Something wrong?" Robin asked.
"No, no," she waved off his concern "this new stuff you got me is just a bit spicy."
She surprised herself when she slid her cup over to Robin, but was even more surprised when he actually took a sip, only to set it down at once and waggle his tongue against his lips in the characteristic of a burnt tongue. "Yeah," he grimaced "You'll only wanna drink that in the morning. Woke me up." The movement of his brow told that he was blinking wide eyes.
Then…
She made an amused sound in her throat, catching the cup as it was slid back to her. Robin drummed his gloved fingers against the counter, looking around the cavernous living room as if waiting for something to come to him. His face brightened suddenly, and a mischievous grin appeared on his lips.
"Wanna play a game?"
Raven blinked.
"A game?"
"Yah!" Robin hopped off the stool and made his way to the opposite side of the room and patted the green felt of Cyborg's latest purchase; a brand new billiards table.
Raven stared "I don't think so, Bird Boy."
Robin was not so easily put off. Not this time; he finally had a chance to pry her from her shell.
"Come on," he wheedled "Playing by myself I no fun. What else are you going to do?"
Raven held her cup and pointed, giving him the "um, hello?" look before taking another draught. He sighed, "Fine, fine." And picked out a stick to his liking, flourishing it around like his bo staff. He collected the solids and stripes and racked them up, very loudly and with some dramatics to make sure Raven paid attention. He gave the stick another twirl, holding it like a staff at his side.
"You sure you don't want to play?"
She had been watching him, and there was a hesitant pause before she answered.
"I don't even know how." She sounded tentative, and Robin jumped at his chance.
"I can teach you." He offered hopefully, flashing her a smile.
Another hesitant pause. She gave him a weary look, sighed, and became enveloped in black energy, vanishing through the floor. Robin's heart sank, until the cloaked girl materialized through the floor beside him, reluctantcy gracing her pale face.
"One game."
Robin grinned widely at her, handing her a pool stick. "Great." He placed the cue ball on its spot and took aim.
"In pool, you always hit the other balls with the cue ball." he shot, and the cue hit the colored balls with a loud crack, scattering them all over the green table. Satisfied, he looked up at Raven, who looked ready to sink through the floor again.
"Solids or stripes?"
"What?"
"Which ones do you want, solids or stripes?" Robin repeated.
"Solids."
"Okay. So, throughout the game you hit in only the solids, I the stripes." He explained "Except the 8 ball." He pointed to the black ball, which was sitting teasingly in front of a side-pocket.
"Why not?"
"It determines who win. When all the other balls are pocketed, we take turns at hitting it. Whoever hits it in, wins."
Raven nodded. "This is pointless."
Robin scowled. "It's just a game Rae; it doesn't have to have a point. It's just for fun." He told her "Your shot."
Raven sighed again, and bent awkwardly to the table, trying to imitate Robin's stance. She cradled the tip of the stick between her thumb and pointer finger, took aim, and only grazed the cue, sending sideways. She stepped back from the table instantly.
"I told you." She muttered darkly to Robin.
"No, no it's fine. You just need some practice. Here," he moved around the table to stand beside her before she could protest, and moved the cue ball back to where it was before. "Try again."
She gave him a skeptical look and an eye roll before leaning over the table again. She was about to shoot when she felt Robin's hand on her shoulders. "You're shooting from you from your arm, Rae." He said gently, and then gave her right shoulder a squeeze. "It's all in the shoulder."
Trying to banish the fluttering in her stomach and the sudden flush in her cheeks, she stared down the cue ball determinedly, shot, and hit it, but very weakly, sending it only a few inches to barely touch one of her solids. She made an exasperated huff and looked at Robin again. "This is stupid, I-" But Robin cut her off. "One more Raven, you'll hit it this time." She glared. "Hey, if you don't, I'll leave you alone." He promised.
Her fingers tightened on her stick, she rolled her eyes again.
Robin replaced the cue a second time, and Raven leaned down once more, but Robin didn't wait to help her. He adjusted her fingers so that the stick was cradled between her arched middle and pointer fingers, and mimicked her stance right behind her.
"Okay, remember, it's in the shoulder." He murmured, and covered her hand with his, guiding her movements as she took aim.
He was so close…to close…but…
"Shoot!"
She did, and the cue struck a solid with a satisfying crack and sent it into a corner pocket. A smile spread across her face, and she glanced at Robin, suddenly realizing how close he was to her. The fluttering got stronger.
"See? I told you." He said, giving her back a lingering touch before standing up. "You get another shot, Rae."
She gave him another smile (I've been doing that a lot, she thought) and studied her options, lining up for another shot.
Robin watched, leaning casually on his stick. He watched her line up, watched her focus, watched her hair, the curve of her back, her legs….
Another crack snapped him back from his reverie. The cue ball hit, but the ball missed. Raven stood back, looking cross. "Your turn."
Robin felt punch-drunk. Thankful for his mask, he blinked his eyes furiously and hoped Raven didn't see him shake his head as if to rid his ears of water. He missed his shot. Raven chuckled. He gave her a reproachful look.
"Ah, she laughs." He teased as she bent to take her shot. He circled behind her, watching her body tense in effort to ignore him. He ran the blue-chalked tip of his stick against the back of her knees, effectively making her miss terribly and leaving a blue line in wake.
The dark bird stood bolt upright, looking scandalized, while Robin was looking innocently at the ceiling, whistling, but a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Suave, Bird Brain." she said. Robin shrugged innocently and mouthed "what?" to her. He flourished his stick expertly aimed another shot, determined to out-concentrate Raven.
From nowhere, it seemed, Raven swooped down close to his face, and blew softly in his ear, addling his brains so he missed even worse than she; his stick jerked, missing the cue ball completely and nearly slipped out of his hands. Raven went into a fit of giggles like she had that morning, and Robin forgot his annoyance at once when he realized that her laugh was a most beautiful sound.
"Still laughing?" he lunged at her, catching her waist and tickled. She stifled a shriek of laughter and tried to escape, staggering away.
He was close…so close…but…
On the pool table, several of the balls glowed with energy; some dark, some light.
(uncertainty at what she wants, but wanting it very much)
The dark ones crack a little, but do not break.
The two birds collapsed beside each other onto one of the couches around the pool table. As Robin watched Raven's giggling subside, it hit him how rare this moment was. He wanted more of these moments. With her.
"I think," Raven smeared tears from her eyes "that that is the hardest I've ever laughed."
"I bet. You've never laughed like that whenever Beast Boy has tried to tickle you."
"That's because he only ever gets as far as 'tried'." She said stiffly, trying to surpress what Robin thought was a wicked grin.
"Wanna finish the game?"
She shook her head and yawned widely. "Another time, Boy Wonder. I'm tired now." She got up, stretching sinuously and made her way back to her room, leaving a disappointed Robin back on the couch. She turned the corner into the hall, and Robin was suddenly beside her.
"What, no goodnight?" Even in the dark, she heard him grinning.
"I thought it was a given." She replied airily. She immediately regretted her answer.
"Well, alright." He muttered, gloom creeping into his voice. He turned away down the hall.
Now she felt really bad.
"Robin?"
He spun around, almost lost in the darkness of the corridor.
"Tomorrow. Same Bat-time. We'll finish the game, 'kay?"
She saw him smile in the dark. "Sounds good."
"Goodnight Robin."
"Goodnight Raven."