Additional note: The first time I tried to post this, it refused to work, and the only thing that could be seen was my wavy page break. Luckily, it's fixed now. Sorry about the error.

A/N: Sorry I didn't post on Wednesday. I wasn't finished. I got way off track, believe me, but I decided to use the bit I wrote later in the story. This chapter's a bit longer than the rest of them, to make up for it. Many thanks to Vinnie, the never-failing wonderful great beta, and Dave, who helped too.

In a new turn, whenever I get the desire to publicly respond to a review, I will do so. Today's reviewer is Kaitsuya, who said:

"Wow. I'm quite impressed. It's not all that easy to find good literary works out there, especially when they're fanfics.
Obviously, I'm a RobbiexRae shipper, so this whole truth thing is pretty interesting (and well written).
The Jinx situation is an added bonus. Pure genius. I can't wait to see what happens there."

Thank you so much, Kaitsuya! I'm glad you like the story. I strive to keep everyone in character, which can be quite a feat when progressing a romantic plotline. Many thanks to all the people who reviewed!

Honesty

Chapter 5

Raven awoke abruptly to the sound of a screeching alarm blaring throughout the room in the middle of the night.

She started automatically, moving to grab her cloak, before remembering her predicament.

I can't go help, she realized. I'm still contagious. The last thing I want to do is infect the entire city.

Raven settled back in bed, reclining against her pillows as the noise blared on. She could faintly hear the pitter patter of raindrops against the window and the sound of great clashes of thunder outside, behind the wailing of the alarm. Beside her, Robin awoke, and instantly realized what was going on.

Robin immediately leapt out of bed, landing expertly into his shoes with a practiced air.

I never saw him take anything off, Raven noted, as he strapped on his utility belt. I must have been more tired than I thought.

"What are you doing?" she asked dully. Robin started, having apparently forgotten she was there, before whipping around to glare at her.

"I'm getting ready to go stop whatever plans a villain has in progress," Robin informed her, pulling his cape around his neck.

Raven sighed. He hasn't remembered that we can't leave this room, she thought. "No, you're not," she said flatly. Robin looked at her, confused.

"Yes, I am," Robin insisted. "You should be too. As Teen Titans, it's our job to stop crime and protect the public safety."

"If you want to keep the city safe, the best thing for you to do is stay here," Raven explained regretfully. "We're still cursed. It would be catastrophic if the entire city caught this burden from us."

Raven watched as realization slowly dawned on Robin's face. The alarm suddenly ceased. One of the others must have turned it off.

"I- I can't go fight crime?" Robin asked numbly, not seeming able to comprehend this. "I can't go join the fray? I can't lead my team?"

Raven slowly nodded, as Robin's face took on a desperate quality. Her heart went out to him as she saw his panicked look. Crime fighting is the most important thing in the world to him, and it's all he knows, she thought. The fact that he can't go when he needs to must be playing havoc with his mind. Robin frantically ran a hand through his hair, standing it on end, making him look wild.

"No!" Robin said forcefully, denying it. "I have to go! I have to be able to fight! I have to! I've never missed a fight! I have to go!"

"You can't," Raven said softly. "You can't."

Robin looked like he was about to yell, before sighing listlessly and slumping to the floor. "I can see why you hate Jinx," he said dully. "This is cruel and unusual punishment."

Raven felt her heart lurch slightly at his hopeless look. Silently gliding over, Raven sat down beside him. She didn't say a word, just sitting there, offering him the comfort of her presence.

"You know, before I joined the Titans, I was really nervous," Robin said, hugging his knees, not looking at her. "I'd never led anyone before, let alone a team of superheroes. I was always the follower."

Raven nodded, understanding, and inviting him to go on.

"So when I got here, I was determined to prove myself," Robin went on, looking out the window as the rain slid down the glass on the outside. "I figured the best way to do that was to make sure no one ever escaped, and that I never lost. I lived it, breathed it, and we never did lose. If we did, we always beat our opponent afterwards."

"Like with the HIVE," Raven said, remembering.

"Exactly," Robin confirmed. "That's why I'm so obsessive over Slade. I couldn't beat him. He's a mystery, an enigma, a puzzle I had to solve, but couldn't. Now that he's back, it's even worse. Not only do I have to figure him out, I also have to figure out how he's returned."

Raven looked away, not wanting to think about that. Robin continued on, oblivious.

"It's like that with every villain. I have to win. I have to stop the evil. If I can't, I automatically assume the worst, at it slowly drives me insane. That's why I sort of flipped out when you told me I couldn't go." Robin finished his little speech, and they lapsed into silence, quietly watching the rain fall.

"Robin," Raven said, breaking the silence, "while there are many evil things in this world, it's not your job to stop all of them. The Titans will be okay without us there this once. They can handle it."

She turned to look at him, her luminous violet eyes meeting the white cloth of his mask.

"Trust them," Raven said softly. "They got the best training possible from their leader, and there's nothing they can't handle."

Robin smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks," he said.

"My pleasure," Raven returned. She glanced over at the digital clock on Robin's nightstand. "It's three in the morning. Think you can manage to go back to bed and find out what happened in the morning?" she asked.

Robin grinned. "Yeah, I think so," he teased.

"You had better be," Raven playfully warned. "I'm not going to sing you a lullaby."

"Bummer," Robin smirked, amused. He yawned, stretching widely. "It is early," he admitted, "and since I can't do any good now, I might as well go to sleep."

"I'm so glad you approve of my idea," Raven returned, laughing. "Good night, Robin." Raven floated over to her bed, collapsing at once.

"Good night, Raven." Robin's words barely registered in Raven's mind, however, as she was sound asleep in seconds.

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When Raven awoke for the second time, the room was lit with sunlight, and the rain had stopped. Yawning slightly, Raven rolled over to look at the clock.

9:00

Not bad, considering what she had been through the previous day. It wasn't like she was going to miss anything by sleeping in.

Raven sat up, stretching. Looking around, she noticed Robin wasn't in sight. Judging from the sound of running water coming from the adjacent bathroom, he was in the shower. Raven reached over and grabbed her cloak, fastening it around her neck.

Raven heard the water stop, only to have Robin casually stroll out later, a towel loosely wrapped around his waist, dripping water all over the place. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Raven awake, sitting up and watching him, her mouth agape.

"Raven!" he sputtered incoherently. "I thought you were asleep!"

"That much is obvious," Raven managed, still gawking at his bare body.

Robin's face reddened, as Raven let her gaze lazily travel all over him, drinking in the sight. He hurriedly grabbed a new uniform, ducking back into the bathroom.

"You shower in your mask?" Raven called after him, smirking.

"Can't be too careful," came his muffled response. Raven rolled her eyes. Robin came out of the bathroom a moment later, adjusting his gloves.

"You're a lot more confident in your clothes," Raven commented.

Robin's face colored, but he managed to respond. "You seemed sorry to see me put them on," he shot back.

"I was," Raven responded instantly. Robin jerked, and Raven reddened.

"You were sorry to see me put my clothes back on?" Robin asked, disbelieving. Raven nodded. "Why?"

"Ilikelookingatyourbody," Raven muttered, her face stained crimson.

"What?" Robin said, leaning closer. "I couldn't hear you."

"I said 'I like looking at your body'," Raven said loudly, as a faint boom echoed through the tower. Raven winced. A moment later, her communicator chimed.

Robin sat down beside her on the bed as she withdrew her communicator. Glancing at him, he nodded, and Raven flipped it open.

"Hey Raven! Hey Robin!" Cyborg's cheery face greeted her. "Glad to see you're finally up! We weren't sure until the lamp blew up…" Robin snickered, while Raven looked away, slightly embarrassed. Cyborg continued on.

"Anyway, it's a good thing you're up now!" he said. "We have work for you to do!"

"What can we possibly do when we're isolated here in this hellhole?" Raven asked dryly. Robin shot her a look.

"Interrogate the 'criminal' we picked up last night during a raid of the jewelry store," Cyborg said, barely concealing a grin. Robin leapt at this.

"I almost forgot! What happened last night?" Robin asked. "I was going nuts, wondering what was going on! Was it Slade?"

"Nah," Cyborg said, a mysterious smile on his face. "Just a low-grade criminal. We figured we could take advantage of your predicament, however, and toss her in with you. That way, you two can interrogate her, and she'll have to tell the truth about any bigger plans she might have."

Robin opened his mouth to say something, but Raven quickly interrupted.

"Her?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes," Cyborg said, not bothering to conceal his evil grin now. "Her."

"We haven't fought many female criminals," Robin mused, his head on his fist as he thought. "Not counting Blackfire and Terra, I don't think there's been any. Have we met her before?"

"I daresay you have," Cyborg said, smirking. A loud crash was heard in the background, followed by a loud 'She's escaped!' from Beast Boy.

"Shit!" Cyborg swore, looking off-screen. "I'll be right back!" He hastily dropped his communicator, leaving Raven and Robin with a crooked picture of the carpet as another loud crash was heard. The two exchanged dubious glanced, before turning back to the tiny screen to try to find out what was going on.

"Be frozen!" They heard Starfire yell, as another loud clatter was heard.

"It's 'freeze', Star!" Beast Boy yelled back, as a smashing sound resonated through the speaker. "Get her!"

"You're not calling the shots now, are you, Titans?" a familiar voice sneered from off-screen. "I am!"

Robin and Raven exchanged wary glances.

"Oh no," Robin breathed.

"That's…" Raven began.

"Kitten," they chorused, identical grimaces on their faces.

Another loud crash was heard, followed by a soft thump and a triumphant cry of 'Gotcha!' from Beast Boy. A moment later, Cyborg picked up his communicator, out of breath.

"It's okay," Cyborg panted. "BB tackled her. Everything's under control."

"Is that Kitten?" Raven asked incredulously. "What's she doing here?"

"I told you, we picked up the criminal last night, who happens to be Kitten, and brought her home so you two could interrogate her," Cyborg explained, exasperated.

"Kitten tried to commit an actual crime?" Robin interjected, disbelieving. "What?"

"Robbery of a jewelry store," Cyborg smirked. "She went in riding one of her dad's giant moths and demanded everything in the store. It took her a minute to realize that there was no one there; as it was like one in the morning. She hadn't thought of this, so she didn't have a way to break into their vault planned out."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Raven smirked. Robin ignored her.

"Then what happened?" he asked Cyborg.

"BB turned into a T-Rex and she fainted," Cyborg snickered. "Star went back to the tower to grab some alien berry things. She fed them to the moth, who molted and turned back into a larvae."

"Don't tell me: Starfire kept it?" Raven guessed.

"Yep," Cyborg grinned. "She's named this one 'Vinnie'. The two maggots seem to like each other, instead of fighting, so that's good."

"I don't care about the bugs!" Robin snapped irritably. "What about Kitten?"

He takes this leader thing way too seriously, Raven thought, rolling her eyes.

"Seeing as the only thing she did was breaking and entering, we dragged her home with us so you two could interrogate her. You never know what's going on when Killer Moth's concerned," Cyborg said.

Beast Boy's head jutted into view on the communicator's screen as he shoved Cyborg aside. "Dude!" he exclaimed. "This is totally like your one chance for revenge!"

"No, you think?" Raven said sarcastically. "I mean, Kitten only has to answer any embarrassing question posed to her." Robin ignored her curt comment.

"I knew that, Beast Boy," Robin said, slightly annoyed.

"I know that, but you can like totally payback Kitten for that prom hell she put you through," Beast Boy said excitedly. "Remember? You were all like man… and Starfire was all like WHAT? 'cause she was all jealous 'cause she had a crush on you and all…"

"I know," Robin said, visibly growing more aggravated. Beast Boy prattled on, however.

"…but like, Star doesn't like you like that anymore, 'cause like, she only likes you as like, a friend, and like…"

"Beast Boy, SHUT UP!" Robin yelled, livid. Raven looked over at the irate boy, who was obviously steaming. Beast Boy paled.

"…sorry…" he muttered, scared, discreetly slipping out of view.

Rubbing his temples, Robin took a deep breath, trying to regain his temper. Raven watched, intrigued.

Why's he so mad? Raven wondered, consciously making sure not to voice her thoughts. Robin doesn't normally let Beast Boy's antics get to him so much.

"Cyborg," Robin said, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly. Cyborg's face slid back into view.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Have Jinx bring Kitten up to our room," Robin commanded. "Raven and I will interrogate her to see if her crime has any correlation to more malevolent plans of her father."

"Gotcha," Cyborg said. "Be careful, though. She's picked up a few dangerous fighting moves. She's been escaping all morning." Turning, he called, "Jinx! Robin wants you…"

The voice was abruptly shut off as Robin snapped the communicator shut. She turned to look at him, curious. He wordlessly handed it back to her, before flopping back onto the bed, a hand over his eyes. Raven watched silently.

"So…" Raven said, breaking the heavy silence. "What went on back there?"

"I flipped out at Beast Boy," Robin said shortly.

"Obviously…" Raven muttered. Louder, she asked, "Care to tell me why?"

"No," Robin said curtly. Turning back to look at Raven and lowering his hand, he sighed. "Sorry," he apologized. "This has just worn down my nerves."

"I've noticed," Raven said flatly. Robin winced.

"I'm sorry," Robin said regretfully. "First a call in the middle of the night that I can't go to, then Beast Boy, now Kitten… It's just so much so quickly. I don't know if I can handle it all."

Raven moved to lie down next to him on her side. Robin momentarily stiffened, before relaxing again. Raven turned to look at him, her head propped up on her hand.

"You know, I feel like that sometimes, too," Raven said, emphasizing with Robin's emotions. "I feel so overwhelmed that I just want to scream. I feel like I don't want to deal with my emotions anymore, and that I don't think I can take it anymore."

Raven offered Robin a soft smile.

"But somehow, I always make it through," Raven said, her tone gentle. "I always find some inner strength to draw on, something that's worth sticking it out for. And I always make it through."

Robin was looking at her intently, like he couldn't look away. It was making Raven nervous, edgy, though she didn't know why.

"I'm sure you'll be able to handle this," Raven finished softly. "You're much stronger than I am, and you'll come out on top."

Robin just looked at her, his masked eyes seeming to bore into her own. Raven met his gaze, holding it, wondering what he was thinking as he searched her violet orbs for something.

It's not fair that he can see what I'm feeling through my eyes, but I can't tell what he's feeling, Raven mentally cursed. Infernal mask. That's probably one of the reasons why he wears it.

Raven mentally cursed.

Raven just watched him as Robin regarded her silently. She lay still, unmoving, as he watched her vacantly, like a statue.

A loud banging down the hall brought them both back to the present. Robin shifted, as Raven winced slightly.

"That'll be Jinx and Kitten," Robin said. There was something lingering in his tone, however. Raven could hear it.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Raven asked, prodding gently. Robin sighed.

"Yes," he said, his voice deep, as he looked up at her through his mask. Raven's breath hitched slightly in her throat before she caught herself, and forced herself to breathe normally.

"I'm sorry you have to be dragged into this whole Kitten mess," Robin said honestly. "Kitten despises me, and will most likely try to take some of her hatred towards me out on the both of us."

"I can handle Kitten," Raven responded, slightly insulted. "It's not like she's some very evil being."

"I know that," Robin said earnestly. "I just wish you didn't have to deal with her. She's an obnoxious brat, and I don't like seeing you irritated or annoyed."

Raven smiled softly. He cares about me, Raven thought, smiling, while quickly stilling her stomach, which had decided to flip. He genuinely cares.

"It's okay," Raven said, smiling. "I won't let her get to me."

"Good," Robin said, smiling back. "I'm glad."

"Is that all you want to tell me?" Raven asked, shifting as a loud thump was heard across the hall.

"No," Robin said honestly, "but the rest is best saved for another time."

Raven opened her mouth to inquire as to what, when the door was suddenly flung open.

"Presenting her most horrid self, the most repugnant of all creatures ever to grace the earth," Jinx introduced dramatically, as she held Kitten tightly in her arms, a gag and ropes binding the blonde, "the one, the only, thank heaven, Kitten!"

Jinx is such a drama queen, Raven thought, rolling her eyes as Jinx unceremoniously shoved Kitten to the floor and firmly shut the door behind her. Her inner monologue was abruptly cut off, however, as Kitten shimmied out of her restraints. Boosting herself up with her hands, Kitten looked up at the two Titans with a look of pure loathing.

"So," she breathed, her tone low and deadly, her eyes glinting with steel. "We meet again, Titans. I've been waiting to see you again."

Raven and Robin exchanged wary glances. This would not be good.

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Ooo, Kitten's in the scene now. ((grins evilly)) What do you think will happen next? What did you think of this chapter? What do you hope or want to see happen? Let me know! Please, review!