Robin blinked, the girl's words falling on seemingly deaf ears. Had he truly heard her correctly? Was the gothic beauty truly denouncing the only act of love he had ever summed up enough courage to show? Each question stabbed the boy's heart like ice; every touch was unbearable.
"W-What?" he stumbled, voice shaking terribly. "What do you mean by 'mistake'? How?"
"Can't you see-"
"No! I can't see anything!"
"Robin, did you completely miss the expression on Starfire's face?" the empath questioned; uncertainty was clearly embedded in her speech.
"This isn't about Starfire!"
"Yes it is! It has been and always will be!"
The leader fell silent. His mind screamed in rebellion against Raven's words, and yet there was a suffocating feeling deep within his chest that seemed to beat in harmony to the message he was being thrown. He felt a war erupt inside of him, slow yet vicious as the seconds ticked away.
Taking his lack of response as a silent submission, the girl pressed forward with her explanation.
"Take a candle, Robin, and blow out its flame. Deprive it of its own light and then place it in a dark room. What happens to it?"
Robin was stunned by the strange question. A candle? What purpose did such a meaningless tool seem to serve in their current situation? Unwilling to analyze Raven's thought process any further, he answered as best he could.
"I-I'm not sure. It gets covered by shadow?"
"And that's my point. You lose the candle in the darkness-"
"But it's still there!" Robin quickly added, his mind second-guessing the girl's explanation.
"Can you be sure of that or are you simply assuming that is so? You can't see the candle, now can you? So what guarantee do you have that it remains where you left it? Nothing thus your candle is lost. Light a match now and revive the burned out stick of wax. What happens then?"
"I-I don't see the point of this, Rae!"
"You can see it again, can't you? The candle is once again visible, but so is part of the room you placed it in, so the light did more good than just reviving what was first put out."
Robin's mask furrowed in confusion; his mind was trying desperately to shuffle the riddle into an understandable order. For as long as he had known Raven, she had been nothing but a puzzle missing a thousand pieces and tonight was no exception. Trying to decipher her was something Robin, though he hated to admit it, could not do.
"But what is all of that suppose to mean, Raven?"
The dark girl sighed, the words she was about to utter coming to her more difficulty than expected. Her slender fingers clasped together in two tight fists, sharp nails threatening to pierce the soft skin of her palm. She lowered her head, amethyst hair shinning brilliantly in the light of the sun in a strange contradiction to her mood.
"Think of yourself as the candle, Robin, a human who once had a wonderful life only to lose it all in a gust of unfortunate wind. Think of me as the dark room, an outsider who has never truly known anything but a life of sheer blackness. If you were to be with me, you would only end up losing yourself. I can't offer you the healing that you need. I can only serve to make your suffering worse!" she cried out in desperation.
Robin inhaled swiftly, Raven's puzzle was now starting to come together. His eyes bent in a strange sadness that he could not place as either being sympathy for the girl or a deep depression for himself. Without thinking, the boy moved forward, wrapping Raven in a tight embrace.
"You could never make my life worse, Raven. How could the only person who sees the real me possibly hurt me?"
The sorceress jerked into a stiffened position, the boy's words running through her head. She blinked twice before shoving her way out of his hold. Her blue eyes held a painful image of regret and yet behind the saddened mask of color lay a vibrant display of realization.
"There, you said it. You voiced the only reason you believe you care for me. You're blinding yourself! You-"
"How?" Robin's voice rose, his hand hesitating before he ripped the mask from his face, revealing the pale skin and brilliant eyes underneath. "How can I be blind when I see you so clearly?"
"It can never work between us."
"It can't work, or you won't let it?"
Raven's eyes shut, tears brimming at the edges, soaking her long eyelashes. Her mind yelled back at her, cursing her frail state and sudden display of emotion. It all became too much to bear, the noise of Robin's angry voice colliding with the sound of her own internal screaming. Her knees faltered and soon gave way. The girl fell to her hands and knees, shoulders shaking at the presence of unshed tears.
The dark leader felts all traces of rage dissipate as he watched her fall before him, unable to summon the strength to stand. A wave of guilt washed over him. He lowered himself on one knee, a gloved hand drawing Raven toward him, allowing the shaken girl to rest against his chest as she fought to contain her anguish.
"I want it to work," she spoke softly. "But it can't. I know you still love her; I can see it clearly in your eyes, even if you can't seem to do the same."
"Why do you keep telling me that I love Starfire the same way I love-" he paused, unable to complete his own sentence.
"Can't bring yourself to say it, can you? You can't lie to yourself. You've spent so much time drawing closer to her. You can't just give that all up."
Robin sighed. "But being with you feels so right."
"I know, so do a lot of things, but that doesn't mean they are. We both need balance and you know just as well as I do that we can't give that to each other. I don't want you to end up like that candle and I'll do whatever it takes to keep you from that fate… even if it means giving you up."
"So that's it? It's over, just like that?"
Raven opened her mouth to speak, but the boy had already moved to a standing position. She mustered up as much strength as she could and slowly did the same. Robin's blue eyes shattered her own as the hurt within them mixed violently with threatening anger.
"This trip to Gotham may do both of us some good," the girl sighed as her voice carried on. "It will give you time to realize my point. I know you think I'm simply being cruel, throwing your feelings away without a second thought, but doing this is hurting me as well."
"Then stop the pain and let me be with you."
"I can't!"
He moved closer. "If you're worried about your powers, we'll find a way to get through it."
"It's not that! Haven't you been listening to me? We're not in love with each other!"
The light above them shattered, glass falling into the gap between the two Titans. Raven's voice echoed from the walls of the empty room, replaying itself within Robin's mind. A strange sensation filled the leader, his chest tightening, air coming into his lungs in small spasms.
Raven felt his aura drop, pain consuming his entire being. She turned her face away from him, unable to meet his lost gaze. Her mind raced and yet she knew she owed the poor boy an explanation for what she had just announced.
"Robin, there's been so much going on lately. Slade returns, then Red X, and now the team gets hurt. It's all been too much to bear for both of us. We're not thinking straight. Out of the confusion, our close friendship was mistaken for something else. We're being blinded by our similarities, taking that as an excuse to satisfy our lust and-"
"Lust? Is that what you call it?" Robin's eyes pounced on her in terrifying fury. "Is that what you think my feelings for you are? Just some sick fantasy I've kept tucked away?"
"Robin, I-"
"No, don't! I don't want to hear it! Maybe you're right and maybe you're wrong. I don't know right now. I'm just going to leave for Gotham with Starfire and forget this whole conversation ever happened. We'll see what happens then."
Without leaving room for a response, the rash Titan pushed passed the dark empath, never looking back as he stormed out of the main room and into the hallway, the training room his only destination. A blurred image of green caught the corner of his eye as he moved along, but he chose to ignore it, his mind threatening to drive him insane.
Raven's eyes were concealed as she blinked slowly, pausing for a moment before reopening them. The tears that had threatened to fall were now gone, her eyes dry of sorrow and any other emotion. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she lost herself in the form of her soul-self, the eerie shadow of a raven.
Once on the roof, the girl returned to her human-like body, and levitated in the air. Meditation was what her mind was calling for though she knew the feelings she would attempt to control where locked in a place her chains could not reach.
A/N: dodges flying shoes Eep! Don't kill me, Rob/Rae fans! It's only Chapter 8! They might get back together, they might not. There will be more interaction between the two once Robin and Starfire return from Gotham. Please don't flame me because they got into that argument.