The hallway was dim, but not totally dark like the alley had been. The moon was heavy in the sky, the stars accompanying its glorious glow. Robin's mouth flexed into an emotionless line as he rapped his knuckles on the grey door.
"Raven...We need to talk." He said quietly, pressing his face up against the cold steel. It sent a newfound sensation throughout him, relaxing him momentarily.
There was no response for a couple of seconds, just the shuffling of blankets and curses.
"Come in." He heard Raven respond in a flat tone.
Robin punched in the code and walked slowly into the dark titan's room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Raven on her bed. Her eyes, they looked so worn and tiered. Her pajamas were simple, a silk tank top with matching shorts. This simple combination was enough to make Robin's heart skip a beat. Her shoulders, they looked so beautiful and smooth, he wanted nothing more than to caress them, to feel her react under his touch, to be ins...
"Are you just going to stare at me all night?" Raven asked bitterly.
Blinking fast, Robin caught himself and sighed. "This is going to take a while, so none of the usual, you have five seconds before I kill you sort of thing...alright?"
She didn't say anything, but her eyes told him to go on.
Robin took a deep breath, "Remember a few days back, when you and I were talking in the morning and how I suggested we tell the team I wasn't the father..."
Again, no response, but he didn't really expect one.
"Starfire overheard us and she came to me. She threatened to tell the team if I didn't do what she wanted. She was going to tell you that I had told her everything..." He closed his eyes, biting his lip.
"She wanted me to...to...to sleep with her in exchange for her secrecy and I did it. I did it because I know how valuable your privacy is to you. I didn't want to see your face when everyone prodded you about who the real father was, how they would look down on you for lying in the first place...I love you too much to see you like that."
Raven shut her eyes tight, fighting back tears. "Robin, why didn't you just tell me?"
He leaned his head back against the wall. "I thought I could handle it. I thought that maybe, just maybe, Starfire would see how wrong her actions were and would call the deal off...but it didn't work that way."
"You didn't seem to mind her little exchange." Raven said through gritted teeth. A million names to call Starfire swirled through her head. She wanted to march to the alien's room and scream at her for hours. But Raven knew much better than to let rage consume her like that.
"I wanted to run so badly...I...I even cried...I did this for you! I'm not saying what I did was exactly right but...It was so you wouldn't have to face the humiliation."
She looked over at him, glaring. "I'd take humiliation over my heart being broken any day..."
Robin closed his masked eyes. "Raven...I know how you feel now."
"What are you talking about?"
He let out a bitter, pained laugh. "Rape. I think I know how you felt with Slade. Just that feeling that your being torn apart by your emotions...the feeling of how you wished you were anywhere but there...that you wished you were dead..."
Raven's heart skipped a few beats as he spoke. She clutched her head and held in a groan.
"Please...just go..." She muttered.
Robin didn't leave though. He walked over to her bed, looking down at her.
"Do you expect me to forgive you?" Raven said, looking up at him through fresh tears.
He sighed. "No, Not really..." He took her hands in his, looking straight into her eyes. "But...I think that you love me enough to forget this ever happened. It was a stupid mistake I made, but I made it for you."
Raven peered at him. She wished she could see his eyes, to see the emotion through them. With a small mutter of her magic spell, darkness surrounded Robin's mask and peeled it off. He gasped slightly, shutting his eyes.
"What are you doing?" He asked, keeping his eyes closed and tilting his head away from her.
She leaned foward to place a hand on his cheek. "Please Robin...open your eyes. Can't you trust me to see them?"
Slowly, he opened his eyes, adjusting to the cool air that now swirled on his skin. Raven's finger traced a small path under Robin's eye as he sighed. His eyes were an intense green. She peered into them, feeling his regret and sadness in an instant. A desire and forgiveness took a tight grip on Raven's heart as she became lost in his eyes.
"Raven...always remember that I love you. The entire time with Starfire, I had you in mind...Please don't end love this wonderful over my stupid mistake..." His mouth set into a light frown as he spoke
Raven let out a long sigh and closed her eyes for a second, gathering her thoughts. Cheating was unforgiveable by her standards. She remebered rolling her eyes as Beast Boy watched Maury and the woman took back their cheating husbands. That was a diffrent situation though...the men weren't forced to sleep with those woman...there wasn't a heavy secret between the husband and the wife...things were much diffrent than anything on TV.
"Robin..." Raven said, opening her eyes, revealing them to be full of tears.
She leaned foward, pulling him into a hug. "Why do I love you so much?" She spoke softly into his shoulder, a tear rolling down her cheek.
Robin was surprised at first, but a small smile spread across his face as she sobbed into his shoulder.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
Starfire yawned and sat up, swinging her feet over the side of her bed. Now was the time to get food without having to talk to anyone. She rubbed her eyes and walked to the door, not bothering to put her pink fluffly slipper on. Just as her hand rested on the door knob, a cool draft spun through the room. Starfire tensed and her eyes began to glow green, ready to attack whatever was behind her.
"Ahh, Starfire. Glad I caught you before you left.."
That's when Star turned around, her hands charged up. She knew that voice anywhere.
"Slade." She said through clenched teeth. "What are you doing here?"
Slade stood his ground and gave a slight shrug. "Oh, I just wanted to check on my darling Titans. Especially you...By the looks of it, your going to be reciving a large lump of coal from Santa this year..."
"What I do is none of your concern." Starfire said, flying foward and launching a starbolt.
Effortlessly, Slade ducked and dodged the attack. She flew straight towards him, hands lit, but he caught her wrists and slammed her up against the wall, pinning her there.
"You've been a very bad girl..." He said almost seductively. "From what I can tell, you really don't favor Raven and Robin being together."
Starfire squirmed under his grip, growling slightly. "What does it matter to you?"
"It matters a great deal. You see...Raven's child...is mine. and I need a little...assistance in making it mine when its born." He leaned foward. "That's where you come in."
"What makes you think I will do a thing for you?"
"Oh, I know you'll do it. Perhaps you won't agree to it now, but in the future, the offer will become very appealing. And if somehow you still do not...there will be concequences."
"and what do I recieve in return?" Star asked, peering at him and bucking her legs foward in an attempt to knock him away.
"Anything your wicked heart desires." His eye narrowed teasingly as he leaned foward, pinning her closer to the wall.
Starfire had stopped resisting now. She was inspecting Slade, trying to get a read off him. Why her? Why didn't he just send one of his asstants or the hive to retrieve the baby once it was born?
"Now, think about what I've said. Complete my task and I shall give you what you wish." He chuckled slightly. "A pretty girl like you does not need someone as volatile as myself after her."
He let her wrists go and stepped away, watching her fall to the ground quickly. She looked up at him, her eyes fierce and questioning. Without another word, he jumped out the window, disappearing as fast as he had appeared.
Starfire rubbed her wrists, staring at the marks he had left. A shiver went down her spine as she still stood up, walking over to the door. Silently, she floated into the kitchen and began to look through the cabinets. She didn't even see Cyborg sitting at the counter behind, glaring at her as he sipped a mug of coffee.
"Well, Well. Look whose decided to show her face finally." He said, placing his mug on the counter topwith a small 'clank'.
Starfire spun around quickly. "Oh...Cyborg...I did not notice you there..." She offered a fake smile. "H-How are you?"
He narrowed his eye. "Cut the cute shit, alright?" He said briskly. "I think its time you did some serious explaining and told me why you and Robin were doing the nasty."
Star clenched her teeth as she rested her arm on the counter, leaning foward. "What I do is no one's business but my own, got it?"
"Granted. But, Blackmail Starfire? Why? Do Raven and Robin being together bother you that much?"
Her mouth opened slightly, baring her teeth. "Yes. It does. But you really should keep your nose out of situations that you are not involved in." She turned around.
"Okay, so you're a bit jealous. No reason to become a whore over it." Cyborg said bitterly.
"How dare you!" Starfire screeched, turning back around and giving Cyborg a defying slap to the face.
Cyborg ground his teeth together, letting his head snap to the side. That girl had quite an arm... "Hit me all you want, you know I'm right." He stood up and gave her a cold stare, waiting for another hit.
Starfire didn't move. For some reason, the look in Cyborg's eye was causing so much fear, it made her head spin. Clutching a box of cereal to her chest, she flew out of the room, tears building in her eyes for reasons unkown.
Cyborg sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose with two fingers. It wasn't an easy task being so brutal to his friends, but it had to be done.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
The sun rose in the sky early, greeting the citizens of jump city and the entire earth with a bright sky. Raven floated out into the kitchen and began to make herself a cup of tea as usual. Robin was asleep in her room, snuggled contently against her pillows. She gave a small smile thinking of him.
Beast Boy, who had been asleep on the couch, woke up from the sound of Raven's tea kettle whistling. He yawned and stretched in the form of a cat.
"Mornin' Rae." He said, walking into the kitchen.
She looked over at him for a second and then back at her tea. "Why are you up so early?"
"I fell asleep on the couch. I couldn't sleep all night and came out an hour or two ago to play some video games. Ended up passing out soon after." He took a seat on the counter.
A moment of silence went by before Raven turned to face Beast Boy.
"Beast Boy..."
"Yeah?"
"Thank you..." She said, offering a rare, delicate smile.
He blinked a couple times, not believing what he had just seen. Raven, with a smile on her face. Clueless he said, "For what?"
"For being a good friend...All this time we've been a team, you've always watched out for me. You've always been someone I could fall back on without any judgement."
Beast Boy grinned ear to ear. Raven hopped off the counter, walking out of the room to go meditate on the roof.
xXxXxXxXx
A/N: Fhew! Finally done with this chapter. This is my third time rewriting it...Anyways, hope you're all happy with this chappy. You've got your RaeRob fluffyness, Cyborg insulting Starfire (zing! XD) and a little BBRae friendship moment at the end. (I emphasize da word 'friendship' in that.) Tis not the best, but I do like how it came out. -looks at the clock- I really have to stop writing at 2a.m...it's not good for me. XD Hmm, what else, what else...
Ooh yeah, Robin's eyes. I discovered some interesting things while writing that entire scene:
a) Keep Robin in character is a pain in the ass b) There are SO MANY theories as to what color Robin's eyes are. About 98.6 percent say blue. then there's a couple people who say brown and people, like me, who say green. I only say green because I want to be different. Besides, a guy with black hair and green eyes would be teh smex, no? Hmm, Blue eyes are nice too but...Any color is good. I just like green because green eyes are like...mysterious. Hell, in my opinion, Robin is teh smexiest thing after Jude Law, no matter what color his eyes. (Eh, lets not touch on my obsession with a cartoon character...-looks at thousands of dollars worth of Robin merchandise- ..;)
Alright, enough with that. I'm gonna go play with my Robin action figure...erm...I mean, write more. Read and Review!
Love,
Emmery.