A/N: I do not own Teen Titans. (Though I wish I owned Raven.)
Chapter V.
Raven opened the door and stepped inside. The sounds of distant explosions still rocked the complex as the Titans attempted to apprehend Mr. Freeze. Raven helped Robin into the room as she shut the door. Everything was so cold in here.
Robin was unconscious. She had managed to free him from the ice, but his clothes were soaked from the rain and he was shivering uncontrollably. He'll be dead in minutes from hypothermia.
Freeze's words echoed in Raven's mind. She knew a bit about healing, and the obvious solution distressed her. Slowly Raven started taking off Robin's clothes. It was cold in this little storeroom, but his clothes were wet and she couldn't teleport him with her powers fried right now.
Fortunately, the magical properties of Raven's cloak weren't fried. Raven mentally ordered her cloak to expand to a size large enough to wrap around Robin's nude form. It was already dry from the rain it had soaked up earlier. Thank goodness for simple spells.
Robin still shivered uncontrollably and Raven really didn't want to do what she had to do next. She knew she had to or Robin would die, but it was going to hurt.
Raven removed her clothes and set them next to Robin's. She then slipped into the cloak with Robin trying to get him warm. His body felt like ice, but Raven gritted her teeth and clung to him.
Raven lay there for a long time and didn't realize she was crying until she heard her own sobs. The explosions had stopped now, so she could hear her own sorrow.
Raven didn't hear the door open. She more felt Starfire's presence than anything else. "I'm sorry Starfire. He needed to be dry and warm."
Raven did not look up until she heard something fall to the floor. It was then she realized it was Starfire's boot. Raven looked up as Starfire removed her own clothes and got into the cloak on the opposite side of Robin from her. "He is going to need us both if he is going to survive."
Raven nodded and then tried to look away from her friend. Here she was lying with the man she loved more than anything else and yet she could never have him. It was too much to bear. If Robin were not in such dire need of her body heat right now she would probably have already bolted.
Raven had to admit; it probably would take both of them. She wasn't as big as Starfire; she wasn't even as big as Robin, so she could never supply enough heat. Raven tried to calm herself when Starfire finally spoke. "I wonder what Robin will say when he wakes up."
Raven tried to pull herself inward to forget all that was happening and regain her emotional detachment but it wasn't working. "He'll probably be glad to see you."
"I think he will be glad to see both of us." Starfire said. "Raven please rest your head. You will hurt your neck if you stay like that much longer."
Raven looked down. She was definitely getting tired of holding her head at the odd angle, so she finally gave in and rested her head on Robin's shoulder. It might have been easier if she hadn't been staring across his neck at her best friend and greatest rival.
"As soon as he's out of danger, I'll leave you two alone." Raven said seriously.
"Why, Raven?"
"Because I don't think I need to stay here any longer than necessary." Raven said sadly.
"Raven, you are hurting now because of me. I am sorry." Starfire said mirroring Raven's emotions.
"You have nothing to be sorry about. You were in love with him first. I thought I could handle it and it would go away, but I was wrong." Raven said feeling Robin heart beat beneath her ear. It was slowly growing stronger.
"But Raven, if how you feel will not go away, how will you leaving make it any better?" Starfire asked.
"With time the emotion will die." Raven said reaching her usual monotone.
"I do not think that would be wise for you, Raven." Starfire said seriously.
"Well what do you expect me to do?" Raven said hotly. "Keep hanging around the tower until I go mad with grief of not being able to be with Robin. Keep watching the two of you, until I grow so jealous that I do something to ruin our friendship?"
"I do not know Raven, but when I was sent to the future I found you as a woman. You had lost everything and had turned inward on yourself. I do not want to see that same fate befall you again. I think I know why this must have happened to you and it was because you tried to "kill" this emotion." Starfire replied softly.
"I guess that will have to be my problem." Raven said dryly.
"Not if you let someone help you bear it. Raven, I do not know if someday Robin will chose me or if he will chose you. Either way I think we need to let him make that decision instead of making it for him." Raven jumped as Starfire took her hand and laid it next to hers on Robin's chest. "I do not understand everything about human courting rituals, but I do understand friendship. I will be there for you always and will be by your side if Robin does not choose you, but please promise me that you will do the same for me if he does not choose me."
"What if he doesn't choose either of us?" Raven said looking down at Robin and daring to hope.
"Then we'll both kill him." Starfire said grinning as she gave Raven's hand a squeeze.
Raven laughed a little at that one and then closed her eyes. The two of them held their hands over Robin's chest and rested.
Cyborg wandered the halls of the base where he and the rest of the Titans had recently faced Mr. Freeze. The villain had been soundly defeated and then Starfire had raced off to find Robin and Raven leaving him and Beast Boy to clean up. His communicator/locator lead him to a door he quietly opened before looking inside. It was a little dark so he used his thermal imaging scanner.
Cyborg quickly turned off his scanner as a deep blush worked over his features. He was probably one of the smartest members of the Titans. Raven and Robin came close, but he was still the most educated and cybernetic memory circuits did help. It hadn't taken him long to figure out what Merlin was doing in the tower, since he had expressed such an interest in the three. Raven's powers would have to be dealt with if she were to continue becoming closer to the boy wonder, for better or worse.
Cyborg closed the door as his communicator beeped. He took a few steps away from the door before he replied. "Cyborg here."
Beast Boy's face appeared on the communicator. "Cy, have you found everyone yet? The Justice League just arrived to take custody of Freeze, and I'd really like to get back to the tower."
"Yeah, I found them." Cyborg said seriously. "They have some things to finish up here. Why don't you and I head back now? Robin's got his cycle and the girls can fly back."
"What about Raven? Robin mentioned something about her powers not working." Beast boy said doubtfully.
"Well, if she's not got her powers back, then Robin can give her a ride or Starfire can fly her back. I don't feel like waiting." Cyborg said trying to sound nonchalant. "Besides, we passed a pizza place on the way here. Let's get some pizza before I stomp your butt on video games tonight."
The ruse seemed to work as Beast Boy started grinning. "You're on tin man! I've been perfecting a few knew moves to use on you."
Cyborg smiled and signaled off. He didn't want to be anywhere near this place when Robin woke up. He also planned on finding an excuse for him and BB to turn off their communicators. He wasn't about to get into the middle of the threesome's drama issues. "Good luck Rob, you're going to need it."
Robin finally awoke feeling warm all over. The last thing he remembered was the flash of Freeze's cannon and thinking his short, sweet life was over. Now he felt comfortable and warm. Oh yeah, he also felt naked and somebody was touching him. Robin opened his eyes to look through the mask down at the situation. He was lying wrapped up in a blue cloak with Raven and Starfire at his sides. He looked over to see their clothes in piles nearby. He could feel their bodies next to his and he started to feel a lot warmer.
"I must be dreaming." Robin finally concluded.
Robin jumped as a sharp pain jolted him. He looked down to see Raven pinching his nipple with a wicked grin. "Doesn't look like you're dreaming to me. What do you think Starfire?"
"No, he would have to be sleeping if he were dreaming, and he is definitely not sleeping, so he must not be dreaming." Starfire stated matter-of-factly. "Why do you think you are dreaming Robin? Have you had a dream like this before?"
Robin's sense of danger skyrocketed at the obviously loaded question as two sets of eyes narrowed looking at him intently expecting an answer. Stunned he lay there trying to come up with something to say. Right now he was speechless.
"He seems tongue-tied." Raven said sardonically.
Starfire's hands immediately shot up to Robin's mouth opening his mouth wide to look inside. "Did the Mr. Freeze somehow manage to tie Robin's tongue?" Starfire said alarmed.
"No, Star. I mean he doesn't seem to know the right thing to say." Raven said smiling.
"Yes, I have noticed this many times. Usually when I am hoping for him to tell me exactly what it is that I mean to him." Starfire said seriously as she again began to look at Robin through narrowed eyes.
"Some guys are that way. Oh well, I guess no boyfriend is perfect. Look on the bright side; he at least doesn't jump when Cyborg calls you his girlfriend anymore. The best I ever got out of him was that I was his 'very good friend'." Raven said conversationally.
"That is true." Starfire said seriously. "You know I think Robin considers you also to be his friend that is a girl."
Robin's mind was reeling. He changed his mind this wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare.
"You think so?" Raven said brightening. "You know we never would know really, since he never seems to want to tell anybody how he feels so that it… might… make… things… easier… on… the… two… of… us." Raven said as she pinched Robin's ear.
"Maybe you can use your power on him friend Raven." Starfire said suddenly. "You were able to enter his mind once so then maybe you could go back in and find out how he feels!"
"Now, Star…" Robin started.
"Yeah, especially since he pulled such a nasty trick on the two of us with Merlin." Raven said slyly.
"Alright, I give…" Robin said as the two prepared to wrestle him down for a mind probe.
Robin felt like he was going to die, and depending on how the two of them took his news he very well might. "The truth is that, yes I have dreamed about being with both of you." Robin said slowly. "Both of you are so beautiful, and I know I should tell you more about how I feel, but I can't. I've lived so long bottling up things inside of me that it's hard for me to let them out. I care about both of you deeply. It's been driving me crazy because I care too much about the two of you to choose. I… I love both of you, each of you for different reasons. It would kill me to have to choose between the two."
Robin waited expectantly as the two looked at him wide-eyed. "That's the most talking about his emotions I think I've ever heard out of him." Raven said clinically.
"Same here." Starfire agreed. "That's what I expected to hear though."
"True. Now about this business of dreaming of me and Starfire together with you… Starfire what do you think we should do about this?" Raven said with an evil glint in her eye.
"On my planet if a man was dreaming about seducing two women at once the two women would catch him and then trogdash his glimfhorn." Starfire said seriously.
Robin's heart began to sink as the two stared at him.
"Sounds like fun to me." Raven said grinning.
"Actually, I have a better idea." Robin said sweating. "Why don't I take you two out for pizza?"
"Why friend Raven, I think he just asked two girls out on 'the date'." Starfire said smiling.
"I think you're right Starfire." Raven said smiling as well. "Are we going to let him off that easy?"
"I guess we could." Starfire said frowning. "But how are we going to get up and get dressed without him seeing our grobnaks?"
"I'll take care of that." Raven said again with an evil grin. "Nighty-night boy wonder."
Robin watched as Raven's hand glowed as she touched his forehead. The last thing he remembered was Starfire giggling. He was in for a VERY interesting courtship.
Raven sighed as she got dressed with Starfire. Secretly, she would have like to have shown Robin her 'grobnaks'. The two of them stood and Raven walked over to Starfire and hugged her. "Thanks Star."
Starfire smiled down to her friend. They had managed to keep from loosing their friendship and destroying the world all in one stroke. The two looked down at the nude form of Robin. Raven used her restored magic to pull a fresh set of clothes through a dimensional portal so that Robin would have a dry uniform, and then retrieved her cloak. Raven pulled her cloak around her and the two stepped out of the room.
"By the way Starfire, what does 'trogdash his glimfhorn' mean anyway." Raven asked conversationally.
Starfire blushed deeply and thought for a moment for the right words in English to describe what it meant. She then looked at the door that had just come out of before leaning over to whisper in her friend's ear.
Raven listened as Starfire explained the expression to her. She then noticed she was blushing deeply as well as she looked at her friend in astonishment. "Your people have some straaaange customs Starfire."