'Ello Its been a while since I've updated...
This is simply aspontaneously-written Robin/Raven oneshot...enjoy! Flames areperfect to roast marshmallows on!
Summary Contemplations on the roof of Titans Tower...
Gazing at the stars is one of my favorite pass times, but on that night, it was slightly different. A skinny, glowing crescent moon peaked through a couple of misty clouds, while fireworks lit them up with a rainbow of colors. The yelling and screaming back in the city didn't perturb me in the least. I was too absorbed by the lights and sounds…the glowing, the fizzing, the sparkling, the banging. The twirling of a rocket spinning high into the air until it slows and takes its last breath before letting everything out…the drawl of the shining bits of firecracker as they float gracefully down, only to be absorbed by the still night air…it's the making of a perfect night.
I felt a smile playing at my lips. A soft breeze rejuvenated itself out of the quiet air and blowed my hair to and fro, my cape fluttering behind me. Careless nights make time pass so slowly, don't they?
I stood up and unhooked my robe from my shoulders, letting it fall in a flowing heap to the concrete of the roof. I stretched high up into the sky, wanting to feel the twinkling of the night stars in my very hands.
I saw a pod of dolphins jumping around in the bay below me. The way their slick bodies twisted, tumbled, and flipped so gracefully sent a full fledged smile across my face. Wouldn't it be nice to be so free, so…liberated, so alive?
I levitated myself higher into the night sky, watching the fireworks spin about through the clouds. I wanted to join them in their ecstasy…the way they casually rose higher and higher into the air.
I let myself sink slowly back to the ceiling of the tower, only to find that I wasn't alone.
"How about this perfect night?" A smile playfully ran across his delicate lips.
"It's something, isn't it?" I landed noiselessly next to him.
After a while of standing in perfect silence, except for the random fireworks, he spoke. "How've you been lately, Raven?"
I'd taken to confiding in him about how I was feeling lately, so I sighed and replied honestly. "Lonely."
"Lonely? Now why would you say that?" He gave me a funny smile. "You have all of us! Star, BB, Cy…"
"Actually, I don't know why it is I'm feeling lonely. I'm not sure if I really am lonely. I'm just, out of it, I guess."
At this he sank down to the floor on his elbows and nodded me to do the same.
"Out of it isn't even the half of it. You've been slacking from your everyday routines, forgetting your evening tea, forgetting books all over the place…its not really like you, Rae."
"I know…" I sighed. "But what can I do? It's just…ah. I can't even explain it." I looked at him, watching the colors of the fireworks glow on his skin. The wind ruffled his un-gelled hair perfectly.
Reading the annoyed confusion on my face, he said, "There's nothing wrong with that." He turned to look at me, that silly little mask covering secret eyes. I hated that thing. Eyes are the portal into a person's innermost soul. With a mask covering them, it's hard to read a person. It's hard to understand them and to get a feel for what they are, especially when you really want to get to know them.
I was feeling particularly spontaneous, so I said, "Why is it you wear that mask anyways?"
He cocked an eyebrow, or at least the nearest readable expression of surprise landed on his face. "Now why would you ask that?"
"Because I've always wondered. Nobody else in the team feels the need to wear a mask."
He gave me no response. The silence in-between the fireworks was frustrating me. "Are you scared of who you are?"
"No," His confident reply came instantly, almost unconsciously.
"Are you sure about that?" I tried to read the unrecognizable expression on his face.
"Is it possible to be sure about a thing like that?" He paused to look at me. "Have you ever thought about it yourself, Raven? Your identity, I mean. You used to be afraid of who you were. You didn't want to be known as the girl that almost had the world destroyed by her demon father. You used to shut yourself off from everyone else. You were the resident ice queen. Why ask me a question like that?"
Surprised at his well-thought out answer, I simply turned away from him and saw a few more firecrackers split into hundreds of pieces with flowing sounds, and then faint slowly downwards, still glowing.
"Because that's how you've been lately. You're afraid you're becoming more and more like Slade. You don't want to be compared to someone like that tyrant. You shut yourself off from us to try and stop him, knowing that you are like Slade, but you'll never be like him in his evil ways. You are the resident ice king, like it or not, when you're upset. That's why I'm asking you this. I want to help you, like you helped save me from myself. I don't need you to go through the same experiences that I had to."
He smirked. "Don't worry; I don't think my father's planning to take over the world anytime soon."
"You know what I mean, Richard."
His smirk instantly fell away when I addressed him by his name. "I guess you're not the only confused one around here."
"Life is pretty confusing." I agreed.
"Not when you're around." He smiled. "So far, you're the only one that's gotten me to see myself in a new light."
"And there he goes with his cheesy quotes…" I let out a tired sigh.
"And there she goes with her icy comebacks…" He threw me a cocky smirk.
"And there he goes with his cocky smirk…" I imitated his half-smile.
"And there she goes with her cheap, copycatting…" He made an annoyed face.
"Now you've gone too far!" With one swift movement, I snatched my cloak and hurled it in his direction, swamping his head.
"You little…" He fumbled to try and get the cloak off while I just watched him, laughing the whole time.
After a few seconds of chaos, he pulled the cloak off, laughing. His hair was an utter mess. His mask had fallen off in the tussle, revealing dark, sharp brown eyes. Before I knew what he was doing, he had wrapped a strong arm around my shoulder. He kissed me.
I gently returned the kiss.
The finale of the show boomed around us, cheerful vibrations chilling through the air. I leaned my head on his shoulder as we finished watching the spectacle, each of us secretly planning to watch fireworks more often.