Lonely Paths Come Together Two: Destiny
Chapter Ten
Seven Years Pass
Stained,
Looking at my hands,
It's not the answer,
I'm crying and I now know,
The scream woke Night Wing from his sleep. He ran to Raven's room and slammed the door open.
"Raven!" He calls out.
She was sitting up in bed breathing heavily, the sweat was evident on her face, and she held the blanket tightly to her chest. She looks at Night Wing, her eyes filled with fear.
He goes over to her and sits down next to her, placing his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his chest, holding her tightly. He began to hum lightly; it was a song that she had always loved. As he hummed the melody he rocked gently back and forth.
She hung on to him; eyes shut tightly hoping he wouldn't go away. After five minutes, she relaxed on his chest, her heart beat going back to normal.
"Are you okay?" Night Wing asks softly.
Looking up at the sky,
I search for an answer,
So free,
Free to be,
I'm not another liar,
I just want to be myself,
Myself,
She nods her head.
"You had another nightmare?"
"Yes, he came back Robin; he's going to hurt me." Raven whispers up at him, using his old name.
"Slade's gone Raven; I promise he won't hurt you. Your safe with me, you know that."
She nods her head softly, "Don't let him hurt me Robin." She whispers as she falls asleep.
Night Wing lays her back down and covers her with the blankets. He sits by her side the rest of the night holding her hand.
"He won't hurt you ever again Raven, I promise." Night Wing whispers softly, watching Raven's face relax to the sound of his voice.
Next Morning
"Is everything okay?" Raven asks walking into the main room in a dark blue robe, cinched tightly at the waist; she had a steaming cup of herbal tea in her hands.
Night Wing looks over at her from where he sits; he had previously been watching the screens that were in front of him, his hands folded together and a deep frown on his face.
And now the beat inside of me,
Is a sort of a cold breeze,
Never any feeling inside,
Around me,
I bring my body,
Carry it into another world,
I know I live …but like a stone I'm falling down,
"The city is still right now." Night Wing says, with a serious tone.
After a few minutes of silence Night Wing looks over at Raven again, looking at her distracted face. Her eyes had wandered off into some other world.
"He won't come back Raven." Night Wing states to her, which snaps her out of her un-seen world.
A smile spreads softly across her face, which brightens her eyes perfectly. Night Wing had always been pleased when she smiled. He did not like to see her sad, so he did his best to make sure she felt safe and secure.
"I know Robin, I know." She says softly before turning around and walking away.
Even though Robin had changed his name to Night Wing, she had never stopped calling him Robin. She was the only one that he would allow such a privilege. He had changed his suit, from the once boyish green and red, to black and blue. He had grown into a man after seven years.
Muscles now defined his arms and chest. Hair that now had grown down to his shoulders was still onyx black. His perfect features had not changed, merely aged into someone wiser, tougher and colder, a mask still hid his eyes from the world.
Damned, looking into the sky,
I can feel this rain,
Right now it's falling on me,
Fly,
I just want to fly,
He had made a vow to protect Raven no matter what and that is just what he was doing. He made sure the city was safe, and on every occasion he went back to where Slade had once resided just to make sure. He continued to hope that Slade would never come back.
He remembered the night he had saved her, as the roof crumbled and the detonation ended, he could not forget when he turned and saw the ghost of Slade standing there watching him, cold slate colored eyes glaring at him, burning into his memory.
Whenever Slade was mentioned he always doubted if he was truly telling the truth about Slade, and if he was truly dead. Nobody had ever found Slade's body, no sign that he had ever existed, except in memory. Night Wing could not deny the fact that Slade might still be out there somewhere, contemplating what he would do next, most likely planning to come after Raven again.
Night Wing always wondered if Slade was watching them whenever they went out, the hatred growing in his heart and his eyes as he zooms in on Raven's and Night Wing's faces.
"He won't come back." Night Wing thinks to himself, as he continues to stare seriously at the screens before him.
Life is all mine,
Some days I cry alone,
But I know I'm not the only one,
I see that another day is gone,
I don't want to die,
Please be here when I arrive,
Don't die…please.
Author's Note
In part one Raven was 10; part two she is 17
In part one Robin was 14; part two he is 21
Robin is now Night Wing from the episode "How Long is Forever?"
Part one was just a dream that Raven has now awoken from.