…..

Somehow, it seemed colder.

The radical temperature drop in California already delightfully baffled its residents (the Christmas season was full well in its way). Inside one bedroom, it felt a blizzard trapped within four walls with an air conditioner on full blast. Raven shifted anxiously. She was freezing. Her joints shook under the thick blankets she borrowed from Starfire but dampness formed on her neckline and face.

That wasn't what was bugging her. Sure, the cold was irritating... but that dream, the memory returned to her when the shadows of night crept into the corners of her bedroom. She didn't fear the dark anymore, Robin had given her every reason not to, but she didn't like the way evening reminded her of waking up on the floor, screaming with no breath.

Predicted by herself only a few minutes ago, she got out of bed and wandered out into the Tower.

Her plan was to find something warm. Preferably a nice embrace by a certain leader of hers, but something accosted her on the way to the staircase. Something with icy cold hands.

She instinctively cast her arms out to her attacker, pegging and forcing the body plummeting into the wall with her energy. Robin struggled, in the face of having no control over the situation.

"Raven, it's me. Let me go!"

She complied and said dully as he got up from falling onto the ground, "You have cold gloves." His mask gave an impression that his eyebrow was arched.

"Yeah. It's a little cold in my room… what are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same question but I'm more interested to know why you jumped me. You have a habit for that, don't you?" she said, keenly.

"I asked you first, rules go in my favor."

"Screw your imaginary rules."

Robin laughed with no amusement. "What's eating you? Bad dreams?" That struck a chord. She puckered her forehead and remained silent. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Something you want to talk about? I remember you said something about a vision earlier."

'I should just stop talking….. right now…'

Raven said, casually, "No… actually... I'm vision-free lately."

Robin knew she was lying. Being as observant as he was, he noticed the signs she gave off. They were little insensible behaviors like her right eyebrow lowering and the licking of her lips. He touched his chin mock-inquisitively. "That so? But if a vision came to you… something important…"

"Don't even bother to play mind games with me. It wasn't a big deal."

Oh, he had her now.

"So first, you said you didn't have one, but now you're saying you did-"

How could she have been so careless? That was a big slip up on her part. She pursed her lips and Robin touched her shoulders tenderly, his way of showing he cared.

"I'm not the enemy here. You can talk to me, Raven."

"I can't."

He didn't look as if he understood. "Can't what? I don't-" he said.

"I can't talk about it. Drop it."

"Why?"

Her voice picked up a hysterical pitch, her expression changing to desperation, "Dick, I can't because you were in the dream and it scared me, okay? I just want it to go away and it won't!" Raven let out a long, shuddering breath. She never used his real name unless there was something really wrong. He really hated to see her upset like this. Whatever was wrong.

Robin cradled her head against his chest, absently massaging her scalp. "Hey, hey, it's alright…" He whispered into her ear canal, "how about we get some of your tea and go calm down...?"

He took her silence as agreement and they took the stairs to enter a moon-lit center. Robin retrieved some hot beverages and sat motionlessly next to her, mutely drinking. He had an ungloved hand through her violet hair and looked her in the eyes. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but why are you afraid? It was only a dream, right?"

She leaned into his touch, the heat of his fingers against her head being her only source of warmth besides the cup in her hand.

"The things that happened in it scared me… maybe… maybe I'm scared to think that meditating won't make it go away. Usually, it does."

He sounded curious, not nosy. "Do you always get rid of things you don't want to remember by meditating?"

"It's never happened where I couldn't make it go away even for a little bit."

"It sounds more like you're afraid of not being in control."

He placed down the cup he drained and she raised her eyebrows at his right-on statement. Robin took her teacup out of her hand, setting beside his. He pulled her so that she was lying on him with the full length of her body, confessing warmly into her neck, "So am I."

Raven stretched underneath him comfortably. "For the most part, I thought you were fearless."

"I'm human, aren't I? Just don't spread that around, I still have an image to keep."

She murmured some sort of retort under her breath and they laid there quietly for a few moments. Their chests falling and rising, slowly in matching rhythm.

"Robin?"

"Yeah."

"Did Cyborg ever find out how that thing got in here?"

"No."

"Robin?"

"Yeah."

"Could that species of alien learn how to write English?"

"No. Whoever it was that touched your mirror was human."

"So there's nothing that suggested a break-in?"

"It's clean. There's no other strange visitors hiding in any other part of the Tower. Cyborg and I checked already."

She wasn't sure why but she started snickering and he looked slightly put-out, "What did I say?"

Raven said before bursting into peals of laughter, "The look on your face...when I pinned you..." She made an bad imitation of him frightened before laughing again. He retaliated by tickling her in her most sensitive place. The fold under her leg. Even Beast Boy couldn't figure that one out. That sent her into hysterics and Robin manically attacked her, fingers wriggling over her stomach and underarms. They thumped onto the carpet and rolled around, now forgetting it was the middle of the night and laughing loudly.

The drowsy shrill of Cyborg came from somewhere in the hallway, "Some of us are trying to sleep, y'all! SHUT UP and go to bed!"

Raven forced back the last of her giggles and shoved his shoulder.

Robin shoved her back, gently. "What was that for?" he asked, curiously.

She said with a sarcastic tone, "You make too much noise, Jerk Wonder." Raven rose to her feet and walked to the doorway before stopping with one foot on the other side, and asked smirking, "Are you going to sleep there all night then?" He joined her quickly.

Robin asked solemnly, as they locked hands, "You aren't going to tell me about that dream, are you?"

Silence.

"One day."