Oh, the most annoying thing happened last night. I decided to do all my readers a favor and start on the new chapter earlier than planned. And just as it was getting good, I had to use Microsoft Word's thesaurus real quick. When I was done using it, I closed out of it. . . Well, I thought I closed out of it. Instead I closed out of the whole window. It took me a few seconds to realize what I had done. But when I did, I almost screamed in frustration. So, I've been working on it the whole morning, and now it's finally done. Enjoy!
Chapter Three: Star Gazing
"Robin. . . Wake up, Robin."
Robin opened his eyes and saw Raven above him, nudging his shoulder impatiently.
"Get up before the others do," she said, walking into the kitchen.
Last night's events flooded back to him and he sat upright in an instant. He watched as she fixed herself some more tea and asked, "Did he try to hurt you again?"
She shook her head. "When you were near me, our bond tuned him out sort of."
Robin raised an eyebrow. "So does this mean I have to be within three feet of you every time you go to sleep?"
Raven looked up at him, but with a more serious expression than he had given her. "I don't know, Robin. But right now, I'm just glad that I lasted through one night."
Robin dropped it and joined her in the kitchen to make some toast. For a few minutes, the only sounds in the entire main room were the running of the faucet and the silent hum of the toaster. When both of their breakfasts were served, they sat down by each other at the counter. The silence bore onto them like boulders, and finally crushing Raven so that she spoke up.
"So how are things going with Starfire?"
The voices in her head punished her for bringing up the subject. Robin shrugged.
"It's going okay, but maybe. . ." He trailed off.
"What?"
"Nothing. Just forget it."
"Robin, what is it?"
He sighed. "Ever since we've been going out, all she wants to do is make out and go on dates. She hardly even talks to me. Maybe I only loved her as . . . a sister I guess.
The truth was pounding at every corner of Raven's mind, desperately begging to be released. But she said nothing and sipped her tea quietly. Then Robin caught onto what he had just said to her.
"Please don't tell her I said that," Robin said.
"I won't," Raven said plainly.
"Please, Raven."
"Don't worry about it, Robin. I couldn't care less."
Robin sighed again and they ate their breakfast in silence.
Later that night, Raven didn't even bother to get into bed. Rather, she wanted to be active. And even though it didn't sound THAT active, she decided on sitting on the rooftop. The moment she walked onto the roof of the tower, the night greeted her with a divine scene. The stars glittered and dazzled above her with their crescent-shaped ally. And it all blanketed the inky blue sky. Raven sat down and watched the moon's reflection dance in the waters below.
"Don't want to go to sleep again?"
Raven jumped and turned around. It was just Robin. She was so distracted that she hadn't noticed him on the opposite side of the rooftop.
"And what are you doing here?" she questioned back.
He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Insomniacs think alike I guess."
Raven couldn't help but giggle softly. This made Robin smile wider. She has a really nice laugh, he thought to himself. And this time, he didn't deny that that was what he thought. He didn't know why yet, but now he wasn't afraid to admit that she had a nice laugh or that she looked pretty without her hood to hide her face. He beckoned over and she sat down next to him. She looked up at the sky. "It's so beautiful."
Robin nodded, but he wasn't staring at the same thing she was. He was staring at her. More specifically, her eyes. He loved her eyes most of all. They reminded him of amethysts, and especially tonight when the stars were sparkling in them. He drifted off into a daze again, and wasn't awoken until Raven noticed what he was really looking at.
"Robin, is there something on my face or do you usually fall asleep with a smile on your face?"
Robin snapped out of it and blushed. "N-no, it's j-just that. . . I g-guess it's just. . ."
His mind disciplined him for stuttering and acting so stupidly. Raven looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Robin, are you okay?"
He opened his mouth, but closed it again and nodded simply. Raven was still a bit suspicious, but she didn't heckle him about it anymore.
They star gazed for another hour or two while talking. Nothing too personal. Both of them were avoiding such subjects. Robin got to hear her laugh a couple more times and enjoyed every second of it. After their throats were sore from talking, Raven became sleepy. She yawned and said, "I'm going to try to go to bed."
As she stood up, so did Robin.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
She nodded.
"You don't want me to make sure you'll be okay or anything?"
"We'll just have to see what happens."
And with that she started to the door.
Don't leave me. Robin wanted to stop her or at least go with her, but if he did such, she might've assumed things. He counted the seconds and predicted when she had gotten to her bedroom until he went inside himself. He resisted checking on her before going to bed and tried to get some sleep.
It didn't seem that long before Robin heard a knock on his door. He grabbed his mask on the table beside his bed and almost ran to the door. There she was again. Not exactly in the precise state she was in the night before, but still looking terrible. It killed Robin to see her in such a dismal situation.
"It's happening again?" he asked first.
She nodded. Robin put his arm around her shoulder and led her into his bedroom. She sat on his bed with her arms wrapped around each other. Robin sat down next to her.
"You want to just sleep in my bed tonight?"
She turned to him, her eyes swimming. "And where are you going to sleep?"
"I have a sleeping bag." Raven sent him a look that told him that she wasn't so sure that she wanted to sleep in a bed while he was in a sleeping bag. "Don't worry! I'll be fine. I don't like this bed anyway."
Raven opened her mouth to object, but shut it again, only wanting to be rid of her father. She crawled lied down and put a blanket over her tightly while Robin fetched a sleeping bag. For a while, he just sat on top of it, watching her. Once he was sure that she was sleeping and well, he got up again making sure he didn't make a sound. He hovered over her for a bit and finally, lowered his head towards hers, leaned in, and kissed her on the cheek. Lucky for him, she didn't stir. He smiled, crawled into his sleeping bag, and fell asleep with sweet dreams all night. And for Raven it was likewise.
You see, after he kissed her and went to sleep, a small smile could've been seen on her blushing face.
