by: RioNVhEnTeUnO

A/N: Okay, first up I'd like to apologize for taking this long. Schoolwork's getting really heavy these days and I really don't have a choice. I'm sooooo sorry. Anyways, I've posted this and it may be the second to tha last chapter. Heh.. I'm planning for the last chapter to be a really long one. Oh and as usual, review replies are down there. -points- Please R&R. Enjoy...

Chapter 19

Confessions

Raven daintily moved her rook forward as Robin savagely attacked his slice of pizza. The way he was munching on it clearly showed the fact that he was starving. She, on the other hand, hadn't even tried to grab a slice yet. It gave him the impression that she was thoroughly enjoying kicking his ass in chess.

She watched as Robin moved his knight. It was one of the four officials he had left; the others were another knight and a rook. Both sides were queenless, courtesy of Robin, who snatched the opportunity to capture Raven's queen with his even though it had the risk of getting captured itself.

"Aren't you hungry?" Robin asked, eyeing her over the chessboard.

"Um… huh?" She murmured absently, moving a bishop to block his advancing pawn.

"I'll take that as a no," He muttered, heaving out a sigh.

Raven raised an eyebrow at him. She suddenly grabbed a slice, took a tiny bite, then looked at him as she chewed on it. "Happy now?"

Robin smirked as he moved his other knight, making Raven shake her head. Without another word, she moved her rook beside Robin's king. Gaping in horror, he smacked his forehead then directed his gaze at Raven, who was just returning his smirk.

"Checkmate."

Raven was starting to levitate the pieces off the board when Robin's eyes bored into her. She shot him an equally intense glare.

"What?"

"I want a rematch," Robin demanded, snatching up some of the chess pieces in mid-air. Raven sighed.

"You don't know when to quit don't you," Raven muttered, successfully recovering the pieces he was able to snatch. "I beat you seven times in a row and you still wanna play."

"You chickening out?" Robin mocked, watching Raven fold the chessboard.

"I'm not some kind of over competitive hothead like you," She retorted, nibbling on the pizza she was eating before letting it rest inside the pizza box.

Robin shrugged as he watched the chessboard zoom back into its proper place under the living room table. As he slumped down the couch and started munching on another slice, Raven made her way into the kitchen to pour herself more tea. She emerged from it later, taking a seat beside Robin; her mug absent. She carried two glasses of water instead.

"I thought you want more tea," Robin murmured, his mouth halfway through ingesting pizza.

"I do," Raven began, eyeing her companion suspiciously. "But someone thought it was okay to drink it all without telling me."

"Can't blame me," Robin said, finishing his third slice of pizza. "I was walking in the kitchen thirsty as hell, so it caught my attention. And then…"

Robin mimed chugging the tea down his throat, rubbed his stomach, then let out a satisfied 'ah.' Raven rolled her eyes, fighting back a chuckle. Well, she did succeed at that, but was unable to suppress the slight smile that appeared momentarily on her face.

To her dismay, it didn't go unnoticed.

Robin smiled warmly at Raven, making her blush. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if he was seriously considering telling her some kind of top secret information. She watched as he fidgeted before finally opening his mouth to speak.

"Uh… Raven," He began, clearing his throat. "I'm… sorry 'bout trying to, well…"

Robin trailed off and Raven chose not to say anything. She chewed up the last pieces of the pizza slice she was eating instead. The thought of him trying to kiss her strayed back into her mind, making the temperature of her face rise again. It rose so much more when she felt his soft hand touch hers. As if they had minds of their own accord, her fingers laced with his.

"Listen... uh… I didn't really mean to act like that," Robin apologized, looking her in the eyes. Raven gave his hand a squeeze. "I just got carried away. I-It's just that… I've been meaning to tell you something for a long time now."

"Tell me what, exactly?" She asked, although she had a pretty good idea what it was. She also thought of words to express the very same thing that Robin wanted to tell her, but the words escaped her mind faster than they escaped her mouth.

"I'm really not that good at this sort of stuff, but I'd give it my best shot," He admitted, clearing his throat. "Here goes," His face turned a bit more serious. "You asked me an important question a while back. This is my answer to that."

Robin reached out and clasped both of Raven's hands in his. He looked deeply into her eyes, drawing a huge breath before he continued.

"Ever since we defeated your father, I felt our bond grow stronger," Robin narrated, his eye contact never faltering for a moment. "I didn't gave it much thought after that, for obvious reasons." He hung his head. "Then I contented myself into thinking that I felt that way only because of my concern for you as a team leader. Still, I was confused."

"I didn't understand why you popped into my mind every now and then," Raven stayed silent, slowly drowning in a pool of emotions. Her anxiety of losing control was starting to kick in.

"But when we were alone in the cave, it all fell into place," Robin continued, his eyes looking meaningfully at her. "I admit that I did wish for time to stop. All I could think about back then was to keep you safe inside my arms…"

"I don't need a guard dog," Raven answered automatically before she could stop herself.

"I know you don't need someone like me to protect you. You're Raven," Robin pointed out. "It's just that sometimes, I can't help it. You're very precious to me Raven. This is the reason why I'd go out of my way anytime just for you, even though it may cost me my very life."

Robin gently squeezed Raven's hands, moving a bit closer to her.

"I love you, Raven, with all that I am."

Momentary silence rested between them as Robin's words sank in. Raven suddenly yanked her hands away from his grasp, fearing that this sudden rush of powerful emotions in her would cause the whole tower to explode. Robin, however, took it the wrong way.

"…Guess you don't feel the same, huh," He said darkly, forcing up a smile through the evident pained expression on his face. "Should have expected that, what with all the hell you had to put up with because of me," Her heart sank. "I can always be your friend, Raven. Just… forget what I said."

"No, Robin. I…"

"It's okay," He said calmly, standing up and turning to leave. "I get the message."

Without another thought, Raven stood up and used both hands to tug at Robin's arm. The force caught him off-guard, making him spin around and face her. In a flash of movement, Raven had flung herself onto Robin; her lips locking on his into a deep and passionate kiss. His eyes went wide for a moment, then slowly closed as he savored every second of it. Raven broke off and glared at him.

"I love you too, you idiot!" She blurted out hotly. Robin gave her a dreamy smile. "Don't you dare walk away from me aga---"

Robin placed a finger on Raven's lips, smiling even wider. "Shh. Don't talk…"

He pulled her towards him, planting another kiss on her lips. This made her wonder why her powers hadn't acted up yet.(1)

It was his turn now. Robin kissed her just as passionately as she did. As Robin pressed on, Raven's lips slowly started to part, inviting his tongue inside. They deepened the kiss, probing each other's mouths and fighting fiercely for dominance. In what seemed like an eternity, they broke off again, gasping for air while still enveloped in each other's arms.

"So…" Raven began, breathing heavily. "Am I supposed to call you 'baby' now?"

Robin grinned at her, panting just the same. She returned it with a warm smile of her own. "That's entirely up to you."

Both of them chuckled heartily. Robin tried to catch her eye as they parted, only to find that Raven had hung her head, her smile gone.

"What's wrong?" He asked, running a hand on her hair.

"Please tell me that I'm awake," Raven said without catching his eye. "If I'm asleep and this is all a dream, please don't ever wake me up…"

He put a hand under her chin. "Doesn't this feel real to you?"

Robin gave Raven another hug, which she returned by burying her face in his chest. His warmth, she missed it so much. She didn't know when she started feeling this way, and it didn't really matter to her. What really mattered now is the fact that they could finally be together…

"Don't worry Raven," Robin began, embracing her a bit tighter. She wrapped her arms around his waist. "From now on, I'll always be by your side. I promise."

They shared that embrace for what seemed like an eternity, both of them drowning into each other. His words breathed new life into her. It was a promise that she would willingly cling to and he intended to keep… until death.

After a while, Raven looked up at Robin and smiled good-naturedly. "Oooookay, that's enough."


A/N: Okay, I know the story has a slightly wild kissing scene, hope it's stil covered under the T rating though.. The next chapter would probably be the last. BTW, I've got another story up, and it's titled, 'For Better or Worst.' Please R&R that one if you have the time. I need your insights, because it sure worked for me here. Thanks a lot for your support and reviews.. smiles

(1)This was because she had already accepted her feelings for Robin. In the previous chapter, she was confused and didn't know how to react so her powers acted up. Hope the idea wasn't lame though..

Review Replies:

Happy Mooing Octopus: Thank you, not just for reviewing, but for reading and appreciating my work. For me, that's really something. -smiles- The reviews are no biggie. You'd still get a lot of 'em from me.

WiccanWitch14: -dodges out of the way- You don't know what the word mercy means? -hands a dictionary- Hehe. Anyway, I'm sorry if the update took long.. Hope you enjoyed this one too.

MutilatedBliss: And now they kiss! Hehe. Sorry it took so long. Hope you enjoyed it.

paprika90: Thanks! I really find your insights very helpful. Hope you enjoyed this one as much as you enjoyed the rest!

robraefan: Yep this is my first. I'm glad you liked it. When I made it up, I did base it after season 5.

watergoddess08: Yup, she was able to admit it to him this time. I hope the reason why her powers hadn't acted up wasn't lame though...

TheLon3Wolf8986: Hey man. Thanks for supporting my piece of work as well as the others I've written. You'll still get heaps of reviews from me. PM me if you need anything.

EmaniaHilel: Thanks for your insights. It really helped me a great deal with this chapter. I owe you one! I hope you review my work some more if you have the time.

Queen Rae:Well here it is. Hope this chapter wasn't a disappointment. Thanks for the R&R!

Adm. Bones: I really appreciate that you liked it. I'm really sorry, but the next chapter may be the last in this story.. Sorry to disappoint.

Rinoa120: I do? I'm flattered. Hehe. Anyway, thanks for appreciating it.

So that's it for now. Signing off...

-RV21