Birdcage

Chapter six

Raven could feel her rage rising up. She rose to her feet quickly in order to catch Robin before he fell to the floor. Pulling him away she carefully placed him on the couch. Pressing her two fingers against his throat she breathed a sigh of relief once she felt his pulse. It was faint but there.

"Now that I'm done dealing with him we can be on our way." Once she knew Robin would be okay she pulled her hood over her head.

"Get out…," she growl back at him as she straightened up.

"You know you don't belong here, gods have no business in the dealings of mortals. Besides this one's heart has already been too damaged." Raven turned back to him, her eyes blazing red. As she went to face him, something unexpected happened. He reached out for her, cupping her chin and smiling sincerely down at her. Without a word he leaned in and kissed her lips softly. It seemed so out of character especially after what he'd just done to her teammate. For whatever reason she wanted the moment to last, to relish in the feeling but reality kicked in before she allowed herself to be swept away. Quickly she pulled back from him with another growl, this time more animalistic.

"I said get out." She brought her hands out on either side of her. Blackness crept towards him. "Leave now."

"You're meant to be with me." He reached a hand out towards her again.

"Don't think so," before he said anything else he was swallowed by the shadows. She wasn't sure where she had sent him and really didn't care. Feeling light headed she stumbled back some before collapsing next to Robin on the couch. Quietly she let out a huff before drifting off.

Hours passed and neither of them stirred until after midnight. Raven was the first to wake as she rubbed her head and let out a tired groan. She suddenly remembered what happened and turned to her sleeping teammate. He was still out, his breathing steady. She smiled to herself, glad they were safe. He shifted towards her inhaling deeply and muttering something quietly. Even in his sleep the blue hue around him remained as the muttering turned into a quiet sob. After listening to it for another minute or so she cleared her throat and nudged his shoulder.

"Robin, wake up," he turned away from her which just made her bother him even more. Finally he let out an annoyed huff before opening his eyes and sitting up some. Immediately his hand flew to his chest as he took in another deep breath. Glancing around the living room he seemed confused.

"W..where is he?" His voice came out shaky and he swallow hard as he continued to look around the room. Was he afraid of the intruder she'd created? Now that she thought about it he never knew all the horrors she kept to herself.

"He's gone. I sent him away." Cautiously he got to his feet and the hue turned angry around him.

"He could have killed me. Did you know he could do something like that?" His hand was still at his chest, fingers screwed tightly around the fabric of his uniform. She tilted her head some thinking back to when he was sleeping.

"What happened on Tamaran?" His frown deepened as he narrowed his gaze at her.

"We're not talking about that." His anger usually wasn't aimed at her but she pushed more anyway.

"I already told you I don't know much about him at all. But I don't think that's what's bothering you right now."

"What? Did you read my mind or something," it was clear the idea of that was unsettling to him. She placed her hands in her lap calmly and brought her head down.

"You know I wouldn't do that. I respect your privacy too much. You were talking in your sleep. You were upset and not about the attack." He took a step back with a growl and turned to head into the kitchen.

"I don't want to talk about it…," he grumbled back as he searched for a glass. For whatever reason he suddenly needed something to drink. Raven got up from the couch and headed over as well. Motioning towards the stove she turned the burned on under the kettle.

"You say that but I think deep down you really want to talk about it."

"I think we should talk more about your crazy imaginary boyfriend who just tried to kill me," he downed one glass of water and went for a second. When he finally turned towards her, he knew she wasn't going to let this drop. Placing the cup down he leaned back against the counter dropping his gaze to the floor. He shook his head and his mouth pulled slightly upward into a grin. "Not even sure where to start," he closed his eyes as though trying to think of the best way to explain, "things…they just got complicated and we can't be together. She asked me to leave…so I did."

"That sucks," her quiet reply caused him to laugh.

"Yeah, it really really does," he shook his head for a second before straightening up and going back to his drink, "Guess we were both lonely, right?"

"Do you think she's going to come back to Earth?" He just shrugged his response. "I'm sorry it didn't work out. Starfire was kind of like a sister to me. A loud, sometimes very annoying little sister." Her comment brought a painful looking grin to his face.

"…I worry if she stays there for too much longer she'll never come back. I know the stress got to the both of us." The kettle whistled and he grabbed her a mug from the cabinet. As her tea steeped he went to work finding something to eat. Luckily he had found some time earlier that afternoon to go to the store. Pulling out some bread, meat and cheese he quickly put two sandwiches together for them.

By the time he was finished, Raven had already made her way back to the couch. The hue coming off him seemed calmer now and she smiled knowingly to herself. "Wanna watch a movie or something, since we're both up and don't have anything evil to stop," he asked taking a seat next to her and setting her plate down on her lap.

"But Beast boy isn't here to pick out something horrible to watch," she mentioned sarcastically.

"Then I guess we might actually like whatever we decide on," he responded just as dryly before biting into his snack and grabbing the remote.

Author's notes: Sorry for the delay in the update. Holiday chaos is at hand at my house. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and would love some reviews. Plan to post the next chapter soon. Thanks!