Birdcage

Chapter seven

The alarm was shrill as it filled the jewelry store. The two men dressed in black moved quickly as they smashed glass cases and grabbed up as many pieces of jewelry as possible. The street lights outside suddenly went dark. Neither thief skipped a beat as they switched on their flashlights and quickened their pace to grab as much as possible before the police arrived. They turned to leave out the front but stopped short. A quiet figure stood in the doorway preventing them from leaving. The one went for his gun only for it to be knocked from his hand and skidded across the floor. His partner pulled him by the shoulder as he stared dumbfounded at his now injured hand.

"Out the back," the other thief stated and practically dragged him backwards. The dark figure didn't seem to follow after them. Quickly they rushed out the back door into the alleyway. The one still holding his weapon shoved the bag of jewels at the other before attempting to push a dumpster in front of the door. "That should take care of that."

"Think so," an unfamiliar voice came from the entrance of the alley. The two thieves turned to see the caped hero blocking their only way out. The remaining weapon was raised and several shots rang out, echoing off the tall buildings. Robin moved quickly, ducking left and dropping low to avoid the shots. Moving closer to the two criminals he tossed two smoke bombs along the ground. As the smoke filled the area, Robin launched up and sprung off the wall before landing on the gunman. He knocked him to the ground hard. The other went to run towards the main street when Raven appeared again, blocking his exit once more. A dark shadow slid under the thief causing him to slip, landing several feet away from her. Blackness inked around him, holding him in place. She started to pull him down when Robin cleared his throat at her. Reluctantly she let up with a roll of her eyes.

By the time the police arrived the two thieves were handcuffed to a light post outside the jewelry store. From high up Raven silently watched from the roof top while Robin sat nearby resetting his grappling gun.

"How long are you going to keep quiet about it," she said without looking over at him. He sighed heavily while trying to stifle a cringe.

"Just until it's obvious…" Before he knew it she was kneeling in front of him practically staring him down.

"Trust me, it's obvious," she told him. Her gaze shifted towards his cape covered shoulder. The black appeared a bit darker where his collar bone met his shoulder, "Don't make me hurt you more than you already are," she added causing him to groan back before pushing the material over his shoulder. As soon as his cape was out of the way crimson started running down his arm.

"It's not that bad," he stated as she got a closer look at the wound. She quirked an eyebrow, clearly not believing him before pressing both hands to his shoulder. He let out a hiss in response. It healed surprisingly fast and she leaned back on her palms.

"You really should ice that later. It's gonna be sore." He pulled his cape back in place before shifting some as though he was uncomfortable.

"Well,…since you're taking care of injuries…" he pulled up his shirt on the opposite side to reveal an even worse bullet hole in his side. While normally she was the calm one, Raven's eyes grew wide and she blinked several times before going into action.

"You're an idiot, sometimes." He let out a weak laugh in response.

"It went right through at least," she fought the urge to punch him.

"In case you forgot the others aren't here right now, maybe avoid being so reckless." He replied with a not so pleasant sound as she mended his torn side. "You're lucky nothing important got hit," she added. Now that she realized how hurt he was it explained why he was in such a hurry to leave before the cops got there. Probably didn't want to stick around for questioning. She couldn't blame him.

Once she was done he gave her a feeble thanks before she brought her cloak up, covering them both in darkness. Within seconds they were standing in the living room of the Tower.

"Not really sure why we never traveled like that before but it really is convenient," he commented. She nodded back quietly in agreement. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, just tired I guess." Lazily she dropped onto the couch bringing her cloak around her frame more. His frown deepened as she brought a hand up to rub the side of her head. He couldn't help but wonder if it had to do with healing him or teleporting them home. He took a seat next to her and casually kicked his boots off and removed his gloves which seemed extremely laid back for him. As he adjusted some in his seat, he turned on the TV and began clicking through the channels to find something interesting to watch. Raven wasn't expecting to feel this worn out from earlier but the longer she sat there the more her entire body seemed to ache. She didn't realize how much she was dosing off until she shifted some to the side and ended up resting on Robin's arm. She could feel him turn to look at her.

"Yah know, you look a little flush," he commented and pressed the back of his hand against her forehead. She let out a quiet sound and brought her feet up as well to get more comfortable. After several minutes she heard the tv shut off and Robin carefully move, placing a pillow under her head in his place. He also grabbed a blanket and draped it over her as well. She didn't have to look up as he left to feel the blueish hue coming off him. Maybe being this close to someone was still difficult for him. He hadn't spoken about Starfire since that one time and that was over a week ago. Realizing she was too tired to think about it much more she drifted off to sleep.

She wasn't sure how long she slept but was awoken to Robin leaning over her. His hand was still on her shoulder as he nudged her awake. Sitting up she rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn.

"What's wrong," she asked in a sleepy tone. He handed her a glass of water and gave her a faint smile. This seemed odd for him but she took it anyway, realizing she was actually thirsting. He couldn't be bothering her about an alert as he wasn't in his uniform anymore but in a simple t-shirt and sweat pants.

"Nothing's wrong, just wanted to check on you. Are you feeling better?" He'd been concerned about her before but this just felt strange. When he left earlier he seemed sad to her but now all of the sudden he was worried again. Despite how tired she felt she pushed a little further and couldn't get any emotion off him.

"I'm fine, thanks." Her response was short as she sipped the water. Leaning forward she placed the glass on the coffee table just before he moved in closer.

She looked up as his hand cupped her chin and he kissed her.

Author's notes: Sorry for the delay in writing. Hope everyone liked the chapter. Would love some feedback. Thanks for reading!