Birdcage
Chapter ten
Nostalgia really wasn't something Robin had dealt with much in his life. But for whatever reason here he was standing at the entrance of the Tower's living room, unable to move to the hallway. His mind was flooded by so many memories of the life he once had. The place was quiet now, the only sound was the occasional dripping of water from his drenched clothing.
He knew he needed to hurry, to go to his room and pack but for whatever reason he hesitated, letting the nostalgia take him to a better time. This place had been his home for the past several years. Heck, he even played a huge part in putting it together initially. He took a step further into the room followed by another and another until he was standing in front of the couch, staring out at the view of the city.
There had been so many great sunsets and sunrises of that view, he had never gotten tired of it. This was the place where he felt he could actually relax some even when they were in the middle of a case. Or if he was taking himself too seriously he had friends there to get him to take a break and lighten up. None of them ever knew how many moments he was unsure and lacked confidence in a plan or mission but they always made it interesting and not nearly as stressful as he thought it would be.
Sliding down, he took a seat into the worn out couch. It smelled familiar and comfortable after years of being 'broken in'. Why was it that every home he had to leave always seemed to be for the worst reasons?
It first started at the circus, there was no way he could stay there after what had happened. Just staying in his family's small trailer for one night after the accident seemed unbearable at the time.
And then there was the manor. At first the place felt stuffy and completely uncaring. He remembered trying his best to be polite around the owner and the staff but he really preferred to go hide in his room especially when they had company. Sometimes for hours until the guests had finally left and the place wasn't as loud anymore. He usually waited for the help to come look for him. Alfred could always find him whether he just needed a moment to be alone or had to cry because something reminded him of his home. Alfred was always good at listening to him. Probably had a lot of experience with that over the years.
When he left the house he knew it wasn't necessary. It was one fight, nothing that couldn't be resolved once he calmed down but unfortunately the pressure had been building for too long. He felt like if he didn't get away he would suffocate. So he left without a word just like what he was thinking of doing now. The more he thought about it the more he realized it wasn't fair to his friends. They hadn't done anything to deserve this and if he was in their shoes he would be upset if one of them left without telling him why.
He sunk further into the seat trying to figure out what to do. At some point he must have dosed off because he was startled by the sound of movement in the kitchen. Maybe if he just stayed quiet no one would notice him. When he heard Raven call out his name he knew he wasn't so lucky and he would most likely have to explain why he was here.
"Hey," he replied quiety.
…
She stared at the outstretched hand before her. Even though she knew the easiest way out of this was to give the intruder what he wanted, she knew Robin would not be okay with this. He would hate it if she sacrificed herself for him. Just as she grabbed his arm her eyes began to glow white and she yanked him off balance.
"What are you doing," he demanded angrily
"You're going to let him go right now. He has nothing to do with this." Her voice came out in a dark tone. He pulled back against her and managed to get out of her grip. Before he could get very far Raven got to her feet and threw her cloak back. Four black tentacles shot out wrapping around his midsection and wrists. She flung him against the far wall before slinging him against one of the windows. The glass cracked behind him as she pushed in more.
He let out a wheezing gasp as the wind was knocked out of him. She realized she might be going a little too hard on him.
"W….why would …y..you…," he tried to inhale and she squeezed his middle again. "Eee's your fff…fr…end…".
"You never said you couldn't feel any of the pain. Besides, I can always heal him ." Just as she said that some blood ran down his chin. Without another thought she forced him out the window. As she watched him fall she waited until she saw a vibrant shade of reddish orange. Blackness shot down the side of the building from under her cloak, catching him before he hit the ground. As she pulled him up a sudden realization hit her…
"He's probably really gonna be mad at me." She carefully pulled him back inside and he was barely awake trying to catch his breath.
"Thanks," his tone had an obvious sarcastic feel to it. She gave him a shrug back.
"Yah know, I didn't have to catch you." He arched an eyebrow in response. Once she set him in back down on the couch she started evaluating the injuries she'd caused. She definitely broke a couple of his ribs but other than that it wasn't anything serious. Even though it seemed like she hadn't held back she actually did. Most of his injuries were superficial so she just focused his broken bones.
"How'd you know it'd work," he asked wearily.
"I figured if I made him believe we weren't that close and I was willing to destroy him no matter the cost he'd leave." Robin's expression dropped when she said this.
"So you decided to throw me out the window?"
"I think the point to focus on here is you're not possessed anymore." Robin sighed heavily.
"While I want to look on the bright side of all this I have a feeling Draculas' only temporarily gone. Ow…"
"Well hold still," she warned him, "and why Dracula?"
"No reflection."
"And here I thought it was something more obvious like he sucked," Robin couldn't help but laugh at that which made his ribs hurt more, "I warned you to sit still."
"It doesn't help that I was already hurting," he whined back, "Seems to be a theme with this guy. My life expectancy is getting shorter the longer it takes to deal with this guy." He let put a slow breath as his ribs were pulled back into place.
"Sorry about that," she muttered back.
"About the ribs or not dealing with this guy?" She became quiet as though she was trying to figure out how to answer his question.
"Both," she finally concluded. Once he was fixed up she rose to her feet and something about her demeanor grabbed his attention.
"Raven, it's okay. We'll figure it out together." She finally shook her head with a heavy sigh.
"I don't think we can," she admitted as she brought her arms around her shoulders, "It's my problem but you're the one who keeps getting hurt. I need to go handle this by myself." She could feel the concern coming off him. He was always worried about her these days and she hated the attention.
"You know you don't have to though." He tried to get up but stopped when he realized it still hurt too much to move.
"I'm sorry I got you involved. I'm going to fix this now." Suddenly she opened a portal behind her and walked through before he had a chance to respond.
