Chapter 5: Calling a Few Titans

"When there's trouble, you know who to call. You know who to avoid. You know who to trust. You know why there's blood on the first tower floor. You know why you can't tell a soul how terrified you've become. You know the awful power you've managed to harness can't be leashed forever. You know where you are as you wake and wish you could be there under better circumstances. You wonder when this life will kill you. You claw at the walls of your head as the fingers of your past enclose you in its fist. Oh, time to get up Raven."

Frustrated, Robin paced outside his room and took a few deep breaths. Being told to give the case over to Batman had been bad enough, but now…oh, now that seemed like a gift. Robin had just been told to lend a few of his teammates to help with the situation in Gotham, and he wasn't allowed to be one of them. They couldn't all go of course, someone needed to be here in case of a crisis in the city.

How long had he been out in the hall? It seemed like an hour. He remembered how suddenly he had left Raven to talk to Batman and immediately felt like a jerk. Sliding his door open, he entered and stopped short as the door slid behind him.

Raven was sprawled across his bed, sleeping soundly. Robin sat on the edge of the bed carefully, smiling almost foolishly. He knew she had been having trouble sleeping, so he wasn't sure if he should wake her. Still, he knew she'd tear his eye out if she knew he was sitting here, just watching her sleep. While he was happy they were talking more, he didn't know what he actually wanted now, looking at her.

She only opened up to him, he only opened up to her, while her cage of emotions and his bunker of secrets stood between them and complete trust. They could find something new here, if they wanted to. He liked having her here, with him – away from the dark library of her room and the others' pestering. "Do I ask her?" he wondered. Maybe after we deal with figuring out who's staying here while the other part of the team goes to Gotham.

He rested his uninjured hand on her leg at the ankle and ran it along to just above her knee and shook just enough to try and jolt her awake.

"Raven? Raven? Wake up," Robin said.

Groaning softly, Raven twisted on the bed, her eyes struggling to open. He squeezed her leg softly, smiling down at her. Her eyes found his and she couldn't help show an embarrassed smile while she hid the feelings of her latest dream. The smile quickly faded as she sat up next to him.

"How long was I asleep?" Raven asked.

"Maybe an hour," he guessed.

"You didn't mind?" she asked, indicating his bed.

"Of course not, I'm sorry I left you in here for that long," he replied.

"So…what is it?" she asked, sensing his frustration.

"Well, the case still isn't ours, but…my friend has asked that I send a few of us to help with it…and I've been told to stay," he replied with an irritated expression.

"I see. So, should I start packing or am I not going?" she asked.

"That's up to you. My friend only asked for a few of us, which is…fine, things have been quiet, we can do that," he said.

"I'm staying," she said after a few moments.

"Are you sure?" he asked, hoping she was.

"Yes. Did you want me to go?" she asked.

"No, uh-I mean it's up to you," he said, tripping over his first response.

A hint of red appeared in her cheeks as she shifted next to him.

"So long as it's up to me, I'd like it if you helped me with my powers while they're gone, and maybe go over a few things…" she said.

"Yeah, I'll do whatever you need me to," he said with a smile.

"Perfect," she said, returning a small smile for a brief moment.

"We need to talk to the others about the mission, but afterwards…could we talk about something?" he asked.

"Sure…" she responded, curious.

With a nod, Robin helped Raven off the bed and out of his room. As they walked in the hallway, they spoke of their friends' trip and how best to send them off. They were prepared to fight in groups of two or three when they needed to do so, even for an extended assignment like this.

Now they speculated as to how long it would take before one of them calls, complaining about living with the other two without mediation. A dry comment from Raven in response had Robin chuckling as they moved down the hall. She asked if Starfire could handle them, which elicited a groan and a comment of his own. Her laugh radiated through the corridor, surprising both of them. Reaching the living room, they walked in and found Cyborg sitting on one side of the room, Beast Boy as far away as possible, and Starfire sitting with Silkie wearing a frown.

Raven only had to look at Robin for the two of them to start laughing in unison.

"What's so funny?" Beast Boy demanded, an angry look on his face.

"Nothing," Robin said with a final chuckle, "I hope you guys aren't too mad at each other, it'll be that much worse when you get there."

"Aw, no. I'm not gonna let that green stain in my car. He can walk," Cyborg said angrily, "Wait…where are we going?"

"You, Beast Boy, and Starfire are going to Gotham City," Robin said.

"What about you and Rae?" Cyborg asked.

"Someone has to stay and watch the city," Raven replied for Robin, moving down the steps and sitting on a nearby chair.

"Surely we could find someone else, perhaps Titans East?" Starfire asked.

"They have their hands full," Robin said, shaking his head.

"Can I stay here instead?" Beast Boy asked.

"No…" Raven said.

The others looked at Raven with confused expressions. Robin walked down the steps, standing next to her chair.

"I can't go and…Raven hasn't been herself lately," Robin said, doing his best not to reveal too much.

"So why do we have to go at all?" Beast Boy asked.

"A friend of mine has a lead on that thief you chased, the thief works for an organization based in Gotham, and since my friend can't deal with everything…I offered our help," Robin explained.

Cyborg glared at Beast Boy, who glared right back. Raven rolled her eyes as she picked up the nearest book. Starfire stood before Robin, who merely glanced between Beast Boy and Cyborg with a tired expression. The silence barely lasted longer than a minute before Robin spoke again.

"This is important to me. I need you to go, happy or not," Robin said.

"Let's go with not!" Cyborg said, still glaring at Beast Boy.

"When do we leave?" Beast Boy growled, also refusing to do anything else but glare back.

"When either of you blink," Raven said dryly.

Robin gave Raven a disapproving look which she shrugged off and found her place in her book once more.

"As soon as you're ready, so start packing, or Star will pack your things for you. You'll get the mission details when you get to Gotham," Robin said.

Beast Boy's eyes narrowed in his glare and he stormed off to collect his things. Following suit, but only after Beast Boy was an acceptable distance from the room, Cyborg left the others in the room to go pack. Raven frowned after them and then turned her gaze to Starfire and Robin.

"I wish you could both go with us," Starfire said with a smile.

"We do too Star, but we need to be here," Robin said, returning her smile.

"We will call and check in when we can," Raven said with a subtle smile.

"Glorious! We'll miss you," Starfire said, sweeping Raven from her seat into a big hug, her book falling on the floor.

"We'll miss you too Star," Robin said, chuckling as Starfire turned from Raven and swept him into another hug.

"I do not know how I will get Cyborg and Beast Boy to 'make up'," Starfire said with a frown.

"Smack them around, works like a charm," Raven said, slightly kidding, reaching down and picking her book off of the floor carefully.

"They need to work it out themselves, help if you can, but don't get between them. We've seen them get past stuff like this before," Robin said, ignoring Raven's remark.

"You are not worried?" Starfire asked.

"No, they've worked on a case while they were upset with each other before, besides, they'll probably get over it inside a day or so. If it is a problem for the mission, let us know," Robin replied.

"Lucky it's not you and Cyborg having a problem, doubt we could get the two of you to go on a mission, let alone get you two in the same room," Raven said.

"Don't remind me," Robin said, frowning at Raven.

"Sorry," Raven said, sitting back in her chair, and flipping through her book to find her place.

"I shall take care of everything, do not worry about us, I will cheer them up on our way there!" Starfire said.

"I hope it works, Star. Go and pack, you all need to be ready to leave soon," Robin said.

Starfire nodded happily and flew out of the room through the sliding doors. As Starfire left, Raven moved from the chair to glide over and sit on the couch with her book. She curled her legs up on the couch and glanced out the window before sighing quietly to herself and started reading. She barely made it through reading a second paragraph before Robin plopped down on the couch next to her with a sigh of his own. Looking to him out of the corner of her eye, she offered a small sympathetic nod, which he returned, and added a smile.

He let her read as he tried to figure out how to say what he wanted to, what he had been thinking about in the back of his mind as he had been speaking to Starfire. He found himself staring out the window, wrestling with himself. Breathing in deeply, he put his feet up on the round table and rested against the back of the couch.

Try as she might, she couldn't help feel him wrestling internally with something through their bond, and while she didn't know what it was, it felt like it went deep. As she finished the page she was on, she felt his eyes on her, once, twice, alternating from looking at her and gazing out the window.

"Uh, so do you think Star can handle Cyborg and Beast Boy?" he asked.

"Their fight is pointless, they'll forget about it as soon as they find a good pizza place that delivers in Gotham," she replied, turning the page in her book.

"You're probably right, they'll get over it, or at least until Beast Boy hears him order half sausage, "he said with a small chuckle.

She laughed softly, turning from her book to look at him. His smile widened as he heard her laugh and met her gaze. She felt something different in the way he was looking at her, making her turn back to her book nervously, but glance back quickly before settling on the page.

He held his smile, reaching behind his head and scratching the back of his neck. He could feel her almost retreat through their bond, blocking him off, though he got a sense of her inner reaction before he was cut off.

"Could um, could we talk about something?" he asked.

She shifted on the couch, sighing softly, and closing her book – marking her place. Setting it down in her lap, she turned to Robin with her stoic expression.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked in the firmest he'd ever heard her typical monotone.

He stopped smiling as he realized her emotional guard was back up and somehow fortified.

"When I said 'we', I meant the actual you, and I, talk," he said carefully.

"I don't think I should," she said.

"You know what I want to talk about don't you?" he asked.

"I…have an idea," she replied.

"When you first explained our bond to me, you said I could talk to you about anything I was feeling, no matter how dangerous or difficult it was to bring up, and you'd help me work it out," he said.

"And I will," she said.

"Even if it's about you?" he asked.

Raven paused, looking down to the floor before meeting his gaze again, slightly biting her lip and taking a deep breath. A tiny glint appeared in her eyes and she sighed softly as she softened the guard on her emotions.

"Yeah, even if it's about me," she said with a nervous frown.

"I know it's not going to be easy, but I can't ignore it. We're going to be alone together for a while, I'll be helping you with your powers, so I want to make sure we're okay," he said.

"Right, but I think I know how 'okay' we are, and the fact is that we definitely won't be if we go into this," she said.

"You don't know that," he countered.

"Oh, I don't? Why don't you tell me how you see this going?" she asked, her voice rising.

"I just want us to talk about it, I don't think we're going to decide anything, but-. Wait, you've been thinking about this too?" he asked, trying to keep his voice clear and calm.

"Thinking about what? You haven't admitted anything yet aside from saying you've had a few feelings about me," she said.

Robin sighed, putting his feet down and turning more of his body towards her. He thought for a moment or two as she crossed her arms and took another deep breath, waiting for him.

"I… think our friendship is turning into something else and I don't know if that's good for us or not, even… uh, even if I might like it," he said.

"I've been feeling differently about you too, but I hadn't decided it was more yet. I'm still not sure what this is…and I doubt it would be good for me, even if it was good for us," she said softly.

"That's why I don't know what to do, I don't want to wreck this, or mess with your emotions and have your powers to deal with, but I like what we've been doing together – and I want to keep doing it with you," he explained.

She gave him a small smile, which faded after a few moments. He returned the smile, but held his.

"Robin," she said, moving closer to him on the couch.

He closed the distance and cautiously wrapped his arm around her, waiting for her to continue. She sighed once more before speaking.

"We'll talk about this again later. But for now we have another problem," she said.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"I want to write and our notebook is nowhere in sight," she replied.