But it must've been because the man in front of her, the man she knew so well, the man she had once called her best friend in the entire world spoke.

"What? Surprised that the ladies man himself Dick Grayson pays for sex? You can't believe everything you read Raven. I'm not what the papers portray me to be."

"I'm not surprised that you pay for sex Dick, I'm just surprised that you'd pay so much for it." Raven spoke in a monotone to disguise her inner turmoil. A great deal of effort was required to keep the lines on her face smooth.

Several moments went by; time froze.

"I think there's been some sort of mistake here- " Raven stated.

"No mistake." He chimed in. "Moonknight37 at your service." He extended a hand to her.

Raven let out an indignant huff. "What's this about? Did you know who I was?" She demanded.

Dick shook his head. "Not a clue, you just sounded enchanting." He replied lowering his hand.

"Ha! Enchanting? How many girls has a five dollar word like that worked on?"

"I told you before Raven," he spoke walking closer to her. "I'm not what the media makes me out to be."

She nodded sarcastically and glanced around. "So what now?" Raven spat out. All the emotions of sorrow from missing him quickly faded away as animosity came roaring back. Had he just- if he could've- if he'd just would've- ugh! It was all still so infuriating. Her jaw clamped tightly.

"Okay, I can see you're still mad at me."

"No shit Grayson." Raven was about to explode angrily when she caught sight of his eyes. She could always read his eyes so well; he was hurting just as much as her. She even began to feel guilty for severing their bond all those years ago. As quick as the pain was there though, it vanished. Both eyed each other, silently agreeing to change the topic at hand.

He walked over to where a tall silver chiller sat with a bottle in it. "Champagne?" Dick asked handing her a glass. She took it gratefully and sipped. Expensive. Raven began to wander around the room looking out at the lights of the city as he poured himself a glass. Neither one wanted to say anything. There's so much that should- no needs to be said. The words died on her lips however as he spoke again. "I've really missed you Raven."

"I missed you too." The slightest hint of a smile came onto her face as the words came tumbling out.

They fell into silence again, both having so much to say, but neither one wanting to say it.Raven was first to break the silence. "So now what? We have the most awkward fuck of all time?"

"I'm not going to fuck you Raven." Dick said coming up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist. She tensed; her stomach sinking. "I'm going to make love to you." He drawled in a deep baritone voice. Raven felt her body turn to jelly at the phrase. Heat pooled near her abdomen. "But not until you're ready, I don't want to take advantage of you." He whispered. "I want to treat you right." With that, his hands left her waist and he took her hand in his own. Dick pulled her over to the posh looking white couch. Raven stopped and hesitated a moment; her violet eyes flicked towards the door. Dick must've noticed because he spoke. "Look you can go if you want to, but at least sit with me awhile." Raven stood for several moments before walking closer to him and sitting down. He smiled as she did so. Even though the couch was leather, it was impossibly soft and Raven gratefully let her body sink into it. Since he made it clear he wasn't going to have sex with her Raven felt her heart slow and her body unknit itself. But then what was that whole thing about making love to me? He's probably just trying to break the tension. Her heart sped up at the thought. Though her pain level was diminished, she was acutely aware that she had been very tense. "So…" he trailed off awkwardly. "What have you been up to lately?"

"Um-" Raven let out before she was interrupted again.

"I'm sorry, are you hungry? Would you like something else to drink?"

"No, that's okay."

"So what have you been up to lately?"

The smile on his face was obviously trying to hide some pain. He was pleased to see her, clearly, but at the mention of the past the smile left his eyes. So he was as upset as she was at the Titans breaking up…Raven decided to be honest. "I've really struggled the past few years." She admitted, purposefully not mentioning the breakup, neither of them were ready to deal with that yet. "Never really wanted to make a spectacle of myself so I just took a series of odd jobs before finally deciding to apply to medical school. I'm going to graduate soon."

Dick kissed her hand, which she noticed he held. How had she missed that? "The lovely hands of a surgeon." His lips were oddly soft. Raven thought of her own that were chapped, dry and beginning to crack. One more thing to feel insecure about. She'd tried a bunch of balms in an attempt to get them more kissable for tonight, but nothing had seemed to work to her satisfaction. But wait! How'd he know she was training to be a surgeon?

"How did you know?"

He shrugged. "You were always so detail oriented and precise. I couldn't really envision you doing anything else."

"You're right." Raven replied taking another sip of her drink. They were sitting close. Closer than just friends. "And yourself?"

A frown crossed his face for a moment. Had Raven not known him as well as she did, it would've gone completely unnoticed, but as it stood, empath that she was, it was something that she couldn't help but pick up along with the momentary shift in his emotions. It was an overwhelming sadness that was quickly put back into his mind under lock and key. Perhaps she wasn't as alone in her feelings as she thought. "I've been working for Bruce's company. He put me in charge of the board of directors."

"Sounds awful."

"You have no idea." He said with a smile at her, pleased to share his thoughts with someone. From what she knew of Bruce, he wasn't exactly the type that was easy to talk to. And she knew Dick was never the type to be content sitting at a desk wearing a monkey suit all day. The two shared a laugh at the knowing look Raven sent him.

As the laugher died down however, the air seemed thick. "Raven," he began slowly. "What made you- " he stopped then sighed. "Why are you doing this? What made you do this?" His voice began to crack.

Raven absentmindedly twirled her glass making her nails hit it slightly with a soft clinking sound, ignoring his toned down tirade. "Dick, I needed money and I was desperate." She wanted to remind him that not everybody had Bruce Wayne as a benefactor, but she kept her mouth shut. It was pleasant to be with him after so long. Although Raven had indulged the thought of all the nasty things that she'd say to him after the breakup, she couldn't bring herself to do it. It had been so long since she had anyone in her life that she trusted and could talk to openly. Raven's existence had been a lonely one since arriving on Earth and that had continued after the team split up. She tried to convince herself that she would be okay because it was what she was used to. But there had been one thing that she hadn't counted on. Raven knew what it was like to be among people who just accepted her as she was and whom she genuinely loved. Going back to being alone after that had been hard. It wasn't impossible as she had proven; she'd carved out a nice life for herself. However, it was not as easy as Raven had thought it would've been. Most days it was a tremendous struggle, but luckily, all her work kept her mind occupied.

Now though, with nothing to distract her and her best friend facing her, everything was out in the open. There was nothing to distract her now and a single tear slipped down her face. It disappeared so quickly, that Raven wasn't sure if it was real or if she imagined it. It must've been real though based on the fact that Dick was now gently cupping her cheek. "I'm sorry Raven. You- you could've- you could've come to me, please…you have to know that." He spoke softly.

"I did."

He laughed again lightly. She joined him. "Yeah I guess so."

Silence set in again, but as as awkward as before. This time he spoke first. "Wanna go get something to eat y'know since we're not…?"

Raven let a teasing smile come onto her face. "Didn't Bruce Wayne ever teach you how to talk to girls?"

Dick laughed and pulled out his phone. "Alfred? Bring the car around. Thanks."

"Milady." He asked while holding his arm out for her. "Shall we?"

"We shall."