Nothing lasts forever, and eventually Raven pulled away from Robin.

He looked at her, deep in thought. Raven's natural empath abilities could let her sense his worry and confusion. She could tell he wanted to talk to her, but Raven wasn't sure when she should tell him what had caused her to become so distant. In fact, she wondered if she should ever tell him at all. What would happen then? Would every encounter between them be filled with awkward tension as the truth was revealed? Robin might not seek her company the way he did tonight if he knew how she felt about him. She loved him, had never stopped loving him despite her best efforts, but Robin didn't love her. At least not in the way she wanted him to love her.

Raven looked away from him, closing her eyes. The room fell silent save for their quiet breathing and the hum of computers, and a weighted tension filled the air. Raven felt him touch her shoulder, and she turned back to look at him.

"Raven… what's going on?" He asked earnestly, worry evident in his voice. He took his hand away from her shoulder, putting on his knee.

She sighed, looking at his mask. "I can't… I can't tell you." She muttered, looking away, back at the computer monitors.

"Why not?" He asked. He shifted forward so he was in her vision, but she didn't look at him.

"I don't know how." She said quietly after a moment, looking down at the ground. How was she supposed to tell him how she was feeling, after everything that he'd done for her and after everything that they'd been through? How was Raven supposed to tell him how she loved him, cherished him, only for him to simply turn his back her? She could tell him. She could tell him that at some point along the line she had fallen for him, and that she'd continued falling and that… for awhile, she thought Robin had loved her back. She could tell him that she was hurt and felt betrayed by his dating Starfire and that was the reason she'd distanced herself from him. She could tell him that even after everything, she still loved him.

But she was afraid. She was afraid of losing him as a friend. They couldn't be anything more than friends, no matter what Raven wanted or how she felt. If she told him, things would change between them. And the idea of that - of Robin being uncomfortable because of her and him slowly distancing himself until there was nothing between them - scared Raven in a way that nothing else could or ever would.

Robin opened his mouth to speak, but before the words could get out, the door swished open and they both turned around. "Raven, I cannot find-" Starfire said as she walked in, rubbing one eye sleepily. "Oh!" She seemed to be awake when she lay eyes on him. "Robin, will you be coming back to bed soon?"

Robin looked between Starfire and Raven. He leaned forward, lowering his voice so only Raven could hear him. "If you figure it out, will you tell me?"

Raven swallowed, and for a second Robin saw fear flash through her eyes. Before he could say anything, she nodded once. "One day." She murmured so quietly that he almost didn't hear it.

Robin stood. "Alright." He offered his hand, and she took. He pulled Raven up so she was standing. "Then let's go to bed; it's late. I'm sure the police will let us know if anything goes down." They walked out of the room, the door swishing closed behind them. None of them said anything as they went up in the elevator and walked through the halls to their bedrooms. They stopped in front of Raven's door first, and Robin touched her shoulder so she was looking at him. "Goodnight, Raven."

She turned to face him and Starfire, giving a slight nod. "Goodnight, you two."

Starfire returned her wishes, and Raven walked into her room, setting her cloak off to the side as she fell in bed. She didn't set her alarm, ignoring it completely as she pulled the covers over herself and laid on her side, closing her eyes.

When she fell asleep, she dreamed.

~Hollow~

Raven was standing in front of the door to a log cabin. It was occupied, given that the lights were on inside. Looking around, she could see that it was foggy out, so much so to the point she couldn't see the path more than five feet beyond her. Raven turned back to the door and knocked on twice. A moment later, the door swung open and Robin appeared. "Hey, Raven!" He greeted cheerily. "You're just in time for dinner; come on in!" He stood to the side, and Raven walked through.

The inside of the cabin was quite cozy; a fire crackled in the fireplace, pictures were hanging on the walls (various memories from Raven's life), and the smell of a delicious home cooked dinner wafted through the air.

"Friend Raven!" Starfire greeted as she flew over, clasping her hands together. "I am so delighted you could join us!" Starfire glided backwards slowly, and Raven saw that a table had been set for them. Beastboy and Cyborg were already there, eating to their hearts content. "Come sit down!"

Raven walked forward, and Robin pulled out a chair for her. She took a couple of steps forward, but stopped when the chair burst into flames. Her eyes widened, but no one else reacted. She watched it for a few seconds, before shaking her head. "I'll just eat standing up." She told the others.

"It's rude to eat while standing, Raven." Robin said in a teasing voice. "Come on, sit down!" He motioned for her to sit, seemingly unfazed when the fire licked at his hands.

Raven shook her head again. "I can't. I'll get hurt." Couldn't they see that the chair was burning?

The others stopped what they were doing and glanced at one another before turning to look back at her. The room fell quiet, and Raven felt uneasy.

"If you do not wish to eat with us, then you must go." Starfire said, holding up a fork and pointing behind Raven.

Raven turned and looked back at the open front door. "I can't go." She turned back around. "I'll get lost." As she looked out the door, Raven felt afraid. The fog hadn't seemed menacing before she walked in, but now Raven could make out faces with four eyes, staring her down from outside.

"Then sit down with us." Robin said. "If you don't want to go, come eat. The food will get cold." He took the spot beside Starfire. Everyone resumed eating, forks clinking against ceramic as they chowed down. "Raven? Don't you want to eat?" He asked.

Raven looked at the chair apprehensively. Despite the fire, it seemed undamaged. She walked up to it, looking over it. The others were all staring at her again, and she looked down at the chair. The heat rolling off it was enough to make her sweat.

Slowly, she sat down.

Raven screamed in pain as the fire consumed her, burning her alive. "Help me!" She couldn't stand up, no matter how hard she tried. "Please, help me!" She cried out again.

"You were the one who sat down, Raven." Robin said simply, taking a bite off his fork. "No one forced you to." The others ignored her and continued eating, despite her screams.

Slowly, everything faded to black.

~Hollow~

A/N

So kind of a short chapter, but this was originally the end of the last one. But everyone was like #letravenbehappy2016 so I cut it into two pieces. It gave me some time to refine the dream sequence, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I like writing for this story.

That makes me a bad person lol