Chapter two :)

Disclaimer: nope...as I said, I only borrow then to play with occasionally :)

Somewhere over the years she had gone from being simply another team mate to being his second in command, his right hand. Now they spent a few hours every week going over missions and assignments.

"I want someone with him on his first mission." Robin said his gaze on the monitor, his back to her so he missed seeing her roll her eyes heavenward.

"Why?" Raven's voice was impassive, but he knew her well enough to read the warning behind it.

"Partly because I want to know if he is ready to go out on his own and partly because I don't want him to think that he is being ostracized by the rest of us." He turned to look at her and watched her nod in acceptance of his justification.

"I agree then," She looked to the screen perusing their upcoming assignments, "Who are you going to put with him?"

"I was thinking someone who knows the emotional stress he's going to be under, the need to prove something. Someone who will be able to pull him back from doing something heedlessly or making mistakes." Robin watched her carefully as the insinuation behind his words hit her.

"I don't think you are talking about Cyborg or Beastboy." She drawled dryly, arching her brow.

"You would be the best person to go with him," He smiled at her hopefully.

"Why not you?"

"Well, I don't think he would listen to me very well." Robin replied ruefully with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I don't like working with people." She stated.

"You work with the rest of the Titans."

"Only after a certain leader has begged and bribed." Now a hint of smile raced quickly across her lips.

"Bribery?" He asked eyes wide in fake innocence. "You wound me Raven."

"No, but I could." A twist of her lips revealed her amusement and Robin knew she would do as he had asked.

"Fine, fine," He raised his hands in mock surrender. "I'll give you the weekend after the mission off, no on calls."

"That's the best you can do?" She sighed, "I suppose it will have to do. So where are we going?"

"It's a simple assignment really," All business again he turned back to the computer and punched in a few keys, bringing up the file pertaining to the job he needed done. "You need to meet a train and transport a package to a group of monks in the mountains."

"Robin," Her voice was a warning, "This sounds very familiar, I know age may have caught up to you and caused a bit of senility, but I am not going to transport anymore children."

"Okay, so it's the same group of monks, but I swear the package isn't alive. It's some sort of religious or magical object that a number of our enemies are interested in." He declared hurriedly when he heard the anger in her voice. "Besides you got along with those kids in the end, don't they actually send you Christmas cards?"

"That is beside the point, just because I happen to tolerate the maulers doesn't mean I forgive you for sending me on a mission that was completely wrong for me." She replied, plucking an invisible piece of lint off her uniform.

"You seem to 'tolerate' a lot more than you used to." He grinned at her, seeing through her attempt to negate any emotional entanglement.

"Just give me the basics of the mission and shut up." She said sending him a glare she had perfected over the years.

"Yes ma'am," He saluted her, "As I said, you just have to pick up this artifact and deliver to the monks; they have security measure in place in their temples to detract anyone from taking it once you get there." Seeing her look he added quickly, "They have better security than they did all those years ago. It's a basic pick up and deliver mission, no sweat for the two of you." He smiled at her again trying for charming.

"Don't waste that smile on me Boy Blunder, try one of your socialites, you know I am going to do this," She smirked at him, "And I am going to take that weekend off as well."

"Then go get your partner and head out, you can explain the details to him."

"Yippee," She replied sarcastically as she turned and left the room to find the red headed archer that had been increasingly in her thoughts lately. She knew what she was feeling towards him and her patience at waiting for him to figure it out was running out fast.