1A/N: Indeed...I don't even know if this makes sense...terrible writing...insult to the English language...anyone have change for a twenty. Thanks...enjoy...be merry and rejoice. Peace.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, but hey, I think we all knew that already

Trying To Do the Right Thing

Chapter 20

By: Finalitylife

Robin P.O.V:

I found myself slowing coming back to reality and could not help but notice a great amount of warmth around me, flowing into my body. I also noticed that both of my arms were no longer in my possession but rather seemed to now be owned by the two beautiful young woman who were sleeping on me, each one protectively holding to one of my arms. I glanced slowly to my left, my sight being met with a lot of long red hair. I glanced to my right and my sight was met with a lot of long purple hair. I couldn't help but breathe in the beautiful scent that was Raven, reminding me of memories from the beach. They do always say that scent is the best way to remember.

I found a smile forming on my face as I turned back to look straight ahead though not really focusing on anything. This was how it had all started, with these two unbelievable woman, and the dilemma I had faced then I realized was so blatantly minuscule to what I faced now. I also couldn't help but realize that when all was said and done, an answer to one of the original questions had probably been answered when I hadn't even been looking for it, when I had been caught up in so many other things that I really didn't even think about it. Well at least I think I had an answer.

Its funny how things work, it really is. In the face of impending complete and total annihilation, a person can still not truly make himself understand what lies within their own heart though it is so clear that I can almost taste it. I think that...I think that I want to love her.

There is suddenly shifting next to me as Raven adjusts herself so that her hair is now tickling my face. Of course the real conundrum was the fact that I didn't exactly have a free hand to itch the growing feeling on my face and I somehow knew that I would hate myself if I ruined this moment with these two beautiful forms using me as a pillow.

So I found myself with no real choice at the moment and simply endured the minor inconvenience with a small smile on my face. If this was the worst thing that would happen to me today, then well, I'm the luckiest guy in the world.

Eventually all moments must come to an end and of course it took Beast Boy to end one such as this. I watched as he began to stir and his groggy gaze eventually fell upon my situation. I watched as his eyes slightly widened as he nudged the 'sleeping' Cyborg next to him and whispered to his mechanical friend.

"Hey Cy, wake up. You have got to see this." Cyborg's one eye slowly opened and he let out a huge yawn.

"What is it little man?"

"Look at those three. I bet you never thought you'd see that." Cyborg's gaze also fell upon me and I watched as he chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, have you ever seen both Starfire and Raven look so peaceful? And all it took was the human traffic light to act as a pillow." Beast Boy started laughing and started prancing around the room talking in a terrible imitation of my voice.

"Oh look at me...I'm Robin. I dress like a stop light but I still get all the girls. I'm the greatest." Cyborg couldn't help but laugh at his small friend.

"That's great man. You just better be lucky he's still asleep or he'd smack you upside the head for sure."

"Yeah I know man. Its kinda creepy though because he almost looks like he IS awake." Beast Boy's face was now a few inches in front of me as he seemed to be studying my face, intently staring at my mask.

"I don't know how he sleeps with this mask on. I mean that can't possibly be comfortable."

"I normally don't sleep with it on Beast Boy." Beast Boy let out a startled yelp and jumped back as I made the fact that I was awake known to him.

"Geez Robin, you almost gave me a heart attack. I mean come on..." Beast Boy suddenly stopped talking as he realized a very important fact.

"Um Robin...how long have you actually been awake?" I forced my face to become very serious as I glared at him.

"I'm always awake Beast Boy because as you know, I am the greatest." I watched as his face became increasingly worried looking and Cyborg started laughing which in turn caused me to break my stony hold on my face and a large smile soon arrived. Beast Boy began stuttering, trying to form some coherent explanation or apology and I even think he tried to blame space aliens or reverse vampires. It was hard to tell but all his noise inevitably awoke the sleeping beauties who were none to happy with being awoken by the green prankster. Raven was the first to make her awoken presence known.

"Would you please shut up Beast Boy, this is some of the best sleep I've ever gotten and I don't need you ruining it like you ruin everything else." Her voice was good natured and it was funny to see Raven joking with Beast Boy.

"Yes Beast Boy. It is far to early for any of your shenanigans or your jokes of the practical. Please go away." Starfire's voice was gentle and very sleepy sounding. Starfire was not the best morning person. It seemed only to take a few seconds for both girls to realize where in fact they were sleeping and the fact that from the sound of each other's voices, their heads couldn't have been that far apart, both figuring out that they both had used the same boy as the place to rest their heads. The two slowly lifted their heads, meeting eyes with each other and then quickly and sheepishly sat up straight, the slightest blushes visibly on their faces.

The other two male Titans and I couldn't help but laugh at the embarrassment of the two girls as Raven pulled her hood up to cover her face and Starfire started nervously chattering about nothing. I took this moment, with my now free arms, to scratch the itch on my face and to stand up, stretching out all my joints. Sleeping sitting up in my uniform wasn't the best of ideas for my body. A few loud, satisfying pops later and I was once again standing straight and tall.

"So how about some breakfast."

Moments end, time marches on, and so to must we all continue to move forward. During the past two weeks, for an outside observer, the occupants of our tower would have appeared closer and happier than ever before. They would see a normally reclusive dark young woman spending more time with her friends than ever before. Shopping with Starfire, going to the movies to see a comedy with Beast Boy, working on the T-car and discussing philosophy with Cyborg, and with me, chess had become an after lunch routine.

However, what was underlying everything was a strong sense of fear, a strong presence of desperation, and a grim acceptance that eventually, an end would be coming one way or another. All the happiness we felt as we enjoyed each others company on a level we all had really never appreciated was met with equal amounts of worry. For every hour Cyborg spent with one of us, he spent an hour building more defenses into the tower.

For every joke Beast Boy made there was a new animal he researched that would prove more effective in fighting against the fire attacks of Slade, occasionally rubbing his casted arm with a grim look on his face.

For every song sung to Silkie by Starfire, she would sing a battle song as she waged war against the training equipment on the beach, unable to shake the images of the Great Beast Trigon whose horrifying form graced the pages of Tamaranian Fairy Tales.

For every smile that graced the face of Raven, there was a frown that marred her beauty as she sat alone in her room, meditating, seeking to maintain control, hoping for an answer that she knew would not come.

And me, well lets just say I am becoming dangerously close to running out of punching bags. For every time I am privileged with seeing that smile on Raven' s face, I am forced to watch her door shut in my face and the inanimate objects pay the price. She has become closer to all the Titans ever since that one night though I feel that she still has found a way to drift farther from me. We spend time together though she seems to refrain from making any comments on exactly what was going between us

I understand that I have no right to question her behavior or force her into any conversations she does not want to have but I can't help but feel I am losing my last chance for...something.

I think that Raven is only trying to prepare herself for what is to come and more than likely what she feels for me is so powerful, that it would only serve to imbalance her as she works to control all of her darker aspects. She did tell me she can feel them growing stronger with each passing day, only more proof that it was approaching, and it is taking increasing amounts of mediation to remain calm. I will not push her. I guess I have to accept what I have now and that is simply spending time with all of my friend's while I have it.

Another punching bag explodes from my fist and a little of the dust caused me to cough. I still feel a lot of pent up frustration but I know it is late and I really should get some sleep. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Actually, I know what tomorrow could bring and that is why I doubt that I will be able to make myself fall asleep with ease. I wipe some of the sweat off my face with a towel and head toward a long, hot shower before heading back to my room.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion Zinthos..." Raven quietly chants her words over and over again as she floats in the air within the confines of her room. She had been increasingly happy over the past two weeks though she had also been increasing troubled. She was doing her best to live in the moment, to simply bask in what she had now and to take advantage of it yet she still was incapable of truly embracing this idea.

Her darker side was becoming more vocal, a sure sign that Trigon's power was beginning to manifest itself on the borders of this dimension, and she was being forced to spend more time quieting these voices. It was a difficult task..

Despite her having spent more time with her teammates, doing more activities with them then she probably had ever done before in such a short amount of time, her mind always seemed to flow back to one particular instant, the one that had helped spark this all.

The moment when Robin had grabbed her hand when she had been healing him in the hallway, that moment when they had locked eyes with nothing standing in between his soul and hers, she had felt something that had simply been incredible, and her mind always would wander back to what that feeling had actually been.

It could have simply been his deep desire to protect her and stand by her at all costs, it could have been a lot of things, but Raven almost dared herself to believe that it could have been that what she wanted most.

Again she repeated her mantra in her head as she did her best to resist these thoughts while she meditated because it simply was not mediation of the entire time was spent thinking lovingly about Robin. She needed to clear her head so that she could focus on what had to be coming soon. She knew that the time was very near and she was preparing herself for what she might have to do.

Suddenly, Raven saw a flash of red and lost her concentration. She fell to the ground, startled as to what had happened.

"What was that?" She stood up only to be met with another flash of red and this time when her vision cleared, she found herself not in her room, but what could only be described as Hell.

It was hot, unbelievably hot and Raven knew there would be no relief from it where she was at. Fire and lava moved effortlessly around the lone piece of solid matter that seemed to exist which she now stood upon. Above it all, standing out in the infinite darkness of the sky above, was four burning eyes of the greatest evil.

"Greetings daughter. It is good to see you again." The word daughter was said with malice and mockery and hearing the word said by this evil being made Raven shiver despite the overwhelming heat around her.

"You are not my Father. You are nothing to me but a terrible burden, something I wish would only fade away forever." A dark, bellowing laugh emanated from the sky itself, wrapping itself around everything.

"I am not going anywhere daughter for the time of my release has finally come. It is time to gain my freedom and it is you who will release me back into the world of mortals so I can finish what I started long ago."

"I will never release you. Do you hear me. Never! You will stay locked away where you belong for all eternity you bastard." Again his laugh echoed around her as well as within her own mind.

"My dearest Daughter, you no choice but to release me. It is the reason that I made you, it is the only reason that you even exist so do not continue to try and deny your one and only destiny. You WILL release me and everything shall burn!" Raven couldn't help but cover her ears as his booming voice made her head fell like it was going to explode. So much power within only his voice, and so much more within him, more than anyone could fathom.

"No...I won't...I won't let you win, I won't let you hurt anyone."

"My foolish little girl. You won't be able to do anything except what you are meant to do. You may be able to defeat my emissary but he will only come back time and time again. He can not be killed, he can not be stopped, and you know as well as I do that you can not be everywhere at once. The day will come when you won't be around to protect them from my emissary and when that day comes, they will all die."

"They will die too if I release you." Raven's voice was quiet, meek, not having any of the strength it had only moments ago.

"Yes they will daughter so as you can see, there is no point in resisting. No choice you can make can save your pathetic friends. One way or another they will die. Whether it is by my hand, Slade's hand, or even your own hand when the day comes that you can no longer control my influence within your mind, it will happen. It can not be denied."

"No...please no..." Trigon knew he was winning and for the first time in centuries, he truly found himself smiling.

"Yes...accept your fate. Play the dutiful daughter and become my portal. At least I will make their death's quick and you will not have to see them die. It is your only choice." Raven's head hung wearily, Trigon's words twisting within her mind, its evil logic almost making sense.

"Do not make them suffer more than they have to daughter just because you refuse to be what you are. Release me."

"Noooooooo!" Raven shrieked as she fought against the great demon's influence and in a flash, she found herself back in her room. She was breathing heavily, only the slightest bit below hyperventilating and a sheen of sweat that seemed to be both hot and cold covered her. Her arms were wrapped protectively around herself as she tried her best to compose herself but she knew that it was an impossibility. She now knew the horrible truth, that the time had finally come, and that Slade would undoubtably be waiting on the Titan's doorstep tomorrow to take her to meet destiny. It was time...it was time...but maybe...maybe there was still time for one last moment of comfort.

Robin slept restlessly in his bed, tossing and turning relentlessly as he straddled the line between being awake and being asleep. A dark feeling continued to creep into his mind though it was being fought back by the warm feelings the thoughts of a certain indigo-haired sorcerous brought. He turned over on his back and let out a deep sigh as he absentmindedly rubbed the bridge of his nose, his eyes never once opening.

"Why is it that whenever I want to sleep I can't?" He let out another sigh as he turned over a few times only to find himself again on his back, staring up at the ceiling with unmasked, icy-blue eyes.

"This is ridiculous." He finally sat up, the sheets now sitting at his waist exposing his bare chest to the air as he reached for a bottle of water he kept on a table next to his bed. He took a long sip, feeling the cool liquid sooth his dry throat.

"Maybe I should just..." He cut off his words as the shadows in front of him shifted and formed into a small, solid figure. He blinked a few times at the sight, wondering if his subconscious was playing tricks on him or if he had actually fallen asleep and this was only a dream.

"Raven?" The figure responded by unclasping her cloak, allowing it to fall to the ground, revealing what lied underneath which was in fact Raven's unclothed body. Robin found his eyes almost bugging out of his head at the grand sight in front of him.

"This has to be a dream." His eyes never left her form though he barely took any notice of the fact that she was walking toward him and was now standing next to his bed. She reached out and caressed the side of his face, gently and tenderly, and Robin felt the blood rush to his face as well as other parts of his body at the touch.

For the first time ever, naked blue eyes were locked in an intense gaze with soft amethyst eyes, both filled with more emotions that either had ever felt before.

"Raven..." Robin said her name as he continued to look deep into her eyes and Robin knew...he knew. Tomorrow would be the day. Raven lowered her face slowly, not breaking eye contact until her eyes finally closed as she kissed Robin. The kiss was brief and Raven pulled back, opening her eyes again. This time Robin could see a soft pleading in her eyes mixed in with desire and the smallest bit of moisture at the corner of her eyes.

"Please...love me for tonight Robin...just love me for tonight." Robin's response was to pull her into another kiss, this one far longer and deeper than the last one had been.

The naked young woman curled up tightly next to him, her one arm resting across his bare chest, her long indigo hair obscuring her face. She was lying atop his one arm so he reached over with his other hand to gently brush the hair out of the way so he could gaze upon the beautiful contentment of her face. Oh how he wished that look, this moment could last. He smiled a very small but very warm smile.

"I don't think I can love you tonight Raven...because...I think that I can love you forever." The sleeping girl never heard his words nor the final gentle kiss he placed on her lips before he himself embraced sleep. Dreams had been fulfilled, and soon, Nightmares would consume.