Okay once again a story is taking on a mind of it's own, my muse is having a Ball in my creative mind, so please be patient lol, let me know what you think.

"Is this a joke? A way to make me leave you alone?" Her voice was soft and emotionless, in a way only she could affect. "Because I don't find it amusing, and it just may get you killed."

"A joke?" He gave a low mirthless laugh, "No joke here." He tone carried a bit of his arrogant 'what are you going to do about it' taunt he usual kept in reserve for battles.

"So," She began her voice still low, but cautious now. "You think you love me?"

"Think? Not at all," another small laugh, mocking this time, she wasn't sure if it was aimed towards herself or him, "I don't think I am in love with you Raven, I know it, as surely as the fact that I have to have oxygen to breathe."

"Well then, stop." Her voice was a bit strained now and a bit panicked, he thought.

"How am I supposed to stop, I didn't aim for this in the first place." He turned to face her and saw she had drawn her hood up to hide her face; her arms crossed defensively in front of her chest.

"Well then, pick someone else, anyone else." Her voice was hiding most of her emotional turmoil, but Robin knew her well enough to read it.

"Well green has always been a favorite color." He quipped, trying to lighten the mood and break down her defense some.

It took her a moment before the joke sunk in, unusually slow for her, a sure sign of the emotions vying for attention within her. "Yeah, but the pointy ears have always been what does it for me." Her voice was dry as dust and her retort broke a genuine chuckle out of him.

"Raven, don't shut me down, please." He turned serious again and took a step towards her, reaching out into forbidden territory to take her hood down so he could look into her eyes.

"Robin," She sighed his name, but didn't raise her hood back up or look away from his masked expression. "I am not sure what you want from me, am I supposed to yell my undying love and jump in your arms like the movies or beat the hell out of you for changing our friendship."

"While I would greatly enjoy you returning what I feel Raven, I don't want you to behave like anyone but yourself, that is who I love." He ran a hand through his hair, glancing away from her and then quickly back. "Our friendship doesn't have to change."

She smiled sadly at him, as if he were a child who didn't understand why his puppy wasn't coming home. "Robin, regardless of whether I return your affection or not, our friendship will never be the same, it has reached one of those crossroads. We can not go on as before, either I accept this and we move to a new level of relationship, or I don't and we stop being the friends we were, replacing it with something less." She put a hand up as he was about to speak. "If I don't want to move to this next level our friendship will never again have the level of honesty we have achieved. You will always feel the need to hide your true feelings or I will have to ignore them."

"If you choose to accept…" He paused, hope leaping in his chest and he took another step closer, stopping when she backed up.

"I don't know Robin," She looked away and then back, her eyes characteristically blank, she had regained her tenacious hold over her emotions once again. "I need time to consider whether or not I can allow myself this depth of emotion, or whether it is better to leave well enough alone. I knew this problem would appear eventually, I just never thought it would be you that I was dealing with." She shrugged slightly.

"Time? How much time will you need?" He asked, well aware that she hadn't shut him down, but also aware that she seemed to be approaching this in an almost academic manner. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or worried about that.

She looked at him closely as she considered his question, she knew she couldn't make him wait indefinitely, Robin was too impatient for that; yet she really needed time to consider if she could let her heart go. She cared for him a great deal and knew that if she allowed it, maybe even if she didn't, she could love him as he wanted.

"A week." She answered finally, this would give her time to get herself in order and organize her own emotions, to see if they would grant her peace in this endeavor and see if the reality of a relationship with him was as feasible as the fantasy she had tried not to indulge in to often.

"A week?" He repeated, not sure if he was disappointed that it was so long or worried that it was too short.

"Seven full days Robin, I want you to really think about this as well." Her eyes bored into his behind his mask. "I don't want to upset the team dynamic or ruin what we have created. You are my best friend and although certain things have changed with this, I would rather you stay a friend than an enemy if this doesn't work out the way you want it. Make sure that you really want to move in this direction," Once again she held up a hand to stop him. "I don't want to talk to you about it or have you try and convince me, not for seven days."

"Seven days," He took a deep breath. "Okay, I can do that and I promise to think about it like you said." He tried his best smile on her, trying to put a few points in his column.

"Good night Robin, try to sleep." She said as she floated out of the room and into the welcoming arms of the dark hall.

"Good night Raven." He smiled slightly to himself, she hadn't said she didn't love him, she hadn't even said she wouldn't. "She just said she needed to think about it." He really couldn't expect anything less from her, she was a very methodical person, and he just hoped her thinking turned out in his favor. "Maybe some flowers would help with that." He said aloud to the empty room.