Chapter 13: Awakening and Realization
I still can't believe all of this is from 8th grade… sweet baby Jesus. ALSO for those who are paying attention to these notes at the beginning of each chapter, I just want to announce that the original word count was… 27,894. We are now up to 34,083. Dayum.
Apologies for the delay in updates! I played at a Frisbee tournament in New Jersey this weekend and was quite busy getting sunburned and drinking cheap beer on a beach. Thanks to Emmi30307 for calling me out =)
The lull of the beeping heart monitor was enough to put anyone to sleep. Anyone, that is, except Robin. He was much too worried. It had been two days since he and Raven had found themselves trapped in the sewers with Slade and still Raven slept on. The doctor had visited and informed them everything was fine and it was just a matter of time before she woke up, but two days was a long time to wait. Though still low, her energy bars were slowly rising. Robin looked up at the monitor behind her.
Her heart rate was normal, just like it had been for the past 48 hours. Yet he still couldn't help himself every time he felt the urge to check it. When they had first gotten Raven back to the tower, her pulse was barely visible. The doctor said Starfire's speed in getting Raven back had made all the difference. The Tamaranian had flown faster than ever before and hooked Raven up to oxygen before the boys had time to catch up to her. A miracle, the doctor had said. No lasting brain injuries, he told them. Robin was grateful for that, but he wouldn't believe Raven was truly in the clear until she woke up.
"She's probably just healing herself, man. You should really get some sleep. Or at least eat something." Cyborg sat down heavily in the chair next to Robin by the bed. The masked boy didn't look up. He was focused on the needle in Raven's arm to keep her nourished and hydrated, the burns on her wrists, the exposed bruises on her face and arms.
"I'm glad he's dead," Robin said flatly.
"We all are, Robin," Cyborg responded with a heavy sigh. It was true; the Titans weren't ones for killing—ever—but Slade was always a different story.
"We really need her back, don't we?" Cyborg asked in a quiet voice. Robin nodded.
"I really love her, Cyborg. I think I always have, and then everything happened so fast, and now here she is and I don't think I could go on knowing she died when I was right there and could have prevented it. I need her." Robin leaned his chin on his crossed arms on the bed, once again.
"She's going to be fine, Robin, I know it." Cyborg put a big metal hand on his friend's shoulder. "You know, my real little sister died before I joined the Titans. It was something I felt I should have been able to prevent. Raven kind of took her place, so I had a second chance. Someone to protect again and look after, and I wasn't even in there with you two to help. I feel the guilt, man, but believe me when I say she'll be fine."
"You should have seen the shocks. I could actually see them going through her, and she couldn't even move. It was so," Robin paused, dragging a hand down his exhausted face. "So scary, Cyborg."
"Doc said any normal person would have been dead after the first few shocks. Our Raven isn't any normal person, though," Cyborg chuckled, patting Raven's knee through the white sheet. Robin allowed himself a half smile.
"You're right," he said. "I just want her to wake up." Robin took her hand gently in his, pleased to find it a bit warmer than yesterday.
"Well how can I sleep with you two chatting on like old women," said a soft, scratchy voice.
"Raven?" Robin said tentatively, his eyes wide. Cyborg was half on his feet looking down at the empath. A small smile appeared on her pale face.
"Rae!" Cyborg shouted. She opened her eyes and turned her head towards the two boys at her side. Robin dove towards her and wrapped his arms tightly around her, hugging her tightly.
"Thank god you're awake," Robin murmured.
"Oh ye of little faith," Raven tutted. Robin pulled back a bit a smiled.
"Robin, number one, that's the first time you've really smiled in, like, three days," Cyborg began, counting off on his fingers. "Number two, you can't just hug people like that right after they come out of a coma. Number three, my turn!" Cyborg wrapped his huge arms around Raven and hugged her gently. She laughed softly and hugged him back.
"Oh man I gotta go tell the others! Starfire's been off her rocker with worry the past two days," Cyborg exclaimed before running out of the room. Raven pushed herself to a sitting position and slowly began removing the tubes and wires from her body.
"You sure you should be doing that?" Robin asked nervously. She shot him a look. He gave a sheepish smile in response, palms facing the ceiling as he shrugged.
"It's fine, Robin. All of my energy went into my healing powers while I was asleep, which is why I was out for so long and why my energy reserves grew so slowly." She gestured towards the panel of readings behind her. "It takes much more energy to heal myself than any of you, so I don't do it very often, plus I heal faster than a normal human anyways, but I figured you guys didn't want to wait a week for that to happen, so I sped up the process."
"I'm glad you did," Robin responded with a grin. Raven swung her legs over the edge of the bed, inspecting the bruising that hadn't quite healed yet. Robin reached a hand towards her and tugged her into his lap.
"You scared me," he murmured, pressing his lips into her hair as he held her tightly. He felt her smile against his chest.
"I scared you? How about you scared me. Just you against Slade down there… that was awful," she said softly. Robin lifted her chin up so he could look down at her face, her beautiful, gently bruised face. He lowered his head slowly and the two shared the kiss they had been waiting for two days to have. As they parted, Raven smiled and rested her head on his chest once again. Robin laid his forehead against the back of her neck, once again wrapping his arms around her small frame.
The other three burst into the room, Starfire ahead of the others.
"Oh friend Raven!" she shouted, diving at the two birds on the chair. Disregarding Robin completely, she swept Raven up in a gigantic hug.
"I am most pleased to see you back up again! This is joyous, friends!"
"Uh, Star? She can't breathe," Beast Boy astutely pointed out. Starfire set Raven back down and Beast Boy took her place, giving Raven a giant hug.
"Aw, group hug, y'all!" Cyborg swept his friends up in his arms, all of them laughing, including Raven. Cyborg's arm suddenly beeped, and he felt the others tense up.
"It's just my calendar, no worries," he said, flipping the panel open. "Um, y'all? Christmas eve is tomorrow." Robin groaned.
"And we have the Christmas party at the Mayor's mansion," Robin complained.
"Does this mean we have to wear monkey suits?" Beast Boy asked, pouting. Starfire looked confused.
"Tuxes and dresses," Robin replied, nodding.
"I am thinking that it is time to initiate a group trip to the mall of shopping!" Starfire squealed happily. She zoomed back out of the room to go to her bedroom to get ready.
"Guess we have to," Beast Boy said. "But you know what that means?" He waggled his eyebrows at Cyborg.
"Mega Monkeys 5 at the arcade!" the two shouted in unison. They, too, sped out of the room. Raven shook her head as she watched the two fight each other to get out the door first, eventually falling headlong into the hallway on top of each other before scrambling down the hall.
"Those two," she said. Robin laughed.
"So you're feeling better?" he asked.
"I had two full days of sleep, Robin. I'm fine," she said, smiling gently at his concern. "Honestly, I could use a trip to the mall—get out of the Tower and do something normal and mindless."
"Nothing is more normal and mindless than the mall," Robin said. Raven chuckled and stood up, stretching. She smiled as her joints gave a satisfying pop.
"Guess we should go get ready," she mused. The two stood to make their way towards their rooms.
Several showers and thirty minutes later, the five Titans reconvened in the living room. They headed out to the garage, piled into the T-car, and Cyborg began the drive to the mall. Their first stop was the food court.
"Alright, let's meet back here around eight, okay?" Cyborg asked. The others nodded and set off, the boys going one way, the girls the other.
Starfire led Raven to the first store on the right. Raven studied the window displays, nodding in approval as she saw it was neither too bright nor too glittery. One of the employees took immediate notice of them and rushed forward to give Starfire a hug.
"Hello, friend Alex! It has been most long since I last spoke to you!" Starfire exclaimed. The girl beamed.
"Hey, Starfire! We just got a new shipment of that line of clothes you like so much. Lots of orange and pink! I think you'd love to see them," Alex said, turning towards Raven. "You must be Raven. I'm Alex!"
"Hello," was all Raven said. She certainly did not want to see the pink and orange explosion Starfire seemed so excited about.
"We have a bunch of stuff that's probably more your style in the back. Reds, silvers, blacks, whatever. There's bound to be something for you! What's the occasion?"
"The Mayor has invited us to a sphere at his large house for Christmas Eve!" Starfire squealed.
"It's a ball, Starfire," Raven explained.
"Oh. It is of my badness."
"My bad," the dark girl replied.
"But you did nothing wrong, friend Raven," Starfire said, confused. Alex laughed quietly behind her hand.
"Let's just find our dresses," Raven sighed. Alex bobbed her head and led them over to a rack of pink and orange. Pulling out a flowy pink dress, she held it out to an excited Starfire who took it and ran to try it on.
"She's quite the bubbly one, isn't she?" Alex asked Raven.
"Always the happy little sunshine," Raven replied, rolling her eyes. There was affection in her voice, though. Alex smirked a bit before turning to cross her arms over her chest, mirroring Raven as they waited for Starfire to come back out. Not a minute later, the redhead burst from the changing room, twirling around happily.
"Isn't it glorious?" she said. Raven's eyes widened in amazement. When Alex had pulled it off the rack and handed it to Starfire, it had looked just like a sheet of pinkish fabric on a hanger, but now that Starfire was wearing it, she could see how beautiful the dress was. It was sleeveless, with a cowl-neck and draped at the back. The cinched waist hit Starfire perfectly and the light fabric cascaded down to the floor, and there was a high slit on the left leg that stopped around where Starfire's skirt usually ended.
"You were made for that dress, Star!" Alex exclaimed. She was right. Starfire turned expectantly towards Raven, who allowed her a small smile.
"You look great, Star."
"Oh yes, friend Raven? Then I shall purchase this dress for the, um, ball tomorrow!" Starfire said with a wide smile. She quickly returned to change back into her clothes.
"Now for you," Alex said, gesturing towards Raven. "We have some darker selections back in this part of the store." Alex walked back in the store to racks of blacks, reds, silvers, navies, and dark purples. Raven nodded her approval at the selection, bringing a smile to Alex's face. She pulled out a few dresses for Raven to try on. She tried them on, but came out both times without showing either Alex or Starfire what they looked like on.
"They just don't feel right," she said as she handed them back to Alex. Alex looked thoughtful for a moment before a smile spread across her face.
"I have the perfect dress for you," she said before dashing off to the back room. Raven gave Starfire a quizzical look, but Starfire just shrugged. Alex returned a minute later holding up a black dress. Raven took it and went to the changing room.
The material felt like liquid on her skin as Raven stepped into the garment. It was long, long enough she would have to wear heels to avoid tripping on the hem, but that was fine. Raven inspected herself in the mirror, doing nothing to stop the smile that spread across her face. The dress was simple, but stunning. It had an asymmetrical v-neck and draped ruching detail at the shoulder and bodice. Where Starfire's dress had a slit that ran up the front of her leg, the dress Raven had on had a side slit. It was more subtle, but far more Raven's style because of it. She turned each way in the light, noticing with glee that there were some subtle purple accents to the dress that stood out in the light, giving the tight fabric more depth. She loved it. Raven stepped out of the dressing room and Starfire squealed with joy.
"Friend, it is so beautiful on you! We must purchase this garment at once!" Starfire exclaimed. Raven smiled at Alex in thanks.
"It really is perfect," she said. Alex smiled back at her and nodded. Raven changed back into her jeans and shirt and went up to the cashier with Starfire to purchase their dresses. Waving goodbye to Alex, the two returned to the food court to wait for the boys.
When they arrived, the others were already waiting. Starfire plopped down between Cyborg and Beast Boy as Raven slid into the seat next to Robin. He slipped an arm around her waist and gave her a quick kiss on the temple, smiling as she blushed at the public display of affection.
"I see you survived," he murmured. She smiled and nodded.
"Can we order now?" Beast Boy asked. Cyborg called the waiter over.
"One extra large pizza, half cheese, half pepperoni, please!" Cyborg said.
"Please, I would like a bottle of the mustard, as well!" Starfire requested. The waiter wrote it all down and walked away, and Starfire turned back to the table. "So, what did you purchase for the ball?" she asked.
"We just rented tuxedoes," Cyborg said. "But, 'cause we're awesome, we added some flair with colored tux shirts instead of classic white! Mine's blue, BB here has green, and Robin got a red on. I saw we looked pretty sharp trying them on," Cyborg boasted, him and Beast Boy puffing out their chests for effect and grinning. Raven rolled her eyes with a smile.
"What about you two?" Robin asked, laughing at Cyborg and Beast Boy.
"We have purchased the most beautiful gowns! Mine is pink!" Starfire proclaimed.
"Mine is black," Raven said plainly, not wanting to go into further detail. She wanted to surprise Robin. The boys didn't push for details.
"I'll be right back, guys," Robin said suddenly, getting up and hurrying out of the restaurant. He came back just as the pizza arrived with a small bag behind his back. He sat down and slipped it into his tux bag.
"Dig in!" Beast Boy said, reaching for the cheese. They all started eating, not stopping until each crumb of pizza crust was demolished.
When the tired teens finally got back home, it was around midnight.
"Wake up call before noon tomorrow, guys. The ball starts around seven," Robin said, yawning. The others nodded their tired responses.
"See y'all in the morning," Cyborg said as he pressed his hand to the memory pad and Titans Tower shut down for the night.
Getting closer and closer! Only a couple more chapters!