Anywhere but Here
Anywhere but here.
Raven would have rather been anywhere but in this chilled car heading towards her childhood home. The bottom of a ravine, the stomach of some cruel monster… Instead she twiddled her thumbs in impatience.
Robin sat beside her with his hands locked firmly on the wheel and his eyes focused on the road. His mouth was set into a hard, grim line. She did not like the looks of this and glanced towards the door handle. Maybe if she…
Click
The bastard had locked her in!
"Please don't, Raven," he whispered softly. He knew as well as she did that it was a request and not an order. If she decided to bolt, there was nothing he could do about it.
She sighed and settled back into her seat, trying to get comfortable against the cold leather. It wasn't working. She would never have guessed, or rather cared about how cold it got at night in the desert until now. Apparently Robin had already known, judging by his thick jacket and gloved hands. He had just chosen not to tell her, of course, to avoid the possibility that someone would overhear and use the information for evil.
All was quiet for another half hour until Raven finally chose to speak up.
"Can you still not tell me anything, Robin?"
"First of all, my name is Nightwing now. Second of all, I cannot guarantee that this car is not bugged. We can talk as long as we don't bring up Logan."
Raven huffed and rubbed her hands in an attempt to warm them. Man, Robin was annoying, more so then she remembered.
"First of all Robin, Nightwing is a stupid name. I mean really, what's with the bird theme? Secondly, you seem overly paranoid," Raven complained, in hopes of lifting her own spirit by crushing his.
Robin quirked an eyebrow but kept his eyes on the road.
"This coming from the only other member of the team with a bird orientated name."
"At least I don't change mine."
"Not according to my sources," smiled Robin. "From what I hear, you have changed your name no less than thirty-six times in the past eleven years. You've moved almost as often."
"You've been spying on me!?"
"Duh! How else would I have known where to find you?" He was beginning to sound more and more like the teenager she had left behind.
Raven sat quietly for a couple more minutes before seeming to find a loophole in the strict conversation guidelines.
"So… Does this mean we can talk about the rest of the team, as long as I stop asking about this urgent mission? Can you fill me in on the others?"
He tensed up for a second before relaxing again and she had to wonder if her question surprised him. What, had he expected her not to care about her companions? She wasn't that frosty.
"Sure, I can fill you in to about a year ago. After that we get too close to our current problem. Let's see… I went off on my own for three years when the team finally broke up, which was about two years after your hasty exit. I spent the time training and it was then that I was given, as you put it, my other "bird themed" name."
"Given?" Asked Raven, somewhat perplexed.
"Yes, given. Apparently ancient monks hand out names like candy. That is beside the point. During that same time period of three years, Starfire returned to her own planet in order to restore peace. She married and took the throne fairly early, before - " Raven cut him off sharply.
"What do you mean married!? I thought… I mean you and her… Wasn't there…" She trailed off uncertainly and avoided making eye contact.
"Yes, we did share something in our younger years… And maybe it would have continued if I had not disbanded the team and left on my own," Robin said softly, his voice laced with pain.
"…But…" Started Raven but Robin quickly took control of the conversation again.
"Anyway, Star married and ruled Tamaran with an iron fist. Soon the planet began to return to its former glory and she fell in love with her husband in the process."
"Wait, fell in love with? Didn't she love him when they married?"
"No," Robin sighed as if he were explaining this to a toddler. "It was an arranged marriage for the sake of her planet. Starfire gladly accepted."
"Does this gentleman have a name?"
"Probably," responded Robin in a tired tone and Raven decided not to push it.
"Anyway, she had just began to feel for him when civil war broke out. Some resented Star for stripping her sister, Blackfire, of her birth right and claiming throne. In the coming months, her husband was struck down and killed. She slaughtered the group responsible for his death and calmed the war before turning the throne over to her brother. She still wears mourning colours for her loss."
Raven sat in stunned silence for almost half an hour before speaking up again.
"Since when did she have a brother?" Raven asked, disgruntled by her lack of knowledge.
"She has always had a brother. He just didn't cause problems, so we didn't hear about him as often as Blackfire," Robin laughed, probably amused by her obvious discontentment.
"So, what about Cyborg?" She asked, trying to keep the blood from rushing to her cheeks.
"Ah yes, we did get a little off topic. Cyborg began working for S.T.A.R. industries and has since upgraded his cybernetic parts. As far as I can tell, he made good money even though he had to put up with working beside his father. Enough to support himself and his wife - "
"Wait, what!? Someone else got married?"
"Yes, Cyborg. Weren't you listening?"
The following glare could have melted through steel, so Robin wisely decided to divulge further.
"Yeah, Cy eventually managed to woo Jinx away from Kid Flash. Maybe he had an easier time at it because she had already switched sides. When her relationship with Bart hit the rocks, Cy was waiting with his arms wide open. She fell hard and after sixteen months of dating, with two breaks in between, they were married."
"So what, did something tragic happen to them too?" Raven asked, still feeling somewhat bitter about the previous news.
"Nah, still happily married and with their third child on the way. He had wanted me to track you down for the wedding but I told him I had lost track of you - "
"Which was a lie."
" – a long time ago. Man Rae, let me finish my two bits."
"Never call me Rae. Ever." She whispered with more force than she had meant to use. Robin clenched his jaw and stared stonily down the highway.
"I'm sorry. Let's continue." She offered him a small smile to show her sincerity.
"Right. Anyway, about three years ago we met up for a reunion and decided to band together to protect our city once again. It had fallen from grace in our years away, more than you would believe. I mean, I had been sleuthing around Gotham since returning from training and Star had been planet hopping since the war. Cyborg had settled down and raised a family. We hadn't even though about the damn city in years. When we saw what had happened to it… Well, we had to help. Heroes and all that."
Raven had to smother a snort that begged to escape. Apparently, they had changed less than she thought. They were still such pushovers.
"We tried to track down Logan." As soon as Robin said this she was once again at attention. "We searched the world, using all the resources at our disposal. Never thought to search Jump City though. By the time we finally found him, it was already too late."
"What do you mean by - " Robin cut her off as surely as she had done to him so many times before.
"Look, a motel. What do you say we hunker down for the night here?"
He never gave her a chance to answer before swerving into the parking lot and causing her to hit her head on the window.
She was tired now and was glad that Robin had finally managed to square things off with the manager. Turns out, he didn't like being woken up at 4:00 am. Go Figure.
Robin unlocked the door and ushered her in. He found the light switch and soon the room was illuminated. She liked the room better with the light off. The room was a hell made of plush brown fabrics splattered with stains she did not trust and peeling orange paint.
She tossed her bag on the bed and began rummaging through it, not realizing Robin was still there until he spoke up.
"Now were going to have to share this room tonight because we're trying to lay low. The manager thinks we just eloped and that's the reason for the late night stop. The truth is much worse than that, of course - "
"Excuse me? As in, eloping with me would be bad?"
"What I mean of course is… Not that," said Robin, stumbling over his words. "It's just that I have this thing for another girl and although you're really pretty, you just don't do it for me and – shutting up now."
"That's what I thought." Raven went back to looking through her bag for bedclothes.
"I will of course take the floor and leave the bed for you, but we need to share the room, okay?"
"Yes, that will be no problem, only…" She trailed off into an embarrassed silence.
"Raven? Raaaaven? Raven!" Robin crept forward and peered over her shoulder to see what was wrong. He promptly turned bright red.
Lying just inside the opening of her bag was the see-through mesh fabric of her nightgown or rather, her skimpy negligee. She must have grabbed it in her hurry to leave her apartment a couple days ago, not knowing she would be sharing a bedroom with her former leader.
She wondered if the roots of her hair had turned as red as her face.
She did not want to be here.
Anywhere but here.