The little things, Raven thought as she packed her books. Robin had said pack light, but there were two she couldn't leave behind. One was her current fascination; a book of illusionary spells. She wasn't sure her dark matter would be compatible with it, but it was an exciting prospect.

The other wasn't an old, dusty tome. It contained no spells, but was worn and yellowed from the thousands of turns its pages had seen. It was a story; Raven had never cared much for earthbound stories, but this one was set in India, a place so foreign to Jump that it might as well have been another dimension. The book told of the colors and the spicy smells and the way the people there wiggled their heads in greeting. In it's own, elegant way it was a love story, a tale of making a nearly divine connection with a way of life. She'd read it countless times and found comfort in it's familiarity.

There was also a recipe for handmade tea printed on the inside cover. No way was this staying at home.

The book sat on top of her clothes, a vibrant gold shimmer set against the denim and cotton. She zipped up her duffel and made to leave.

Robins fist nearly connected with her face; she had opened the door just as he was about to knock.

"Close one," He said, smiling and lowering his arm. "Can I come in?"

It was an odd request- the other Titans usually stood well away from the threshold of her room, preferring to conduct their conversation away from the line that for all intensive purposes defined them as Alive or Dead.

"Alright."

Robin stepped past her, making his way to the chair that sat facing the bed. She took this for herself, watching him take in her room. She realized he'd only ever seen what the door framed. Suddenly she was self-conscious.

It was smaller than he had previously assumed. It wasn't as cavelike- it was more nookish. Shelves of books took up two of the walls, and there were paintings in the remaining space. These were in deep reds and blues, but were intriguing, much less dark than what used to hang in their place.

"It's changed a little. Since." Raven said quietly. This was getting dangerously close to sharing, and he hadn't even said anything yet.

"I should have guessed. You've changed too. Him being gone has made all the difference."

"Well," She shrugged, uncomfortable. "You're bound to lighten up a little when your demon father has been imprisoned forever in a hellish dimension."

"So I know you're not happy about this mission."

"I'll get over it." She suddenly wanted him to leave. He was doing that annoying thing where he paid abnormal amounts of attention to her feelings. This was a recent phenomenon; she chalked it up to some kind of guilt for not noticing when she had been contemplating the impending end of the world.

"You can't lie to me as easily as everyone else, Raven."

She looked up at him sharply. Carefully, she responded, ignoring his reference to their personal connection.

"It's a lot of people for me to be around."

"I figured it was something like that."

She was annoyed. It appeared that her efforts to hinder the bond weren't working. There had been a strange… politeness to their communication, even if it wasn't words that were shared. It was a thing that had been uninhibited before, and now it felt like they both were keeping things they didn't understand in check. It's development had started somewhere around the time she had redecorated her room, after the welcome loss of her father, and it put her on edge.

"Look, I really think this is necessary. But I get that you're still working on some stuff. I'll try to make it as quick and painless as possible. Besides," He smiled. "You'll have us."

"Horray. Beast Boy and Starfire dragging me to a fat raging house party on Friday nights."

"Alright, fine. You'll have me at least."

Something about the phrase 'at least' sounded funny. Like she'd rather have heard the sentence without it. She squelched this thought pretty quickly.

"Look, I'm a part of the team. The team goes to college, I follow."

Robin had the strangest urge to say 'That's my girl' but feared for his physical well-being. He just gave her another smile.

"It won't be that bad. I promise." He stood to leave, not wanting to invade for longer than necessary.

"I'm going to hold you to that."

He chuckled as he closed the door behind him.

He made his way back to his room, a little jittery for some reason. He reached back in his mind for that little piece Raven had left there, and found it just as strained as it had been since their 'End of the World' shenanigans.

Something had changed, and it wasn't just Raven. He couldn't put his finger on it. Hopefully they could get through this mission before he had to address it.