Ch 12: Daybreak to Nightfall

Sorry for the slight delay! I just started work (yay internships!) and it's really tiring and cuts into my writing schedule… since, you know, I can't very well stay up until 3 or 4am every day now since I have to wake up and look professional three times a week. But here is chapter twelve!

A loud snort from Beast Boy sent Robin shooting into the air. Rather, it would have, if he were not tangled up in the girl lying next to him. He was surprised she only stirred and did not wake, light sleeper that he knew her to be. Robin took a moment to calm his heartbeat and bring himself down from high alert; there was no threat, only a snoring changeling. He settled back onto the cushy surface of the ottoman and allowed a wide smile to crease his face. One might have expected Raven to wake up first and be surprised to find Robin's arms wrapped around her, but in some odd turn of events, the reality was quite the opposite.

Their nap had started out innocently enough with Robin on his stomach and Raven on her side, back against him and all arms tucked tightly against their owners. But at some point in the last four hours, Robin had managed to grab hold of Raven's cloak and roll over, facing away from the other Titans, and take most of said cloak with him. Searching for warmth in her sleep, Raven, too, had turned away from the other Titans, and now she was pressed tightly against Robin's back. Her arms hugged his chest, and Robin briefly wondered how on earth her arm could be comfortable stuck beneath him. She had drawn her legs up to her body, but with Robin's own form in the way, her lower body had twisted itself towards the ceiling so her knees now rested against Robin's hip. He felt her breath tickle at the back of his neck and her nose nuzzled deeper into the dip where his neck met his shoulder.

It was easily Robin's favorite morning in recent memory.

Beast Boy snored again as he rolled off the couch and hit the ground with a soft thud. Robin waited for the boy to rise with a complaint, but with a loud snuffle, Beast Boy was soon fast asleep again. Behind him, though, Raven began to stir. He felt her eyelashes flutter and heard the soft intake of her breath as she realized the position she had put herself in. And it was through no fault of his own, Robin thought to himself. She softly tugged at the arm trapped beneath the boy wonder's body, and Robin would have loved to continue pretending he was asleep if she hadn't been trying so hard to be quiet about her escape. A chuckle rumbled through his chest.

"I hate you," she muttered. Robin grinned and let her reclaim her arm. "Blanket hog," she added as she took her cloak back and turned over so her back was against his. Unfazed, Robin rolled over and happily settled his arm across her curled up body.

"I said I would share," he teased. "I never said I would be your teddy bear."

"I don't even sleep with that," Raven huffed, both of them referring to the secret bear she kept tucked away in her closet.

"So you say," Robin responded, hugging her close to his chest.

"You're walking on thin ice," she warned. Raven felt his ungloved hand find an opening in her cloak cocoon, and soon his fingers were gently stroking her arm. The soft caress sent her eyelids fluttering closed again, but she fought the urge to sleep.

"You don't seem to mind," he whispered, lips all too close to her ear for her liking. Robin was faintly aware of a light bulb in the hallway breaking; it wasn't often Raven's emotions escaped like that anymore. As the other three began to stir, he pressed a kiss in the hollow behind her ear before quickly moving to sit on the couch, smirking at the small gasp that escaped her when he kissed her.

"I feel like I got hit by a truck," Cyborg groaned, sitting up straight and cracking his neck.

"Agreed. I still feel log-tired," Starfire moaned as she allowed herself to slide off the couch onto the carpet.

"Dog tired, Star," Beast Boy said as he rolled onto his back into a green puppy to stretch. The fact that he woke up on the floor seemed to have no effect on Beast Boy.

"But do you not 'sleep like a log'?" the redhead asked.

"I slept like a log and I'm still dog-tired," Robin said. His eyes had not left Raven. She was still curled in a tight ball, clearly trying to compose herself before entering the conversation or even sitting up.

"It's too early for this," Cyborg retorted. "Dogs, logs, hogs, bogs, whatever. I'm eating eggs then going back to my room to finish charging and get some real sleep."

"I do believe I will follow your example, friend Cyborg," Starfire said groggily, though she made no move to get off the floor and follow the cybernetic boy into the kitchen. Raven sat up and rubbed her forehead, wincing as her body protested its cushion abandonment.

"You okay?" Robin asked, concern replacing humor on his face.

"I need to get rid of this," she said, holding out her wrist. The lightning bolt still glowed softly against her pale skin. "I think it's interfering with my healing in some way."

"You have the proper items for the spell?" Starfire asked, overhearing. Cyborg had reentered the room with a plate of eggs and paused in his food inhalation.

"Sure that's a good idea, Rae?" he asked. "I don't want you disappearing again." Beast Boy nodded his agreement, and Raven once again felt her heart swell with warmth and affection towards her friends. She graced them with a small smile.

"I know the spell," she said gently. The fact that she had not given them anything more reassuring than that did not go unnoticed by her teammates.

"I'll watch over you," Robin said softly, standing up. She looked at his outstretched hand and placed her own in it, letting him pull her up off the ottoman.

"We will monitor the Tempest," Starfire assured them as she finally got off the floor. Robin shook his head.

"No," he told them. "Get sleep while you can. Cyborg can keep tabs on any activity while he's plugged in."

"If there's even a squeak of thunder, I'll know," Cyborg nodded towards them. "Get rid of him, Rae."

Raven gave her friends another smile and she and Robin walked towards the door, his hand at the small of her back as if she would vanish or collapse at any moment. Normally, this would be annoying and cause for at least a barb, if not a scathing glare and a shove. But not today. Maybe it was because she was tired; maybe it was because she was hurting. Whatever the reason, today it was welcome, and Raven did not care to fight it.

The walk to her room took no time at all, and soon the pair was standing in front of Raven's wall of books. Robin's hand slid from her back to her hip, his arm circling her back as he pulled her gently into his side. Sighing, Raven let her head rest against his shoulder. He knew she was worried, scared even, though she would never say it.

"You'll be fine?" he asked in a low voice, looking at the tomes as if they were about to leap off the shelf and bite him.

"There isn't any other option," she responded.

"Raven," he intoned, turning to look at her with his brows furrowed.

"No, Robin," she said sharply, twisting away from him. "I need to do this. I need to get rid of him." Raven felt her voice break slightly and she crossed her arms over her chest, eyes focused on the titles of the books in front of her. She felt Robin at her back.

"Okay," he said simply. She felt herself trembling slightly and gripped her arms tighter to try and calm herself. She would not be branded or controlled. Her breath came in short, quiet gasps as she felt heat prick at the corner of her eyes. Tempest had caught her off guard, almost drowned her, sent her someplace completely out of her control, and for what? For fun? Hot anger climbed up her spine to meet the fear in her chest. The last time she had tried a spell of this magnitude, a dragon had tried to destroy her.

"Okay," Robin said again, and then his arms were around her, hands over hers, hugging her tight as if he was trying to help her still her quivering self. "Just tell me what to do."

Neither moved for a full minute. Raven took deep meditative breaths, letting the anger and fear slip from her lips to be replaced by a blanket of calm. If she were going to have any hope of accomplishing this, she had to be completely focused.

"Once this begins," she said softly, "you cannot come into the circle I make. Promise me, Robin. No matter what happens, you have to stay out."

"I promise."

…

Robin yawned quietly, stretching his back as he shook himself. He was trying to stay awake, he really was, but Raven's bed was so soft and he was still so tired. And then there was the cadence of her soft chanting, lulling him to sleep as he breathed in the sweet smell of burning candles. Robin shook his head again, blinking rapidly. In retrospect, sitting on Raven's bed was probably a recipe for sleep, but he figured he should be as far back from her as possible, and so here he was sitting on the end of her bed, legs crossed and chin propped up on his fist as he watched her.

Raven had been chanting and meditating for hours, books floating around her like papery balloons, all within the circle of candles Robin was strictly instructed to stay out of. Ribbons of smoke curled upwards from the tapered wax to create a thin veil around Raven. The flickering of the flame was the only light in the room despite the window; clouds still covered the sky. Robin guessed it was nearing evening, yet there had been no sign of sun all day long. It was as if Jump City was in perpetual night with the heavy storm clouds above it.

Sighing, Robin shifted again. He felt another nap coming. Raven had given him permission to sleep, after all. So he had napped, shuteye peppering the hours spent waiting for her to open her eyes again and float back to the ground. The most interesting thing to happen had been hours ago, maybe one hour into the ritual, when she had created a salve for her wrist. It had floated up from a small chalice on the ground, followed by a stretch of white linen, and Robin had watched in fascination as the linen wrapped itself tightly around Raven's wrist. Her black magic had been conspicuously absent from the movement, and that was really the only reason it was more interesting than anything else. Not ten minutes after that, Robin had taken his first nap.

The cloth glowed softly, light blue like Raven's healing powers, and the room hummed with energy, as it had since noon. Robin took one of her pillows and moved to lie on his stomach, head at the end of the bed so he could keep his eye on Raven. Slowly, his eyes fluttered closed as the lilac of her pillow curled into his nose. He breathed deeply, sinking further into the soft bed with a smile as he drifted off to sleep.

Boom!

A sound like muted thunder sent Robin flying into the air as he leapt into his battle stance, bare feet balanced on Raven's comforter. The scene had changed. With several pops like firecrackers, the floating books crashed to the ground as the candles blazed higher. Raven was frozen in her meditative pose and the bandage no longer glowed blue. The white linen had been replaced by a sinister red, golden crackles of electricity sparking through and around it. Raven's hands were curled into tight fists and Robin leapt off the bed, but stopped short right before he reached the circle of candles.

He had promised he would not interfere, Robin reminded himself. He fought back the instinct to run to her and began pacing back and forth at the end of her bed instead, watching. Raven's eyes were squeezed shut and her jaw was clenched in a painful grimace. The energy in the room no longer hummed, but rumbled. Robin felt his skin prickle in anticipation and a sound like a crack of lightning split through the room, sending Robin flying back into Raven's dresser as a flash of white light blinded him.

Groaning, Robin blinked to clear his vision. The room was dark, all the candles blown out. Raven was sprawled on the ground in the middle of the room. Hauling himself to his knees, Robin crawled a few feet towards her.

"Raven?" he ventured. She responded with a soft moan of pain, though she still did not move.

"Raven?" Robin said again, more urgently. He heard her sharp intake of breath and she rolled onto her side. Her eyes were still closed, but she hauled herself into a sitting position, weight supported on her arms as she breathed heavily.

"Can I break the circle now?" Robin was hovering just on the edge of it, watching his best friend struggle to remain upright. Raven nodded slightly, and that was enough to send Robin flying towards her just as her arms buckled. Robin put his hand on her back, waiting for her to catch her breath. Raven's elbows were now supporting her, and Robin felt her shake beneath his hand. He brushed some of her hair back from her sweat-slicked forehead, tucking it behind her ear so he could look at her face. Her eyes were still closed.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked.

"It was a strong spell," Raven whispered after a few seconds. "But I think it worked." Robin helped her back up into a sitting position, but when he saw she could not stop swaying, he half-picked her up and moved them closer to her bed so Raven could sit with her back against the furniture. Robin sat in front of her, legs on either side of her small frame in case she fell over.

"You look awful," Raven said as she cracked an eye open. Robin smiled despite himself.

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black," he replied, bringing a hand up to cradle the side of Raven's face. He felt her pulse hammering beneath his fingers where they touched her neck. Raven gave him a half smile.

"Moment of truth," she murmured, holding her left arm out. Robin reached down to unwrap the bandage. Beneath the white linen, all that was left was a faint lightning bolt. No more glowing outline, no more words, no more sparks. It was just a pale scar.

Their sighs of relief were matched on the inhale and the exhale, both lowering their heads and neither surprised when their foreheads met. Robin took Raven's hands in his, their intertwined fingers resting between them on Raven's lap. Raven felt her heart finally begin to calm and her breathing even out. She felt so drained, but she knew this whole ordeal with Tempest was not done yet. For now, though, she was quite content to sit on her floor with Robin, her hands grasped gently in his as their breath mixed in the small space between them.

In that moment, all barriers between the two were gone, all mental walls abandoned. Raven felt each of Robin's emotions as they washed over her; relief, affection, trust, a bit of worry, and... love. That was the emotion she could never quite put her finger on before: love. All those weeks of Robin's unbridled emotions directed at her, his silent patience as he waited for her to finally, finally realize what he wanted without verbally asking for it, and here it was. Sure, Raven supposed she knew before exactly what that emotion was on some level, but she hadn't allowed herself to dwell on it too much before. And Robin had been patient, knowing her predilection for avoiding change. Instead of cornering her and announcing his feelings, he had shown her what he felt through their bond and her empathy, knowing this gave her the chance to either ignore it completely or let it in and accept it.

She knew all of this, had always known all of this, and that realization did not send her emotions spiraling into a tailspin and it did not send her heart pounding once more. That was the biggest surprise, Raven thought. She had always imagined love would be like walking along a beach and suddenly getting hit with a big wave, feet swept out from under her and mind reeling as she spiraled along the sand. But this was nothing like that. It was as if she had wandered near the ocean, dipping her toes in the water, and then one day realizing she was no longer walking on the sand but floating in the surf. There was no grand declaration, no paralyzing fear or instinct to disappear, and this was something that was so unlike Raven while at the same time so very like her. Logical progression, she thought. That and the fact that Robin knew her so well, of course he would know just how to go about falling in love with her. Of course he would know just how she might fall in love with him.

Robin felt Raven go still, her hands gently tensing in his. He knew she had come to a realization, and now she was thinking, going through the past few weeks with uncanny recall. She knew what he was doing, what he had been doing. Robin's secret, though, was that he was fairly certain he already knew how she felt in return. He had met Love in Nevermore, after all. So he sat and waited with no worry in his heart, only certainty of the inevitable. And perhaps a little impatience. It had been weeks, after all, and he wasn't perfect.

"Moment of truth," he whispered, repeating Raven's earlier words. He felt her draw back from him slightly, their foreheads separating so she could tilt her eyes up to meet his.

"I know," Raven responded just as quietly. She knew he loved her, loved her wholeheartedly.

"And you?" Robin asked. He felt her lace her fingers through his and squeeze his hands gently. That reassurance was all he needed for now. Robin tilted his head and leaned forward ever so slightly, gently claiming Raven's lips in a soft kiss. One of her hands escaped his, fingers moving to gently dance along his cheek as she pressed her mouth to his. There would be time for poetic declarations later.

…

The bleeding had not stopped, Tempest noted with despair as he pressed his hand into his side. He rose from the bed to change the bandages, glad that he could at least walk a bit now, stooped over as he was. He struggled to the opening of the cave to peek out into the bay. In the distance, beyond the cloud cover, he saw the sun beginning to set. How long had he been asleep? It could not be more than a day, he decided. Truly, he was surprised neither the Titans nor the great powers had come for him yet. The cave was a better hiding spot than he ever could have imagined. Tempest sighed with a bit of relief and limped back to his makeshift dining room table. Sinking onto a rock, he drummed his fingers on the table, thinking. Night brought peace and safety. He would be able to sleep; he could gather more energy for one final attack. With that thought giving him strength, Tempest tied the white bandages tight against his wound and collapsed back into his bed.

Sorry if this feels incomplete or subpar, but I really wanted to give y'all an update this week and I know I'll be busy all weekend with no time to work on this. Hope you enjoyed it! Leave a review, please?