(Thank you for the suggestion for the ending, 13DeadSilence13, I appreciate the input. I'm not sure if it will fit with how the next five chapters have been flowing, but we'll see. Once again, I really do appreciate every word all of you type for a review, few really take the time to show an author how much they care about a story. I hope you continue to enjoy the story. ~RavensMind~)

Chapter 8: A Date Is? ..Hang on...Unique

Waking up, Raven looked at her clock, noting that it was 7:40 a.m. Glancing to the foot of her bed, she saw that Robin was awake and sitting up, facing the door. Was he up all night? Or did he just decide not to wake her? Watching him, she debated stirring, he seemed peaceful and on one hand: she didn't want to disturb him, on the other: she felt like moving to join him. It was already mid-morning... She had to get up. Choosing to join him, she pushed the covers off and crawled to his side. Hearing her stir, Robin turned his head and smiled at her as she moved into place beside him.

"Hey. Did you sleep well?" Robin asked.

"Yes. You don't look like you did," Raven said.

"I slept for a few hours, a lot of things on my mind, you know?"

"I do... Before we get into any discussions, we both need to shower and change into clean clothes."

"Right. My clothes are in my room, so I'll grab some for the week and a few other things while you shower. I'm really glad that we decided to add a bathroom for each of our bedrooms."

"You and I already had our own."

"I know, but we had to flip for who had to referee for the others when they all got up at once, remember?"

"Yes, I miss the headaches I got from all the yelling, they were transcendent..." she said dryly.

"Definitely," he said, chuckling.

"Go and get what you need, I'm going to go take a shower."

"Alright. I'll be back in a few minutes..."

"Stop it."

"What?"

"Thinking about me in the- ."

"You heard that that fast? Um...sorry, but give me some credit, I didn't have one thought like that all through the night."

"Okay...just...at least try and hide them better, it isn't that difficult. I don't want to know what fantasies you have about me yet."

"So, what do your fantasies about me look like?"

"Right, because I'm dying to tell you."

"You know one of mine; I should know one of yours."

"...Later, we need to get ready, now go."

Robin left Raven's room after she went into her bathroom, she was still limping. Seeing that made him revisit last night's attack. He couldn't believe that there was no security breach found, it unsettled him. And Beast Boy had apparently slept through all of it, the others didn't try too hard to get him up either, that just made him angry. Did they expect he and Raven to watch all of them, get all of them on track, and keep them there? Terra and Cyborg and been getting better at handling most of their tasks, but Starfire was the one they had sent to get Beast Boy. Why didn't Terra do it? Why didn't Starfire try harder? Ugh... Spending more time with Raven meant that both he and Raven had to be sure that the others could get along and stay organized, ready to go at a moment's notice. Thinking about that, he wondered if he should be getting involved with Raven, they both had responsibilities and being detached from the team to be with each other wasn't good for the team. And she didn't exactly have an amazing personality... But, she made him feel better, she listened, and maybe that was enough. He felt bad about those thoughts as soon as they passed his mind. They had barely spent any time together, it was stupid to judge it all at that moment.

Entering his room, Robin grabbed his clothes, some things from his bathroom, and debated bringing a sleeping bag he had in his closet. He didn't want her to think he brought it to avoid being closer to her... Finally he just decided to take it. Walking down the hall, he ran into Terra.

"Hey, Robin. Where are you going with your clothes...sleeping bag and...is that your toothbrush?" Terra asked.

"Hi, Terra. Since I'm going to be keeping a close eye on Raven, I need something to sleep on, and a few changes of clothes and stuff for the morning," Robin said.

"Sure... You're really serious about this 'bodyguard' thing, huh?"

"Why wouldn't I be? If we can't even detect the threat...It's just a different situation altogether."

"Ohhh. Well, we had something like that happen a few years ago to Cyborg and you didn't guard him."

"She's different, this is different, Cyborg didn't need stitches or anything."

"Yeah...What do you mean she's different?"

"Why are you so interested in why I'm guarding her?"

"It's just a little surprising, you haven't done that before for anyone, and she would shoot someone before letting them set one foot in her room for longer than twenty seconds even if she needed help."

"Like I said, this is different."

"It's not that different."

"...What do you want?"

"Okay, I'll back off... I want to know what Raven thinks about all of this and I need to talk to her about something."

"She's fine with the plan. And whatever it is you need to talk to her about, you can tell me, I could help."

"Beast Boy and I are taking a break from dating for a while."

"Since when?"

"Since yesterday."

"That must be why he didn't respond last night to Starfire when we needed help."

"Maybe...I'm sorry; I didn't know how he would take it."

"Right... Please talk to him."

"I would, but I don't know what to say, I was going to talk to Raven and see if she could help me figure out what to say."

"Go talk to Cyborg, he knows Beast Boy better."

"Yeah, that makes sense... I'm still going to go and talk to Raven, I want to see how bad she's hurt."

"I told you, she needed stitches, she lost some blood, and she's limping."

"You didn't say she was limping... Is she-?"

"She's fine."

"Why don't you want me to talk to her?"

"You can, she just needs to rest, and I don't think flooding her mind with questions is a good idea right now."

"Okay. Then I won't stay long," Terra said.

Following Robin down to Raven's room, Terra wondered why Robin was acting so on edge. Maybe he didn't get any sleep; he could have been up worrying about another attack. This could turn into a long week... If both Robin and Raven were going to be out of earshot of her and the others, she would have to step up and keep the others under control. She wasn't looking forward to it. Especially having to talk to Beast Boy, it would be frustrating. Cyborg could help her, though, that thought reassured her.

When they reached Raven's room, Robin gestured for Terra to knock, as his hands were full. She did so, and immediately heard Raven's response: "You don't have to knock, Robin." Terra eyed Robin with curiosity, as Raven usually demanded that everyone knock. Robin ignored the look and motioned for her to open the door. Walking in with Robin, Terra looked at Raven, who was in a clean uniform, sitting on the bed patiently. She looked surprised to see Terra enter with Robin. Setting his sleeping bag down, Robin took his clothes and other things to Raven's bathroom.

"I won't take long," Robin said to Raven.

"Alright," Raven said.

As Robin shut the door, and turned on the shower, Terra came over to Raven and sat next to her.

"Hey... how are you feeling?" Terra asked.

"Fantastic..." Raven replied dryly.

"That bad? Where did you need stitches?"

"On the side of my stomach. Apparently I wrenched my leg, too, I'm limping quite a bit."

"Really? Sorry..."

"It isn't your fault."

"No, but we should have been there."

"One of you was all I needed, I guess."

"Yeah... Robin told me about last night. How do you feel about him staying as a...bodyguard until you're better?"

"I don't need him to, but he would be worrying about me a lot more if I didn't let him do something... And I don't need the subtle guarding he'd be doing; I'd rather see and know about it."

"I'm surprised you're letting him stay in your room."

"Why? It's not like he's Beast Boy or Starfire. They would tear my room apart just from curiosity. He won't."

"I suppose you're right. By the way, I need to talk to you about Beast Boy at some point."

"Why? Wait... I'm guessing he didn't know that the blender has an 'off' setting and just reached in and-"

"No, nothing like that!"

"Damn. I guess I haven't exactly been fortunate the past few days, why should that change now?"

"I told him I needed a break from him for a while..."

"Oh. Well, I can't exactly go to the mall with you or even down the stairs right now-."

"I know. I'm not asking you to, I just need to talk to someone..."

"And I want to, but I don't think I should, I'm not exactly going to defend him... unless pig shit turned purple, grew wings, and flew today; in which case I would take his side..."

"That makes me feel a little better already," Terra said, laughing,

"Good... Can we talk later? I'm not really up for it," Raven said.

"Yeah, I'm sure you need to rest."

"Thank you."

"Does it seem to you like Robin is acting differently?"

"Yes."

"Why do you think so?"

"Something managed to sneak past his security and attack someone close to him, I'd be acting differently too...Actually, I did agree to let him stay in here for a while, so I guess I am acting differently."

"Yeah, well, I'm going to go and watch the others, Cyborg and I will check in with you two at lunch and again at dinner."

"Thanks, Terra," Raven said.

"No problem, I'll see ya, feel better," Terra said.

With that, Terra smiled and left Raven's room. Glancing to her bathroom door, Raven wondered when Robin would be done so they could get on with the day. It shouldn't take too much longer, she thought. She heard the water still running, so it was a safe assumption to make. What would he do after? There was something he would have to add to his hair, she figured, it can't naturally be spiked like that. Maybe something he added in the shower-. Stop. Raven felt the direction her mind was headed and didn't want to indulge the fantasy. It's less of a fantasy, now, she thought. In the depths of her mind, Raven barely felt the primal pulse of where her mind wanted to go. An image of them together in the shower swelled in her mind's eye for less than a second or two, before she forcefully rammed it back out of view. Just then, she heard Robin turn off the shower, and the thought appeared again. Once more, she forced it from her mind. They would be having their conversation soon, what exactly would she say? What would he say? Should they even be thinking about this? The door to the bathroom opened and Robin stepped out, his chest was showing at the waist as he was pulling his shirt on. Raven watched longer than she knew she should have. As he clasped his cape around his neck and straightened his belt, he walked over to her, smiling. Robin sat down next to her, closer than she thought he would sit.

"Did Terra stress you out?" Robin asked.

"A little. It's nothing I can't deal with, though," Raven replied.

"Good. So… should- or…do you want to talk?" he asked, nervously.

"Yeah, I think we should."

"Alright… Do you want to start or…?"

"Not really, but I will if you don't want to."

"Okay. I care about you, you know that, and lately, I've been feeling like there is more to it than that. It's almost as if it had always been there, just…hidden. The more time we spend together, it gets a little clearer… I've been trying to push it away, because I don't know how it would affect you, or the others, or what else. But I keep thinking about it, I want to know what is still hidden… How do you feel about it?"

"I…I care about you, too. And I would have said yes when you asked me earlier, if I wasn't having trouble with my mind. I still am. Yet, I cannot seem to avoid what I have been feeling for you. As you pointed out, there are more than enough reasons for why we shouldn't even talk about it. I don't know what will happen if we keep going… I feel like I need to explore this, regardless…. The others don't need to know for a while, either… Let's see where this leads."

"Right. I'm glad we got that out of the way… So…what happens now?"

"Well… Normally, people go on dates… Is that what you were thinking?"

"Not really, that just doesn't sound...exactly possible right now," he said, indicating her wounds, "Or fun."

"We need to meditate together today, in here, would that count?" she asked.

"No. but, I think it could lead to something that would…" he said, grinning slightly.

"Hmm. We'll see about that…" she said, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"I wasn't serious."

"I know; I wasn't either. But we don't know how far this may lead us. That may happen, just not soon, I think."

"I would never force you."

"And I wouldn't force you."

"So, what do-," Robin started to say.

There was a knock at the door and Robin jumped from Raven's side in surprise.

"Who is it?" Raven asked, forcing her monotone voice.

"Rae, it's Cyborg, can I come in?" Cyborg asked.

"Sure," she said.

Entering, Cyborg only took a few steps inside, aware of Raven's usual rules.

"How are you doing?" Cyborg asked.

"I'm alright. Recovering slowly… Maybe I should just post a note on how I'm feeling on the wall outside…" Raven said.

"It might help," Robin said.

"Glad you're on the mend. Anyway, I just wanted to see you and tell you that Terra and I will bring lunch for both of you, unless Robin isn't actually welded to your side…" Cyborg said.

"It's in our best interests if I stay around her," Robin said.

"Yeah, I know. Get better Rae, I'll be back later with lunch," Cyborg said.

"Alright, thanks, Cyborg," she said.

"Anytime," Cyborg said, leaving, waving to Robin.

As soon as the door shut, Raven turned to Robin.

"Of course, if interruptions like that keep happening, who knows when we'll be feeling close enough to make any intimate decisions…" Raven said, returning to their conversation.

"No kidding…. So, what do we do now?" Robin asked.

"Meditate," Raven replied.

"That doesn't exactly sound like fun," he said.

"It's not. But we need to do it, it will help me. Maybe in the process, you'll get a better understanding of the problem with my mind, too."

"Okay, so where do we start?"

"Come here and sit next to me."

Robin walked over and sat down beside Raven.

"Face me."

"I saw you do this with Starfire once, you didn't have her face you…"

"That wasn't the same, and Starfire was only trying, she didn't actually achieve anything."

"Why should it work for me?"

"Our bond will let you do it."

"Okay," he said, facing her.

"Now, hold out your hands…" she said.

Robin did so and Raven gently took them in hers.

"Close your eyes…focus on my voice, and take a deep breath, this is going to hurt a little…" she said.

Closing his eyes, he breathed in; he felt his head grow heavy, and a sharp pain behind his forehead. Breathing out, he felt it subside a little. Then, although his eyes were closed, he realized he could see Raven, but nothing else around him.

"How am I seeing you, now?" he asked.

"You just opened your mind's eye using some of my power."

"I have your power?"

"It's limited to your mind, you won't be able to levitate or anything like that."

"Now what?"

"Try to let go of one of my hands in your mind, don't do it physically."

"How?"

"Just focus and picture yourself doing it."

"…I don't think it-," he started. To his surprise, in his mind's eye, he had let go of her hand, and felt light-headed and nauseous. In reality, he was still holding both of her hands.

"There. That wasn't so hard, was it? How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Really weak, like I'm going to pass out in a few minutes or something…"

"Alright. Now, let go of my other hand in your mind."

"I don't know if I should…"

"You have to, or this won't work…Trust me…"

Pushing himself, he let go of her other hand in his mind. Immediately, he felt better. Something seemed off about Raven in his mind's eye, he could see her getting weaker somehow.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"…No…" she responded.

"What's wrong?"

"I just siphoned some of my power to your mind, so you can meditate, and later I'll help you learn how to guard your mind from mine. I also let you experience how I had been feeling the past month. Now…I'm just exhausted, I need to let myself recover…" she explained," you can open your eyes now."

As Robin opened his eyes, he saw Raven pull away from his hands and turn to sit at the edge of the bed; she was breathing deeply and avoiding his gaze. He wasn't exactly sure why, if she was exhausted, she didn't need to move away from him like that. Moving to sit beside her, she inched away from him.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"I just can't…be close to you right now; I have to let my mind recover…" she said.

"Why can't you be close to me for that?"

"When my powers are recovering, my emotions aren't as controlled…I'll act differently…"

"But do you want to act that way, or-?"

"Part of me does…I can't explain right now…Just, give me a few minutes, please, Robin?"

The conversation was all that Raven wanted to focus on, if there had to be one. Not who was speaking, not how they felt, not where they were, and not what they were wearing. Her emotions were free. At that moment, as Robin was talking to her, her lust-drenched thoughts swelled as her emotion rose with them. Part of her was pulling her to just take him, while all of her reason fought back.

"If you think I'm going to leave you alone while you're hurt, or exhausted, whatever, you're crazy," he said.

"At least stand away from me…" she said, still breathing heavily.

"No," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

When he did, his mind's eye showed him Raven's current thought by accident. In her thought, he saw the both of them lying together under her covers, undressed. His mind's eye closed suddenly as Raven bolted from his side to stand by her bookshelf.

"Whoa…um. I…didn't think you were that interested in me already…" Robin said, embarrassed, flattered, and trying to talk to her.

"Just…shut up…" Raven said.

"No... we should talk…"

"Forget what you saw… and shut up!"

"Why are you pushing this away?"

"I said forget it!" she yelled.

Robin fell silent, trying to figure out exactly what was happening. It was obvious that Raven wasn't herself. Now, he knew that she was interested in going a lot further than she had let on. He also knew that he wasn't the only one having these thoughts already. Yet, something was making her resist.

"I can't," he said.

"Then shut. Up," she said.

"We can't even talk about-?"

"Shut. Up!"

"I'm not going to! You are trying to stop this for some reason, why-."

"You really don't know?"

"I don't."

"I won't let you chain yourself to something as screwed up, weird, and broken as me!" she said.

Falling silent again, Robin felt that Raven's words had pushed him to a sympathy he didn't think he'd share with anyone. He knew his short-comings, his tragic past, and his disconnection from others… he had thought he was more screwed up than she was. Maybe they weren't that different. The fact that she was willing to sacrifice her own desire for his benefit was very moving…

"Raven, I-," he started. Then there was a knock at the door.

Robin stopped and went over and opened the door. Terra smiled at him and handed him a tray of food and some drinks. She stopped smiling when she saw his face.

"Is there something wrong?" Terra asked.

"No… Are the others under control?" Robin asked.

"For now, they are. Eat up, and put the tray outside the door when you've finished your lunch…" Terra said, scanning Robin's face, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Thanks, Terra," he said.

"Anything you need?" she asked, looking past him to Raven, who was facing away from both of them on the other side of the room.

"No."

"Okay…"

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing, I guess. I'll be back later," she said.

"Okay," he said.

As Terra turned and left, Robin closed the door, and carried the tray over to the bed. Raven hadn't moved an inch. Putting the tray down, he stood, looking at Raven, getting back to what he wanted to say before Terra had interrupted.

"Raven?" he asked.

"I'm still not ready to talk yet…" she said through deep breaths.

"You're not any worse than I am… I doubt I wouldn't match any of those words. There is a lot about me I haven't shared with anyone," he said.

"Don't I know it? You expect a mile of information from me, while I get less than an inch from you… We're not getting past a hug unless you start meeting me half-way…"

"I'm sorry about that…but I've kept secrets for a long time, and it's hard to change."

"Then come back to me when you're ready to talk."

"Right…I didn't know how much you cared until this."

"I'm still learning myself…Maybe I'm just too un-balanced right now to know what I want or how I feel."

"Don't do that…"

"What?"

"Don't push away from this because of that."

"And you'll, what? Stop me if I do?"

"After what you showed me? Definitely."

"Stop. Ugh…Can we just eat and talk later?" she asked.

"...Alright," he replied.

Moving to the bed, Raven picked up her plate and started eating her lunch. She had stopped breathing heavily, which Robin thought was a good sign. Picking up his own plate and eating, his mind wandered. He had to do something; he didn't want her to stop before they had really explored anything. That meant he would have to share some of his past and he wasn't prepared for that. This wasn't something he thought he would have to discuss until much later, but Raven had a point. He knew more about her than she knew about him. What would he be most comfortable sharing? Revealing too much was a risk, and not just for him…

(The next chapter will be up in a week ~RavensMind~)