It was not a good night for either of the birds. Raven tossed and turned for the remainder of the night while Robin was too mad to sleep. He wasn't mad at Raven, a bit upset that she didn't tell him, sure, but his anger was towards the poser wizard who groomed her for a week. He wanted to let his aggression out at the gym, but he promised himself, Raven, and Cyborg, that he would stay with her for the night. So not being able to sleep, he watched over her, tossing around scenarios and potential conversations in his head.

When he calmed down enough and was able to do things without slamming them down in anger, he picked up what had fallen during Raven's confession and put them back in their places, still minding his volume so he wouldn't wake her up.

It was mostly books that had fallen, thankfully, but there was one opened on the floor that he didn't recognize. Briefly recognizing the handwriting on the pages as he picked it up, he quickly closed it once he realized it was Raven's journal. He blushed in spite of himself, not wanting to imagine how that would play out if she were awake and in shame for wanting to read through it. He didn't know if there was anything else major that she was keeping to herself that he should be aware of, but ironically even if he had read through it he only would have found out that she wanted a cat.

He sat down at his chair when he was finished and let his mind wander to just a few hours ago, replaying the conversation as he tried to keep his emotions in check in case she would sense them and wake up.

There were many things he wanted to tell her then. But what he didn't tell her, and didn't know if he was going to, was that while she told him what happened, he got flashes of memories from their bond. He saw it from her point of view. Everything. He saw the way Malchior approached her, felt his semi soft paper hands carrasses his-her body. He felt the uncomfortable shiver that went down their spine and the names whispered in their ears. "My Raven. Small dove. Little one."

He shuddered at the memory. If this is how uncomfortable he felt he couldn't imagine how Raven was feeling. And that she was taking the blame for it?

He looked at her from where he sat in his chair and soberly shook his head.

What was he going to do now that he finally knew what plagued his friend? How would he handle this? How would he help her? But realistically he knew that there wasn't anything he could do. As much as it pained him, he couldn't fix this for her. What had happened happened and there was no turning back time to prevent it. She is the one who has to process everything and take the time to heal. There wasn't much he could do other than be there for support or help her think through any thoughts or feelings she had.

Around 8, he heard Raven stir and felt her consciousness gradually become more pronounced.

She was the one who turned over to look at him, averting her eyes from his when the memories from that night started becoming more clear, a wicked headache greeting her from all her crying that night.

"How did you sleep?" He asked, aware he wasn't wearing his mask and making an effort to not let too much show through his eyes.

"Not well." She admitted. "How did you sleep?"

"Also not well." He didn't sleep at all but he wasn't going to tell her that. She would just blame herself. He saw her open her mouth to apologize and stopped her. "Don't apologize."

She closed it and grabbed a handful of her quilt and turned on her back. "What if I am sorry though?"

"Then I won't listen."

She sighed. It was a rough night and she didn't have the energy to argue with him. Last night was the first time she saw Robin cry, really cry, now that she thought of it, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at that. Turning back to look at him, the noise of the sound machine became apparent once she remembered it was still on. "Thank you, for last night."

"You're welcome. I want you to know that I will always be here for you, and so will the others." He replied and stood up, giving a tired stretch. Not letting her have any room to debate that, he asked, "What do you want for breakfast?"

"You don't have to make anything, it's fine."

"I'm going to. What would you like?"

"Really, you don't have-" she saw the exhausted look he gave her. He looked about ready to disintegrate if she kept countering him. "Crepes."

He nodded and grabbed a mask as he made his way to the door. "Would you prefer to eat in here or will you come out?"

She thought long and hard in the two seconds it took her to respond. It was early enough that there wouldn't be many people up and about, but she didn't know if she had the strength to face anybody. "Is it ok if I eat in here? And can you not tell the others about what happened?" She asked nervously.

"Of course. I'll bring you a plate when I'm done."

When Robin left she just laid down for a while and closed her eyes to help ease her headache. Not yet sleeping, but the constant whir of the noise machine started to gently lull her into a light doze, flashes of quick animations danced across her eyes and sudden bursts of sounds joined as she let her mind wander into the dreamscape.

Robin dragged himself across the kitchen gathering ingredients here and there along the way.

"Flour, sugar, vanilla, butter, salt, egg" he listed out loud. Looking at them sitting on the counter he tried to rack his brain to figure out what was missing but it came up blank. Shrugging he started cooking. It'll come to him eventually.

He decided to make half a batch, enough for him to have a few too. Momentarily forgetting how many lines an ⅛ cup of butter was and slowly counting and recounting, he eventually melted it and stirred in the egg.

Taking a moment to pause, he knew this was the step in which something was missing. His brain looked like a desert with a stray tumbleweed blowing by when he remembered. "Milk!" He practically shouted. "Because I need to rinse off the ¼ measuring cup twice." He told himself.

Although he forgot the milk at first, he knew she preferred Beast Boy's oat milk over regular cows milk. She said it tastes less like milk and made it sweeter, but honestly Robin couldn't tell the difference. Either way, he unscrewed the cap and carefully poured the milk into the small blue measuring cup and dumped it into the butter and egg mixture, mixing in the vanilla before he forgot that too.

Cyborg came strolling cheerfully in as Robin measured out the sugar. It looked more like he was a mad scientist trying to get precise measurements rather than making breakfast.

"Hey man!" The metal Titan greeted. "How'd last night go?"

Robin looked up and Cyborg couldn't help the audible gasp/noise of horror that escaped his lips. "So uh, not well I'm guessing." He said after trying to cover his reaction with a cough and a throat clear.

"You could say that." He said devoid of any emotion.

"Oh geez, what happened?" He asked, sitting across from him at one of the bar stools.

Robin sighed and stirred the sugar. He added too much but she liked them sweet anyway. "She had a moment," he decided, keeping his word but still being truthful. "Neither of us got much sleep."

"So what are you cooking? I would gladly do it if you're too tired."

Robin shook his head. "I need to do this." He scooped out the flour and stirred it with vigor, adding a touch of salt at the end.

"Okay." Cyborg drew out watching his leader aggressively stir the batter. He looked a mess. His hair was all kollywonkle, mask crooked a tad, dark bags poking out from under the black fabric, and the most notable, he was still in his pajamas. Occasionally he would mutter and mumble under his breath, incomprehensible but the tone made Cyborg raise a brow. "Sooo, where's Rae?"

"Still in my room." He said, starting the first crepe.

"You said she had a moment last night, what happened?"

It didn't go unnoticed how Robin tightly gripped the spatula as it shook slightly. He tried to play it off by flipping the crepe but cursed when it folded in half.

"Ok, why don't you go sit down and I can finish them from here." Cyborg declared and stood up.

"I got it." Robin insisted, trying to unstick the crepe but burned his finger. "Ugh, nevermind! Here."

Cyborg took the spatula and gently pushed the ruffled bird towards the couch, managing to take the crepe off before it burnt to a crisp.

"Thanks." Robin sighed as he plopped down on the couch.

"No problem man. How would you like them to be prepared?"

"Chocolate and strawberries for Raven. I don't care how mine turn out." He said and laid down, pulling a stray blanket over him, closing his eyes.

"Gotcha." Cyborg nodded. He wanted to press more about what happened last night but Robin was obviously not in any shape or form to discuss that topic. It worried him, seeing how pissed his leader appeared, but then he had to tell himself that it couldn't be that bad if he didn't tell him, right? He knew the birds liked to keep their secrets but there weren't many things that made the spiky haired teen act this way.

He finished the crepes in silence, not wanting to disturb Robin who appeared to be asleep, or trying to be.

About 8 crepes were made, so he split them in half. 4 for Rae, 4 for Rob. He decided to do them the same, knowing they both liked chocolate and strawberries. And because he felt like Robin needed a little pick me up, so he didn't skimp out on his either.

Being as quiet as he could, he made his way over to the couch and whispered "Are you asleep?" Silence was his response. So he gently placed the plate down on the coffee table in front of him and made his way to deliver the other bird's breakfast, having a suspicion that she wouldn't be gracing them with her presence just yet.

Approaching Robin's room, he tapped on the door, giving Raven the chance to come open the door or call out that she'll be there in a second. Not hearing anything, he opened the door and announced his presence in a hushed tone in case she didn't hear him, but was greeted with the sight of her completely sprawled out on the bed. They liked to tease her about how when she was asleep she often looked like a child, arms above her head, usually a fistful of a blanket in her hand, and typically another one thrown across her head. That was the sight he walked into. All of the above, arms up and hands fisted in the blanket that laid across her head.

He couldn't help but take a moment to watch her and smile. She'd been so stressed and so unlike herself lately that a pang of sadness went through his heart watching her sleep. If only she could find this peace again.

Tiptoeing as quietly as he could, barely audible taps of his metal feet joining the whooshing sound of the sound machine, he put her plate on the nightstand. Taking another moment to watch her, he placed a hand gently atop her head as if he could suck out all her worries and dispose of them. But that wasn't possible, so he gave her a careful pat and left to collect wood from the store, another day of rebuilding ahead.

"Is he even alive?"

"I am unsure."

"Is he breathing? I can't tell."

"Go see."

Beast Boy whimpered as he slowly approached the lump on the couch that looked nearly identical to roadkill. Moving a shaking hand out to it and giving it a firm poke, yelped then sighed in relief when his hand was slapped away. "Dude, we thought you were dead!"

Robin opened his eyes under his mask to see Beast Boy and Starfire crowded around him, the green teen starting to chuckle and the red haired girl with her hands still pressed to her chest in concern.

"Are you ill?" She asked.

"No." He groaned and sat up against his mind, body, and soul's wishes. "Just tired."

"Rough night?" Beast Boy asked, searching for the remote.

"You could say that."

"Where is Raven and Cyborg?" Starfire asked, looking around and not seeing them.

"Raven is… maybe still asleep." He tried to rack his brain on where she was in the present but her emotional signature barely came through. "Cyborg, uh, I don't know."

"Very informative." Beast Boy commented flopping down onto the couch after finding the remote and turning on some loud show, his spacial awareness lacking.

Robin sighed and decided to get up and move, the peace disturbed. He spotted the plate of crepes on the table and took them with him as he left the room.

He decided to go to his room in hopes that maybe he could doze for a bit more before the day kicked off.

For a moment he forgot he had a guest and dropped the plate on his desk with a heavy thump, peeled the mask off his eyes, and unceremoniously flopped face down on the nest of blankets and pillows welcoming any sleep that decided to grace upon him.

Raven opened her eyes abruptly as a hard thump brought her back to consciousness.

She had fallen asleep.

She had fallen asleep. And nothing bad happened. No nightmares, memories, faint whispers, ghosts of his touch, nothing. She doubted she slept for long, but it was a nice change from the past week of waking up in a panic.

Turning to her side and opening her eyes a sliver, she saw Robin spread out on his pile of blankets as if he just dropped like a sack of potatoes. He was out.

She watched him for a few moments, his back rhythmically rising and falling, before she sat up and got dressed. She wanted to go back to sleep, oh how she enjoyed her brief nap, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep again.

Spotting the plate of crepes on the nightstand, she gave it a look as if saying 'I'm going to enjoy you later' and got herself ready for the day.

Raven was glad to have her clothes back. She appreciated Robin sharing his and would be lying if she denied she liked them, but familiarity was something she was lacking and was glad to have again, even if it was in the form of a shirt and leggings. She considered changing into her uniform, it being the proper thing to do, but the material clung to her and that was the last thing she wanted to feel.

She met her gaze in the mirror, willing herself to not look away this time. Her face showed obvious signs that she cried last night. Her eyes were still red and swollen, dark bags hanging under them like they have all week. Her cheeks were still dusted with remnants of a flush but at least her headache was subsiding.

Standing in the doorframe of the bathroom, she looked at her sleeping friend again while she decided to let him rest and pay a visit to her room, bringing her breakfast with her.

Her room looked just the same as yesterday but she couldn't help think that this wasn't her room. How could it be? There was nothing left that reminded her of it. She felt like a stranger in her own room.

The containers of paint were still where she left them and she made her way over to them, wanting a distraction.

She was surprised when she picked one of them up and she felt a warm shiver go down her spine. She looked down at it to find it was the hydrangea blue purple color she had initially thought of when the thought of painting her room first crossed her mind.

"Well, guess this is the one." She commented, setting it down away from the others and sat on her reading ledge starting her breakfast, quietly watching the water sway below.

The peace didn't last long. Cyborg came in bopping his head along to a song he was singing out of tune, combinations of humming, scatting, and low mumbles switched with each other as he carried in measuring tools which almost flew into the air in shock seeing he wasn't alone.

"Jesus Christ!" He yelled in shock, clutching a hand to his heart. "You need to stop doing that. My heart can only handle so much."

"Do what? I'm just sitting here?" She teased.

"You need a bell or something."

"How would a bell help if I'm just sitting here."

"Girl." He tisked and shook his head, placing his materials on a sturdy part of the bookshelf. "Are you going to help or just sit there mockingly?"

He smiled in spite of herself, always having fun poking at him and stood up. "With what?"

"I went out and got the wood for the shelves. I did all the measurements and just have to put them together."

He saw the look of displeasure on her face.

"Or, you can start painting while I do the shelves."

"Sounds good."

"That's pretty much what I thought." He chuckled. "If you want to get the big brushes, they're in the basement with the other building stuff."

She nodded and departed, Beast Boy and Starfire coming in seconds after to see what work is going to be done.

Robin stepped out of the shower with a heavy sigh. Glad to have finally woken up but dreading any other major events or reveals that the day might bring.

Last night was rough enough, and it wasn't even his problem. He wanted to go ballistic on the damn book for daring to lay a hand on his friend. But he had to be calm. Collected. For his friend.

Hearing commotion down the hall, he went to go see what was going on and was surprised to see them working without Raven.

"Hello!" Starfire cheerfully greeted, waving a hammer dangerously close to Beast Boy's head. "Are you feeling more alive?"

"Alive enough." He gave a smile. "Where's Raven? Didn't expect you guys to be working without her."

"She's getting brushes or something." Beast Boy shrugged, taking the hammer from Starfire before she could accidentally bash his head in. "How did last night go?"

Robin raised a brow under his mask, making one side larger than the other as if asking how he knew.

"I know it's none of my business, but I could hear you both," he gestured to his ears, heightened senses explaining how he knew, "and I just want to know if she's ok or not."

The other two looked at him with a questioning glance, this being news to one but the other finally getting the answer to his earlier question.

Robin took a deep breath. "What did you hear?"

"Crying."

Robin nodded.

"She cried?" Starfire gasped, hands to her mouth.

"Why was she crying?" Cyborg said in a hard tone.

"I don't think it's really my place to say-"

"Why was she crying?!" Cyborg demanded.

Robin blinked at the sudden burst of protectiveness before carrying on. There was only so much dancing around the subject he and the others could take and he knew if she didn't tell them what had happened, it was going to be another dinner scenario.

"She had some memories come up about something that happened last week."

"What happened?" Beast Boy asked, his tone a mix of seriousness and nervousness as his grip on the hammer tightened.

"He…well-"

"He assaulted her, didn't he?" Cyborg interrupted, connecting the dots.

Robin's silence was their answer.

"Man."

"That is unforgivable!"

"Fuck! I should have said something earlier."

"No, Beast Boy, it's not your fault." Robin consoled.

"I could have prevented it from going that far." He swung the hammer in anger, at himself and for his friend he saw as his older sister. "I mean, I saw him touch her. I saw it. And I didn't say anything."

"You wouldn't have known man." Cyborg put a hand on his shoulder. "I shoulda ripped that book to shreds and fed it to Silkie."

"His stomach is most unforgivable." Starfire spoke up. "He cannot live unpunished."

"I thought she was happy." Beast Boy shook his head. "I mean, she was giggling at him. I thought she would have said something if he, ugh."

"I'm going to tell you what I told her." Robin started. "None of it is your fault. It's his."

"I know I know, but… god."

"I found the brushes but I don't know where the trays- oh." Raven stopped when she saw everyone in her room, not expecting anyone other than Cyborg to be there. Then she saw their faces. The pity, the anger, the compassion and support, and Robin not meeting her gaze.

He told them.

She could see it on their face clear as day. She could feel their emotions, suffocating her.

"Oh." She repeated.

"Raven." Starfire said gently, starting to slowly approach her.

With every step the alien took forward Raven took one back.

"Just, stop." Then she left.