Author's Note
Okay, some important footnotes here. I am officially replacing Mas Y Menos with Kid Flash because 1) I like Kid Flash better 2) Mas Y Menos are totally a dumb rip off of Kid Flash and 3) My Spanish continues to linger slightly above terrible (and will continue to do so until I die. at which point I will probably become amazingly fluent.) So, Wally is Kid Flash. For all of you who don't know who the hell Kid Flash is, he's just the teen version of the Flash; the guy in tights who moves super fast. Anyone ever see the old movie the Flash? Ah . . . . the memories. It might be the worst movie ever made.
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Despite the fact that the other Titans had gone off for a victory dinner and she had the entire tower to herself, Raven chose to meditate down by the water's edge. Her emotions were out of balance; not dangerously so, but enough to irritate her. And Azar knew she was already irritated enough by Robin's recent behavior. On top of that, she was frustrated by the circumstances surrounding her and the lack of information she kept finding herself with. She still hadn't figured out how or why Slade was connected with her father and now she had a new unknown to deal with. How did the red suited man who shared familial blood with Slade tie into things? She had to admit it was difficult to think of Slade as having family. She supposed she just always assumed he had hatched from some evil egg somewhere. Not the case, apparently. He had a brother, which meant he must have had parents at some point.
The sea was calm and quiet; tiny waves lapped over each other. Near the horizon the sun was slowly sinking, causing the water to burn red and orange while the sky was beginning to fade into its nighttime hue of bluish-black. One could just begin to see the stars glowing faintly. The wind whistled softly over the island, ruffling Raven's cape as she made her way down to the beach.
The perfect spot, the perfect time for some meditation, she thought as she settled down into the lotus position. Closing her eyes she levitated three feet off the ground and centered herself, feeling the dark energy inside of her gather in the center of her chest. Almost immediately the world fell into the background; she could hear the breeze rustling over the rocks and the sea as it splashed against the shore but the sounds were very far away, as if she were listening through a seashell. A soothing calm washed over her that was like a cool cloth on a feverish forehead. The jagged edges of emotions began to smooth themselves out and the pressure of having to repress them slowly faded. There, alone with only her thoughts for company, she felt at peace; as content as she could hope to be. In the back of her mind was a small pang of regret that contentment could only come with solitude. But she would gladly suffer far more than loneliness in order to keep the world, and her friends, safe.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."
She chanted the magic words softly, drawing comfort from their familiarity and the images they brought to mind. Peaceful Azarath. The soaring temple of Metrion. The grand statue of Zinthos. The words themselves had no magic. It was the calming effect they had on her that allowed her to unleash her powers at their greatest strength. The memory of the time she and Starfire had switched bodies floated across her mind and made her smile. The alien girl hadn't even known the truth about those little three words and still had managed to wield them effectively. No doubt it had been because she had believed them to be magic words and that belief had brought the same confidence they brought Raven.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."
A few feet away from where she hovered off the ground, the sea began to swirl and bubble quietly. She heard the rush of water from far away and felt the shift in pressure in the air. One eye popped open just in time to see a familiar figure rising up from the depths of the ocean on the back of a whale. Water slid off of him as he stepped from the whale to solid ground, teetering slightly as if the ground was somehow less steady than the sea. He smiled at her, a flash of perfectly straight white teeth, and his black eyes reflected the glow from the dying sun.
"Raven! Just the person I want to see."
She opened her other eye and lifted a brow. "Somehow I doubt that."
Aqualad lifted his slim shoulders and continued to smile charmingly. "Well, it's partly true. I was actually looking for all of you Titans."
"What for?"
"I just finished a patrol and I'm bored out of my mind. You want to go see a movie or something?"
Raven looked at him skeptically. "Don't you have your own tower of Titans?"
He waved that away with one hand. "Bumblebee's busy preparing. For what you ask? I have no idea. Speedy might be cool to hang out with if anyone could get him to drop the mirror for five seconds. And Wally? Well . . . I mean, the guy's name is Wally. What am I supposed to do with that?"
"None of the other Titans are here. It's just me."
"Great. We'll have a date. See a movie, grab some dinner, ride a subway. Anything."
Beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable, Raven glanced back at the tower, suddenly wishing that she was in it. The idea of going out into public where there was bound to be crowds of other people did not sit well with her. And the word date for some bizarre reason made her picture Robin, which caused her to remember her irritation. She scowled. "I don't really think—"
He began to shift back and forth slightly, as if trying to mimic the roll of a ship on the ocean. "Come on, Raven. We don't have to get married or anything." He gave an exaggerated wink and leaned forward to add, "Though I wouldn't say no if you asked me. But I draw the line at pre-nups."
She had to chuckle at that. "That's flattering, Aqualad, really but—"
"Come on, have some pity on me. Live a little. Let your hair down. Dance to your own tune. Feel the—"
"Okay, okay! Enough. I'll go. Just please, please, please, do not say feel the rhythm of the night," she warned.
He smiled winningly and clasped his hands behind his back. "I wouldn't dream of it. Shall we take your car or mine?" he asked, motioning to the whale that continued to float on the surface of the ocean like a giant live parking lot. Raven eyed the creature balefully; memories of Beast Boy lurking near the front of her mind. She held out a hand to the Atlantian.
"We'll take mine. My cloak tends to shrink if it gets wet."
Aqualad laughed and stepped closer. "I've never traveled via 'cloak and shadow' though it always looks cool when you do it. Does it hurt? Should I take off my shoes? Or maybe my shirt?" He gave another suggestive wink and wiggled his eyebrows comically.
Raven rolled her eyes. "No, it doesn't hurt. Well, at least I know it doesn't hurt me," she modified. She tapped a finger against her lips and considered. "Have you eaten anything recently?"
He looked a bit confused. "Not in last hour or so, no."
"Good. Beast Boy tends to get a little nauseous. Ready?"
"Hmmmm. Maybe this isn't such a good idea."
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"I find it odd that you don't eat fish."
"Why? I live in the ocean."
"My point exactly," Raven said, drawing back her cowl as she stepped from the shadows onto the roof of Titans Tower. "One would assume that as an inhabitant of the ocean, your food supply would come from other life forms indigenous to the sea."
"There is something incredibly sexy about the way you say, 'indigenous.'"
She arched one slim eyebrow and gave him the look she was famous for; deadpan with a hint of menacing annoyance. It made many people cower and back away. It very often made Beast Boy think his life was over. But Aqualad only sighed and smiled a somewhat dreamy smile.
"Wow. The I'm-going-to-kill-you-stare. Definitely sexy."
Raven stared at him, feeling the laughter bubble up from her stomach into her throat. Years of training had her forcing it back down without a second thought. The only sign of her amusement was a quick twitch of her lips. But she felt it deep inside; it was warm and pleasant, chasing away the irritation and frustration she had been feeling earlier. Somewhere in the back of her mind was a tiny sliver of guilt that she was experiencing enjoyment with someone other than her friends, especially since those friends often went out of their way to try and do the same thing. And yet, though she cared very much for the other Titans, considered them her family, she more often than not found their efforts to be . . . . well . . . annoying. Not because they were insincere, or unwelcome, or unwanted. But because they tried so hard to "coax her out of her shell," as they thought of it, that it became forced, and it brought with it a kind of pressure. To not disappoint them.
Aqualad hadn't asked her out for her enjoyment. He'd asked her out for his. And she found there was pleasure in that. In sharing someone else's fun.
"There is something very wrong with you," she said, stepping to the edge of the roof where she had stood with Robin, only a few nights prior.
He followed, setting one boot up so that he could rest his forearms on his thighs. "Not surprising, considering I spend all my time talking to fish and a guy who calls himself 'Speedy.' I can only wonder what his adoring female fans think he means by it."
"Aqualad," she began, pressing two fingers to her chakra. "There are some things that you should feel free to keep to yourself."
Turning his head, he flashed a charming grin. "By the way, Wally thinks your uniform is wicked hot. That's a direct quote."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously and he laughed the sound carrying through the still air. "And on that note, I'd say it's time for me to go. Unless you want to make-out. Then I'll stay."
Keeping her eyes on his, Raven leaned closer and saw both surprise and excitement shoot across his face. "How about I send you to a desert dimension filled with cannibals?"
The excitement drained out of his face instantly and he gave a small smile as he tugged at the collar of his uniform. "Ahem. Well. Quite an intriguing offer. How about I think it over and get back to you?"
Her lips twitched again as she stepped backwards. "You know where to find me."
"Right. Sure. I'm going now." Aqualad stepped up onto the roof's edge and glanced down at the gently rolling waves below. He turned back towards her, his smile light and easy once more. "I had a good time, Raven. Thanks for hanging out with me."
Then he stretched his arms out and leapt from the tower, twisting into a graceful dive. She leaned over the edge just in time to see him spear into the water with a small splash. Her eyes tried to follow his sleek form but the sea was too far away and too dark. Briefly she wondered if swimming to him was like flying to her. Calming, relaxing. Or was it a constant challenge? To see how fast he could go, how far down? She made a mental note to ask him the next time she spoke with him. It would probably be a while, but she wouldn't forget. She never forgot anything.
"Have fun?"
She knew who it was, without having to turn around. She had felt his presence the moment he had stepped onto the roof. The flat tone that delivered the two words had a hint of anger underneath it and it mirrored the swirl of emotions radiating off of him. Anger and control. Raven breathed in deeply in order to expel the fury that his brought up in her.
"More than I had planned on having," she answered, her gaze still on the ocean. She felt him step closer and was surprised at the image that came unbidden into her mind. Him reaching out, grabbing hold of her shoulders, and giving her a violent shake. His control was slipping and the door between them had been opened again.
"We need to talk."
The simple sentence had irritation skirting up her spine. Oh, yes, the door between their minds was certainly open. Everything he was thinking was slipping its way into her head in a mass of chaos. She had to resist twin urges to cradle her head in her hands and to turn around and slug him. Since neither action would help anything, she remained still, eyes focused on the dark waves.
"You mean, you need to talk, and I need to listen." Raven turned her head to meet his masked gaze. His mouth was set in a firm line. "Listen as you lecture me about how foolish and reckless I was, putting myself in danger like that. How I shouldn't have run off after him like I did, how I should have waited for you, because you're the only one who can be foolish and reckless. Is that about right?"
She didn't need to see the ripple along his jaw to know that she had it exactly right.
"He had a gun to your head," he said through clenched teeth.
Raven turned sharply so that she was facing him. "And he would have had a gun to your head. Would that have been any different? Is that mask bullet proof, Robin?"
His fists clenched at his sides and for half a second, she thought he might hit her. It wasn't a thought that came from him, but from the very back of her mind. As much as she trusted her friends, she was much too familiar with the darker natures of people. She wondered if she would see Robin's darker side at that moment.
But instead he turned on his heel and stalked away. Not to the door like she assumed he would, but to the adjacent edge of the roof. The sun had long since slipped below the horizon and so she could only barely make out the faint outline of him. He leaned forward and pressed his hands flat against the ledge. Even a distance of twenty feet she could feel the hot anger and frustration gushing out of him. And into her. Part of her lapped it up, feeding on it greedily. The other part struggled to channel it. To force it out of her system before it could do serious damage.
One floor below a thick crack snaked across a window pane.
The effort left her slightly dizzy and so it took her a few moments to realize that he had made his way back. He stood in front of her, his hands down at his sides, no longer clenched. His shoulders slumped forward and his face looked . . . sad. Well, as sad as a face can look in a mask. It was no longer anger that Raven felt coming from him. There was something different. An emotion she did not recognize. Directed at her.
Robin looked down at his hands, not sure of where to start. How could he tell her how it had felt to see her standing there, inches away from cold steel and death? He knew the damage bullets could do. Barely half the size of his thumb and yet so deadly. His heart had practically frozen in his chest and the bird-a-rang had been in his hand before he had even realized he had been reaching for it. To lose someone again. He had been right that night on the roof. He wouldn't be able to handle it.
"Raven, I . . .," his voice faltered slightly. "I know, in my head, that you can take care of yourself. Just like I know Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy can take care of themselves. But in my heart . . .," he tapped a finger against his chest when the letter R had been sewn. "You guys are my family. And I guess, when you, any of you, are in danger, I have trouble remembering which organ I'm supposed to be using."
For the third time that evening, Raven felt her irritation slip away. Concern. He was concerned for her. She should have realized that he would be. That it was his nature to think of others before he thought of himself. But she had never had someone concerned for her before. Not since her mother. And even that had been very brief. No one in Azarath had been allowed to feel anything towards her, especially not her mother.
A new image came into her mind and she saw his desire. Though it made her a bit uncomfortable, she reached out, trying to recall how it was done. Awkwardly she put her arms around his slender shoulders, just close enough so that they were barely touching. Then she gave his back two quick pats before stepping backwards. During the entire five seconds it took her to complete the action, he had watched her with a surprised expression. When she pulled away, his lips curved into a curious smile.
"What was that?" he asked, lightly.
She frowned and set one hand on her hip. "A hug," she answered in a tone that dared him to say otherwise. If he laughed, she was going to send him hurtling of the roof and he could spend the rest of the evening enjoying the company of Aqualad's friends.
To Robin's credit, though, he didn't so much as chuckle. He simply tipped his head to one side and said, "Let's try that again," before setting his hands on her hips and pulling her close to him. The smoothness of the action caught her by surprise so that she didn't protest like she was sure she would have. Her heart knocked soundly against the walls of her rib cage when their bodies bumped and their thighs pressed together. His hands slid around her waist, fingers pressing lightly against the small of her back and with a light amount of pressure, he kept her still against him, almost as if he expected her to bolt. She almost considered it. Being that close to someone was not something she was accustomed to and it did not feel particularly pleasant. Her stomach was flopping around like a fish out of water, her throat felt constricted, as did the muscles of her shoulders and where his hands were resting lightly. Plus her skin had goosed so much it was painful and her heart was pounding loud enough to give her a headache.
Then she felt him nestle his chin on her shoulder and sigh. His breath whispered sweetly past her ear and she felt all the tension leave his body. Her stomach stopped jumping and a strange warm sensation spread out from her chest. After a moment's hesitation, she lifted her arms so that they wrapped around his waist in turn and, mirroring his action, she settled her chin over his shoulder.
He sighed again. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you to take care of yourself," she heard him say quietly. Her eyes closed and then opened to stare up at the sky. The first stars were just starting to appear.
"I'm sorry I'm going to destroy your world."
The words slipped out before she could stop them and even as she cursed herself, his hands were pushing her back so that he could look at her. Her violet eyes were steady. As he looked at her, it seemed impossible that she could do what she was so certain she would do. Destroy the world? The young woman in his arms seemed far too fragile to be able to accomplish that. Though she was as tall as he was, her bones were much finer, her limbs far softer. Idly his mind tried to recall the last woman he had hugged. His mother? Some long-forgotten girlfriend? Starfire? He had to admit, hugging Starfire was a very different experience from the one he was having now. Raven's arms were light around him, and he got the impression she wasn't entirely comfortable touching him. When Starfire hugged him, it was nice, but he was somewhat afraid that she would end up crushing his spinal column.
"Robin?"
His attention zeroed back in on Raven's face. She had one eyebrow raised and was slowly starting to pull away from him. He very nearly tightened his grip.
"I wish you wouldn't believe that," he said as he dropped his arms.
Her hands went to her shoulders and drew her hood up. "I wish it wasn't true."
They stood there in the darkness for a long moment, neither one looking away. Finally, Robin shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.
"Come on. We got a movie. The others probably have it set up by now."
"What movie?"
"Clash of the Titans."
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RANDOM TITANS THEATER PRESENTS: "Why You Should Never Eat Fish Or Pets."
Raven: "I find it odd that you don't eat fish."
Aqualad: "Why? I live in the ocean."
Raven: "Exactly my point. Why wouldn't you eat fish?"
Aqualad: "Well, I have sort of a special relationship with them. It's like; would you eat a house pet?"
Raven: "On Earth or on Azarath?"
Aqualad: "Does that mean you eat pets on Azarath?"
Raven: "That's what they're for. You have them in your house so you don't have to go chasing them at dinner time."
Aqualad: "I think I just threw up in my mouth."
Raven: "Anyway, it just doesn't make any sense that you wouldn't eat fish."
Aqualad: "Actually, it's because they have eyes. I can't eat anything with eyes. It freaks me out. I feel like they're staring at me, judging me with their little beady fish eyes."
Raven: "But when you eat them, they're dead. They can't judge anything."
Aqualad: "Oh, they're supposed to be dead when you eat them?"
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Well, since everything is moving along so swimmingly, I thought I'd take a moment to thanks all the kind folks who have been leaving me reviews. If I miss anyone, please forgive me. My computer's sort of glitchy for some reason.
Chica De Los Ojos Café: Ah, fantabulous. Such a good word. Glad you like the story.
They Call Me Sweetsnow: Thanks. If I thought I could get away with it, I'd probably write an entire story of Titans Theaters.
xdire.vixenx: Thanks for reading and liking and thinking it's funny. I can never resist throwing in some humor, even when it's a really serious moment.
mysti-eyed: Glad you like it. Chapter 4's probably my favorite so far because of all the stuff squeezed in there.
ray1: They are awfully stubborn aren't they? Someone ought to knock their heads together. Someone like Cyborg. Hmm….mental note….
connaka: THANKS.
Cherry Jade: Glad you like it. Robin is a protective sort of guy, though he should probably look out for himself a bit more often.
Lost1n7heDark: More. Here. Thanks.
LCO100: Thanks. I was a little worried people would be bugged by the double dose of T-Car action. There were actually 4 conversations I considered using. Thought about using them all and then thought, hmmm, overkill maybe.
czee: Thanks a lot. Glad you like it.
raggedywings: Glad you find it interesting. Hopefully, it'll stay interesting.
HermioneGranger22491: Thanks a lot! I'm kinda fond of it myself.
Crzy Grl: Double S? Wow, no one's ever called me that before. :turns to underlyings: all of you call me Double S from now on. Anyhoo, glad you like the story! I enjoyed having Raven kick Robin's ass. It'll probably happen again. Hmmm…it sure seems like Robin might be visiting Raven's mind at some point…..have to keep reading to find out.
Betrayed05: Sorry I couldn't get the chapters out before you left. But hopefully you've come home to a couple new chapters and that will make up for my horrid lateness. Glad you're enjoying the story. Hope you had fun wherever you went.
RavenFlyingSolo: Thanks a lot! I do enjoy my wit. We get along smashingly.