Chapter 9: Respect - Robin and Raven
"Smart move, Boy Blunder," she said as he woke.
Robin groaned groggily and looked around to find himself in the med bay of the Tower. Raven was standing at his beside, hands hovering over a particularly nasty looking bruise on his exposed torso. "What happened?" he asked.
Raven raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't respond.
Scowling, Robin settled back in the bed and waited as patiently as he could for the empath to finish healing him. He wracked his brain to remember what had happened, but everything was still a little fuzzy. As far as he could tell, they had been fighting the disaster trio: Cinderblock, Plasmus, and Overload. They were feeling a little overwhelmed and were losing stamina the longer the fight wore on, so Robin had...done something.
Raven pulled her hands back and they disappeared into her blue cloak, but she didn't leave. "You might be a little sore for a while, but there's no lasting damage."
He nodded in reply. "What happened?"
She sighed heavily. "You decided to do something rash, on your own. You know, like you usually do."
"That doesn't answer my question, Raven."
"We were fighting Plasmus, Overload, and Cinderblock, and having a hard time of it. Beast Boy and Cyborg were teamed up against Cinderblock, you and Starfire had Overload, and I was, of course, left with Plasmus. Thanks for that," she added dryly. "Overload was absorbing the city's power plant, so you and Starfire tried to distract him and shut off the power. Starfire flew around him, which was effective enough, so you went into the plant to switch off the electricity.
"Meanwhile, I managed to beat Plasmus on my own and moved to help Cyborg and Beast Boy. But he suddenly tried to make a break for it, so we chased him toward the power plant. Before we could stop him, he started to crush everything. Starfire got you out of the way, but you insisted that she put you back so you could shut it down. Against her better judgment, Starfire let you." Raven glared down at him.
Robin merely raised an eyebrow, prompting her to continue. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"What happened after that?"
"We defeated both Cinderblock and Overload, and the police came to retrieve them."
Robin's eye twitched in annoyance. Through gritted teeth, he asked, "Well, what happened to me?"
"Best as we can tell," Raven shrugged, "you got caught under some falling debris. You never did shut off the power."
Robin pressed the heel of his palm to his forehead, feeling stupid and irritable. "Sorry," he muttered.
"For what?"
"Failing."
Raven scoffed. "You didn't fail. Not too badly, anyway."
Robin chuckled mirthlessly. "Is everyone else okay?"
"Of course."
"Good."
They lapsed into silence. Raven stood where she was, unsure whether Robin would speak to her again. She assumed he would, and was right.
"Has anything else happened while I was out?"
"No."
"Has anyone made the report for the mayor on the damages?"
"...No."
"How long was I out?"
"About three hours."
Robin nodded thoughtfully. "Has anyone debriefed the police?"
"Yes. Cyborg did," Raven said before he could ask.
"Good." He threw the covers off his legs and swung them over the edge of the bed.
"Where are you going?"
"Work. Someone has to write the report and assess damages and payments," he replied, looking around for his shirt.
"I think you should rest for a while," Raven said.
"I'm fine. Thank you." Robin spotted his shirt on the chair behind Raven and made a reach for it, but it suddenly disappeared into a black portal. He looked at her in surprise.
"I think you should rest," Raven repeated.
"I said I am fine."
"I said I think you should rest."
Robin furrowed his brow. "As the leader of this team, I-"
"You should rest," Raven said, raising her voice slightly. It was only a small change in her tone, but it was dangerously significant enough that Robin heeded her and sat back down on the bed.
"I thought you said there was no damage," he said, folding his arms. He was painfully aware that he had no shirt.
"I said no lasting damage. In case you haven't taken note of the pain you're feeling right now, it's because you have three fractured ribs."
"Hm." Robin tried to think of a retort, but found none that he hadn't already used. He knew Raven wouldn't stand for stubbornness. "Someone needs to do the report."
"I will."
He couldn't argue with that.
"You should respect yourself more, Robin," Raven said suddenly.
"Huh?"
"Take care of yourself, I mean," she said. "If you're hurt, then Cyborg gets to take charge, and that's always awful. So rest up. We might need you later, and you're no good tired." She turned away and left the room, and Robin thought he just might have imagined that flustered expression on her face.
A/N: I always think that Raven and Robin are the most mature, and therefore have a really stoic relationship. I had a little trouble writing this one, actually. I hope it's not that horrible.
Thanks for reading!
Okay, the next chapter is the last, so thanks for sticking with me! It's going to be Starfire and Cyborg. ^-^b