I went through the first four months of being a Teen Titan without touching a single one of my teammates.

I was so intent on maintaing my distance and keeping myself apart from the physical camaraderie of my peers that I actually avoided any contact whatsoever.

I wasn't exactly proud of such a feat. But rather, I was content with it. And being content meant being relaxed. And being relaxed meant meditating. And meditating meant calmness and gentleness and….

Soundness of mind.

As it turns out, there is always a lot that I must sacrifice when working with a team. And it doesn't necessarily mean just sacrificing my own interests, but also giving myself a chance to grow and mature. Because—yes—even I myself need to do that from time to time, despite how much I heavily insist on being a rung higher on the intelligence ladder when compared to…..let's say…..Terra and Beast Boy.

Arrogance aside, I've been discovered for a new purpose. Well—no—it's not exactly a new purpose. I've always had the ability to 'heal' physical injuries. I was just never proficient at it until now. As of these days in Titan training, whenever we go into battle and a few of us end up bruised up….it's Raven to the rescue as the local, nomadic medic.

Long story short, I'm having to touch my friends now. ALL. THE. TIME.

When Starfire dislocated her shoulder, my hands gently pressed her forearm and reconnected the joints.

When Terra received a bad cut across her ribs, there my hands went.

Beast Boy's concussion….even Cyborg's burn marks.

I've been through a workout. And my hands—normally gloved and reserved to themselves—have practically memorized the contours of every hero I work with.

It takes a lot of energy out of me. Because of such, I have been withdrawing to the shadows of major fights in the field. Thankfully, Terra has taken the brunt of my telekinetic offensive. The team relies on her for the magical ballistics, whereas I give her and the others levitating support and then swoop in for the medical rescues.

I am taken back—though not heavily surprised—by how warm those around me feel. Starfire is a burning cauldron from all the starbolts that are forged within her.

Terra is as hot as the churning, molten earth she conjures up.

Even Cyborg—that digital cold soul—is as bloody and heated as any other human being.

Sometimes I find myself distracted by how….real everyone feels. And it gets in the way of my mending them. I don't feel bad about it, I just keep trying until they're good enough to jump on their feet and bash crime's face in again.

Except for Robin.

He never needs healing.

And I can't honestly figure out if it's because he egotistically refuses treatment….

Or if he really, truly is so good a fighter that he never gets hurt.

But of course I know the answer to that.

But still, I've never had to heal him…..

……until now.

We all have just gotten back from defeating Mumbo Jumbo.

Everyone else had remarkably escaped unscratched. But Robin…

Robin had been struck from the falling lamp piece of a streetlight. He's unconscious from a concussion, and a nasty bruise has formed over his head.

It's been a while since the Boy Wonder fell victim to injury among the whole lot of us. And to be honest—none of the Titans seem to know what to do.

None except for me, that is. For long ago—when Robin and I formed the team—he made a special request of me. He asked that—if ever he suffer something as paralyzing as this injury now plaguing him, he wished for me to be the one and only one to take care of him. The others are quite obviously confused by Robin's selectivism in such a rule. But I don't try to explain it to them.

Quite simply, Robin doesn't want anyone taking his mask off while he's unconscious. And as it stands—after nearly two years of serving together as a large group on this team—the only person the Boy Wonder trusts for such emergency care is me.

I would not unmask the Boy Wonder for anything.

Nor do I ever care to….

I levitate Robin through the hallways of the Tower. I bring him to his room. I lay him gently on his bed and examine the nasty bruise on his forehead. A bruise that is turning nastier.

I take a deep breath, chant a few Azarathian tomes, and slip off a glove. I then do what I haven't done for as long as I can remember…

I touch Robin's skin.

And when I do so, I am surprised. So surprised…it actually delays my healing of his head injuries.

Robin's skin is cool to the touch.

I am amazed that he is alive, in fact……

I soon shake that thought off. It's foolish to assume from one touch that Robin is anything but an average living creature. Robin And I'm touching his forehead only to heal him. Not to do anything else.

The process takes the better part of two and a half minutes. The bruise fades away from his skin. The Boy Wonder—previously stock still and dead silent—begins to stir and breathe gentlier in an unconscious haze…

I gently stretch a woolen blanket over him for some subconscious reason…

And leave the room.

I slip my glove back on as I trek on through the Tower…but I linger in doing so.

For the ice of Robin's skin still lingers there. Haunting. Puzzling….

As I enter my room, I remember something Beast Boy once said when he copped a feel of my blue locks of hair. 'It's so cool to the touch, Cyborg! I swear….she's got icy silk for hair! I never knew girls' hair could feel like that….'

And as I prepare for an evening nap, the coolness of the bedsheets engulf me and I shudder with the sudden remembrance of Robin's bruises and the resounding THWACK! of the streetlight's lamp hitting his skull and how all of us were chilled icily to the bone from the disturbing sensation.

And as I drift away—or at least try to—that iciness sinks into my heart and I feel a pain and a gnotting ache throbbing deep inside of me. Begging to be healed.

But the medic in me holds her position. I don't dare hug myself and summon the healing.

'Someday, all skin will only melt from the touch of those hands, daughter,' some imaginary voice echoes against my bed chambers.

I turn over and allow myself to be swallowed by drowsy oblivion before I even begin to shiver….