Warning: chapter may be more mature than others for mild language.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the storyline and any original characters. Everything else belongs to DC Comics.
Chapter Twelve:
Raven sits on the roof of the Tower, Malchior next to her. The situation reminds her of one of her first days as a Titan, when Robin came up to talk to her. Thinking back, it wasn't that long ago.
"What do you want?" She asks him quietly, not bothering to attempt ignoring him. Malchior sighs. "We need to talk, Little Bird."
Raven swallows in response. "You can't call me that anymore." She shifts so that her body is facing away from him. Maybe it's his fault. Maybe it's her fault. Either way, she can't bear to face him right now.
"I'm in love with you," he says gently. "I know, but I'm in love with Rorek."
Malchior scowls. "No. You aren't. You're in love with the idea of Rorek. You're in love with your idea of a white knight. He's your best friend. I believe that, but he's not meant to be your partner."
"And you are? You, who have hurt me repeatedly? You, who have kidnapped me, forced me to partake in a magical duel, bound my powers and restricted my meditation? You, who have abused me?"
"You aren't the only one who's been hurt when it comes to us, Raven. In case you've forgotten, you've hurt me as well."
"I cursed you to save my life, Malchior." She stares down at her hands. "And I'm not sorry for doing it. Frankly, you deserved the centuries you spent in that tome."
"I was protecting our people," he protests, trying not to be too hurt by her words. Raven moves to her feet. Malchior mimics her.
"You think I don't know that? You think I haven't thought of that? But do you realize what killing me would mean? It would mean that Lorna becomes the Gem! It would mean my powers go to my little sister. The world would end anyway! Don't you think I wish it were that easy? Don't you think I haven't considered it? Giving up in battle, letting the opponent kill me, like my sacrifice would save everyone. It won't. It won't save anybody. All it will do is condemn another innocent to a horrible fate."
Malchior stares at her, horrified comprehension settling in his eyes. "That's why Lorna didn't inherit any demonic abilities. Trigon didn't give her any. He saw no reason to, did he?"
Raven shakes her head. "No, he didn't. He already has what he needs. He's got me. Why would he diminish his power further by giving any to Lorna? No, Lorna, although she currently prefers Jinx, got her powers solely from her mother."
"Hecate," Malchior breathes, knowing Jinx's parentage. Raven nods solemnly. "Raven, I understand. I shouldn't have done what I did. You shouldn't have done what you did. I don't regret kidnapping you, but I do regret hurting you the way I did. You have to believe me."
"How can I possibly believe you when I don't trust you?"
"You don't have to trust someone to believe them. Trust can be built, or in our case rebuilt. We will build it again, Raven. We can put all of this behind us."
Raven smiles softly, tears welling up in her eyes. She's well aware of Malchior suppressing her powers so that her emotions don't cause anything to explode. Normally that would anger her, but right now she's grateful. She knows that the way her emotions are right now, she's likely to hurt someone.
"Are you sure about that? Because I don't think we can. This, everything between us, is going to be toxic. Honestly, I think it always has been." Raven's moments of weakness are gone. The normal, stoic version of her has taken over. All of her emotions are locked away inside her mind. She moves her gaze away from him, choosing instead to stare at the sun setting on the horizon.
The colors are vivid. Pinks, oranges and reds. It's a spectacular view, one that doesn't exist on Azarath. The view isn't enough to convince Raven to choose Earth over Azarath though. Except, you already have. You've chosen no one over both Rorek and Malchior, even with the knowledge that they'll both love you and protect you. You've forsaken Azarath to protect Earth. Why wouldn't the view be enough to sway you even more?
"Raven, please," Malchior whispers. "My dragon warped my concern for you and my jealousy at the situation into anger. It was the dragon that harmed you, not the mage."
"Actually," Raven looks back at him, "it was neither. It was you, Malchior."
She walks off, but is immediately intercepted by Malchior stepping in front of her. "Don't make me invoke the Old Laws," he says pleadingly. Raven's jaw clenches. "This is exactly what I mean. If you want to earn my trust back, don't threaten me. I want to earn yours too. I just don't… I don't think we'll ever work. Together."
Malchior shakes his head rapidly. He steps close to Raven, wrapping his arms around her. He pulls her small body up against his larger one. "I'm going to make us work."
"For how long? My birthday is soon. You know what happens then. What's the point in bothering? Even if we manage to learn to trust each other in that amount of time, it's not going to last."
"You're being pessimistic."
"No, I'm being a realist." She stretches to kiss her cheek before slipping past him, heading back inside.
"Okay, man, who were you with?" Beast Boy demands. They're all up early that morning due to a promised breakfast from Cyborg for any early risers. Naturally, Raven and Malchior are nowhere to be found.
"I was just out for a walk," Robin grumbles in response. He's eating a cold breakfast. He needs to sleep, not having done so the night before, but he can't. The crime rate is higher in the day for the villains the Titans have to deal with. He can't be asleep when the alarm goes off. Of course, falling asleep in the middle of a battle isn't an intelligent idea either…
"All night?" Starfire asks, sounding confused. In her experience the only person that goes out for an entire night to "walk" is Raven. Robin doing so makes no sense to her. Had he said he was busy in the evidence room all night, well, that would make sense.
"Yeah, no way do we believe that! I checked the security camera. you know we have camera view of the city's borders. You were with someone this morning, and presumably all of last night. Who was it?"
"A girl, the vigilante type. I'm not giving you anymore details than that, so give up."
"But Robin, what of Raven?" Starfire asks him quietly. "Raven has enough men fighting over her. It's time for me to move on."
Starfire squeals and throws her arms around her team leader. He feels a rib crack as she applies unnecessary pressure to his body. "Can't," he gasps, "breath," more gasping, "pain!"
"Oops," Starfire says. She pulls away, looking adorably sheepish. "My apologies?"
"Yeah, sure, just don't hug me again anytime soon. Cyborg, want to fix this rib for me?"