Stuff Like That There
(Hugs)
by Em

A/N: There's another version of a response to this theme mostly done. That version was definitely much more crack-y than this one, but for some reason, when all was said and done and both were complete, I liked this one more.

I don't like the end, though.

Not beta'd. No one's even READ this one yet.

Thanks: To everyone who has supported this exploration into Crack!Dom.

09: Falling

"The laws of gravity cannot be held responsible for people falling in love."
- Albert Einstein

For someone who could fly, Raven sure did a whole lot of falling.

That was the first thing he thought of that morning. He didn't know why it was the first thing to enter his conscious brain as it awoke that morning, but as the early morning sun creeped across his floor, he couldn't help but remember each and every time she had fallen during their long friendship.

There was the time Cinderblock swiped at her like a gnat, the time Rancid's mechanical pet shook off the telekenetic hold she'd taken of it, and probably half a dozen more. He had caught her all those times. Every time. Of specific note, of course, was the time they all fell through the elevator shaft and the time Slade threw her off a roof. He'd caught her then as well.

It probably should've served as some kind of hint, that.

Still, with all the physical falling going on, was it really a surprise that it took him so long to realize that even with his feet firmly planted on the ground, he had been falling too?

Yeah, okay, so he was kinda slow when it came to emotional stuff, who could blame him? He was raised by the Master of Stoicism and Detachment, after all.

Still, even he, Captain Oblivious, had his limits, and the events of the night / almost morning before would've been enough to get through even the Batman's impassiveness.

Maybe.

It was certainly enough to get through his obliviousness.

Falling down defunct elevator shafts, being swatted at or shaken off by enemies, even being tossed off high precipices by deranged master villains could be explained. But tripping over her own feet?

And even when Raven, walking past him into the kitchen as he headed out tripped and fell, literally, into his arms, he still didn't get it.

Not right then, anyway.

"You know," he had said, amused as he stared down at where she must have been too surprised to right herself and was still leaning into his weight so that only his arms around her back were keeping her from the floor. "It occurs to me that you seem to fall into my arms a whole lot." He grinned cockily down at her. "Could it be you've fallen head over heels for me?"

She pushed off his chest to right herself, and his arms reluctantly slipped from around her. She straightened her shirt and ran a hand through her hair and not meeting his gaze. "Maybe," shed spoke in her usual monotone. She lifted her head and met his eyes. "Maybe I know you'll always catch me."

She cocked her head to the side and when he didn't immediately respond, she walked past him into the kitchen without another word.

'What she she meant by that?' he wondered. And the morning found him with no clearer answer to the question, he had come to two conclusions:

One, he did always catch her. What's more, if he had anything to say about it, he always would.

And two, he always caught her because he was always aware of her.

He was always aware of her because he worried about her in battle. He knew she could take care of herself, just like he knew Starfire or Beast Boy or Cyborg could take care of themselves in battle. Yet, he still worried about her, the way he never worried about any of the others.

And if he followed that realization through to it's natural conclusion...

Robin sat up in bed and felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him.

'I must love her.'

"Well, shit."

'Maybe I know you'll always catch me.'

Could she have figured it out before he did?

Robin fell back against his headboard and groaned. She probably did. She was just smart like that. She'd probably figured out that he was in love with her since...well...since he'd been in love with her.

Which had been when?

Did it matter?

No, probably not. He loved her (he got more comfortable with the realization every time he thought it) and it didn't matter when.

All that really mattered is that she probably knew.

Raven knew he loved her.

And what had she done about it? He felt the panic starting to rise in his gut. How would they get over this? How could their friendship survive?

'Wait,' he thought, sitting up again. Since when had she known?

He tried to call up every memory of every interaction he'd had with Raven. It wasn't hard (that should've told him that he loved her if he hadn't figured it out already) but still, he really couldn't tell. He remembered late night and early morning conversations with her, he remembered chess games and quiet moments, he remembered random outings, he remembered missions and encounters enemies. And during them all, in his memories, he was the one showing preference for her.

In all those memories, in all those times, what had been the only out of character thing she'd done?

She'd fallen.

Raven was notably not a clumsy girl. As a matter of fact, she was known for her calm, cool composure, and most importantly, her grace.

Still, she'd fallen into his arms.

The time the night before, the most obvious, the most out of character.

Raven didn't trip over her own feet.

She just didn't.

'I know you'll catch me.'

Robin felt the panic in the pit of his stomach release and something else spread in its place. Something warm. Something that reminded him of the feeling of having her in his arms.

Robin exhaled.

And smiled.

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Spoiler: Next theme is "Worse Days".