Raven dug through the titan fridge, pushing aside Starfire's molding "puddings" and Beastboy's inedible soy products. She pulled out some leftover casserole from the night before and dumped it on a plate, her mind drifting to the patient hidden away in her room. She wondered how long it would take her to mend Red-X enough for him to return to his… hobby. Raven silently prayed he would never bring it up in future battles; if her leader ever found out she had nursed the thief back to health, he'd kill h—

"Hey, Raven," came a cool voice behind her, startling the sorceress. She flinched, nearly dropping the plate on the hard tile floor.

The masked titan walked over to a cabinet and reached for a glass, pouring himself a protein shake.

"Robin," Raven acknowledged, her hand shaking slightly as she placed the mound of food in the microwave.

Robin stared at the amount she had piled, a look of incredulity on his face. He raised an eyebrow.

"Since when did you start eating your weight in food?" he asked, disbelief evident in his tone.

"Since I decided to become a professional wrestler," Raven shot back swiftly. "How're things with Starfire?" she quickly added, eager to redirect the subject.

Robin's face darkened, frown lines creasing his forehead.

"Not good. I… we ended it. She's not taking it very well, though. I just hope it won't affect the team. We can't afford to not work together."

Raven offered an understanding frown for her distressed friend. She knew the troubles that plagued Robin's mind were often two-fold, as the Titan leader. The empath also felt a pang of sympathy for the alien girl, who had become very attached to and smitten with her leader.

"Maybe I'll go talk to Star," she murmured, looking past Robin toward the Tamaranean's bedroom door.

Robin reached out and placed a gloved hand on her slender shoulder. "Thanks, Rae," he said sincerely.

Raven simply nodded her head. The microwave dinged and she stepped back, allowing his hand to drop back down by his side.

xxxx

"Starfire? Do you want to talk?" Raven called out tentatively, her knuckles rapping softly on the door.

There was no response. One minute slid into the next, passing in silence. The dark titan pressed her ear against the door.

"Star? Are you in there?" she called again.

A faint weeping could be heard on the other side, intermittently interrupted by deep gasps of breath and hiccups.

"I wish to be alone," a quavering voice responded back, nearly inaudible.

Raven could feel the emotional sickness rolling like waves through the Tamaranean's door, crashing down on to her.

She stood by the door for another minute, half-expecting the alien girl to relent and let her in.

Finally though, the empath realized her friend really did wish for solitude. Resigned, she departed soundlessly to leave her be with her sorrows.

xxxx

Raven returned to her room and set the steaming plate of food on the nightstand beside Red-X. He had propped himself up into a somewhat bearable sitting position, his back resting against her dark blue pillows.

"Not bad, for someone who doesn't eat," he commented teasingly, quirking an eyebrow.

Raven nodded wordlessly, accepting this as his way of saying thank you.

She sat down on her windowsill, her pale legs drawn up against her body. She stared silently out toward the water, waiting for X to finish his meal.

She thought of Starfire and how much agony she was experiencing right now. She thought of Robin and how clumsy, how careless he could sometimes be with other's emotions. But she also thought of how he had a right to choose to end things when a romantic relationship no longer worked.
Raven wished things to be right between her two teammates; she cared for them both, and seeing them twisted up in the throes of anguish and guilt hurt her, even without her empathic sixth sense.

"Do you do that a lot?" a voice spoke.

Raven turned around to look at the thief. He didn't sound as if he were teasing her.

"Do what?" she asked, taken off-guard.

"Just check out of reality and go inside your head," he clarified, looking at her like she was a knot to unravel.

Raven met the intensity of his stare. "It's the only place I can safely be myself," she replied honestly.

"Why can't you be yourself around others?" His voice was now tinged with curiosity. And was that concern she heard creeping in as well?

"Because if my emotions aren't kept tightly under control, bad things happen," the titan explained before she could stop herself.

Red-X looked at her, confusion evident on his roguish face.

Raven turned back toward the window, but did not see the view. She focused on X's reflection in the glass.

"I don't know why I bothered to tell you that," she muttered, mainly to herself.

The less people that knew, the better.

She didn't need to go around explaining to the thief—or anyone, for that matter— about her demonic heritage or how her powers were controlled by her emotions. Or how very bad things happened when those emotions were not kept in check.

It was exactly the sort of information he could use against her.

Raven mentally cursed herself for being stupid, for allowing herself to slip for a moment, to reveal even the small bit of truth that she did.

There was a long silence.

Red-X seemed to be thinking things over in his mind, trying to grasp her. But she was as elusive as a shadow, continually slipping through his fingers.

There was a sudden sharp knock, and Raven jumped up. Composing her face into an unreadable mask, she walked to the entrance and slid back the door just a fraction of an inch, enough to glare at whomever stood in the hallway.

It was Cyborg.

"Hey, Rae," he said, first looking at her and then over her head, trying to see into the room.

"BB jut heard… er, some of us thought we heard talking in your room… and I just wanted to make sure everything's alright," the half-robot explained, straining his neck to see farther back into the shadowed chamber.
"I just wanted to make sure you weren't having any more troubles with that book again—"

Raven's cheeks flushed red, though whether from annoyance or embarrassment, she wasn't sure.

"And if you're talking to yourself, that's okay I guess, but know that we're always out here to talk if you want to— we all care about you Rae—and if it's some boy in there, well, that's alright too I guess… but not really, if he messes with you," Cy finished extra loud, as if to make sure any lurking boys could hear him clearly.

"Cyborg, all I'm doing is going over some spell incantations," the sorceress explained calmly, already beginning to close the door. Inside her, Rage was setting fire to a couple trees. Sadness was crying for Rage to stop.

Cyborg stuck his powerful foot in the door, stopping its progress. He locked eyes with her, looking at her meaningfully. Intensely.

"Be careful Rae," he warned, his voice low and serious.

Raven was taken aback. She did not respond, her stomach knotting uneasily.

He cast one last, long glance at her before removing his foot and walking back toward the living room.

The door slid shut and Raven stood there for a moment, petrified.

Did he know? Had he somehow found out?

No, that's impossible, the empath reassured herself. X had only been here for a day. Cyborg probably just suspected Raven had smuggled a civilian Goth into her room. Maybe found another dangerous talking book. Nothing more.

She relaxed slightly, her shoulders dropping from the release of tension.

She turned around to see X looking at her, an amused smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

"You've got the quite the protective brother," he remarked.

Raven couldn't help smiling herself.

"Cyborg has done a lot for me. We look out for each other," she said, a touch of warmth creeping into her voice.

"And what was that he said, about a book giving you trouble?" Red-X asked, his curiosity showing through.

Raven immediately shut down.

"That's not up for discussion."

Block everything out. Block him, block yourself, block the memory…

Despite her controlled face, Red-X could hear the hurt and anger in her voice.

"I see," he mused quietly.

So the bird had been wounded.

"Well, if you ever do want to discuss…" he added, trying to get her to meet his eyes.

"You should get some sleep," Raven cut him off sharply. "It's been a long day. For both of us."

She grabbed a pillow and a spare blanket from her bed, creating a makeshift nest on the floor. The titan settled in, allowing the silken sheet to envelope her.

A silence filled the room, each of them listening to the breathing of the other, waiting for sleep to descend.

"My name is Jason." His husky voice punctured the silence.

"Jason Todd," he added, as if an afterthought.

Violet eyes flew open, wide. Raven lay there stunned.

"Goodnight, Raven," he said softly.

A rustling noise told her he had rolled over, and soon his breathing lulled, becoming deep and even.

X

X

Gasp! Revealing his second biggest secret! Red-X is really putting himself out there, huh?
School has been hectic, which is why there have been longer waits between updates—so sorry in both retrospect and advance, guys. Hope you all are doing well!