He fell asleep.
Robin didn't mean to. One minute he was thinking about what training strategies he would resume after almost a week break, and the next thing he knew he snorted awake as he almost fell out of the chair.
His bones creaked and groaned in protest as he got up and stretched, trying to not make the pops and snaps too loud so as to not wake the sleeping empath.
He chuckled quietly upon seeing her arms flung above her head as she was deep in sleep.
Shuffling over to his closet which let out another ear bleeding creak, he grabbed a new uniform and slipped into his bathroom.
Raven groaned, not happy to be awake as she tossed and turned trying to go back to sleep. She wasn't ready to face the world yet. But her mind and thoughts became more voluminous making it harder to ignore them. She made a final turn towards the window and opened her eyes.
"Mmph." She grumbled, eyes assaulted from the sun shining directly through the open window causing her to turn her head down back into the warm blankets until she was ready to brave it.
'Forgot to close the curtains last night.' She thought.
Her eyes opened suddenly and she sat up remembering that she wasn't alone when she fell asleep. She scolded herself as she looked around in search for the over-hair-gelled leader, but only a chair with a blanket sitting beside the bed showing up out of place. He probably got cold while working, she decided.
Laying back down in the warm comfort of her blanket-like nest, her heart jumped again realizing her journal wasn't where she last put it, then sighed in relief when she saw it neatly stacked in the nightstand.
"God, I just woke up and I'm already freaking out." She muttered, throwing a blanket over her head.
"You look like death man." Cyborg said as he walked in the common room.
"Thanks, I feel like it." He responded.
"Did ya sleep on a rock or something?"
"Something like that." Robin stretched and groaned on the couch. "Fell asleep in my chair."
"Of course." Cyborg shook his head. "Zonked while working again?"
"No, actually." He felt proud to say. "Just sat there and next thing I knew I was awake. Fucked up my back and knees though." He strained, twisting and turning like an old man.
Cyborg shook his head again and sighed. "Wanna help with breakfast sandwiches?"
"Sure, just gimme a minute to get up."
She was out of clean clothes. Of course. She didn't like to rewear things from the day before, it was gross to her, made her feel gross, but it seemed like that was the only option.
Dragging herself out of bed, she threw on her leggings from yesterday and decided to grab a shit of Robin's. That would be fine right? Glad she braided her hair the night before, she ran her fingers through it to separate the sections and threw it up in a bun, not wanting to deal with styling.
Raven decided to join the others during breakfast. She wasn't thrilled about the social aspect, but she was hungry. And maybe it wouldn't be too bad.
"Oh, friend! A glorious morning to you!" Starfire beamed as she flew across the room to hug Raven, much gentler than normal the purple haired girl noted.
"Good morning." Raven replied standing there awkwardly giving a pat on the back in return.
"I made breakfast sandwiches!" Cyborg announced. "With honey butter on your bread." He singsonged.
If her stomach could jump out of her mouth and devour the food off the plate from where she stood, licking the crumbs for good measure, she would let it. She was hungry.
"Thanks." She said instead and sat at the counter.
Breakfast often took place at the counter and barstools instead of the table since there was a lot of moving around to pick and choose different items. Today the choices with their bread rolls were eggs and bacon, both of the real and fake variety, maple sausage, and hash browns.
Raven made herself two sandwiches and kept an eye on how much was left in case she needed to snag another one.
"So I was thinking," Cyborg began and handed her the honey butter, "let's start on moving things out of your room so we can properly clean and then fix your book shelves." A pause as he took a monstrous bite from his overstuffed sandwich. "And if we have time, start painting if you have a color picked out. How does that sound?"
'Overwhelming as fuck! I feel like I'm going to cry.' She thought. "Good."
"Alright! I got up early to fix the floor above you so I'm hoping we can do as much as we can to get you back in as soon as possible." Another stomach turning bite.
She nodded, happy having the process speed up but anxious still the same and ate her breakfast in silence as the others colamored around her.
'This isn't going to go well.' Robin thought just minutes into all five of them working.
It started out fairly promising. Beast Boy apologized and got a response of "I acknowledge and thank you for apologizing, but what you said hurt. Do not do it again."
Raven's room was as they left it yesterday. In shambles, but getting somewhere. No holes were present which was rule number one for her to move back in. All that was left was, everything else. It was a daunting task and Robin would feel the waves of overwhelm and anxiety coming off of Raven as everyone went to assign themselves a task in her room.
He saw how she opened her mouth when Beast Boy made a move to unload her bookshelf but closed it seeing Starfire go to her dresser to sort through her clothes, looking back and forth between the two in panic when she finally looked at him for help.
"Alright, guys," he said but was ignored. "Guys!" He repeated louder, getting the others' attention. "Let's not jump to a task just yet and see what needs the most attention first." He looked back at Raven who nodded. "Cyborg," he turned to the metal Titan who was by the window, "what needs to be finished first?"
"Uhhhmmm," he thought as he looked around the room. "The main stuff is pretty much done. I'm going to do the window and nook if anyone would like to help. Other than that it's up to Rave."
"Umm," Raven looked around avoiding the eyes that were turned to her, "I'm going to do my clothes, by myself," she said and looked over at Starfire who dropped a pair of leggings sheepishly. "Robin, are you willing to move my books in the bathroom?" The hallway was the original idea but the bathroom was much safer for them. Less risk of them getting damaged from the sometimes obvious members who liked to run, or fly, at full speed down them.
He nodded. "Where do you want your candles and things to go?"
"You can put them in a box. The plants can go in the bathroom as well."
"What may I do?" Starfire asked, eager to help.
Raven looked at her demolished sad excuse for a desk. She had taken out the things most important and private to her the day it became a sad heap of wood, so she tasked the alien with boxing up what remained and taking the desk down to the trash when she was finished.
Beast Boy stood awkwardly looking around before Cyborg called him over to help.
Seeing everyone scatter to their tasks, Robin faced the daunting task of unloading Raven's bookshelves. It was no easy fate. She had two, one by the door and one that faced her bed, both practically floor to ceiling and filled to the brim. Plants, lights, crystals, chimes, strings of glass and small mirrors hanging with beads, pictures, candles, and other nicknacks decorated the shelves in addition to the impressive amounts of books and scrolls she had.
Taking a moment to figure out what he would do first, he decided it would be easier if the string lights that hung around the shelves and any item that wasn't a book came out first. Working from the outside to the inside.
He remembered picking out the lights with her when they all went out in search of room decor for their new spaces in the tower. They were stars that gave off a golden glow. He thought they would be perfect in her room with all the purple and blue in there, but she resisted at first claiming they were too childish. She ended up loving them. As much as she didn't like to be proven wrong, her room looked even more magical at night with the golden light giving off beautiful accent colors across her room. He was glad to see they still worked when he plugged them back in, not sure if they would be able to find the same ones or not.
He just finished putting all the objects in boxes and put them into her bathroom. There was so much stuff, so many stones. He was nervous that he may have dropped or lost a few but the floor remained, thankfully, crystal-less.
Taking a break to catch his breath and stretch his back, he looked over to see how everyone else was doing. Cyborg and Beast Boy had installed the windows and were working on the little nook. Starfire was having more fun organizing all Raven's desk items, boxing them in groups after she had sorted them by object and color. And Raven was… not there. The bag and dresser were still there, but the box and the empath were not.
He decided to give her a few minutes before he went searching in case she was in the bathroom or needed a break.
She came back about ten minutes later and joined him at the bookshelf.
"Can I ask you something?" She asked.
"Sure." Robin said as he took a few books off the shelf and turned his attention to her.
"Were you…were you with me…last night?" She asked in a hushed tone, not wanting wandering ears to pick up on their conversation.
"Oh, uh, yeah." He answered sheepishly. "I didn't mean to. Just kinda fell asleep in my chair. Did my work disturb you at all?"
"No, actually. It helped me fall asleep. I don't even remember falling asleep."
"Me neither." He chuckled. "I'm glad you were able to sleep."
"Thanks, me too. It's been a while since I had a good rest."
"Hopefully sleep will come easy again tonight. Do you think you could lend me a hand with the books?"
She lifted her hand and the books flew off the shelf in a bubble of black into the bathroom with ease.
"Thanks." He smiled, wishing he possessed that skill. "Is that my shirt?" He asked, taking a chance to look at her and noticing something familiar.
"Oh, um, yeah." She looked beside his shoulder as a small blush came through. "Is that alright? I ran out of clean clothes but I just put some in the wash."
"You're completely fine." Robin assured. "I'm not out of uniform much anyway." He shrugged.
"Speaking of, I wanted to talk to you about modifying my cloaks."
"Alright, what do you have in mind?" Robin nodded.
"Friend," Starfie called from the otherside of the room, "I have finished with your desk. This trunk looks quite distressed, may I clear it out and take it down to the trash room?"
"Yeah, sure." Raven waved her off without a second thought. "I like the weight of it, especially the hood. But I was wondering if it could be heav-"
A gasp from Starfire interrupted her as they all turned to see what was the matter.
Cyborg reached her first, giving her a quick once over for blood or anything, but gave a gasp himself when he saw what she discovered. "Is that.."
"It is." Beast Boy confirmed, peering over Cyborg's shoulder.
It took Raven a second to realize what they were crowded around and referring to when it all hit here.
She locked the book in a chest.
The same chest that Starfire had asked permission to clean.
She stood there, an uncomfortable and unwanted chill wan through her body.
They found him.
"What is it?" Robin asked as he ran over, freezing when he was met face to face with the oat colored book.
"Manchior." Starfire whispered in amazed horror. She turned back to console and give comfort to her friend but was met with an empty room.
'Of course. Of course. I knew I should have gotten rid of that book. Stupid, stupid, stupid.' Raven scolded at herself.
She ran out of the tower, feeling like a princess from Starfire's movies running away to find a place to cry dramatically, except she didn't cry. She walked around the perimeter of the island, cursing herself that she didn't bring a jacket with her, the cold air and sea breeze caused her arms to break out in goosebumps.
More leaves had fallen since the day before and she stomped and crushed them under her feet with each step, kicking rocks and acorns out of her path in hopes it would help relieve some of her inner turmoil. It did not. It made her look like an angsty teen whose dad just told her she can't date the boy she liked. 'Ironic.' She thought.
She knew she would have to face that bastard dragon at some point, but she was definitely not ready for that today. It didn't even cross her mind that she, or someone for that matter, might find the book while they cleaned.
But it happened. And it made the incident all the more real to her.
Bittersweet memories were brought back up. Ones that she had been trying to push so far down that they would come out of her feet and root into the ground so she could kill it before they sprouted.
"Ugh!" Raven threw down the scroll and bottle that held her many attempts of a recent potion in frustration, putting her head in her hands. "I can't do this!"
"Yes, you can." A voice behind her, Malchior said, bending down to grasp her shoulders.
"No. I can't. I don't even know what half of these spells are. How am I supposed to get it right when I still have trouble with the ones I've been doing for years?"
"You must be patient with yourself." He said and stood up. "For thousands of years, many people have come across my book. Some old, some young. Some mighty, some weak. But none of them had the amount of power that you possess. I have studied these spells while trapped and can help you achieve them, but you have to believe that you can do them or they won't work."
She thought as he talked, looking at the scroll in front of her and the bottle with the light blue water in it that was supposed to be yellow. Her room was a mess. Bottles and bowls littered her floor. Powders and plants spilled coated the floor with a colorful sand-like substance that if mixed together could end badly. She was getting frustrated and the state her room was in was not helping to ease that at all.
"Let's try again." He said, walking around her room, pulling random ingredients from the shelves.
Raven sighed, stood up, and headed to her bathroom to wash out the bottle. She didn't understand. She followed the directions exactly. All the liquids were measured out perfectly, the plants were cut precisely, and she didn't mix it at all even though it took a lot of restraint not to.
She turned on the water and poured out her ninth attempt at the spell. 'At any rate I'm going to need more frankincense.' She thought watching the yellow water swirl down the drain. Wait. Yellow? But the liquid in the bottle was-
She gasped in realization. Water! Of course! She completely forgot! She had been using earth measurements instead of wherever the people who lived in that realm use.
Hurriedly, she washed and dried the bottle, ready to try again, grabbing her conversion chart.
"My, my. Eager aren't we?" Malchior commented watching her practically fall onto the floor to mix everything together. The only difference, she added more water than she did in previous attempts, a bright yellow finally appearing.
She looked up at him in excitement but her face fell seeing the slight shut of his eyes. "You knew what was missing."
"Indeed."
"And you didn't tell me because?"
"Because if you are going to be a skilled magic wielder, you need to know how to identify and correct your mistakes on your own." He explained evenly, yet something she couldn't place laced his words.
"Now don't give me that look." He bent down and grabbed her arms, head dangerously close to her. His breath, if he was able to breathe, would be all over her neck. "Look at what you can do. You are very bright my Raven," he moved his hands up and down slowly along her arms which brought a blush to her face. "Now, are you ready for the next one?"
'God, fucking, stupid, stupid, how could you fall for that!' She yelled at herself, sending a rock flying with a swift kick of her foot, remembering his flattery and sensual touch. 'It was all fake! …It didn't mean anything.'
Her hair started to blow not from the wind, but from her anger. The poor leaves that dared fall too close to her were sent flying away. She was livid. Mad, frustrated, upset, embarrassed, but the one that hurt the most was that for a split second she was happy. It made her excited that the book was still in her room because of the joy and validation it brought her just last week. For a moment she forgot about all the bad that happened as was about to open the book again, ready to hear his painstaking sweet comments.
She grumbled and mumbled and cursed until she neared their outdoor garden and picnic area, taking a seat at one of the tables and laid her head down on her crossed arms watching the world go by as she stewed in her angst, critters and creatures squawking and chirping enjoying the welcoming chill the day brought.
Robin practically ran immediately after her when Starfire mumbled a soft "she's gone." He used their bond to find where she was and was glad that she stayed around the tower and didn't teleport somewhere into the city. Seeing her at the picnic tables he slowed down so he wouldn't be winded as he tried to approach her.
"Do you want some company?" He asked.
"I guess so. You're not going to leave are you?" She asked, head still down.
He chuckled softly and sat down next to her on the side where he could see her face. "Nope, not this time."
They just sat there for a few minutes, not looking at each other. Well, Raven looked at Robin because he sat in her point of view, but Robin kept his eyes off her to try to ease the tension. No one spoke until Robin did.
"You realize that I'm not leaving until you talk about it?"
"All of it?"
He shrugged, still looking ahead at the trees. "I would like to know eventually, but that kind of reaction clearly shows that something is going on."
"I never said there wasn't."
"I know."
Silence lapsed again for a few minutes, Raven breaking the quiet that time.
"I just," she sighed, "I didn't know what to do." A pause. "I don't know what to do."
"You don't have to know what you're going to do just yet. This seems like quite the ordeal you're going through."
"Yeah." She mumbled. "It's just so much and that," she chuckled bitterly and turned her head the other way, "that was not what I needed."
"Well," Robin thought how he was going to phrase this, "it was going to happen sooner or later. And as much as it sucks, it's a good opportunity to process and get everything sorted out now instead of keeping it all bottled in and it blowing up later. I don't want that for you."
"I don't want that either." She admitted. "It's exhausting."
"Then let's start the de-bottling process." Robin declared. "What are you feeling right now? And 'I don't know' isn't an answer."
She was about to say she didn't know but caught herself. "Tired." She started, deciding it may be best to just give in. "Angry. Sad. Anxious. Embarrassed."
"Why are you feeling like that?"
"Because."
"That's not an answer either."
She made some angry mutters and grumbles and sat up, looking at the trees Robin was watching.
"I'm mad at myself."
"Because…?"
"Because I let myself fall for him-it." She hastily corrected.
"That happens sometimes." Robin consoled, noting what she said before she corrected herself. "I fell for that hallucinogenic dust a few weeks ago."
"You didn't have a choice with that. I did."
He had to admit, she had a point there. "But you were manipulated just the same."
She scoffed. "I'm able to sense these kinds of things. Maybe I just wanted to believe it."
"What did you want to believe?" He chanced the question.
She was silent as she thought. "You're not going to laugh." She said rather than asked.
"Of course not."
"I thought, that maybe he actually liked me."
"I like you." He said and put an arm around her shoulder. He felt her tense up but relaxed after the sudden touch. "You're a great friend."
"Like liked me." She elaborated, cheeks flushing deeper in addition to the cold.
Robin nodded deeply and slowly. "I see."
"Yeah." She mumbled, goosebumps ceasing for a moment as he gently pulled her into a side hug. He was warm, something she felt lacking with her shivers.
She let him hold her for a few minutes before she pulled away, Robin asking if she was ready to go back in.
"Hand over that brown marker!" They heard Beast Boy exclaim as they rounded the corner back to Raven's room. Raven had a look of slight panic not knowing what he was going to mark as they walked faster.
"Ooooohhh NOOOO!" Cyborg shouted excitedly. "You did not!"
"He certainly did!" Starfire chirped up. "May I draw one as well?"
"Of course! Go nuts girl!"
"Oh oh oh, move guys! I feel one coming!"
"Let the one rip!"
It was an interesting scene they walked into. Cyborg and Starfire had childish grins on their faces, giggles coming out freely as Beast Boy crouched over the book with a wicked grin on his face. They froze when they saw the two birds in the doorway. Beast Boy's grin faded into surprise but went back into a giggling grin when he farted.
"What the hell is going on?" Robin asked in pure bewilderment.
"We are giving him what he deserves!" Starfire said with a bloodthirsty look in her eyes that did not match the happy smile on her face.
"So, you farted…on him?" Raven asked
"Uh, yeah." Beast Boy said sheepishly and stood up. "He's an ass hole so might as well smell like one. It was stupid, I know."
"We also drew the penises on him because he acted like one, no?" Starfire added, pointing to the crudely drawn penises across the tomb.
"Yes." Raven acknowledged and confirmed.
"I hope we didn't step out of line at all," Cyborg stared hesitantly, "We just thought that-"
"Do it again." Raven demanded.
"Do what?" Cyborg asked.
"Beast Boy," he looked at her, not sure what was going to happen, "open the book and do it again. Close and lock it after." She said with a terrifying grin.
The green boy matched it and opened the book about halfway and let another one rip, quickly closing and locking the book as he chuckled madly. "Serves you right bastard! I had tofu bacon today and you all know how that ends."
"That will teach him the lesson!"
"Are you sure you're ok with this?" Cyborg asked.
"It's the least he deserved. Now put him away, I don't want to see it anymore."
"There's a space in the evidence room." Robin suggested.
Raven nodded.
Beast Boy walked the book over to her but she made a face. "After all that, you can carry it."
"Ok ok, fair." He nodded as he walked out of the room.
It was silent while the remaining Titans looked at Raven uncertainty as she spaced out for a moment before snapping out of it asking if the window nook was finished.
They worked hard for the rest of the day. The reading nook was finalized and they all took turns sitting in it and opening the window as if they were royalty greeting the morning songbirds.
The bookshelves were mostly repaired. They still had leftover wood from when they were first built but ran out before they could finish most of the first one. More was scheduled to be picked up the next day.
Dinner was a gourmet meal of delivered pizza. Cyborg had already made a big breakfast and nobody wanted to even think about making dinner after the tiring day they had.
The four of them congregated in the main room, having a grand time scarfing down food and talking and laughing while Raven decided to stay in her room.
She sat at her new reading nook. The window was open and she sat looking out at the water, the moon and lights from the city created dancing lights on the small waves. Her hair gently swayed in the breeze, loose from its bun.
She was supposed to be choosing the color she wanted to paint her room. That's what she told her friends at least. The sample containers sat by her feet, mocking at her indecisiveness. It would be easier to just pick one at random, but what if she didn't like it? What if it wasn't the right fit? They all looked so nice, and even with the blotches she put on the wall she couldn't choose.
'Maybe if I muscle test.' She thought.
Standing up, she picked up one of the containers, a deep blue, similar to her cloak. It was an intuition check. She often did this with medicines and dosages, incense, books, plants, anything really when she wasn't sure about something.
Feet shoulder width apart, she closed her eyes and mumbled a soft, "Is this the right color for my room?" Immediately her body leaned backwards. "That's a no." She placed the rejected color on the other side of the nook, away from the others and picked up a dark lavender color. She didn't lean in any direction, so a new pile was created.
In the end, of the eight colors she had, three of them were fine competitors. One was a dark purple, similar to the color she had now, the other was a blue purple color that looked like a hydrangea, and the final one was a gray purple color.
'Should I test them again?' She thought but turned around sensing and hearing someone.
Robin greeted her with a smile and two plates in his hands. "I figured you probably wouldn't want to eat with the others."
"But I would with you?" She remarked sarcastically, clearing the nook seat off so he could join her.
"And yet you're making space for me." He said and sat down, handing her a plate.
She just rolled her eyes and put the plate on her lap. "Thank you."
"Of course." He replied and took a bite out of his pizza. "How's the color choice coming along?"
"It's coming." She said after a bite of her slice. "I narrowed it down to these three but I still can't decide which one." She gestured with her food to the pile she moved on the ground.
"You know, you can't go wrong with a simple color."
"Oh, like your institutional yellow walls have anywhere to speak. They're so bland."
Robin did a cross between a scoff and a snort in surprise at her dis on his room color. "First of all, ouch. Second, it goes with everything so I say it was a good choice."
"If you want your room to look like a lecture hall." She mumbled through her pizza.
"You know what, I think you're starting to feel better because you're being mean to me again."
"It's not being mean, it's-"
"Building character." He finished with an eye roll of his own. "Yes, yes, I know."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence as they ate. Robin finished before Raven did, like usual, and he sat politely and quietly until she finished, taking the chance to look around.
All holes had been patched and passed Cyborg's inspection. It was obvious where they were because of the random spots of white drywall, but those would be painted over soon once Raven chose the color she wanted. The floor was seamlessly filled in, it just made a slight squeak when someone walked on it since the wood was still new and settling. The room was definitely coming along, but it still looked so empty and…sad. The desk and dresser were taken out, the only furniture remaining was her bed and nightstand.
"Can I ask you something?" Raven interrupted his thoughts.
"Sure." He took his attention away from the bookshelves that he was going to observe to the girl looking down at her plate in front of him.
"This is going to sound weird." She sighed with a slight chuckle. "But I finally slept so well last night, and with all of this that happened today I don't know if-" she sighed again and took a few deep breaths, "can you spend the night with me again tonight?" She couldn't help the blush that dusted across her cheeks.
He couldn't fight the red that colored his face either but gave a cough to compose himself and keep his mind in check. "Like uh, like last night."
She nodded. "Emotionally, it was a hard day and I don't think I want to be alone just yet." Looking up at him she asked, "Is that alright?"
"No, yeah, that's totally fine if that's what you want. Just until you fall asleep right?"
"Yes. That would really mean a lot to me."
"Then I'll go get my stuff from my office and meet you there later tonight." He smiled.
"What do you mean your office? You're sleeping in there?" She asked, guilt from taking his room coming back in full swing as she clutched the ceramic plate.
"Oh," he didn't exactly know how to explain that. He knew she was already feeling bad about using his room for now and didn't know he was moved to his office so he could get some more quiet and privacy. "It was just for last night ." He assured. "It's really no big deal."
"Yes it is. You don't even have a bed."
"I made a cozy nest on the floor."
"But that's not the same."
"I don't sleep much during the night anyway so it's fine."
"No, it's not. You should have told me and I would have left so you can have your room back."
"You need it more than I do right now."
"But you're sleeping in the office, on the floor. I'm the one invading your space and I can go somewhere else."
"No. I am more than happy to let you have a space, even if it is a slight inconvenience for me." He held up a hand to stop the blame she was placing on herself.
"If it's an inconvenience then stay the night!" She blurted out to both of their surprise. "I don't want you to sacrifice your sleep and health for me."
Robin knew there was no use in trying to keep the topic going because she would just counter any points he had. So he agreed with her. "You know what, maybe I will. I actually slept for more than six hours straight last night. Maybe it'll help us both."
Not really knowing what else to say she muttered a short agreement and declared she was going to check on her laundry.
