There were many things Robin expected to find after coming home from a three-week-long trip away from the town. He expected the house to be a mess, despite both Raven and Cyborg's best efforts, a lack of leadership often meant a lack of cleanliness to some degree. Starfire and Beastboy seemed to have a knack for overpowering the other duo in their ability to utterly destroy the kitchen and shared living spaces.
He expected something to go wrong or be broken. There had yet to be a time he left on a solo adventure where he didn't come back to a new piece of (replacement) technology or a freshly plastered cast on Beastboy's body. There was only so much they could do to hide any evidence of their mishaps, including lying about whatever events initiated their catastrophe, and Raven eventually became tired of being the scapegoat for hiding their injuries so that option was off the table. As if he couldn't collect the details by himself and figure it out if he really desired to, but as long as he came home to mostly functioning teammates, he would consider that a win.
Though it wasn't as frequent of an occurrence as it once had been, he wouldn't be surprised to find things of his had moved around the Tower, or even more interestingly, his room. Beastboy had slowly lost the fascination of breaking into Robin's room to steal a uniform or mask, especially when Robin had started boobytrapping his closet along with other miscellaneous objects to ward off random pests and offenders. But he wasn't stupid, and time didn't erase his memory so easily that he couldn't recall the near-perfect details of his room, down to the wrinkles in his bed. Raven would call him OCD, but he just called it being observant.
He expected Starfire to flit through the house quickly, barrelling into him as he passed the threshold of the entrance with joy at his return. He expected bone-breaking hugs and shrill shrieks of euphoria. He expected a warm and jovial welcome from the guys, happy for his return but lacking the intensity of the tamaranian. Initially, he would never expect much from Raven other than a "Welcome back" or "Glad you're safe" in her cool, raspy usual tone. But slowly she would warm back up to him, finding time to hang out with him alone to ask about the intricacies of his missions and quests.
Of all the things he expected, he didn't expect to find a completely silent and disheveled entranceway. The plush armchairs had scraped across the ground, some tattered and exploded, while others remained untouched. Mounds of what looked like dirt and debris scattered the floor, and a dusting of drywall seemed to be coating the room like snow. The rug stretching along the front door toward the main elevator looked shredded, folded in random areas on itself and curling around the chairs as they had been moved around the room. The sight causes him to falter, even in their most dire situations they had managed to clean up the house to a somewhat decent state before he had gotten back; a state that wouldn't cause so much alarm at first glance.
Dropping his belongings where he stands, he moves quicker through the house, noting the scattered distress that greeted him as he made his way deeper through the tower. He hears frantic overlapping voices as he quickly approaches the living room. The voices become clearer and more urgent the closer he gets. Tension thickens the air and he pushes himself faster as he hears a distressed wail and a familiar cry.
"Titans!" He leaps into the room, bracing himself low to the ground and ready for action as his eyes slowly take in the details of the room.
The room grows silent as he impedes, four sets of eyes all landing on him with various degrees of surprise and alarm.
"Robin!" A chorus of voices shouts his name, the emotions ranging from relief to horror to fear as the recognition hits them.
The soul-crushing hug he'd expected to be greeted with finally embraces him but is short-lived as Starfire pulls back to look at him with alarm evident in her eyes. "We do not know what to do!" She tells him, gripping his shoulders tightly.
"About what?" He frowns, his hands coming up to mirror the grip she had on him, lightly holding her shoulders as he tried to look into her apprehensive eyes.
"Raven," She says the demon's name like a curse, whispering it softly so as not to alert the empath herself.
"Raven?" Robin repeats, arching a brow as he peers around the tamaranian, eyes searching for the girl in question.
His eyes settled on Beastboy braced tensely next to Cyborg, who's watching Robin with wide surprised eyes. Beastboy seems to shrink sheepishly at Robin's eyes on him, even though they were still shrouded behind the layer of his mask. Cyborg's iris can't seem to make up its mind as it dances between Beastboy's horror-struck face and Robin's alarmed confusion.
"What happened?" Robin asks, straightening his posture and allowing his body to relax only slightly as the immediate sensation of danger begins to fade.
"Um!" Beastboy flusters, his face flushing as he shifts awkwardly in place, glancing up to Cyborg, his eyes pleading for help.
Cyborg's eyebrows raise at him before he holds his hands up and shrugs, slinking away from the changeling and slightly exposing the figure sprawled across the table. The panic renews itself in Robin's body and he pulls himself away from Starfire to rush over towards the center of the room. Raven's body stretches along the table, her cheek squished firmly into the cool surface. Her eyes looked glassy, rimmed with red as though she'd been crying for days. Even though she was laying stomach down against the table he could faintly see the languid rise and fall of her back as she breathes steadily.
Robin stops in front of her face, crouching down to her eye level, raising a hand to brush her hair away from her face. "Rae? You okay?" He looks intensely into her large dilated eyes.
She blinks in slow motion, causing Robin to become hyper-aware of the way his own lashes move as he watches her eyes slowly slip shut before raising just as slowly, her deep purple irises roll to look up at him.
"Robin?" Her voice is raspy, slurred, and slow just like the movements of her face.
"Yeah," The corner of his lips twitch as he smiles gently at her. "What happened, are you okay?"
Raven blinks at him slowly once, twice, before her eyes narrow in concentration, carefully scrutinizing his face. She swallows as her lips part, the action sounding dry as her even dryer tongue pokes out to try and moisten the skin before she speaks.
"They won't let me have any more brownies!" She whines gutturally, her eyes brimming with tears. An explosion accommodates her dismay, Starfire shrieking in surprise behind them at the sudden disruption.
"Brownies?" His frown deepens, glancing down at the table before standing to glance around the room before his eyes landed on his friends. "Brownies?" He repeats the question, directing it toward them.
"Ask that one," Cyborg crosses his arms, his eyebrows raising as his eye lands on Beastboy.
He should have known. The fear strikes through Robin again, though it's a different sensation than the house had originally greeted him with. None of the threat induced adrenaline bracing him for battle, this felt like the usual "parents coming home to find their most valuable prized possession had been destroyed" kind of fear.
"B?" Robin turns his attention to him sharply. "Why isn't she allowed to have any more brownies?"
"Wrong question," Cyborg mutters while Beastboy squirms.
"She already ate more than the daily supplement recommendation. You know how it is, the life of a hero… don't wanna let yourself go!" Beastboy jokes shrugging, his face flushing as he rubs the back of his head.
Robin's eyes jump between Cy and Beastboy, turning to glance back down at Raven's dazed expression. Realization snaps against his mind like a whip, the math adding quickly as he slowly turns back around to glare sharply at his friend.
"You didn't…" Robin's voice is laced with exasperation and accusation.
"Okay, wait— hear me out," Beastboy waves his hands in front of his body defensively. "Listen, I just thought you would want something nice and chill to come back to, to help you get nice and chill, you know?" He rambles insistently. "I know sometimes you have a hard time unwinding after time away so I thought the grass we got from Kole's forest would help…?" He grins sheepishly.
"Gar, " Robin sighs, rubbing a hand over his face, glancing back down at Raven who had her eyes shut tightly in a grimace. "And you didn't tell her?"
"I didn't know she was going to eat so many!" Beastboy cries. "I left them in the fridge so they wouldn't go bad and forgot about them!"
"How many did she eat?" Robin asks.
"...eight?" Beastboy responds slowly after counting on his fingers.
"Eight?!"
"Or more…I really don't know, man." Beastboy whines, dropping to his knees as panic floods his voice.
"Oh my god," Robin huffs, turning away from him and crouching back down to look at Raven. "Raven?" He calls to her, carefully turning her body over to lie on her back. Brushing a hand across her face again, he peels one of her eyelids to better inspect the pupil. "Can you tell me how you're feeling, Rae?"
Raven groans, lazily pulling her head away from his face so she can shut her eyes tightly again. "I can feel… the entire world… g."
"Can you move?" He asks, wedging a hand underneath her back to support her in case she tries to sit up.
"Not when we're on a fucking tilt-a-whirl, Robin!" She whines, her head lolling to the side heavily, casting her hair across her face. Her breath shudders, her chest stuttering as the air escapes between her lips. Her wide eyes flash open suddenly, locking on him intensely. "You… You can make them give me another one." Her voice is low and grave as if she'd unearth the greatest secrets of the universe.
Robin can't help but chuckle. "No, Rae, I'm gonna be honest I don't think that's a good idea."
Raven whines, her eyes shutting tightly again as her head rolls in the opposite direction, the table rumbling underneath her with a jolt of energy. Robin leans back at the movement, arching a brow as he turns around to look at the other Titans.
"We don't think she has control over her powers," Cyborg watches her sympathetically. "She's been going through a whirlwind for the better part of 5 hours."
"She was the most joyous when we first found her. She smiled brightly at us and laughed at Beastboy's jokes." Starfire says. "She did not mind when I requested to hug her."
"Star ended up carrying her around for like 30 minutes cause Raven didn't realize they were floating." Beastboy snickers.
"We aren't sure how many she ate before we found her," Cyborg continues. "We're also not sure how her powers are affected by it. She seems to still have power surges with extreme emotion, but it's random. We thought her healing powers might sober her up sooner but like I said…it's been 5 hours…"
Robin sighs, standing from the table and turning his back to Raven. "What have you guys been doing to try and help her?"
"She has been most hungry!" Starfire pipes up. "We have made sure that we nourish her desires, otherwise she becomes incredibly irate!"
"Probably shouldn't have told him that, Star," Beastboy mutters to her, earning a confused "Oh?" from the tamaranian.
"What have you been feeding her?" Robin worriedly asks.
"Not brownies…" Raven's voice is laced heavily with disappointment.
Starfire and Beastboy begin rattling off a list of foods, their voices overlapping as they ramble until Robin eventually cuts them off with another exasperated sigh. "Did you give her anything to drink? Water maybe?"
"Water…" Raven's voice gasps behind him, the air catching raspily in her throat emphasizing the dryness in her mouth.
Robin sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose while Starfire rushes to the kitchen to grab her a glass of water. Star flies over to them offering the glass and they work together to carefully pull Raven into a sitting position so she can sip her water. Her head lolls and her body sags forward causing Robin and Starfire to both lurch forward quickly to catch her. Raven shoves at both their hands groaning.
"Don't touch me," She whines, her voice rumbling in a nauseating burp as she bends over, her hand coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose.
"She's getting bitchy again," Beastboy grumbles to Cyborg, who elbows him in the side.
Raven's red-rimmed eyes snap open to lock onto Beastboy, her brows furrowing deeply as she scowls at the changeling. He freezes at the eye contact, his ears drooping as he holds up his hands defensively to apologize.
"Rae, do you maybe want to go lay down in your room or something?" Robin offers, taking the water from Starfire to offer it to her again.
Raven's eyes flash over to look at Robin, the purple irises dropping down to focus on his chest. He arches a brow as her tight expression slackens, her eyes narrowing as she leans away from his body and the water he offered her before shutting her eyes altogether and groaning. "Robin, you're too fucking bright to look at,"
Cyborg and Beastboy snicker from their safe distance away from the demon. Robin glances down at his usual colorful uniform and arches a brow before returning his masked eyes to Raven.
"Am I?" He chuckles, slightly amused.
Raven heaves in response, leaning away from him to rest against Starfire's shoulder. Star looks up at him with wide worried eyes as she gently raises a hand to brush soothingly at Raven's hair. Robin hands Starfire the water back so she can offer it to Raven, who grumbles while sipping slowly at the liquid. Robin can't help but chuckle as he watches her with amusement and endearment.
"Dude, you might as well take her to your room and let her sleep it off," Cyborg says, arching a brow as he eyes her sympathetically.
"My room?" Robin asks, turning to cast wide eyes toward the group.
"Dude," Beastboy snickers with a knowing smirk, while Cyborg returns a similar expression of skepticism.
"She cried for like an hour because she kept forgetting you weren't here and she said you were the only one who could make her feel better," Cy says arching a brow.
"She told Cyborg and I how much she adored us," Starfire started
"Many times," Cy agrees, while Beastboy mutters a sullen, "Not me …"
"She spoke very affectionately about you and wanted to boast her admiration for you as well, and was most disappointed when we told her you would not be returning until later in the day," Starfire continues. "She missed you greatly."
"That's when furniture started uh…" Beastboy falters looking around the room and shrugging. "Not being so together ?"
Robin bites his lip, flushing as he listens to their accounts of Raven's affection-laced profession, unsure how to mitigate the damage.
"Don't look so horrified, dude, we don't care," Cy assures him. "Plus we all had our suspicions, she just kind of confirmed them." He shrugs.
"You…knew…" Robin repeats the words as a statement, the heat in his face rising as his body chills with embarrassment.
"Late nights 'alone', early mornings together, any time something upsets her you're there to calm her down, any time you're working yourself up she's there to calm you down," Cyborg rambles, and the heat continues rising in Robin's cheeks.
"Turning up disheveled to distress calls, 'totally not hickies' that seem to heal suspiciously quick when they're brought to attention…" Beastboy continues and Robin dips his gaze.
"Like we said, it's not a big deal, it's not like it's affected us as a team at all," Cy insists.
"We believe it has made us stronger," Star pipes in, smiling down at Raven still leaning against her. "Both you and Raven are…" She searches for the right word.
"Nicer?" Beastboy mutters jokingly and Starfire giggles.
"Yes?" Star agrees hesitantly. " You have strong support for one another, perhaps in ways the rest of us do not fully comprehend. You both… have an understanding?"
"They understand each other," Cy corrects.
"Yes, but there is more than that," Star insists. "They are…complementary to one another."
Robin flushes at the attention, all the pairs of eyes on him suddenly make the room feel ten times hotter. Regardless of how careless they had been of keeping their relationship a secret, it still feels like a ton of bricks impacts his chest and sits heavily against his stomach. It wasn't like he thought the team would be upset or disband just because of the birds' interest in one another, his main concern was how the group dynamic would change with the shared knowledge that—to some degree— Raven was his favorite. But the secret was out now, and from the sounds of it it had been for a while, the words were just never acknowledged aloud; and now that they had been, it didn't matter. No one cared.
"How long have you guys known?" Robin asks softly, glancing down to let his eyes linger on Raven who looked like she had fallen asleep against Starfire's shoulder.
"Uh, depends." Cy chuckles sheepishly. "How long y'all been doing it? 'Cause we've also been taking bets…"
Robin blinks, he's not sure if there's even any blood left in his body or if it's all traveled up to his face in embarrassment.
"Uh, almost a year," Robin mumbles absentmindedly, his eyes lingering on Raven's flushed face,
"Dammit!" Beastboy groans, dramatically throwing his body over the counter in defeat.
Cyborg groans in disappointment, a hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"What? What were your bets?" Robin asks intrigued, glancing up to look at the two in the kitchen.
"I said after Trigon," Cyborg says.
"I thought that was too long ago," Beastboy counters. "I thought it had only been like three or four months."
"Why so short?" Robin asks.
BB shrugs. "You both seemed just as brooding and annoying as usual to me."
Robin huffs a laugh and Raven stirs against Starfire's arm.
"Dick," Raven whines, her eyebrows furrowing as she grimaces and tries sitting up but her body seems too heavy for her to hold and she sags forward with the motion.
"There's also that, we've been praying to god she's calling your name." Beastboy dramatically exasperates.
Robin chuckles, reaching forward to awkwardly gather the empath in his arms. "I'll take her, Star. Thanks,"
Starfire smiles as she helps adjust Raven into his arms. Raven curls into his chest automatically, her fingers twisting in his shirt as she relaxes in his embrace.
"What about you, Star? Did you bet too?" Robin asks after they have her settled.
"Of course," She beams brightly at him. "And I believe I am the victor?" She glances over to Beastboy and Cyborg for confirmation.
"Yeah," Beastboy affirms with a groan. "You win, Star."
Starfire's smile grows intensely as she turns back to look at Robin. "I guessed a little over a year I believe."
Robin smiles in return, "What do you win?"
"Bragging rights," Cyborg shrugs. "And we'd buy the winner dinner."
"We didn't have much to offer," Beastboy agrees sheepishly.
"What made you guess a year?" Robin asks curiously.
"Truthfully," Starfire's smile eases to a slightly more solemn expression, her eyes softening as she glances down to look at Raven curled peacefully in Robin's arms. "Although we often cannot see your eyes, your face is very expressive. I could see the way you look at her sometimes… like she is the most beautiful thing in the entire universe. I wished for a long time for you to look at me in that way, but it is a wonderful expression to see, nonetheless."
"We're okay, Star?" Robin asks lowly, quiet enough for only them to hear.
"Of course," Starfire smiles brightly at him. "I am…" She purses her lips in consideration. "I am allowed to be disappointed for myself, but happy for my friends, yes?" She asks, frowning up at him in confusion as she searches for reassurance.
Her words shock him slightly, the unexpectedly understanding response stuns him, and his cheeks flush slightly.
"Yeah," He breathes, offering her a gentle smile. "Of course, you can, Star." He pauses. "That's a good way to look at it."
Starfire beams, resting a hand on his shoulder before doing the same to Raven in his arms and turning to join the other boys in the kitchen.
"Do–" Robin calls toward the trio, unexpected nerves causing him to falter. "Do you guys want to talk about it at all?"
The three all exchange glances with one another, turning back to face Robin with various shrugs and expressions of apathy.
"What's to talk about?" Beastboy asks.
"Like I said, it hasn't affected us as a team. Who cares what you two do behind closed doors?" Cy responds easily. "Just keep the gross stuff behind closed doors." He finishes, his voice serious.
Robin chuckles sheepishly, nodding as the heat in his cheeks increases before shifting Raven more comfortably in his arms so he can begin walking toward the door.
"The last thing I want is for any personal decision I make to affect the team negatively. If any of you ever feel any differently, please tell me." Robin asserts.
"Yeah, yeah," Cy and Beastboy both brush him off dismissively.
"You banging Raven keeps her muzzled and that's the best decision you could make as a leader!" Beastboy jokes.
"Second to sending you to the pound," Raven mutters in his arms causing Beastboy to shriek.
"I thought she was sleeping!"
"If I open my eyes I'm in space," Raven groans, leaning her head against Robin's chest. "Don't think I won't kill you for that comment later."
A chorus of chuckles surrounds them and Robin drops his gaze to look at the demon in his arms. "Let's get you somewhere dark,"
"And quiet," She agrees.
Robin throws an appreciative smile over his shoulder at his teammates as he carries Raven out of the room. Sighing wistfully he holds her carefully to his chest, trekking slowly through the halls as he makes his way toward his room. Sliding the door open, he moves to set Raven on the bed quickly so he can deactivate the silent alarm he had installed to alert him while he was away. Keeping the light low and drawing the curtains shut, he turns his attention back to the girl on his bed, her back facing him as she lies lax against the sheets.
"You still alive over there?" Robin calls to her, walking to stand next to the bed behind her.
Raven groans stubbornly into the mattress and Robin chuckles in response. Glancing down at his clothes, he can kind of understand where Raven is coming from. Even in the dark shroud he created in his room for her, his uniform is still a stark bright visual against the dimly lit room. Grazing a hand over her back soothingly, she whines, flinching away from him slightly and he arches a brow, but moves away from her and walks over toward his closet. Pulling off his uniform and mask, glancing back over to his bed briefly before changing quickly into a pair of basketball shorts and a plain-colored tee. Crawling onto the bed next to Raven, he finally notices her dirty and disheveled attire. Chocolate and other miscellaneous stains look ground into the top of her uniform, and faint traces of brownie crumble along the creases of her lips and down her chin. He chuckles, raising his hand to brush her hair away from her face and she whines, curling her face deeper into the mattress.
"Rae, can I help you get out of these dirty clothes?" He asks her gently, only to be met with another groan as she turns her face away from him. "You're gonna get food all over the bed," He complains, tugging her arm to try and pull her face off the blankets.
She ignores him and he sighs, leaning over to brush at the hair on the back of her neck as he searches for the zipper on the back of her uniform. Easing the metal down her back she jolts away from him quickly, curling her legs to her chest and extending them quickly into his stomach. Robin grunts, his surprise stunning him more than the impact as she pushes him away from her.
"Don't touch me," Raven hisses, slurring her words softer as she presses her face into the mattress again. "I have a boyfriend…"
Her words falter off softly and Robin can't help the laugh that erupts from his throat at her profession.
"Yeah?" He asks amused, laying on his stomach on the bed next to her, arms crossing under his head to look at her. "Who's that?" He asks curiously.
"Secret…" She grumbles something unintelligible toward him and he chuckles, leaning closer toward her face so their noses are almost touching.
"Who do you think brought you in here?" Robin asks gently.
Her nose wrinkles at his presence, shifting away from him slightly and prying her eyes open to look at him through narrow bleary eyes. Her gaze lingers on his shirt again, not meeting his eyes she blinks slowly before her hand drags across the bed to flop limply against his chest.
"You changed," She murmurs.
"You said I was too bright," Robin reminds her.
Slipping her eyes closed again she nods as if reminding her had illuminated his body once again. "You don't smell right," Her nose wrinkles again.
He leans away to laugh, arching a brow down at her. "You weren't complaining about how I smelled 10 minutes ago."
"I don't remember 10 seconds ago,"
Robin laughs, brushing her hair away from her face again. "I was gone for a bit, I probably smell pretty different."
"Your bed smells like you. You smell like not you," She grimaces slightly, her eyes still shut.
He hums in amusement, "How about this, you let me change you into something clean and then I'll go take a shower before I relax with you. Will that help?"
Her shoulders shake and slump and he considers that a shrug. "Can I get you out of this uniform, Rae?"
Groaning in response she rolls onto her stomach, giving him access to the zipper on her back. "You're not gonna kick me this time right?" Robin jokingly asks hesitantly, his finger lingering on the zipper.
"Tempting," Her voice is quiet and heavily muffled into the sheets and he laughs, sliding the metal down quickly and exposing her skin.
Rising from the bed he moves over to his dresser, rummaging through his drawer of relax shirts and finding a soft short sleeve raglan shirt and a pair of shorts he knows are too small for him and might at least make due on her for now. Climbing back onto the bed he moves over her to begin carefully prying the material away from her skin, moving her body like a ragdoll as he finagles her body out of the uniform and into the clean clothes. Using a cleaner part of the uniform, he wipes at her face, scrubbing off as much of the remaining chocolate as he can before letting her relax against the bed and tossing the soiled uniform somewhere on the ground.
Robin leans over her to quickly press a kiss against her forehead, chuckling against her skin as her nose wrinkles in response to his proximity before he pulls away. Moving over to his dresser again he decides on only a pair of boxers, too exhausted to worry about anything else when he didn't plan on leaving his room for the rest of the night. He heads to his bathroom, stripping his barely used clothes off and tossing them in the corner of the room. Turning the shower on and adjusting the temperature he gets in quickly, scrubbing his hair and body with his usual products, hoping it provides satisfactory results to Raven's sensitive nose. Lastly scrubbing at his face and rinsing his body once more he stops the water and steps out of the shower.
Taking time to dry his hair mostly and body completely, he slips his boxers on and returns to his room. Raven moved in the time he had been gone, twisting and curling her body in the sheets so she was wrapped like a burrito, her head covered like a babushka, his comforter is fisted tightly in her hand, her nose burrowed into the fabric so only her shut eyes and wisps of purple strands poke out from the cocoon of blankets she's created. Admiration overwhelms him for a moment, stopping to watch her with a faint smile on his face he can't help but chuckle gently. Rubbing the towel over his damp hair once more he tosses it back toward the bathroom before slowly joining her on the bed, crawling his way up the mattress until he's parallel with her face.
Laying next to her carefully he sighs contently, admiring the softness her face seems to have fallen into. He can't hear her breathing against the fabric pressed to her face but he can see the faint rise and fall of her body under the mound of blankets. The seemingly natural furrow of her brow has eased off her face so she looks almost doll-like, the faint lavender-esque hue of her blush the only thing painting life into her otherwise still body.
Wriggling as best as he can under the blankets without disrupting Raven's nest, he scoots his body close to her, their foreheads nearly touching as he watches her sleep peacefully. He weaves his hand through the spiral of blankets searching out the heat of her body in his own sense of comfort. He finds the warm soft skin of her legs, curled up into her chest and he rests his hand against the flesh, his thumb brushing soothingly across the area as his own body relaxes against the sheets. Faintly he hears her own muffled hum of contentment, her body shifting closer to his subconsciously. Time passes in a blur as he watches her face, the twitch, and roll of her eyes behind her grey-tinted lids, the flutter of her eyelashes against her cheeks. The longer he watches her, the more his mind slips in and out of consciousness, finally sweeping over to join Raven in sleep.
It's dark and cold when he finally wakes up again. Robin's body jolts awake, heart hammering with adrenaline as he tries to focus on details in the dark but familiar surroundings. He breathes heavily, his eyes slowly setting and becoming used to the darkness. Glancing back down at his bed his sleep-fogged brain faintly recalls an entity missing as his hands sweep out and finds the semi-warm sheets barren.
"Raven," He calls out to the darkness of the room, listening carefully for a response or sounds of movement only to be met with the sound of silence.
Sighing, he rolls over to flip the switch on his bedside table lamp, illuminating the empty room with a dim warm glow. Looking around he finds nothing, no signal she'd been here at all besides the dirty uniform still wrinkled on the ground near the foot of his bed and his disheveled sheets. Groaning he rolls himself out of bed and stretches before heading to his bathroom to search for his demon there. The bathroom proves just as cold and empty as his bedroom and he arches a brow. Where would she have gone? The team had commented earlier about her hunger needing to be satiated pretty regularly, maybe she'd made her way back to the kitchen… with the brownies…
He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers as he hurriedly finds simple clothes to cover his exposed body before slipping on his mask and sliding out into the hallway to begin making his way toward the living room again. Walking briskly into the room, he's met with only the dimly moonlight-lit air. Unsure what time it is but assuming it to be late, it would make sense the rest of the Titans had turned in for the night, especially knowing they no longer had to watch after a beyond-baked Raven. Blinking around the room he hears the faint rustle of plastic and his eyes dark over toward the kitchenette.
The bird he's looking for is there, sitting perched on the counter with her back to him, her body stiff except for the very subtle movement of one of her arms shifting that accommodates the sound of plastic crinkling. Sighing in only mild relief he begins walking over to her, his brow arched as he tries to see what she's doing. Raven's body looks rigid as he approaches, but the closer he gets he can see the way her body shudders and her breath sounds like it catches wetly in her nose.
"Raven?" He calls to her gently and her breath shakes.
He walks around the counter to get a better view of her, his eyebrows knitting together in concern as he takes in her appearance fully. She's still in the t-shirt and shorts he had helped her change into earlier, the shirt wrinkled and disheveled from her nap and sleep lines still embedded in her cheek and arm. He notices the glistening against her face then, the shiny round flesh flush as she sniffles again, raising her arm to whip at her eyes with her shoulder. She moves again, slowly raising her hand to her mouth and he watches her take a bite of plain white bread, the bag she'd collected it from cradled in her arms, pressed to her chest as she slowly chews the food.
"Rae?" Robin tries again, slightly louder this time, and she slowly turns her tear-streaked eyes to face him finally.
"Robin?" Her voice is hoarse and raspy with tears, the bread in her mouth muffling his name.
Her eyes look wide and laced with sadness and fear, licking her dry lips causing crumbs of bread to tumble from her mouth.
"What are you doin'?" He asks her gently, slowly approaching her position on the counter.
"I…" She glances down at the bread in her hands and lap, her mouth smacking together dryly as she remembers the food there and continues chewing it slowly. Her hand raises slowly like she has half a mind to take another bite before she falters and drops her hand back into her lap. She whimpers, her head drops heavily, resting her chin against her clavicle causing her hair to flop around her face. "I don't wanna be high anymore…" She whines, her voice meek and muffled.
Robin can't help the airy chuckle that falls from his lips as he stands in front of her, bracing an arm on either side of her legs and leaning into her space slightly. She lets her body slump forward, her head falling to rest against his shoulder as she continues chewing slowly. He lets one of his arms wrap around her body, rubbing his hand against her back soothingly.
"I know," He chuckles. "I'm sorry, Rae."
"This makes it go away, right?" She pulls her watery eyes up to look at him, offering the bread up to him in question.
The corners of his lips curl in amusement, taking the bread from her and arching a brow. "I think that only works with alcohol, Rae." He tells her, dropping the bread down to the counter.
Her eyes shut in defeat, huffing out another whine as she slumps forward into his arms again. Robin laughs, rubbing her back. "How are you feeling?"
"My body feels nonexistent but it doesn't feel like I'm going to throw up if I open my eyes anymore." She responds.
"Did you enjoy your brownies?" He asks jokingly.
"I did until they started digesting," Her body shudders as she's reminded of the snack. "I don't think I'm ever going to be able to eat brownies ever again."
"I didn't think you'd be so strongly affected by weed," He comments.
"Me either," She shrugs, pulling back so she can move the bag of bread from in between them and onto the counter out of the way. "Sounded like it was pretty strong weed too from what I remember Beastboy saying,"
"From Kole's forest," Robin agrees. "Very well taken care of and full of underworld nutrients,"Raven shudders again, her eyes shutting subconsciously as the shiver racks her body. "I never want to be high again,"
Robin chuckles, "Shame, I heard you had a lot of nice things to say about a lot of people. Me especially."
"Huh?" She cracks an eye open to look at him, arching a brow.
"Seems you get a little overly affectionate while under the influence, apparently cried for an hour because I wasn't here," He smirks.
Raven clenches her jaw, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. "That doesn't sound like me…"
"Mmm, I have three sober eyewitnesses that can back up the claim," He leans closer toward her face. "We can always check the security footage if you don't believe them,"
"That won't be necessary," Her lips pursed in dissatisfaction, looking down at the counter.
Robin chuckles. "I can't tell you how interested I am in what you said to them about us,"
"About us… " The color in her cheeks increases vibrantly. "…I told them about us?"
Robin nods, smiling crookedly. "Don't feel too bad about it, they already knew apparently, and were all just taking bets."
"Star…?"
"Won the bet." Robin glances down at Raven's fidgeting fingers. "She's happy for us."
Raven's body seems to relax at his words, exhaling a relieved breath from her nose and nodding. "I'm glad," Her eyes linger on her fingers before looking back up at him curiously. "The others?"
"Seemingly couldn't care less," Robin shrugs. "Didn't have any questions or concerns other than the details of their bet."
Raven hums in acknowledgment, nodding at the knowledge before she raises her eyes to meet his, raising her hand to rest against his face. "How was work?"
Robin chuckles, leaning further into her hand and wedging himself between her legs. "Exhausting. Long. I was going to tell you how much I missed you, but I think you've got me beat."
Raven groans, rolling her eyes, though her cheeks round slightly as her lips curl into a smile. "I didn't even notice you missing.,"
"You didn't miss me at all ?" Robin coaxes.
Raven shakes her head, biting her lip while she struggles to keep her smile hidden. "Wish you were gone longer, actually."
"There's nothing about having your fearless spectacular leader around, that you missed for three whole weeks ?" Robin teases dramatically.
"I missed the silence… no loud music blasting out my eardrums… no one telling me what to do," She leans back, drawling her words out as she waves her hand absently in the air to emphasize her apathy.
Robin laughs, "As if anyone could tell you what to do,"
She grins widely, lazily swinging her legs on either side of his body. "Correct."
Leaning forward her eyes slip shut, and their faces almost touch as she tosses her arms over his shoulders, crossing them at her wrists as she smiles faintly.
"I missed you," Robin whispers.
"Mmm," Raven hums in consideration, toying with the idea of teasing him further or relenting to the truth. "I missed you too," She decides, leaning forward to press their lips together chastely.
Sighing contently against his lips, her body melts into his. Their kiss lingers, and any remaining feelings of loneliness his trip had left him with, drift away as he holds her close. Enhancing the kiss even further, there's no longer the nagging worry or fear that they'll have to pull away if someone walks in.