In the middle of the night at Titans Tower, Raven was standing outside her room in dark blue pajamas, drinking a cup of coffee that she had made just for herself. She was the only one who was awake at the time.

Or so she thought.

Raven had heard muffled noises from down the hall. Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, Raven quietly walked down the hall, the noises getting louder as she approached. Turns out those noises were the sounds of crying.

"Damian?" she asked to herself.

Raven didn't really know how to react. The fact that Damian, off all people, was crying, of all things, was certainly more baffling than anything. So much that she was barely struggling to hold in a laugh.

"Garfield and Jaime are certainly gonna have a field day about this", she quietly giggled. Raven is aware of Garfield and Jaime being the jokesters of the team, and while they did genuinely like Damian, he was also a difficult person to be around with.

"Tough-Ass Tough Boy Damian", they would like to say. Imagine all the hell they would cause for him once they find out about this.

But another part of Raven took it seriously, and told her that she needed to help a friend. Because that is just what they were right? Right?

Raven quietly opened the door to Damian's room and closed it, coffee cup still in her hand. When she turned to see Damian, he was sprawled out on the floor sobbing, but quietly enough so that nobody would hear. Raven wasn't sure what to do here. Comfort was never her thing.

"Uh...Damian?"

Startled by Raven's quiet voice, Damian immediately got up on her feet and throw a Batarang at his would-be intruder. It was embedded in the door, but left behind a cut on Raven's right cheek.

Damian came to his senses, yet his eyes were still misty. Embarassed at being caught crying.

"Oh...um...Raven? W-w-what are you doing here so early? And why did you sneak into my room?" he asked, trying to sound casual yet emotion was breaking through his voice.

"I heard you crying", Raven answered simply.

"No idea what you're talking about", Damian said, turning away from Raven.

"God, you're so stubborn", Raven muttered under breath, "I'm an empath remember. And I can tell that you're very...sad".

Damian sighed; there was no getting out of this one. "Fine, I'm sad. What do you care?" Damian said bitterly.

"Damian, I am your friend. It's my job to care", Raven answered sincerely. Damian scoffed at that, but Raven continued anyway. "When someone is in trouble, even emotional trouble, I have to help. Please. You helped me with Trigon. It's only fair that I do the same for you".

Damian gave up. He just couldn't disagree with everything that Raven said, because it was all true. During the incident with Trigon, the two had become genuine friends.

"Fine. I'll tell you. But don't think this makes even", said Damian sternly.

Raven rolled her eyes. She wondered how on earth Batman could raise this kid. "Noted", Raven sighed. But Damian comes first. Always.

Damian sat down on his bed, and Raven sat next to him. A little too close. He blushed at the contact.

"It's about my mother", said Damian. "Now we're getting somewhere", Raven thought.

"What...about her?"

"OK. You've been inside of my head, correct?" asked Damian.

"It was by accident when i was healing you. I remember that", replied Raven, taking another sip from her coffee.

"My mother was the leader of the League of Shadows. I assume you've heard of them?" Damian asked and Raven nodded.

"Well, let's just say that...I was conceived...after she drugged Batman and..." Damian trailed off.

Raven'es eyes widened in shock. "You mean to tell me that your mother raped the Batman...and you were the result? Get the fuck out of here".

"It's true", Damian said quietly.

"Sorry about that. I'm having a hard time believing that you are the son of Batman. And an even harder time that Bruce Wayne is Batman".

It was Damian's turn to be shocked.

"How did you...?"

"You surname is Wayne, you're Batman's partner. It wasn't that hard to figure out", Raven responded simply.

Damian felt his cheeks heat up again. Raven's intelligence was attractive.

"Bruce Wayne is a billionaire. Of course rich people get caught up in the whole 'rich guys get drunk and several months later have a child they never knew about out' kind of disaster. Except in this case, Bruce was the victim. But still. I feel you, Damian. Being the byproduct of a rape...it must stink", said Raven.

"It's just not that. My mother died", said Damian sadly.

Raven's mouth opened in shock. And Damian continued

"It was several months ago. When my father went missing. Me and Grayson found him, but it turned out that my mother was behind it. My own mother. She wanted to control the world, and she would kill anyone who got in her way. All because the man she loved didn't return her feelings. She tried to control us without any regret. She even had a nerve to call me a bastard to my face. 'Start with the bastard she said'. 'We'll always make more, she said'. But I still loved her, you know? In spite of all of that".

Just like Raven, Damian had a less-than-ideal parental figure. Except in Damian's case, his mother was the heartless one rather than the father. And even though Raven lost both her parents, she didn't let it bother her much. She could relate to Damian all too well. "How did she die?" she asked.

"Well, me, Batman and his associates had her cornered. She escaped on a ship. It crashed. Because somebody was on that ship with her", Damian continued.

"Are you sure it wasn't a malfunction or something?" asked Raven. Damian groaned in frustration.

"Look Raven, it doesn't matter. What matters is that she died", said Damian bitterly, wiping away some stray tears.

Raven turned away from Damian, fiddling with her now empty cup of coffee. With a sigh, she placed down on the floor before gently pulling in Damian for a hug. It took Damian a few moments to register that Raven was hugging him.

Raven. Was. Hugging. Him.

Damian alway thought Starfire would be the one to do something like this; after all, she was like the mother of the team. But Raven? Never crossed his mind. Damian blushed for the third time that night, and even more so from Raven's unusually soft touch.

"Damian. All your life you've been raised by killers. Even when Batman takes you into your life, you still don't feel like you belong. You're always hiding your pain, even from your father. Even from us".

Damian remained silent, but very soon the tears came back.

"Even from me".

Just from those three words, the dam started to burst.

"Like I said before, you helped me. It's only fair I do the same for you", Raven said.

Damian was choking back sobs by the dozens, just from how much Raven cared about him.

"Just let it out, Damian".

And he did. Damian wept and wept in Raven's shoulder as she rubbed circles around his back with one hand and stroked the back of his hair with the other.

After some time, Damian cried himself to sleep in Raven's arms. Raven lifted up the boy with surprising strength and placed him back in his bed, as well as draping his blankets over him.

"Good night Damian", whispered Raven, leaning down to give Damian a deep kiss on his forehead. Taking her empty coffee cup with her, Raven quietly left the room.

Author's Note: Sorry if Raven sounded OOC. I just thought it would be more fitting for how young she is in this universe. Anyway, feel free to review. I've only just recently posted my first stories so please be gentle. And check out my others too.