Lunatic: I don't own these beautiful cartoon creations.

Raven floated motionlessly on the roof, the world around her a montage of gold and blue. The day was new and innocent, the city blinking sleepily as the sun reflected off of its many windows and metal supports.

Raven had fled the living room shortly after Starfire abandoned her attempt at feeding her pudding. She needed to meditate and she loved mornings anyways. As she chanted softly her three-word mantra, she had difficulty controlling her thoughts. They kept wandering toward Robin.

"What did he mean 'seduce' you?" She asked suddenly. The others had left the table to clean off their plates. It took every ounce of control she had just to meet his gaze.

"Hm? Oh." Robin blushed. "Starfire assumed that because you… that you were trying to uhm… 'Put the moves' on me."

"You should have heard her, it was hilarious." Beast Boy interjected, overhearing their conversation.

"Do I seduce anyone?" Raven asked rhetorically. So that was why Starfire exploded. She had thought it was just because the Tamaranian didn't like the fact that she had lied, and perhaps was jealous of the competition, but seducing him?

"Hehe yeah." Robin chuckled softly. He hurriedly gathered his untouched breakfast and chased after Cyborg, challenging him to a game of basketball. Raven stared after him.

She found herself staring into the bright blue horizon instead, her chanting silenced. Why had he run off like that? And why was she asking such foolish questions?

She scoffed at herself and landed gently on the concrete. A pale morning breeze fanned her cloak out behind her as she stood, peering over the edge to the water below. It was unusually still, only licking at the toes of the rocks surrounding the T-shaped building. She was aware of the door opening softly behind her.

"Oh." Raven turned to see Cyborg standing behind her. "Sorry didn't know you were up here." He smiled gently, joining her by the ledge.

"I don't mind." They stood in companionable silence, Raven with her cloak billowing around her, Cyborg staring darkly at the soft clouds above.

"Rae, you being unconscious, that had to do with Robin right?" He said suddenly, not looking at the dark girl beside him. Raven didn't answer. "What happened? My sensors are never wrong, and that night they were way off… I'm just curious I guess." He got nervous in the face of her silence, rubbing the back of his head.

"It wasn't because of malnutrition." She responded sarcastically, reading his thoughts. It had only been his best scientific guess, but it was also the wrong one.

"I kind of figured."

She continued to stare stonily at the horizon, her hood shrouding most of her face.

"You're wondering how I can love him when supposedly I can feel nothing at all." She said suddenly. In truth it was her own thought, her own confounded question that she had just whispered aloud. How was she ever supposed to love him freely, if it was such a danger?

"Yeah. You could say that."

"… I don't know either."

After a moment, Cyborg spoke again, sounding hesitant and thoughtful. "You know… I don't think you give yourself enough credit. I think… maybe you could love him if you tried… if you chose to be happy about it, if you didn't hide it, if you didn't… choose to see the bad instead of the good." Raven was watching him, her expression unreadable.

"I don't understand." She said coldly. He turned to look at her, his human eye sad and brotherly. He put a metallic hand on her shoulder.

"Raven, everything about you is darkness and shadows. Love is something completely different from that. You have to choose to accept that difference instead of turning from it, or you won't be able to love at all."

Raven stared at her friend with a mixture of shock and unfounded displeasure. She had never known Cyborg to be capable of such things, though she had always suspected he was a deep and loving soul. But his words made her tremble, they upset the stable foundations of her beliefs and that frightened her.

"Are you telling me to be optimistic? Because that's Starfire's job not mine." She said instead, stifling the flood of emotions that threatened to over take her. He grinned at her.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Rage can't benefit from something that's its opposite right?" Raven gave him a tentative smile at this, wondering secretly if what he said was true. Every time she had ever been happy, Rage had never surfaced and her powers had never flown out of her grasp. Perhaps…

The door to the roof opened once again, admitting a curiously disheveled Robin. He saw them both, standing there with Cyborg's hand on her shoulder, and smiled.

"Finally. I've been looking all over the place for you."

Cyborg sighed. "I guess I have to leave again don't I?" He shook his head sadly as Robin nodded, grinning. "Nobody wants me around anymore." He sniffed. Robin patted his metallic shoulder as he passed.

"Don't worry, the T-car still needs you. And I think Beast Boy is about to beat your high score on Mega- Doom Part IV."

"WHAT?" Cyborg raced down the stairs in an instant, leaving the two alone. Robin suddenly became timid.

"So… " He stood beside her at the ledge, leaning against the stone barrier.

"What do you want?" She asked in a dark monotone. She was annoyed that her enlightening conversation with Cyborg had come to an abrupt conclusion and the last person she wanted to spend time with was Robin. Though her heart told her differently.

"I needed to talk to you." She waited patiently for him to continue, watching, as he remained motionless against the barrier. Because of his mask, she couldn't see where he was looking but she had a feeling that he was gazing at her, rather than the water below.

"And?" She pressed. Waiting around for him to continue was starting to get on her nerves, her heart fluttering nervously in anticipation of his response. At the same time that she admired his agile body, she imagined ways to throw him over the edge.

He frowned, as if concentrating on something important. "Raven do we have to do this?"

"What?" She said darkly. Her voice remained a monotone, a sinuous line of syllables with no meaning or expression.

"Avoiding each other and getting into fights whenever we talk."

"No." She turned to lean with him against the edge, elbows propped on the hard concrete. "You could leave me alone and I'll avoid you on my own."

He turned to glare at her. "What if I don't want to leave you alone?" He asked stubbornly. Her violet eyes flickered briefly to him, surprise beneath their amethyst color, and then returned to the horizon, unfazed.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I am not being ridiculous." He responded firmly. "I don't want to walk away from you."

"Robin, your responsibility as a leader and a friend has been fulfilled. You don't need to- "

"It's not like that." He interrupted, looking back out at the sparkling water lit with untainted morning light.

"Then what is it Robin?" She asked cautiously. She was tired of these games, tired of trying to guess what it was he wanted exactly. Obviously he didn't know himself. The strain of concealing how much these games angered her was making her weary and irate.

"I don't know yet." He responded quietly. That was it. That was all she could handle. She was tired of him making her guess, she was tired of being led around and she was tired of getting hurt.

"Robin, go. Now." She said suddenly, through gritted teeth. Her anger was rising against her, flames licking at the dark places of her soul. She could feel Rage stirring from its hidden place, hating him even more than she had before.

"What?" He stared at her. He didn't notice the black energy engulfing the generators and ventilation shafts around them.

"Robin GO." She said firmly. If he didn't leave, she would do something unpleasant and then there would be a whole mess to attend to.

He saw her pained expression as she stared unseeing at the waves ahead, and spun around to see her powers flickering in and out of existence. As he watched, several more outlets and appliances on the roof were taken by shadows. She turned around and shoved him toward the door. He ran before that too was covered in blackness.

XXXXX

Panting, Robin leaned against the door, listening as several things exploded on the other side. Starfire was waiting for him on the stairs.

"I am assuming that things did not go well?" She asked. Robin nodded.

"She lost control of her powers before I could… tell her." He followed the Tamaranian down the long flight of stairs, glowering sullenly at every step as if it were entirely their fault.

"This was perhaps a sign of her great affection for you?" Starfire speculated lightly. She was trying to think of ways they could get around Raven's inability to control herself around him, so that he could spend enough time with her to make up his mind.

"I don't know. But at the moment, I'm starting to wonder if this is worth it." He huffed angrily. He was getting frustrated with Raven and her pushing him away. He wanted to be close to her, and he felt that if he were, he would finally understand why. But that seemed impossible. The way she talked to him, the way she acted, it was like she didn't love him; it was like she hated him.

"Even they've learned to hate you…"

He remembered the sinister voice of Raven's Rage as it attacked him, the pain of her powers and the sting of his own mistakes. All of Raven's personalities had been there. Did that mean…?

Maybe she did hate him.

He hardly noticed that Starfire had stopped walking. He turned back to look at her, noting that she seemed fairly angry with him.

"Robin!" She said in a scandalized tone. The boy wonder couldn't help thinking: 'Now what?'

"You mustn't think such things! This is most definitely worth the trouble!" She flew the rest of the steps down to meet him, and put both hands on his shoulders.

"The happiness of both you and friend Raven depends on it!" She said seriously. She then headed toward the living room, mumbling plans to subdue Raven's powers as she went. Robin had the vague impression that perhaps letting her help was a bad idea.

XXXXX

It was Beast Boy's idea to have movie night every Friday. Unfortunately for all of them, the green shape shifter himself had been the one to choose the movie that night. He had chosen one of many zombie movies, this one called 'Resident Evil'. (Eheh only zombie movie I know.)

"All right BB! Good choice!" Cyborg vaulted over the couch, carrying a large collection of chips, sodas and candy. Starfire floated over to sit beside him, curious.

"Where is this place that provides residence to evil?" She asked in shocked tones. The other Titans groaned.

"Don't worry about it Star." Robin said gently, grabbing a soda from one of the many in Cyborg's stash. Beast Boy stood in front of the TV, holding the remote and waiting for everyone to be seated. Raven sat at the very end of the couch, ironically beside Robin.

She sighed inwardly. At least it was a horror movie. Hopefully this one wouldn't frighten her into creating a terrible house of horrors in the Tower. The last time that had happened was an incident she didn't want to remember.

"Is everyone ready?" Beast Boy asked, irritated. It had taken Cyborg half an hour to get all the snacks together and Robin and Starfire had taken even longer to get to the living room. When pestered about what they had been doing, they were far too evasive. The secrets and the long wait were getting on his nerves.

"All right! Prepare to be scared out of your minds!" Beast Boy sat between Starfire and Cyborg to better reach the snacks. He selected Play on the DVD menu and let the creepy music begin.

Raven watched with little enthusiasm as the plot slowly unfolded: a woman with little memory, brought into a secret underground lab blah, blah. She had to admit that the deaths were creative, especially the man turned into fleshy cubes by a grid of lasers. (I hated that part. Hated it, hated it, hated it –rants insanely-)

At one point, the heroes were caught in a room, with a horrible creature desperately trying to reach them. Raven jumped at the suspense and collided with Robin's shoulder. He jolted too, and looked at her in surprise. A tentative smile crossed his face when he saw the scared expression that she wore. He took her hand in a reassuring gesture.

Between the smile and the hand and the movie, she couldn't control it.

The TV promptly shattered.

Flushing, Raven stood and left the room, her hood barricading her expression from the others with shadows. Beast Boy and Cyborg were mourning the death of the television, while Robin and Starfire both watched Raven retreat to her room.

"Now we'll never know what happened!" Beast Boy cried dramatically.

"NO! My big screen!" Cyborg moaned in despair.

"Friend Robin, what happened?" Starfire said quietly, sliding over to where the boy wonder was staring at the empty doorway.

"I- she was scared so I- I just took her hand." He glanced at Starfire, looking abashed. "I probably shouldn't have touched her, huh?"

The alien nodded in response. "Yes, she was already frightened by the movie, your affections were too much for her." She explained gently. Robin stared at her.

"What do you mean my affections?" He asked hoarsely.

She smiled mysteriously. "Oh yes, I had forgotten. You have yet to decide." Still smiling, she floated over to the two boys crying over the shattered screen, offering to help them pick up the mess.

XXXX

Robin knocked hesitantly on the door, nervously awaiting the reply, if there would be one. He half expected an angry retort, or the sound of exploding glass. Instead, the door opened a crack, revealing Raven's pale face.

"What do you want Robin?"

"To apologize."

She watched him a moment, seemingly frozen between two decisions. Finally she sighed and opened the door all the way. "Come in."

He hadn't expected her to invite him in. Raven kept people away from her room at all times. He stepped cautiously into the dark chamber, where shadows and foreboding lurked. He repressed the urge to shiver.

Raven walked all the way to the large window, gazing out into the moonlit waters below. He followed and stood behind her.

She gave him no preamble, no request for his speech. So he figured he would rather apologize and flee with his dignity before an argument began.

"Raven I wanted to say I'm sorry-"

"Stop. Please." She whispered. He did stop, mouth open, and looked at her reflection on the window. She was crying.

"Raven?" His reflection joined hers on the glass, its hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to look at him, letting the tears drip from her chin and the end of her nose.

"I told you before," she sniffed miserably, "don't say you're sorry for things I want you to do." The glass before them began to crack.

"I won't." He promised, sobered by this expression of her misery. The window shattered and a cold wind from the outside swept into the room, sending both of their capes into a flurry around them. He felt Raven shiver.

Automatically he dropped to the floor and began helping her clean up the broken glass, while she sniffled and remade the window. Within a few minutes it was restored, and Raven had fully collected herself.

"I'm sorry." She said, wiping the tearstains from her face.

"Don't be." He said genuinely. He didn't blame her for being so upset, though he felt that maybe she shouldn't be. Without thinking, he wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

Raven blinked at him, like a small animal caught in the headlights. Robin let his hand stay on her face, watching her sadly. How much he had hurt her. He had broken the cold icy façade with just the touch of his hand. It was like a power, a control that he had over her. He didn't like it at all.

"Robin…" She said slowly, beginning to back away from his touch. He realized what he was doing and quickly dropped his hand. "You still have the urge to say 'I'm sorry' don't you?" She said, reading his thoughts. He nodded wearily.

Raven sighed, her face still not completely adorned in apathy. "Robin I should be apologizing. I've been treating you miserably." He watched her without speaking, his eyes and his expression hidden by his mask. "I've just… I've been trying so… so hard to push you away." She took a deep, shuddering breath, and glanced out the window to the moon above.

"I know." He said quietly. "And I haven't let you." After a moment, he added, "And I still won't."

She whipped around to look at him, eyebrows raised. "Why?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." He responded lamely. She smiled sarcastically at him.

"I could answer that for you, you know."

"What do you mean?" He watched her as she circled around him to the bureau by the door. It sported a large old-fashioned mirror, which she gazed into with sad eyes.

She seemed to be debating with herself, her head tilted as if she were listening to something. Finally she frowned. "Never mind. It's not important."

He caught her as she turned around, holding onto her upper arm. "Not important?" He asked her incredulously. "It damn well is important. It's tearing me apart!" He froze, realizing what he'd just said and done. His hand quickly released her and he backed away. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head, expressionlessly straightening her cloak. "It's late. I'd like to go to bed." As an afterthought, she smiled and added, "And as much as I would like you to, no you may not join me."

He couldn't stop himself from smiling in return. He didn't want to start an argument so chose to let the issue lie. "All right. Will you be OK?"

She nodded. "I can handle myself."

"Believe me, I know." He stopped at the doorway, looking back to see her standing in the center of the room. The darkness edged around her, but she remained illuminated, safe from the shadows by a single silver strand of moonlight. He wanted to freeze that image in his mind for all time: her pale face smiling slightly as the light touched her at last.

That's when he knew.

Lunatic: -sniffs-

I tried not to be all mushy romantic but hey, they deserve it. I was so afraid Raven would be out of character. Do you think she was? With the apology? I think maybe two more chapters? Hm not sure.

I'd like to say that while I was writing this, someone two houses down got taken away in an ambulance. Let us all wish them good luck whoever the heck they are (has no idea who her neighbors are).