At three in the morning, the doorbell rang.

Raven couldn't say she was surprised to see a smiling (more like grimacing, but she could tell what expression he was going for), yet tired Dick Grayson at the door. Though it had been a while since either of them had been titans that didn't mean that they weren't still friends, but he rarely came unannounced. That could only mean one thing. A glance to the drops of red on and by his feet only confirmed her suspicions.

"Come in," she sighed, "...before you get more blood on the floor."

If the landlord of her apartment ever had any questions about the strange brown stains in her carpet, he never asked. It might have been that, besides the discoloration, she was a perfect tenant. Always paid her rent on time, was never loud, didn't do drugs or drink alcohol, no trouble with the law, nothing. But honestly, it was almost certainly because he was afraid of her.

Despite the fact she'd grown out of some of her awkwardness, as an adult she was almost more intimidating, and very mysterious. Some of the other tenants whispered about her sometimes, how they were worried she must be a murderer or psychopath or villain or anything dark like that. Raven was never offended. At this point, her teenage insecurity had melted to the confidence of an adult, and fighting crime and knowing how strong and capable she was, and with the help of her friends, she no longer cared for the opinions of total strangers. The truth was so far off from their gossiping she had to keep her amused laughter to herself.

She could tell them who she really was, but there was no fun in that.

But anyway, the blood that created those dark spots was usually from Dick.

He didn't just come to her when injured, honestly he rarely did, but when he rang her doorbell it was usually serious. At least bad enough that he couldn't handle it himself, and serious enough that he didn't want Jason to do it. His trust for her was just as strong, but it was a different kind of trust. He was fully aware that while the wounds he came to her with might cause emotions he wasn't prepared to deal with, she would not show them and just take care of them for him.

He didn't just use her either. He called often, and came to visit occasionally. She appreciated it. They were still close friends, and she was glad that even though they weren't on the same team anymore, he still valued that. Valued her. But in this moment, there was the probably serious wounds she had to fix.

Dick definitely didn't disappoint that expectation.

When she invited him in, she noticed instantly he was stumbling, and bleeding a lot from more than one place. The sweatshirt was a muted, stained brown, the shirt underneath swallowed so completely by it she didn't see the color or anything about it. His jeans were old and bloody, and his feet were bare and dyed just as red as the clothes. The clothing was torn and obviously not his by the way it hung off his body. Raven didn't ask where he'd gotten it from.

"Go sit on the bed. I need to get some new sheets anyway," she all but ordered. He frowned at her (he did not like causing that kind of trouble) but it took one gesture to get him to move there anyway. Once he sat, took a deep breath, and off came the sweatshirt. Her violet eyes widened and for a moment she couldn't move, couldn't even breathe.

He wasn't wearing a shirt underneath, and there was an obvious reason why. there was an obvious reason why. His chest and stomach weren't good, just bruised with the stray cigarette burn and gash, but his back… It was something else. Whip marks, some maybe only a few hours old, many still open and bleeding freely, covered his back and the back of his arms. She was starting to realise most of the blood covering him was indeed his own.

No wonder he was having trouble walking. Injured this much, she was wondering how he even got here. It was almost as bad as Slade… And Slade was only that bad because he was obviously broken mentally. But currently, he was calm, hands folded, leaning forward with elbows on his knees as he stared at his bloody toes. Pain made his muscles tighten and cause a tense look about his posture and features, but besides that there was just the calm. Only calm.

That was almost more worrying.

"This…" What could she even say…? What could she say, when how this happened was becoming even clearer with each passing moments, the word dancing on the edge of her tongue-

"I… yeah. I know it's not good. I know it looks back. I don't… I don't need them healed. Just… can you close them? And then I just need to eat something and sleep, if you don't mind. I'd find somewhere else to crash, but…" The unsaid words hung in the air like a storm cloud. I don't have anywhere close to go.

It took most of the training that had kept her emotions locked since she was small to remain calm, and keep her voice that way, too, as she carefully sat next to him on the bed. "Dick, you can't just expect to be okay tomorrow. This… It's going to take a while to heal. I'm honestly surprised you made it here."

"…I know," he replied after a moment. His dejected tone was believable, and in that moment she knew that he wasn't as strong right now as he was pretending to be.

"I don't think you do. You're definitely staying the night, and maybe the one after that too." She didn't often take control, but when her friend needed someone to slow him down and Jason wasn't here to do it, she gladly stepped up. "And you need to tell Jason. You need to tell him you're here, and what happened."

His reaction was instantaneous. He shot up into a sitting position, a pained frown settling as a few of the wounds reopened and his breathing quickened. "I don't-" he choked on the words and swallowed them, his eyes wide and panicked.

"Relax. You've already hurt yourself more. It's… It was just a suggestion, Dick. A very good one. It's pretty obvious you've been tortured." He froze. Raven didn't need that confirmation she was right, but there it was anyway. "He's going to find out sooner or later, and you've probably been gone long enough for him to be worried. It's better to get it over with. It'll be easier on the phone than in person anyway."

"No." Firm, and left no room for discussion. Raven knew the tone. She wasn't going to get anywhere. It was frustrating, but...She knew when to pick her battles, and when to give in… but not without conditions of her own.

"Fine, you don't have to…" she sighed. "But you are staying the night, and if I'm not satisfied with how you are tomorrow, the next one too. This isn't a choice." A heartbeat. And then another.

"Okay." Dick knew too when to fight, and when it wasn't a good idea to.

"Good." Raven nodded and finally lifted her pale hands to hover above his back. The wounds closed at her fingertips. She paid special attention to the ones that seemed infected or were most likely to. The woman wanted to heal all of them completely, but Dick was right.
He had so many little wounds, it took most of her energy to heal them enough to stop bleeding, and knowing that she wouldn't be able to do much more there, she then healed some bruises and burns as well.

By the time she pulled away, exhaustion pulled at her limbs, and all she wanted to do was nap. Well, almost all she wanted to do.

"Can you stand?" she questioned, and he nodded."

"I think so. I should be the one asking that though."

"I'm fine." Raven waved the concern away. "I'm just tired. Go shower. It shouldn't hurt too much now. I'll take a nap, and then I'll make some food for us."
Dick probably would have offered to make the food if he didn't see the expression on his friend's features. So, he simply stood, and though he walked stiffly, it was much better than before. She watched him enter the bathroom and closed the door before she laid down on the non-bloody side of the bed. She was asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

The water was still running when she woke.

For a moment, there was that uncomfortable feeling common in those who had taken a nap. It felt like no time had passed, yet she had no idea. A quick look at the clock assured her that it had only been a half hour, and she relaxed. She still felt exhausted, but not as much as she'd been before.

Without another thought, she stood and walked towards the kitchen, suddenly glad she'd gone grocery shopping the day before. After barely a moment, she decided to fry up some fish. She wasn't a giant fan of the food, but she was usually well stocked on food that could help with blood loss. Especially when it came to Dick, who very much pushed himself too hard at times.

The water finally stopped when the smell of the sizzling fish filled the air. She wasn't too surprised that he'd taken such a long shower. He usually didn't, but he was covered in dirt and blood. He probably hadn't gotten an opportunity to wash himself off in a while anyway.

He quickly ate both of the fish she'd cooked, and before he could even thank her, she shoved him towards the bed, and don't argue because this is more than her insisting.

If it was possible, Dick fell asleep even faster than Raven had earlier.

She sighed and picked up the phone as soon as his breathing had evened out. Though she'd said Dick didn't have to call… Besides, he hadn't given her this number for no reason.

"...Jason?"

This is a two-shot I found in my google docs, and I thought I'd post it. Why not? While I struggle to write the next chapter of Mask, I figured I should give you guys something. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it!