"Tropical islands, bikinis and the women to wear them." He gave her a cocky grin, hoping she would let him slide, or at the very least not notice that it was an easy and entirely untrue answer. After all, he figured she didn't really want to know what was haunting his dreams lately.
"So you can lie to me, but I have to tell the truth?" A raised eyebrow and barbed words struck him.
"Uh…well…"He stuttered, he should have known she would catch the lie. They were too close of friends for it to be any other way.
"The truth wonder boy, just like you made me tell." She glared at him, still slightly embarrassed by how she had gone on about her fantasy and determined to make him bare as much of himself as she had, if only to equal the vulnerability.
"Fine," He nodded with a bit of a self depreciating smile. "I dream of a girl." He paused at her snort.
"Of course you dream of girls, you are a teenage boy." Her reply was a little disdainful at his answer.
"No, you don't understand," He turned his whole body until he faced her, curling one leg on the couch for a more comfortable position and leaning forward to emphasize his points. "I dream of A girl, I can never see her really clearly, but I know that she is the one person who knows me better than anyone. Her hair is soft, like velvet. Her eyes are full of joy and friendship every time she sees me. When she holds me in her arms I feel loved. She laughs with me and holds me when I cry. She is my best friend and…" his voice trailed off as a realization hit him.
"And? Is that all?" Raven asked, she thought it was a wonderful dream and felt just a little jealous of this girl, that even though she was a dream this girl had more of Robin than Raven would ever have a right to.
Robin looked at her, his mind coming back slowly as he realized that she was talking to him. "No that isn't all, there is more." He swallowed.
"Is this the part that I don't want to hear?" She asked amusement coloring her voice and jealousy shoved down below the surface.
"I don't know." His tone was soft and he looked deep into her face, as if searching for an answer.
"What?" Raven was getting a little irritated with all the staring he was doing.
"You." He replied, a small flush coloring his neck.
"You don't know me?" Confused, Raven tried to put the conversation together in a coherent manner.
"You are her." Robin continued to look at Raven, his eyes still filled with wonder at his discovery. His dream girl was sitting right next to him, his best friend and the girl he had somehow without his knowledge fallen completely and inexplicably in love with.
"Robin you are going to have to start speaking in complete sentences," Frustration seeped into her voice.
"Raven, you are the girl in my dreams." Robin spoke slowly and succinctly so that there could be no confusion in his meaning.
Silence echoed loudly throughout the room.
"Raven?" Her face had gone even paler, if that was possible and her eyes were so wide he thought they might fall out of her head any moment.
"Are you crazy?" She finally hissed, anger and betrayal running through her body and voice. "You think that this is an okay joke to play on me? Some way to get me back for playing a game you started." She jabbed a finger at him, luckily she still had a tenuous grip on her emotions so it wasn't glowing.
"This isn't a joke Raven." He wanted to grab her and hold her, but he was afraid if he touched her now she just might shatter.
"Then what is it? It can't be the truth; you're supposed to like Star." Her voice lost its anger and was now just full of hurt confusion.
"I do like Star, she's a great friend." He paused as he saw her consider his words; he pressed his luck since she was still sitting with him and not disappearing to her room or throwing him through a window. "I love you Rae. I don't know when it happened or how really, but I do know that I do. You are my best friend and I dream of holding you in my arms and feeling the softness of your hair against my cheek. I live for the glimmer of a smile and the force of your glare."
"You're crazy." She confirmed, but the truth of his words resonated throughout his emotions and even up the line of the bond they shared.
"Probably," he agreed. "Not many people run around in spandex and capes outside of the asylum, but I am not crazy about this…in fact I am pretty sure that you are one of the things that keeps me sane."
"You love me?" Her voice was soft and now full of wonder, all the chaos and all the consequences of such a thing ran through her head, but the fact that he loved felt like someone had just given her a canteen of water after a long trip through the desert.
"Yeah, I do." He scooted forward on the couch and when she didn't protest, he took her in his arms. "Do you mind?"
"I don't think I do." The wonder still colored her tone, she hadn't told him that she knew who her dream man was and now here in his arms she was. "How did this happen?"
"Dreams." He replied and tilted her face up so he could brush his lips across hers.
"I guess some dreams and fantasies are good ones then." She replied, as her eyes fluttered shut.
"Definitely." He smiled and leaned down again.
They didn't see the green changeling standing in the doorway to the control room with his mouth on the floor, nor did they see the metallic gleam of an arm reach through the door and jerk him back into the hall. They didn't see or notice anything around them for quite sometime, both reveling in the love and comfort they thought would only exist in their dreams.