Birds of a Feather

4

We spent the next hour tracking the Joker's next move. Nightwing told me that while in Gotham they were trying to kill him in order to weaken Batman. Naturally, Nightwing kept clear of the two until a run in with Scarecrow and his fear gas. Although he wouldn't exactly tell me what he saw in the nightmare, the amount of fear radiating off of him was enough for me to believe his story.

"I'm still not seeing why they needed to drag you all the way to Jump. Why not stay in Gotham?" I sighed leaning back taking the last few sips of my tea. Papers were spread all around me as Nightwing sat uncomfortably on the couch looking anywhere but in my direction.

"Why does the Joker do anything? Probably just to get me away from Bruce." He said looking through a criminal report on Harley from a few years back. I smirked and turned in my chair. "You're lucky I already knew that." He looked up in confusion and quickly realized what he had just revealed. "Damn it. You're not going to tell anyone that right?" He said full of worry. "Who would I tell anyway?" I said. It sounded a bit more depressing than I was intending it to be, but it was the truth after all.
Nightwing looked around and set the case file down. "Want to get some pizza?" he said out of the blue. I turned and looked at him questioningly. "What?"

He smirked and tried to stand for the hundredth time since being in the tower. I held him back down to the couch with a dash of magic that took the shape of a seatbelt. "I will not say it again, stay still." He smiled, something that he had been doing a lot more than I remembered. "Yes, ma'am you can unbuckle me now. But I'm hungry and I was wondering if the pizza place was still open." He said tilting his head in question. I rolled my eyes and the magic vanished from around him. I got up to get the menu from the kitchen drawer and mumbled to myself "You would know if you had stayed." Though he didn't respond to my comment the wave of guilt rushed over me like the tide almost knocking me back on my feet. I set the menu down in front of him. "You can get what you like. I'm not picky." I said taking my now empty mug to the sink to wash. I heard him type something into his phone and order the meat lovers pizza just like he used to when we went there every weekend much to Beast Boy's dismay. I smiled at the memory and waited until I heard him hang up to speak.

"I'm going to ride into town and get the pizza. If I come back and see that you've moved and inch, you're getting a first-class portal back to Gotham where your buddy Bruce can take care of you." I said harshly as I stood in front of him. He nodded and waved the remote for the tv in his hand. "I'll just be watching tv then nurse Raven." He smiled.

I left to go change into my civilian clothes which hopefully hid me better than my uniform. It wasn't often that I went out into the public like this, mainly only to shop for groceries or books. However, with the Joker and Harley still somewhere in Jump City I thought it best to lie low until we track them down.

I took my car into the city, another thing I didn't normally do. My bike started to become recognizable as my hero vehicle so when I went into town, I took my black Jeep. I waited in the pizza shop for the pizza to be ready and absentmindedly watched the news that was on the small mounted TV. The news reporter for one of the local stations had apparently made a cover of the explosion today, claiming it was nothing more than teenagers pulling a prank. There was no trace of Nightwing or I or even the Joker being present in Jump. Before I could think too much about this my name was called and I made my way back to the tower.

I entered the lobby next to the common room and heard voices, presuming it to be the TV Nightwing said he would be watching. But as I entered two familiar faces were greeted on the large screen in front of me. I rolled my eyes and set my keys down on the counter nearest to me.

"Raven's back! You didn't tell me there was a reunion going on. Especially one with pizza!" Cyborg laughed from the screen. I smirked and set the pizza down in front of Nightwing, who surprisingly looked like he hadn't moved an inch like I told him to. "Yeah, well even if there was one you wouldn't show up anyway." I teased. While normally I would be upset by Cyborg's lack of interest in coming to Jump City there was something about us almost in the same room brought back memories from my younger years.

"Raven I love your jacket. I'm always looking for more civilian clothes." Bumblebee smiled across the screen. I could feel Nightwing staring at me and when I turned, I saw that he had not yet touched the pizza. "You can move now." I said with almost a hint of a laugh. Almost. It wasn't supposed to sound that lighthearted, after all I wanted him to feel how lonely I've been these past years. Something in his emotions a mixture of excitement and longing just led to me having a heightened sense of being loved and at home.

I grabbed myself a slice of pizza and sat on the couch at a distance from Nightwing. "Boy Wonder over here got himself shot." I mused looking at him over the slice of pizza. He moved his leg around on the table and laughed "It's not the first time and besides, you healed me!" Cyborg raised an eyebrow in my direction surely picking up the fact that I hadn't yet killed the man sitting next to me.
"Well make sure you rest for a few days, no crazy training routines or anything like that." Cyborg said, going into his old habit of being the team doctor. I nodded "Already said that. Had to threaten sending him back to the Bat to get him to listen." Cyborg laughed and at this I let out a giggle as well. My angry façade quickly fading in the mere presence of the person who acted as my older brother.

When the call with Cyborg had ended and the pizza had been eaten, I decided that I needed sleep, or at least a long night of meditation. "Alright, time for bed." I said grabbing the empty box and throwing it away. I picked Nightwing up off the couch with my powers and brought him to the end of the hallway where all of our bedrooms were. I hadn't changed anything from any of their rooms since they left. In fact, I hadn't even entered them in fear of being too upset. "You know I can walk by myself, right?" He laughed. I rolled my eyes and set him down in front of the door labeled Robin. He stood and stared for a while. I cleared my throat getting his attention off the door. "I haven't changed anything. I've not been in there since, well since you told me you were leaving." I said sadly, hanging my head low to avoid the awkward eye contact. The last time I entered his room, the boy who I had shared a bond with the boy I called my best friend told me he was putting me in charge of our home and didn't know when he would return. It was a moment forever burned into my mind and I'm sure he could sense my discomfort.

He took a deep breath and put his hand up to the censor. It took a second to track the information back from the old files in the tower, but eventually the door opened with a swish to reveal the bright red carpet in his room. He walked in and looked around at the walls as if taking a stroll through memory lane. "I can't believe you all let me live like a walking traffic light." This was the first thing he said after a long few minutes of silence. I couldn't help myself and let out a small laugh at his words, looking up at his new uniform. "Hey, who was I to defy our leaders terrible fashion choices. I'm still across the hall if you need me." I walked to the closet at the end of the hall and grabbed some of my extra essentials, bath towels, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and some other soaps for his shower. I handed him the objects and walked back to my own door. I stopped as I watched it open revealing my newly decorated room which was much less dark and dreary than before.

"Goodnight Raven. Thank you, ya know for not leaving me back there." Nightwing said nervously still standing in his own doorway. I smiled to myself hoping he wouldn't see the blush creep up on my cheeks. I couldn't believe after all of these years he was still able to get the better of me and my limited emotions. "We've got a lot to do tomorrow so don't be up too late. Goodnight" I said quietly without facing him. I walked into my room and could faintly hear him grumble something from across the hall and then the large metal doors slammed shut.