Feathers

 No wonder Batman had gotten around Gotham unnoticed, thought Raven as she leaned against the balcony of her rented room. The buildings and towers were practically shadows, even in the blinding day time. At night, it all looked ominous, as if it were the black teeth and claws of the world and ready to maul the sky. The city streets were lit with loud humming cars and bright headlights, and Raven spotted a police car in pursuit of a biker gang. She gripped the balcony rail and elevated herself on her toes. Instinct was telling her to help.

Sighing, Raven flattened her feet. This wasn't her city. This wasn't her battle. To get involved with Gotham City affairs would mean attracting attention. Unwanted attention. Her plan had been to come to Gotham City, visit Cyborg, and then leave. No side quests. Especially when the person she mainly wanted to avoid could find her at any moment. It was his city, after all.

Robin. Or Nightwing, since the Boy Wonder's name had been passed to another. Raven hadn't seen her former team leader since the breakup of the team, after Starfire left for her home world. Her planet needed her with Blackfire's mounting army preparing for another takeover, and though sullen, Starfire had made the noble decision to leave. For good. They were happy for her, everyone lied. Tamaran would have a wonderful queen, they said. They feigned smiles and waved goodbye as she plunged into the sky with Silky in the crook of her arm.

It took less than an hour for her absence to take affect. Cyborg and Beastboy trudged to their rooms, and Raven tailed Robin at a distance. She laid her hand on his shoulder. "Robin...she'll be back. Especially when that candy shop she likes reopens." Robin had patted her hand and entered his room without a word. The meeting he called the next morning was the final meeting they would ever have. Beastboy had cried.

Raven had kept up with Cyborg and Beast Boy, but Robin practically evaporated. No one had a clue where he had gone, until a mysterious vigilante with a blue crest appeared in the newspapers. Even when wearing the eye mask, Raven still recognized his features, and there was still that little crease between his eyebrows that meant he was deep in thought. Another newspaper that kept up with his city cleansing was laid on the bedside table.

The wind was picking up. Raven tucked her hair behind her ear and fingered the piercings. How could anyone sleep in this loud city? Tire screeching, shouting neighbors. There were footsteps on the roof and the rain was beginning to patter-

"Raven."

Raven jerked her head up to the roof. The newspapers hadn't quite captured his muscular physique, but perhaps that was because the moon was shining down on him like a spotlight. A step forward and Nightwing landed on the balcony with the grace of a bird. Raven flinched. "Ro-...Nightwing."

"I saw your name pop up in the hotel files...Rachel Roth. Didn't know you were going by that now." He reached forward to close her gaping mouth. "You'll catch flies. They're big around here."

She was still taking him in. This man before her definitely wasn't Robin. Not just because of his black and blue color scheme as opposed to his former red yellow and green, but his persona all together. Because of her empathetic abilities, his air of confidence rolled over her like a heat wave. But even his prideful heat couldn't smother the cold self-doubt that clung to his heart. Raven shuddered. "It's been so long. You look..." she extended her hand and waved from his head to his feet. "You look..." Breathe, Raven. "Different."

"So do you. I like the mohawk."

Raven laughed lightly, but her heart stung a little. No one knew that her haircut was a tribute to that eventful day with Starfire. "Do you wanna come in?" She moved to slide open the balcony door and accidentally brushed against his arm. The static like feeling made her shiver. Why was her empathy so strong tonight? Or was it just that Nightwing had a lot of pent up emotions? Probably the ladder, Raven decided as she moved her jacket from the cushioned chair. "You can sit here."

When he sat, Nightwing leaned his head back and sighed. He reached and locked the balcony doors. Raven didn't question why and sat on the bed facing him. "What have you been up to, Rachel?" There was a relieving edge in his voice, as if he had wanted an answer to the question he asked for a very long time.

"I've been in Azarath and helping rebuild it. Every now and then I'll come back here and visit Garfield and Victor and some other friends..." her voice trailed off. She didn't want to admit that she had been avoiding him, but he seemed to had picked up on it. They both knew that if she wanted to, she could have found him. But it went the other way around too. "How have you been?"

"Busy."

"As always," Raven smiled, offering to lighten the mood.

Taking the beat, he beamed back and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "It's good to see you, Rachel. I'm assuming you came here for Victor?" Of course he would know Cyborg was here. If he could find Raven in a hotel than the hospital records had to have been just as easily accessible.

"Yeah. I saw him just earlier. At first his battery was getting dangerously low and we weren't sure he'd make it. I'm hoping he's better now."

Nightwing smiled. "Wayne Tech made a generous donation to get him a better battery." When he stood, Raven had to crane her neck to look up at him. "Is that all you came here for, Rachel?" She knew exactly what he was implying.

"Yes. You lost touch so I figured you didn't want to be found."

"You wanted me to find you though, right? Otherwise you would have entered the hotel with a different name." It wasn't completely a lie. It had been an idea that she pushed to the back of her mind as childish. Or maybe it had been, dammit, hope. Hope that some part of Robin still remained in Nightwing and wanted to see Raven. And him addressing her as Rachel only made her feel farther away from him. They had an unsaid rule to always call each other by alias unless...

Unless the moment called for otherwise. Was this that moment? Or was it because he knew she could see through him like a window? See all of the memories of his mistakes that he tried to repress with confidence. Raven would never pry into him without his consent, but the emotions he was giving off seemed to beg her to do exactly that. She sighed. "What do you want from me, Dick? You were the one that disappeared. I took it as a sign that you wanted to be left alone. We all did." She raised her hand before he could interrupt. "It was your call for us to split up but none of us thought that meant permanently. I did search for you. We searched for you." Her gaze turned cold. "But you didn't want to be found."

There was that crease between his eyebrows again. He sighed, considering his words before speaking. "I'm sorry...that was stupid on my part. And if you're still mad, I understand." He shrugged and cast his gaze to the balcony. "In this city, I have to operate alone or the people I care about get hurt..." He didn't have to say more for Raven to know that someone had perished from his tale. Out of respect, she chose not to ask who. His entire history involved losing people close to him, from childhood to adulthood.

And as an adult, he was hurting. Badly. "Dick...", Raven sighed. When she laid her hand on his shoulder, he turned his head to her. "I forgive you. It was a long time ago and we were all still coping with Star leaving. Don't be so hard on yourself." Remembering the newspaper, she leaned to grab for it and raised it to his attention. "Look." She pointed at the picture of his profile beneath the headline. "To this city, you're Nightwing. But to me," she dropped the newspaper. "To me and to Victor and Garfield and Starfire, you'll always be Robin..."

She had gotten used to reading his expressions with the eye mask, but now she couldn't place what he was thinking. The crease between his eyebrows was gone, he had no hint of a smile. But he was unknowingly charging Raven with a new potent energy. He walked backwards and reached to open the balcony, then exited, without a goodbye. Slowly realizing what she felt, what he felt, Raven's heart raced so fast that she had to sit on the bed.

Lust...Breathe, Raven. Her empathy was strongest when detecting one of the seven deadly sins, and Nightwing was packing more than just lust. Pride and envy were present, but lust outweighed them both. What was Nightwing lusting for? For his former life? For Raven? Or was she mistaking all of it for longing? Something was not right and now she understood why he left. He knew what he was feeling would reflect on her. Nightwing had left to spare her from feeling his emotional turmoil, and before he could do anything he regretted. Same old Robin, looking out for his teammates even if it meant hurting himself.

But Raven could take care of herself now. And she could take care of her friends too. So she shoved through the balcony doors and jumped over the railing.