I'm Fine (book 2)

Hidden Envelopes

Cyborg left the room to let whatever was about to unfold between Raven and Beastboy. Beastboy sat silently as Raven kept quiet. Neither knew what to say or even how to started the conversation. Raven wasn't ready to confront her newest revelation and Beastboy was too embarrassed to express his emotions after seeing her covered in Bee's blood. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Raven started the conversation.

"So I might've had an allergic reaction..." Raven mumbled.

"Really? What from?" Beastboy asked completely surprised.

"I don't know for sure yet." Raven lied and immediately felt her heart drop for doing so.

"Weird! You didn't have any allergies before?" Beastboy continued which made Raven feel worse.

"Not that I'm aware?" She continued.

A few more minutes of silence continued until Raven finally decided she wanted to sleep in her own bed. She got up carefully as Beastboy walked her to her room. She gently suggested that she slept alone tonight which made Beastboy sad but he complied.

In another room, Nightwing had followed Starfire to bed in her room. His mind was racing a million miles an hour and he felt that maybe being with Starfire could help at least a little. He laid flat on his back with Star on his chest but he still felt the nagging ache in his back as she slept. He stared at the the pile of red hair on his chest and started to day dream about their future:

'Star would make an excellent mother...I wonder if she wants kids?...I really should know that. Maybe I should ask her before we get married?...What if she never quits fighting...I guess I could be the stay-at-home dad...or what's a male house wife? A house husband?? A house husband!!...I kinda like the sound of that....ew...How did I get here?...Remember when you lived with Bruce and didn't believe love existed?...look at how much you've changed...Shit, have I gotten soft? Do I care if I've gotten soft? ...Am I too soft to be fighting?... I can still fight! Right?....I hope I can still fight?....'

Nightwing slowly sank into sleep but it was anything but restful. Starfire felt Nightwing roll violently in his sleep. She sat up and watched as he went from sleeping on his side, facing her, to being crammed up into a fetal position, clutching his head in his sleep. His breath was racing as Star lightly nudged his shoulder. He let out a pained scream, "NOOOOO!" As he snapped awake covered in a cold sweat.  He opened his eyes to see two concerned green eyes staring back. "I'm so sorry!" He panted. "You need sleep!" He spoke as he got out of bed and  left so quickly that Starfire didn't have the chance to react.

Raven snapped her eyes open breathing a little too quickly for comfort. She looked around her dark room until she heard, "NOOOOO!" come from down the hallway. She suddenly understood that her panicked dream was not hers. She got out of bed and threw on her cloak before leaving her room.

Raven found Starfire walking around in the hallway looking for Nightwing. She put her finger up to her lips and pulled Starfire along with her as they climbed the stairs to the rooftop.

Damien was dressed in his usual illegal activity outfit that consisted of a black tshirt, grey jeans, and a thin gold chain around his neck. He sat in the back corner of the underground fighting ring's audience and slipped the female crowd attendant in a black halter top dress an envelope with some cash and his bet inside. He was trying to stay inconspicuous tonight but little did he know, he was being watched.

Starfire and Raven opened the door to the rooftop just wide enough to see Nightwing without him noticing. He looked a little panicked as he paced around the cement. He abruptly stopped towards the edge of the rooftop. "AGHHHHHHHH!" He yelled as he sank to his knees. His head hung as he let his emotions get the better of him. Starfire wanted to go help him, but Raven kept a tight grip on her wrist.

"He needs to simmer before we go out there." Raven whispered quietly as Starfire's eyes started to tear up at the sight. Nightwing's hands were tensed into fists that were laying awkwardly on top of the grey boxers he was wearing. Not even the cold night air on his bear chest would cool him down tonight. He let loose and slammed the sides of his fists into the cement as he cried out again, this time a lot less angry and a lot more pained. Instead of picking up his aching hands he leaned into the cement until his forehead was pressed against the gritty cold surface. He finally unclenches his jaw and let the tears out that he'd been fighting back in this rampage. He let a sob escape as he picked his head up.

"They're gone." Nightwing whispered as he let the tears roll out, tracing their way down his collarbone and onto his chest. He sat back onto his feet for a little while before Raven and Starfire quietly walked out to join him. As the two sat down, he continued to watch the sky meet the waves.

"I guess you saw that didn't you..." Nightwing voiced darkly in a hurt tone neither of them had heard before.

"Who's gone?" Starfire asked softly. She placed her hand on Nightwing's stinging hand as he suddenly realized his nails had dug into the skin in his palms til they bled.

"My little brother and sister." Nightwing whispered numbly. "I saw the obituary in the news paper tonight." Nightwing continued. Raven sat suddenly making sense of the bits and pieces of the dream she had just witnessed. "The box I hide in my closet...those were letters I had gotten from them..." Nightwing sniffed as the air bit his nose. "I never told them I was a hero so I kept my identity and theirs safe. I used a secret post office box and never visited them...They were babies when our parents died, exactly 3 months old. They were adopted quickly, I wasn't." Nightwing took a deep breath. "I always promised I'd visit them when I felt it was safe and when I was done 'with work', but...it's too late...they're gone..." Nightwing said in between sniffles.

The blond in the black dress returned with one orange envelope that felt a little heavy. Damien grinned softly and tucked the envelope into the neck of his shirt where he had a secret pocket on the inside. He got up quietly and walked out of the back entrance. He paced down the sidewalk quickly and was almost to the entrance of the sewer tunnel he used to sneak around town when he felt a quick needle prick in his chest. He ripped the envelope out of his chest pocket and saw a tiny needle protruding the packaging. He started to run towards the sewer entrance as a trickle of blood ran down his chest. He ducked into the sewer tunnel and ran so fast he never turned to look if anyone was following him. Clutching the envelope in hand, he made his way to the tower at record speed.

He came out of the entrance that opened up on the island outside of the tower and felt himself getting lightheaded. He opened the door and stumbled up the stairs. He barely got to the living room before he stumbled onto the sofa. Laying there, he tried to focus on grabbing his communicator to get the other's attention but his fingers fumbled until he accidentally dropped the communicator on the floor. He stared up at the ceiling. His chest was cold and wet from the blood. He wasn't sure if he was dizzy from being drugged or if he had lost a lot of blood. He knew it was around 3:30 in the morning. He just had to hold on for about 2 more hours before Nightwing would wake up. He could feel his eyelids getting heavier by the second.

"Help!" Damien spoke weakly but no one was in the near vicinity.  He took a deep breath and mustered up the strength to shout. "HEEEELLLPPP!!" Damien shouted with all of his strength. He felt himself panic as he slowly faded into blacking out.