nothing to fear

and once becomes now

Whenever someone's asked what power I wish I had, flying is at the top of my list. 

But I have to admit,

I've learned to love falling too.

Chapter 6

He wants to be spirited away. Somewhere where the sun didn't shine so brightly and the colors weren't so vibrant, because nothing is better than the taste of something you can't have. 

"She still won't talk to me," Robin said, swallowing camomile grounds. 

He has learned that forever is a few seconds, that a sentence is a story. His words to her could be an eternity.

Raven stirred the teabag a little more harshly, disintegrating mixed leaves into her brew. "So?" Steam cast a mist over the cup. "What are you going to do about it?" 

"Excuse me?" He almost gagged on the spices. He had become used to the blunt delivery of Raven's unvaried key, but not this. This was just...done with him. 

Her hackles rose in irritation. "You two have been forced to talk so many times. Her running away. Red X. And now, me. You don't try unless the situation is dire. Unless you're afraid you could really lose her." 

He didn't even have to ask how she knew. 

"Fear." Robin flinched, mortified by his charade. "Why is it always fear?" 

His instability wearied Raven's staccato. "Fear. Doubt. Worry. Whatever you want to call it, it always puts you back in the same place. But I don't think you're afraid." 

She punctured what was left behind his mask. "I think it's an excuse not to try." 

He deflected. "Well, what is trying, Raven? What can I do?" 

She twisted his words on himself. "You know the answer. You just don't like that there isn't one thing you can save on your own." 

You can't control your emotions. You must rule them before they run rampant. 

But not even he could govern what he felt for her. 

"And if you rely so much on outside forces to fix what you can't save yourself..." She took a long, deliberate sip. "You have to think about if it's worth saving at all." 

"But-" 

She slams her mug down so hard that the porcelain palpitates. "I finished my tea." 

-

"Starfire?" 

Her moniker revives him as it kills her. He has said it so many times, let the call of her name build-up to something indescribable. 

She is a handprint on his heart. He wonders how he ever tried to get her off his mind. 

"Yes?" Depravity brims her eyes. "Is Raven-"

"No. It's a mission." He holds his pride like he should've held her. All of a sudden they are two kids on a playground, playing a game no one can win.

Her voice wavers. "Then surely someone else could handle-" 

He shakes his head. "Can't. Beastboy and Raven are on a date." 

If 'wait in line for a copy of the newest Super Ninja Fury ' counted as a date. Poor Raven.

"And Cyborg?" She probes. 

"Titans East." Because I sent him there. 

He primped his cape to its full glory, surging like a black trail behind him. "Let's go. It's urgent."