Not a couple

It was a new feeling. She didn't recognize it. It was like fear, but worse. Raven stared at her hands, confused. She didn't understand why she had this feeling. She didn't like it. Raven had been meditating all day. A knock sounded at her door, and Raven gulped. He spoke softly. "Raven? Can I talk to you?" She let out a shaky breath. "I'd prefer you to leave." She heard Robin shift. "It's about this morning."

"Then I do not want to talk about it."

"Raven......"

"Robin. I really don't want to speak of it." She sighed, knowing he would press on. And as usual, she was right. "I can't help you unless you tell me." Raven shook as she had a flashback.

He held on to her shoulders, threatening her. His orange mask was cold against her ear. "You're stuck dear Raven." And it was true. Her arms were locked into the wall, as were her feet. Her face was bruised up by her eye, next to her lid, and her leotard had a few slashes in them. One on her back, one on her shoulder, one on her stomach, and one on her arm. The man chuckled. "This will be a lot less painful if you just tell me Robin's origin." When she refused, Slade had stuck one knife in her leg. Raven cried, breathing heavily. She was........scared.

Raven just didn't want Robin to know about her loss to Slade. She heard him type in a code. "I'm coming in." Raven's breathing went heavy as she pretended to read a book. She didn't look up as her voice traveled to him. "I said no." Her eyes scanned the book while he spoke. "I know you're not reading, Rae." She looked up, surprised. Robin walked towards her, his hand grabbing her chin. "What happened today?"

Raven let a tear slip down her face. She closed her eyes. "He hurt me." She thought for a second. "Bad." Robin wiped the tear away, anger clearly on his face. He hugged her tightly, listening to her sobs. "I was scared. S-so scared." Robin nodded, kissing her forehead. "He's gone, Rae, he's gone." Robin soothed her, and Raven sighed against his shoulder. "Robin, please stay here with me." He knew it was a command. "Yeah, Rae, I'll stay. Just calm down. Did he............."

Raven shook her head no, still crying. "He just cut me."

"I'm sorry."

"It was horrible."

She shook, remembering. Robin held her tighter, keeping her from falling off the bed. Raven rested her head on his chest, enjoying his scent. He hugged her, but pulled away when he saw the marks. He planted butterfly kisses down her jaw, and Raven gripped his shirt. "Robin, that hurts." He pulled back, looking into her eyes. "I'll take you to the infirmary." He saw Raven's muscles stiffen, but relax when he touched her shoulder. "Fine." Her voice held no emotion.

Raven sat in the infirmary, watching Robin grab medical supplies. He walked back to her, his eyes unreadable under the mask. It was 9:00 pm, and everybody else was in the common room. Robin had locked the doors, just in case. He didn't need Raven disappearing if someone came in. He put the supplies down on the table besides him, taking Raven's left arm. It had a deep cut in it. "Did you heal this?"

"I healed it as much as I could. My emotions aren't allowing full recovery."

Robin nodded, rubbing salve on it, then wrapping it with gauze. It was hard for him to think Raven had worse injuries. He saw her jaw clench as he pulled her sleeve back down over the wound. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to grasp the right words. "I, uh, I need to get to your shoulder." He had known where all the injuries were. He felt it through their bond.

Raven responded with a nod, unzipping the back of her leotard just enough so that she could pull out her other arm. She let him put bandages on the cuts that littered her shoulder. Robin didn't dare ask to see her stomach. He wasn't suicidal. Instead, he patched up her forehead and stopped there. "I'm done." He said, gathering the medical things. Raven got off the table, heading for the door.

She was about to exit, but stopped when Robin called her name. He walked towards her, kissed her cheek, and stepped back. "Night, Rae." She only nodded, walking out. Suddenly, Raven wasn't so scared.