Secrets Aren't Meant to be Kept

In the Morning

In the Morning

Nightwing sat beside the medical bed with his elbows resting on the edge of it and his chin resting on his folded hands.

He stared down at Raven. She had been out for hours; it was already midmorning now. He was worried for a plethora of reasons.

For one, her body wasn't floating like it normally did when she was trying to heal herself. In addition, she had gone completely silent since they left the pit.

While, he was happy that she was no longer in that endless nightmare, he was concerned about what her silence meant.

Also, there was the issue with her blood. His eyes left her face to look at the container in hand, which contained her green, glowing blood.

He turned his eyes back at Raven and sighed. He had expected it for a while now. Based on the dreams that were sent him through their bonds from her memories, he had guessed that Slade had held her captive in Blüdhaven, where he tortured her.

The blood in his hand now confirmed it. She had been there in Blüdhaven when Chemo exploded.

He wanted to punch or kick something, but he didn't want to disturb Raven's sleep. Nevertheless, it frustrated him to know that he had been so close to her, in the same city, while she was being tortured by a mad man.

When he gets his hands on Slade, he was going to –

He heard the sound of the med's door opening on his left. He quickly pocketed Raven's blood, not wanting anyone else to see. Since she had been keeping it a secret, he would continue to keep it as one too.

"How is she?"

He twisted his head upward to look at Starfire, who had moved to stand beside Raven's bed on the opposite of him. She looked the same as the day that she left, not one age mark was on her face. She was simply gorgeous with wide, green eyes, kissable lips, and a face that any artist would dream to paint.

Nevertheless, she felt different. She no longer felt like fireworks at the state fair or candy apple on a summer day. She felt like the calm waves on the beach at night.

She was peaceful to look at, but dangerous to go into.

"Nothing has changed. She still hasn't woken up." He twisted his head to look back down at Raven. "Hopefully, she will soon."

"I hope so as well. I have truly missed her. I wish to be able to speak with her again soon." He glanced up to see her smiling down softly at Raven before her face transform with concerned. "Perhaps, Friend Raven will rest better with her cowl off." Starfire's stretched her left hand out to remove the cowl when he halted her action.

He would have like to say that he had stopped her, because he knew that Raven wouldn't want it removed. But he had stopped her for his own selfish reason. He wanted to continue to spend his time with Raven outside of the Tower freely. He wouldn't be able to do that if they saw how she currently look.

"She would want to keep it on." He told her, and she nodded. He was about to remove his hand from hers when he felt something underneath his palm. He moved his hands under her hand to see the pink engagement ring that he had given her on the day she had left.

His heart dropped. "You kept it?" He whispered. When he gave her the ring, it was out of pettiness and anger. Now, it came back to bite him. His past self had made things complicated for his present self.

"I did." His gaze met her hopeful ones. "Nightwing, I-" Her communicator rang. He recognized the old ringtone. It was her old assistant Kate.

She gave him a sad smile and said, "I should take this. She will only keep calling until I pick up."