A few days had passed since Hikaru moved in to Titans Tower. Currently the common room had devolved into chaos.
"I called it first!" Beast Boy jabbed a green finger toward the TV remote in Kid Flash's hand.
"Yeah, but I got to it first." Wally grinned, holding the device just out of reach.
"Because you cheated!" Gar transformed into a monkey, scrambling up the couch to grab at the speedster. "No powers allowed, we agreed!"
"Technically, I just walked really fast—"
"That's the same thing!"
Cyborg crossed his arms from his position near the kitchen. "Would you two shut up? I'm trying to watch the game!"
"What game?" Kid Flash shot back. "We haven't even picked a channel yet!"
"Exactly my point!"
Robin cranked up the stereo system until rock music thundered through the space, drowning out the argument. He settled back on the couch with a satisfied smirk, arms folded behind his head.
Hikaru lounged in an armchair, watching the scene with mild amusement. Donna sat nearby, looking equally entertained by the display. This was apparently what passed for a normal evening at the Tower.
"I had the remote!" Beast Boy's voice somehow cut through the music as he lunged across Wally's lap.
"Had being the operative word—"
"Give it back!"
"Make me, grass stain!"
"I'm not a grass stain, I'm—hey, that's my ear!"
Cyborg threw his hands up. "Man, I just want to watch the highlights! Is that too much to ask?"
Hikaru caught movement from the corner of his eye. Raven, who'd been sitting cross-legged on the floor in the quietest corner of the room, rose to her feet. Her expression remained neutral, but something about the tightness around her eyes made him pay attention.
"Would you all just—" She stopped, jaw clenched. The lights flickered.
Everyone froze.
"You know what? Fine. I don't care. I'll just go somewhere else. " Her voice came out flat, sharper than usual. "Watch whatever you want."
Black energy spread before she vanished into the floor, leaving only shadows in her wake.
Silence fell over the common room. Even the music seemed quieter.
"Uh..." Beast Boy looked at the remote in his hands like he'd forgotten why he wanted it. "Was it something I said?"
"Probably." Kid Flash shrugged, already recovering. "She's always kinda moody though, right?"
Robin turned down the music. "Maybe we should—"
"She said she wanted to be alone," Donna interrupted gently. "We should respect that."
Hikaru stayed quiet, watching the spot where Raven had disappeared. The comment had been harsher than her usual dry sarcasm. Not by much—enough that the others might dismiss it—but he'd been paying attention.
He waited a few minutes, letting the others settle back into their argument with significantly lower volume. Then he stood, stretching casually.
"Where you going?" Donna asked.
"Fresh air." Hikaru headed for the stairs. "I'm gonna go stretch my wings for a bit."
Nobody questioned it.
The roof access door opened with a soft click. Hikaru stepped out into the cool night air, the sounds of the city distant across the bay. Jump City's lights glittered like scattered stars, reflected in the dark water below.
Raven sat at the edge of the roof, legs dangling over the side. Her cloak pooled around her, hood up despite the mild weather.
Hikaru approached unhurried, footsteps deliberate enough that she'd hear him coming. She didn't turn around.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine."
The words came out too quick, too even. Definitely not fine.
"Cool if I sit here?"
Raven didn't respond.
Hikaru sat down anyway, leaving a respectful distance between them. He let his legs hang over the edge, leaning back on his palms. The wind tugged at his hair.
Silence stretched between them. Below, a ferry horn sounded across the water.
Raven exhaled slowly. "It was too chaotic in there."
"Yeah."
"They were too loud."
"They were, pretty standard for those three."
More silence. Hikaru didn't push. He'd learned in his previous life that sometimes people just needed space to work up to whatever they actually wanted to say.
"It's not..." Raven started, then stopped. Her fingers curled against the concrete. "It's not their fault."
"Yeah?."
"I just—" She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "My powers are tied to my emotions. My demonic half. If I feel too much, if I let myself get too angry or too happy or too anything, I lose control."
Hikaru nodded, keeping his expression neutral even though she wasn't looking at him. He'd known this already—both from canon and from what he'd sensed about her demonic heritage—but hearing her say it was different.
"So I have to suppress it," Raven continued quietly. "All of it. All the time. Keep everything locked down tight or risk..." She gestured vaguely. "Bad things."
"How long have you been doing that?"
"Since I was old enough to understand what I am." A bitter edge crept into her voice. "I grew up on Azarath… its a realm separate from Earth. The monks on their taught me. Meditation. Mantras. Emotional control." She said the last words like they tasted bad.
Hikaru considered his next words. "Suppressing isn't the same thing as controlling though."
Raven's head turned slightly toward him, though her face remained hidden beneath her hood.
"I mean, think about it." He kept his tone conversational, not preachy. "You're basically keeping everything bottled up under pressure. That's not control—that's just... delaying the explosion. Eventually something's gotta give."
"What else am I supposed to do?" The question came out sharper than she probably intended. "Just let myself feel whatever and risk hurting someone?"
"No." Hikaru shook his head. "I don't wanna lecture you on something I know nothing about, but… maybe there's something between 'feel nothing' and 'lose control completely.' Balance instead of repression."
"Balance," Raven repeated flatly.
"Yeah. Like..." He searched for the right analogy. "Okay, so think of it like breathing. You don't hold your breath all the time just because you might hyperventilate. What if emotions are the same way? You just... control it taking slow breaths in and out. I don't think its something you have to cut off altogether."
"That's not how it works."
"Well you know more than I do, but..." Hikaru challenged gently. "Have you tried?"
Raven fell silent again. He could practically hear her thinking.
"But the monks taught me to not feel any emotions…" Raven began to refute but trailed off at the end.
"But you're not on Azarath anymore. You're here. With people who are loud, messy, and chaotic and also people who've got your back even when you snap at them over TV remotes."
A sound that might have been a laugh escaped her. "I didn't snap. I was perfectly calm."
"Sure you were."
More silence. This time it felt less heavy.
"I don't know if I can," Raven said finally, voice small. "Feel things without losing control. It's been this way for so long."
"Doesn't mean it has to stay that way." Hikaru stood, brushing off his pants. "Just something to think about."
He headed back toward the roof access door, giving her space to process.
"Hikaru."
He turned. Raven had pushed her hood back slightly. Her violet eyes caught the moonlight.
"Thanks."
He smiled. "Anytime."