Waking up the next morning, Raven found herself alone in bed. The covers were rumpled, so Slade must have slept beside her and left early. She slumped back on the pillows. What was she going to do today? There wasn't much to do besides read, sleep, eat, read... then she remembered. Slade had given her freedom of the huge mansion. Yes! Something exciting to do! She really did want to see more of this beautiful house. She would start exploring right now.

Her stomach rumbled. Perhaps a stop at the kitchen first.

Raven threw the covers off her and got up. Dressing quickly, she headed out and down to the kitchen. The house was quiet. As she entered the kitchen, she saw that it was deserted too. A lingering aroma of toast hung in the air, however, so she guessed Slade was somewhere around the house. Walking further in, she noticed a brown bag on the marble counter. Inside it was a huge loaf of freshly baked bread. It smelled delicious and it was still warm. Mouth watering, Raven cut herself a large slice and ate it just like that. As she chewed the delicious dough, she considered where this bread had come from. Surely Slade didn't bake it? No, it was in a brown bag, and that meant it was bought. So there must be a town near after all.

When she finished the piece she'd cut, she cut another one and smeared some butter on it which melted into the warm bread. A sound of pure pleasure rose in her throat as she sank her teeth in.

"Like it?" said Slade from the doorway.

Raven jumped and put a hand over heart as she turned to face him, frowning. "Jeez! Don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry." He said, but she could hear his suppressed laugh.

"Oh go ahead. Laugh, you jackass." She said, starting to smile despite herself. Slade chuckled a little. "And yes. I do like the bread. You didn't bake it, I'm guessing?"

"No, it's from the village a few miles away. The bakery delivers it every so often."

"I see." Raven said as she took another bite.

It was too bad that Slade was her enemy. She kind of liked him; he would probably make a great friend. If he wasn't an enemy, of course. She wondered what had made him what he was - she sensed that there was a good person under it all. The relationship they shared at the moment was proof of that. He treated her with courtesy and never had he once tried to harm her. In fact, Raven felt at the moment like they were friends, though that could never be. He really was an enigma.

"Raven?" Slade seemed to ask tentatively.

Coming out of her reverie, she said "Yes?" He was now sitting opposite her at the counter.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Um, sure." She answered uncertainly.

"Are you in love with Robin?"

Raven's mouth dropped open. Well that was unexpected. She stared at him, speechless, for a moment.

"W-why would you ask something like that?"

Slade answered slowly, like he was weighing every word. "I noticed when I first brought you here, and I told you my plan... you said Robin didn't love you. I heard something in your voice... hurt, I think. So I thought that you must love him. Am I right?"

Raven was speechless again. Was she so transparent?

"I – I can't imagine why you would want to know this, Slade." Raven was avoiding his eyes, not wanting him to read the answer in her face.

"Would you tell me, though? Please, Raven." He asked softly.

Raven wasn't sure why, but she found herself answering. Truthfully. "I... I guess I do." Why was he bringing Robin up now? She'd been doing so well at not thinking about him. "But it's not returned, so I just have to get over it. You probably should have kidnapped Starfire, since they're the ones who are going out." Slade heard the dejection in her voice and felt, along with his sympathy, a stab of jealousy for her feelings towards Robin. Ridiculous. Why should he feel jealous? It's not as if she's his... love.

"Well, Robin's an idiot. How can he choose that airhead over Raven?"

He saw her head snap up and the surprise on her face. Shit. Did he say that out loud?

"What... did you say?" she asked softly.

"I... Robin's an idiot."

"Thank you. It was sweet of you." He knew she was referring to the bit he let slip. Slade nodded in acknowledgement. He was going to keep his mouth shut from now on.

They were both silent for a while, avoiding each others' eyes. Then Raven asked "Why did you want to know?"

Slade was caught off guard; he didn't even know the answer to that himself. "I was... curious, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Yes. I'm not exactly sure myself why I cared so much about knowing."

"I see." Slade winced slightly under his mask; whenever she said 'I see' in that tone, he knew she did see something more than what was obvious.

After another awkward moment, Raven said, "Well, I'm going to go and explore the house a bit, ok?"

"Sure. Remember, there are security cameras around." He warned gently.

"No worries. I'm not going to try and escape. Not like there's much point." She answered as she walked out the door.

Raven was relieved to be alone. What was with him asking her that? She'd been trying so hard to keep herself from thinking of Robin. The last thing she needed was a reminder from Slade. As much as she seemed to enjoy his company, right now all she wanted to do was be left to her own devices.

She walked along the cool corridor until she reached a stairway. She went up instead of down into the darkness, like last time. Don't think about that, she thought sternly. At the top was a more brightly lit corridor; it had windows. Raven stepped closer to peer out. A smile softened her mouth as her eyes rested on the beautiful scene. The house was obviously high up because she was looking over the tops of the trees that surrounded the house. Beyond in the far distance, she could make out a village huddled in the middle of a small valley. The rolling hills were bathed in the early morning sun which was still low in the sky since it had just risen.

Turning around, Raven looked up and down the corridor. She wasn't sure she had an appetite for exploring anymore. She just felt like crawling into bed with a book – she was starting to feel a bit depressed. Once again, Robin was on her mind, no matter how hard she fought against it. Being honest with herself, she missed him. Even if he didn't love her, she still missed being around him, having his presence near. If only she could switch her mind on and off; no matter what she tried to steer her thoughts to, Robin always popped up. It was like a broken radio – even though you try to change the channel, it always stays on the same one. But deep down, Raven liked to think about him. Maybe that's why she couldn't change the topic of her thoughts. It was almost as if she could keep him close if she just thought about him. Raven pictured his spiky black hair, sensual lips, blank mask that hid the window to his soul – the window she longed to look into...

Shaking her head, Raven sternly stopped her thoughts. It would do her no good to long after him like a lost puppy. Here and now was all that mattered. Thinking of now, Raven was still trying to figure the enigmatic Slade out. The person she was coming to know was nothing like the cold villain that she had seen when the titans faced him. She couldn't believe that this man was the same she had seen then. They seemed to be two completely different people. But Raven liked the person she was getting to know now. Maybe she could get him to change his ways... she was sure that under it all was a good person.

While Raven had been thinking, she'd slowly meandered down the corridor. Now she found herself in a darker section with no windows. She looked around, getting her bearings. Ahead of her, she noticed a door that was slightly ajar. Her curiosity peaked, she walked forward and pushed it wide. Standing on the threshold, Raven saw a dimly lit room with a large TV screen against the back wall surrounded by smaller screens. "What...?" she frowned as she took another step in. The she gasped, her hand jumping to her mouth. "No... No way!"