This story is going to be set around different months of the year, most of them holidays. The plan is to update once a month, often with a holiday featured for that portion of the story. I did this with another series and it was very well received. Let's see how something similar does with a different couple at its center. Here goes nothing…
On a side note, this started out as a serious chapter and as I was writing, it just went in a whole different direction than planned. But I had fun with it, so we're starting off with some silliness.
Halloween Havoc
Raven stared at the Titans' fearless leader with an expression she knew must be bordering on disinterest. She doubted it was anything new for him to see on her face, but she attempted to at least project neutrality most of the time. It was rather difficult at the moment though, as the mission he was explaining to them held zero interest for her.
Fighting bad guys, she could get behind. Taking out henchmen and shutting down sites of illegal activity she was all for. But this? This felt almost like babysitting. And that she did not do.
Some rich socialite from Jump City was hosting a Halloween Ball. After receiving a few threats about an art piece she boasted of having on her bedroom wall, Claudia Mangout had somehow weaseled Robin—and thus the Titans—into personal security duty the night of the party.
Raven suspected it had something to do with Batman and the woman's connection to Gotham. That and the fact that the threats came from someone suspected of having ties with the Brotherhood. There were a lot of politics involved, but it broke down to one simple fact—the Titans would be attending the woman's Halloween Ball undercover, posing as guests while working as bodyguards and protectors of the arts.
"Cyborg," Robin said, hands on his hips as he addressed them. "I want you to stay behind at the Tower. This job requires a bit of…technical expertise."
"You want me logged into the security footage," Cyborg filled in, knowing where Robin was going with that.
The Boy Wonder gave a curt nod. "Exactly. Keep communication open and let us know if you see anything strange on the security feed." He turned his attention to the others. "Starfire and I will stay with the art piece. The perpetrator threatened to steal it out from under Ms. Mangout's nose the night of her party and hawk it to fund criminal activity in Jump City. We're not going to let that happen. That painting will not leave my sight."
Raven subtly rolled her eyes at this. It didn't take a genius to know why he'd choose that pairing. A chance to get Starfire alone in an intimate setting? She doubted he would spend much time at all looking at that painting.
"Raven, Beast Boy. The two of you will be Ms. Mangout's security detail. Stick close to her, but don't be too obvious about it. I promised we'd handle it…discretely."
Her and Beast Boy. That was nothing new. Ever since Starfire and Robin started dating, the two of them were constantly paired up for missions. Cyborg was the computer guy, so was usually left to do his own thing. This left Raven and Beast Boy suddenly sharing a lot of assignments together.
Raven gave a groan of annoyance at how awful the entire night sounded. "So we're supposed to follow this spoiled rich woman around without anyone noticing because it would reflect poorly on her reputation?"
"Exactly."
She glared at him, as he'd obviously not absorbed her irritation at this assignment. "That's stupid."
"It's a favor for Batman," he reasoned.
"Whatever," she grumbled. When Batman was involved, there was no talking Robin down. He didn't have the ability to tell the Bat no.
He clapped his hands together in delight. "Perfect. Now everyone get to the car. We've got a few necessities we need to purchase for this mission."
OOOOO
"No." Raven stared up at the mall's massive Halloween store in horror. "No, no, no, no, no."
"Yes," said Robin with grim satisfaction.
"It's a Halloween party," Beast Boy said from beside her. "Makes sense we would need costumes."
She shot the green changeling a dirty look and held up a hand. "Don't." She didn't need his input, especially if it was detrimental to her argument. Marching up next to Robin, she glared at their leader. "I'm not wearing some stupid Halloween costume."
He raised his brows, his mouth pressing into a tight line as he regarded her. "It's part of the job, Raven. We need to blend in. You'll wear a costume."
Her hands balled into fists, but she remained silent. As much as she might hate this whole thing, she wouldn't disobey a direct order from Robin.
And Robin knew it too. He gave her a cheeky grin. "Now get to shopping."
The other Titans walked eagerly into the store, but Raven moved at a more subdued pace. She loathed everything about this mission. The others would say she was being no fun, but she just had a hard time celebrating a day that glorified demons like her "dearly departed" dad. She could tell them with certainty that the romanticized idea of demons was more like a horror story. And truthfully, the whole concept of Halloween made her feel like a freak. Why would she wish to dress up like some demonic being when she was one every other day of the year? Halloween was just so…juvenile.
Lifting a costume up from a rack, she gaped at the skimpy material. It was a cave woman…barely. She tilted her head to the side, wondering where the rest of the material was.
"Hot."
She closed her eyes for a moment, embarrassment filling her at the sound of Beast Boy's voice. Of course, he would catch her looking at something so completely inappropriate. "Yeah, well. Not my thing," she said, placing the outfit back on the rack. "That's more Starfire's style than mine."
"Why?" he asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. "You've got the legs for it." His head cocked to the side much like hers had done a moment ago with the costume, and he stared appraisingly at her thighs.
Ire welled inside of her and she cleared her throat very pointedly. "I suggest you walk away now."
A blush heated his cheeks almost instantly and he scurried off.
Moving away from the section of skimpy outfits, she found herself in a row filled with princess gowns. She shivered in disgust. No way in hell.
"Friend Raven!" Starfire appeared at her side, waving a dress so full of ruffles and sequins Raven had to avert her gaze or be blinded. It was an eyesore of pink tulle and glitter. "Do you not love the princess dress?"
"Um…it's…" She tried to think of something polite to say about the gown. "It looks like something most girls would like." There. Polite without lying.
"It is!" Starfire hugged the dress to her chest in enthusiasm.
"But…aren't you already a princess? It's kind of redundant, isn't it?"
"It is the ironic," Starfire supplied happily.
Raven held up a finger, unable to even voice a reply to that. "I'll be back in a minute." Stalking off down the aisle, she went in search of Robin. She found him a few aisles over, staring up at a wall of men's costumes, a contemplative frown on his face.
"This is stupid," she grumbled as she joined him. "Starfire is dressing as a princess. A princess. That's not even a costume. It's her life."
Robin glanced away from the archer costume he was looking at to focus his attention on her. "It's just a costume, Raven. I don't understand why it's such a big deal."
She threw her hands up into the air. "Because it's dumb. We wear costumes every day. We don't need other ones." Something on the shelf caught her eye and she made a sound of exasperation. Snatching up the Robin costume, she waved it in his face. "Look! Look! A Robin costume. You could pay" —she glanced at the price— "holy hell, forty-five dollars for a cheap replica costume. Or you could just wear the real thing. Seems like a no brainer to me."
His chest puffed up at the sight of his own costume on display, but he quickly attempted to hide his excitement from her. Taking the costume from her hand, he placed it back on the shelf. "The point is to blend in. If we go in there in full super hero getup, it's not exactly subtle. Please, can you just do this?"
Knowing she'd lost the argument, Raven let out a huff of annoyance. "Fine. But just know I'm not happy about this."
"Noted," Robin said with a little smirk.
Hating his amusement, she marched off back across the store. As her eyes flicked over costume after useless costume, she silently envied Cyborg. Because he would be running surveillance from the Tower, he'd gotten to skip out on this asinine trip.
Meandering back down the aisles, she tried to find something that was at least acceptable. Women's costumes seemed to have a theme. They were either bulky and girly—like Starfire's princess costume—or they were skimpy and revealing. Honestly, she'd rather go the revealing route than wear something girly. Or pink. It just wasn't her. Besides, all that material would get in the way if she needed to fight.
So skimpy it is, she thought with a grimace. As annoying as his observations might be, Beast Boy was right. At least she had the legs for it. And she was proud of her figure. She worked hard enough for it, after all.
Sighing, she perused the rack of costumes. She dismissed each one as she went. A French maid? Though she might feel like a maid at times living with three members of the opposite sex, she was not about to wear something so incredibly sexist. A sexy nurse? Even though she had healing abilities, she felt no affinity toward the outfit, especially not with the way the girl's bosom was practically bursting from the material on the packaging cover. A sexy school girl? She shuddered at the thought. Why did all of these have to be so awful?
Then her eyes fell on a costume she didn't immediately hate. That was something, right? She took a step toward it, her eyes warily taking in the outfit. Princess Leia. In her gold bikini. She picked up the package and examined it. Princess Leia was at least a strong female figure. She helped lead a rebellion. And she hadn't chosen this skimpy outfit for herself. It had been forced upon her when she'd been held prisoner by Jabba the Hut. And the chain around her throat practically symbolized being trapped, as Raven would feel at this stupid party.
She smiled slightly. And hadn't Leia strangled and killed Jabba with the chains he'd enslaved her with? She glanced at Robin in amusement. During this Halloween shindig, she could finger those chains any time she grew angry and envision giving her leader the same treatment.
Decision made, she tucked the costume under her arm and made her way over to the others. Starfire was still clutching her princess dress with excitement. Raven doubted Robin would have any issues with it, despite the trouble it might cause in a fight, due to the incredibly low-cut top.
Raven rolled her eyes and tossed her costume down onto the checkout counter next to the one Robin had selected.
The girl working there snapped her fingers and pointed at them. "Hey! You guys look like those super heroes! The Titans!"
Raven gave her a deadpanned stare of disbelief. "Imagine that."
"Great costumes," the girl chirped. "You guys look just like them! That's some of the best cosplay I've ever seen!" She pouted. "You're just missing the robot guy and the green one."
Beast Boy popped up next to the counter and tossed a costume down onto its surface.
"Hey! There he is! Your skin looks amazing!"
Beast Boy sent her an inquisitive look, not realizing she thought he was wearing costume makeup to tint his skin green. "Um…thanks."
Raven shot Robin a look of annoyance. "See? She thinks we're in costume. And by that, I mean fake costumes."
"Can we just get a total please?" Robin asked, ignoring Raven's comment.
The girl smiled cluelessly as she rang up their purchase. "Those costumes are so good I would think you were really them. But the real Titans have better things to do than shop at a silly costume store."
"Yes, they do," Raven said in annoyance, which only caused the girl to laugh.
"That's a totally Raven thing to say!"
Rolling her eyes, Raven marched away, resigned to her fate.
OOOOO
Raven sat glumly in the far corner of the party, her arms wrapped around her bare waist as she glared in the direction of their hostess. Just as she'd surmised, she was hating every moment of this.
At the Tower, Robin and Starfire had headed to the party first. They'd arrived before the other guests to talk to Ms. Mangout and get set up in the bedroom. Cyborg had gotten into the security feeds before they even left. Raven and Beast Boy had arrived separately, going about their own business from different areas of the room. But she knew she would have to find him at some point as the two were supposed to be working as a team.
Sighing, she watched as Ms. Mangout twirled on the dance floor, laughing and flirting and just being over the top charming. Raven made a gagging sound and tightened her arms around her waist. She knew she was doing the self-pity thing, but she couldn't help it. Robin and Starfire were probably upstairs with their lips locked together, fully taking advantage of some alone time while she was down here with jerks hitting on her and people almost spilling their beer into her lap.
"Would you like to dance?"
Raven didn't even afford the man in black who stood before her a glance. "No. Go away or I'll break your arm." That had worked rather well with all of the others, so she was surprised when this guy merely shuffled his feet uncomfortably.
She waited, eyes lowered to the ground, for him to take the hint and walk away. When he didn't, she lifted her gaze in outrage and found herself staring into familiar jade green eyes.
Beast Boy ran a hand along the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "Sheesh, Rae. I get that you aren't thrilled to be here, but we're supposed to be working together."
She blinked in silent surprise at him for a moment. She hadn't even recognized him at first. Her gaze flitted over his costume. He was dressed as the Phantom of the Opera. The black outfit and cape helped keep him from standing out too much. Unfortunately for him, his skin was green, so the half mask was doing little to hide that. He should have opted for something with full coverage.
"I don't dance," she finally said, once her gaze had settled on his again.
"Yeah, but…we're supposed to be blending in."
"And?"
He flinched at her tone. "And you're not exactly…doing that." He frowned, shuffling his feet again. "You're hiding in the corner snapping at people. It's not exactly mingling, you know."
She let out a sigh and ran her hands over her face. He was right. She knew he was right. That didn't mean she had to like it. On the other hand, she had a mission and she was not one to let Robin down. "Fine." Though her mouth said "fine" her tone was anything but that.
His brows arched in surprise. "Really?"
"Really," she grumbled. "It's not as if I've got much choice." Climbing to her feet, she found herself with her nose practically in his chest. She blinked, as if it suddenly occurred to her that she now had to look up at him. When had that happened?
She lifted a hand to press lightly on his chest, easing him back. When she did, she caught sight of his expression. He was staring at her costume with his mouth gaping open. His gaze flitted over her bare midriff, over the high cut of the over-skirt that left little to the imagination, leaving her exposed nearly all the way up to her hip. Something unfamiliar flashed through his eyes and it made her feel…uncentered. Even if just for a fraction of a second. "Problem, Garfield?" she asked dryly.
His gaze snapped up to hers, his eyes widening in alarm. "No!" he squeaked. "No problem." Trying to quickly recover, he shot her one of his lopsided smiles and held out his hand. "Let's just dance."
She stared at his offered hand, not wishing to take it. Doing so would feel like officially giving up on her protests. Refusing to take his hand was the last bit of resistance she had left to her.
With a grin, he reached out and wrapped his fist around the chain that connected to the choker at her throat. He gave a little tug, pulling her forward, closer to him.
She found herself nearly pressed up against his chest while his grip on the chain kept her from pulling away. Her belly gave an alarming flutter at the sensation, one that caught her completely off guard. "Garfield," she hissed warningly. He was playing with fire here, steering her around like this. He had to realize that…
He ignored her objection as he continued pulling her toward the dance floor, keeping her gratuitously close to his lithe frame. He walked backward, his steps graceful, like a wild cat's. She supposed that made sense, in a very odd sort of way as he was still packaged in a human body.
Once he reached the dance floor, he gave a final tug at the chain, and Raven found herself suddenly in his arms. She sucked in a sharp breath as her breasts pressed up against a surprisingly firm chest. "This…this is unnecessary."
"You're posing as my date, Raven. And if you were my date, we'd dance just…like…this." One of his hands rested against her hip and the other slipped up her back, holding her close.
Raven's gaze avoided his, looking everywhere but at him. Awkwardly, she lifted her hands and placed them ever so lightly on his shoulders, offering as little contact as possible. She moved stiffly in his arms, praying the song ended quickly so she could escape. One song and they could convince people that they were just an ordinary couple, enjoying a night out together. Though his actions were nothing more than part of an assignment, this was hands down the most awkward moment she'd ever had with the changeling. And there had been plenty.
"We could be brother and sister," she finally supplied.
He snorted at this and just shook his head.
Yeah, he was right. At this point, the way they were dancing did not come off with a sibling vibe. Nor had the look in his eyes when he'd seen her costume. Frowning, she pushed this thought to the back of her mind.
Instead, she tried to concentrate on something else. Like the way he'd just stepped on her foot. She cringed and opened her mouth to offer criticism, but something caused her to pause. She couldn't immediately place what it was, but then she sucked in a breath and held it when she felt his fingers graze along her bare back, caressing her flesh. "What are you doing?" she asked in a tight voice.
"Hmm?" He flicked his gaze down to hers, an expression of puzzlement on his face.
"Stop that."
"Stop what?"
She snapped her jaw shut and clenched it tightly. Stop what. Was he purposely toying with her? Was this some sort of game? And why was her body reacting to it? "I'm hot," she finally said. "Get me a drink?" If he was looking to get a reaction out of her, he was going to be disappointed.
Looking not at all disheartened, he grinned toothily before jogging off in the direction of the punch bowls.
She followed him at a more subdued pace, her hands circling her waist once again in an attempt to cover up some of her exposed skin. Standing at the side of the dance floor, she waited for him to return.
The moment he did, she took the orange, foamy punch from his grasp and tipped it to her lips. She guzzled it, grateful for the chilled liquid. The acidic taste burned its way down her throat after she'd swallowed, like icy hot for the throat. It helped her refocus. "That was good."
He was watching her over the rim of his cup, smirking as he drank his at a much slower pace. "It is. Should I grab you another?"
She silently nodded her head in confirmation. She could definitely use another drink. Everything about this mission had her feeling out of sorts. Focusing on her cup helped to steady her.
As she waited, she surveyed the room. Everyone was still dancing and having fun. There were no bad guys in sight. Everything seemed calm on the surface. And even if it hadn't been, this was a rather easy mission.
Then why did she feel so tense? Because of one slightly sensual tug on her chain that hadn't meant a damn thing? Surely that couldn't be it. This was Beast Boy she was thinking about, after all. It wasn't like she was attracted to him. She just wasn't used to physical interaction, so it had her off kilter…right?
Another drink was pressed into her hand, and she turned to give Beast Boy a grateful smile. "All's still calm," she observed.
He nodded, taking another sip of his drink. "Which means you can get rid of that line between your eyebrows," he said, rubbing his thumb between her eyes as if to smooth away her frown line.
"Don't be annoying."
He snickered. "It's kind of all I got. I'm horrible at flirting."
His comment caused her to frown, and she drew her cup to her lips to hide her response. Was he flirting? Is that what had her so on edge? And if he was…why?
Tipping back his cup, he finished it off before tossing it into a nearby trashcan. Then he tugged at her elbow. "Let's dance again."
She shook her head. Once had been enough. She wasn't looking for a repeat occurrence. "I'm done dancing for the night," she said firmly, taking another sip from her drink. "If you want to dance, you'll have to do it on your own."
OOOOO
Music reverberated through the room, the bass pounding roughly in her chest. Her heart seemed to beat in time to the rhythm, matching the sensual swivel of her hips as she rocked them from side to side.
Behind her, Beast Boy yelled out ridiculous lyrics to some ridiculous song and it caused a laugh to burst from her lips. She raised her cup in the air, saluting the gibbering, though she honestly had no clue what the song was about.
Garfield let out a laugh of his own and released his hand from where it had rested against her bare stomach to hold her against him. He instead took her hand and twirled her around, her arm stretched above her head like some sort of Disney princess. Then he guided her in against his body once again with a hand on her hip. Waggling his eyebrows comically, he swayed against her to the ear-splitting music. His hips were pressed tightly to hers, and one of her arms was slung loosely around his neck.
"This party is fun," she yelled in his ear. Had she ever had fun like this before? Ever? She knew the answer to that. No. She hadn't. Why did she never have fun like this?! She spun again, placing her backside snugly against his groin as they danced. She rolled her hips back against his is a seductive move she hadn't known was in her arsenal. Her left arm snaked up behind her to wrap around his neck. Her right hand lifted her cup to her lips again and she took a refreshing sip…only to have the room spin ever so slightly.
What the hell?
She reached her left hand down to the one he had on her hip to steady herself. "What the…" Her vision swam slightly and she blinked in an effort to focus. Her eyes lowered to the cup in her hand and a chill raced through her as a horrible, horrible thought hit her. "Beast Boy…" She spun to face him once again, but this time there was no smile on her face.
He didn't seem to notice. He tightened his grip on her hip and pulled her closer.
She noticed that he stumbled ever so slightly on his feet, as if the action were difficult.
Shit. She had a suspicion that frightened her. Lifting her cup, she asked, "Where did you get this?"
He grinned goofily at her. "What?"
Taking his hand, she dragged him off of the dance floor, heading toward the beverage lineup. "Where did you get these drinks?" she repeated forcefully.
He waved a hand vaguely at the drink table. "There."
Raven tugged him closer to the table and waved at the punch bowls. "Which bowl." One of the bowls was labeled "virgin" while the other had nothing in front of it.
"Obviously that one," he said, pointing to the unlabeled bowl.
Shit. Just as she'd suspected—they were drunk. That explained their completely out of character actions. There was no way in hell she would be grinding on Beast Boy on a dance floor if she were in full control of herself. There was no way she would even be dancing to such upbeat music in the public eye if she'd had her full wits about her. "Why would you take from that bowl?" she asked, enraged and a little embarrassed as she played back their practical groping on the dance floor.
"Um…I'm not taking from the bowl insultingly labeled "virgin". That's embarrassing. It's no one's business—"
"Virgin means non-alcoholic, you idiot! You gave me alcohol! A lot of it." She looked in horror at her cup. "I had like…seven of these. Oh my god." She dropped the cup into a nearby wastebasket as if it were hot to the touch. "We're drunk."
"We are not drunk," he said with a laugh. And then he wobbled, stumbling into the table. "Holy crap, we're drunk!"
She smacked his chest with the palm of her hand and sent a special glare his way. "You idiot." The action made her dizzy and she reached out to grip the table to steady herself. "How are we supposed to—"
As if sensing their dilemma and wanting to pile on, Cyborg called on her communicator.
Forcing a professional expression onto her face, she answered. "Go for Raven."
"You've got some bad guys in the front parking lot. I see…three. Another four went around back, heading for the art piece. Robin and Starfire are waiting for them. Your three are looking to crash the party as a distraction. Usual bad guy tactics. Scare people, keep their attention away from the real focus. You and Beast Boy head them off in the parking lot. Keep the guests from even knowing they're there."
Raven nodded her confirmation, then shut down the line. Once the connection with Cyborg was severed, her gaze lifted to Beast Boy's and she glared again. "You moron. How are we supposed to fight in this condition?"
Beast Boy looked at her with wide, horrified eyes. "I don't know!" He fretfully ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up in crazy spikes. "I'm sorry, Raven! I didn't know!"
She seriously contemplated punching him, but at the last second, she merely let out a weary sigh. He'd been the one to give her alcohol, but she'd been the one to drink it. She should have realized that the burning sensation that came with each sip meant she wasn't drinking just punch. But she'd never had alcohol before, in her own defense. Even if she was old enough, she would have abstained. Her life revolved around being in control, and consuming alcohol was the opposite of that.
"Let's just get outside and take care of this. We have super powers. Even if we're drunk, we should still have the advantage." She took a step toward the doorway and wobbled on her feet. Her hand reached out to his arm to steady herself. "Put your arm around my waist."
"What?" he asked, sounding almost panicked. It was an amusing reaction for someone who'd had his groin pressed into her backside on the dance floor only a few minutes ago.
"Just help me get outside. Once the cool air hits me, I'm sure some of the fog will lift." Though she honestly wasn't all that certain. What did she know about how to overcome the affects of alcohol? Oh, right. Nothing.
Beast Boy's arm snaked around her waist, and he pulled her in against his side.
Using each other for support, they made their way clumsily toward the house's massive double front doors.
As she gripped the doorknob in clumsy fingers, Raven tried to ignore the fact that his hand was pressed against her bare midriff, green fingers splayed across pale flesh. It caused her a moment's pause though as she realized she wasn't sure if she'd ever seen him without gloves on. She found it almost baffling that she'd never actually seen his bare hands before now.
She shook her head, trying to focus. Beast Boy's hands weren't the pressing matter. Stopping the bad guys outside was what she needed to be concentrating on. With a grunt of effort, she yanked the door open and pulled him out into the crisp autumn air. "Okay," she said, glancing in the direction they needed to go. "Cyborg said they're coming in from the parking lot. We should head there."
It was such an obvious thing to do. In fact, it was what Cyborg had instructed them to do. She didn't know why she'd felt the need to voice this plan. Probably because her head was feeling all fuzzy.
"Good strategy, Rae!" Beast Boy's tone came out so…enthusiastic. As if following simple instructions was not something he'd have come up with on his own. Holy shit, were they drunk.
Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, she pushed his arm away and straightened out the wispy fabric that made up the bottom half of her costume. With determination, she made her way down the enormous steps that led to the lot. "Let's do this." Despite her vocal confidence, her hand gripped the rail beside her in a death grip.
At the bottom of the stairs, she reluctantly released the railing and ventured into the rows of parked cars. She found maneuvering around them in her state difficult. Her hip bumped against a trunk and she shot a hand out to it in order to keep herself from toppling over. Irritation at Beast Boy welled again as she forced herself to concentrate harder on simply putting one foot in front of the other.
Behind her a loud bang sounded. She whipped her head in its direction to see him bounce off of a car. A snort of amusement escaped her before she could stop it. "You're so drunk."
"It's not funny," he whined. But his protest was made lest effective by the laugh that followed.
Raven joined in, unable to help herself. She knew she would never laugh like this on a normal day—especially at something so foolish—but in her current state, she couldn't hold back. "I'm so drunk," she said in awe, her hands coming up to cover her mouth as if she could hold in her mirth.
Something that could only be described as a giggle escaped him. "You are drunk."
"Stop it!" A helpless giggle of her own burst passed her fingers. "Don't make fun of me!"
This only made him laugh harder. He collapsed against the car's trunk, dissolving into more giggles.
The sound of a —mostly—grown man giggling was enough to make her laugh so hard her side hurt. She clung to the rearview mirror of the car in front of her, and gave an unlady-like snort as another wave of laughter burst from her lips.
This brought another round of laughs from Beast Boy. "You snorted! I don't think I've ever heard you laugh hard enough to snort. I did it! I did it!"
"You did not," she said, between hiccupping laughs. "The alcohol did it."
"Please," said a dry, humorless voice from behind them." Don't let us interrupt."
Raven spun around with a little gasp to find three masked men standing menacingly before her—their bad guys.
Okay, it was time to get serious.
Straightening up, she stared down the criminals. The silence stretched, and she realized they were expecting her to respond. She racked her brain for something to say. She never was good at this part of the gig.
What she felt was a good super hero jab flitted through her mind, but the connection from her brain to her mouth seemed to be off. What came out wasn't at all what she'd mentally arranged. "Prepare to have your butts touched!"
The man's eyes widened in shock. "What?"
Beast Boy burst into laughter and leaned heavily against the car. "She wants to touch your butts."
"I meant I'm going to…" The words failed her. "Kick…something?" With a frustrated growl, she spread her arms out, summoning her powers. "Screw it. Let's just fight." Except her powers didn't come as she'd expected. She got a fizzle of magic, a black spark that crackled at her fingertips. Then…nothing. "Crap!" She shook her arms as if trying to jumpstart her powers. They crackled again before fizzling out.
The man was advancing on her.
She backpedaled as she tried again to get her powers working. It seemed she was too inebriated to focus properly.
"Don't worry. I got this," Beast Boy said confidently. And then he transformed into a butterfly.
"How is that supposed to help?" she asked frantically as her back hit the car.
Beast Boy suddenly plopped down to the pavement between herself and the man, giving a little holler of surprise. "That was supposed to be a rhino!" He transformed again, this time into a penguin. He turned back into his usual form with another holler. "Rhino!" He turned into a humming bird. "Ahh," he cried once he turned back into himself with a little pop sound. Then he became a fish, flopping uselessly on the ground.
When he phased back into his normal form again, the man punched him in the nose.
Beast Boy stumbled and fell into the car.
"Hey!" Raven cried in outrage. "Totally not cool!" Pulling her arm back, she punched the man in an act of revenge.
He obviously wasn't expecting her response, because his eyes widened and he gripped his bleeding nose.
"Ha! I can still throw a punch!" Not that it was the most graceful punch, and it left her head reeling, but at least it was something productive.
"Rhino!"
A moment later, a large green snake slithered passed her, and Raven watched as it coiled itself around the bad guy's legs, sweeping them out from under him. The man then lifted off the ground, being swung by a massive, green tail. He went sailing through the air and slammed into a nearby car where he fell unconscious to the pavement.
Beast Boy turned back into himself. "Tie him up! I'll worry about the other two."
Even though it obviously hadn't gone as planned, Beast Boy had still managed to take out one of the men. That was at least a good start. And it was an advantage she wanted to keep.
Rushing over to the downed man, she pulled out zip tie cuffs—supplied to the Titans by the local police force—she'd hidden behind her belt and restricted the man's hands behind his back. It took her a bit longer than usual, but she finally got them in place.
She was just climbing to her feet when Beast Boy came sailing through the air toward her. His body slammed into hers and they both fell to the ground. The air was momentarily knocked out of her, and her back ached as she landed on a rock. She was pretty sure her palms were scraped up, but as she lay on the pavement relearning how to breathe, that wasn't the most alarming thing that came to her attention. Oh, no. It was the fact that she was very scantily clad. It was the fact that Beast Boy had landed on top of her and instead of immediately jumping up like he normally might, he was staring down at her with a look in his eyes she couldn't quite place. It was the fact that their legs were tangled, hers nestled between his, and that his body was pressed intimately along hers.
She sucked in a surprised breath and stared up at him.
Jade eyes stared back. His head lowered, his mouth coming closer to hers—
And then he was yanked off of her by one of the bad guys.
Raven sat up, letting out a shaky exhale. What the hell had just happened? Had he been about to… No! She must have mistaken things. There was no way in hell Garfield Logan would ever try to kiss her. He wasn't that dumb.
"A little help!"
Her eyes moved to his current predicament and she forgot all about what his actions might or might not mean. He really did need help. And she needed to get off of the dirty pavement. Pushing up from the ground, she lifted a hand and threw a blast of power at the two men that were currently holding Beast Boy's arms down at his sides.
Beast Boy saw the swirling mass of black energy coming his way and, with a high-pitched yelp, turned into a grasshopper.
The two men were blasted off their feet. They flew a good fifteen feet through the air before smashing into the side of a car. The car's alarm began screeching, the sound echoing through the night as the men collapsed unconscious to the ground.
"Huh," she said with amusement. First, she hadn't been able to harness her powers at all. Now they'd shot out of her with ridiculous force. It was a good thing Beast Boy had managed to become something tiny to avoid the blast.
With a flick of her wrist, she used her powers to silence the car alarm. Thankfully, it was something she'd become good at in her line of work, and it came second nature to her. She then contacted Cyborg on her communicator. "We took them down. No problem." Okay, that was a bit of a fib, but she there was no way she was admitting to Cyborg that they were drunk and stumbling around like fools.
"Good to hear," Cyborg said. "Local law enforcement is on their way."
"We're leaving them restrained in the parking lot. Third row in against a blue SUV. Law enforcement can pick them up there. We'll head in and give Robin and Starfire assistance."
"Copy."
As she bent down next to the unconscious villains to tie their wrists, Beast Boy suddenly popped up beside her, no longer a grasshopper.
"You almost killed me!" After a pause, he broke into laughter. "That was awesome!"
She offered him a wry smile as she worked. "It…kinda was."
He crouched down beside her and together they tied up the last two bad guys. She couldn't help but notice how close he was, his shoulder brushing against hers as he moved, and it sent a little tremor down her spine. Frowning at the unexpected reaction, she was glad for the disruption to her thoughts as the man she'd just tied up began stirring.
He groaned, his head lolling to the side. After a moment, his muddy brown eyes opened to glare at her.
Seeing the dirty look she was receiving, Beast Boy chuckled. "I think you just added a member to your fan club."
"What fan club?" she asked with a snicker. The laughing and her crouched position were a bad combination. She wobbled and was forced to lean heavily against Beast Boy to keep herself upright. This caused him to topple, and the two of them ended up on the pavement, laughing like fools once more.
"Are you…are you drunk?" the bad guy asked. He let out a growl of anger. "We get no respect. None! Now you see us as such a low-level threat that you show up drunk to a fight?"
Raven let out a giggle at this as she struggled to untangle herself from Beast Boy and get to her feet. "You're the one that got beaten by two drunk teenagers."
The man sent her a glare. She could practically see his mind whirring as he tried to come up with a good comeback. "Yeah…well…" His eyes lit up as an idea came to him. "Well, you're not so high and mighty, are you? Underaged drinking. You're breaking the law just as much as I am."
Raven rolled her eyes and offered Beast Boy a hand to help him get him to his feet. "I'll make a note to turn myself in." Helping Beast Boy up wasn't the best idea, as it only made her stumble and fall against his chest as he gained his feet.
He offered her a crooked grin and a little chuckle.
She rolled her eyes again and pushed away from him. Turning back to the criminal who'd taken offense at their drunken state, she sent out another blast of power, this one more restrained. It was just enough to knock him out again so he wouldn't try to escape before law enforcement arrived.
"Let's head inside and help the others."
Beast Boy nodded and started toward the front of the house. He was still walking a little crooked, but he was no longer falling over himself. Maybe he was sobering up a bit. She could only hope.
Just in case she was still more wobbly than she realized, she reached a hand out and grabbed hold of the back of his cape. As her eyes focused on the black material, she offered a little snort of amusement.
"What?" he asked over his shoulder as he carefully maneuvered the steps.
"You're a super hero who doesn't wear a cape."
"And?" he asked, amusement leaking into his voice.
"But you have one now. For Halloween. That's funny."
He snickered at her observation. "I guess I knew I didn't have the body to pull off the cape look on a regular basis." He shot her an appreciative look over his shoulder. "I don't have the legs for it like you do."
She rolled her eyes at this but chose not to comment. Instead, she focused on getting up the treacherous steps without stumbling or falling back down them.
Once at the top, she followed him into the large ballroom. Their hostess was still dancing and enjoying herself as if there hadn't just been a fight in the parking lot…or one that was no doubt currently going on upstairs in the master bedroom.
That thought in mind, she headed toward the large staircase that would lead up to where Robin and Starfire were. Her foot was on the bottom step when Cyborg called on her communicator.
"Raven?" he asked when she answered. "Robin and Starfire handled the situation upstairs. All bad guys are down and accounted for. They're taking them out the back to remain discreet. Rob said he would meet law enforcement in the parking lot to hand everybody off. Looks like you two are off the clock."
With that, he signed off.
Raven stared at her communicator for a moment, a thoughtful frown on her lips. They were done. They could go home, crawl into bed, and forget this ridiculous night ever happened. Or… Turning to him, she put a hand on his shoulder to remain stable. "Maybe we should stick around for a bit longer. Just in case more bad guys show up."
His brows rose in surprise at her offer. "Seriously? I figured you'd be racing out that door to get away from this party you were so utterly against. But if you think someone else might show up…"
Raven put a finger to her lips and made a shushing sound. "I'm using the bad guys as an excuse to stay and spend more time with you. Don't tell Beast Boy." She hadn't said that aloud, right? That had been in her head…right? Maybe she was still more drunk than she thought.
His face split into one of the biggest grins she'd ever seen. "Sure, Rae. It'll be our secret. He'll never know."
"Good," she said dramatically. "I don't want him to know that I actually kind of like him. When he's not being an idiot, he's not so bad." She smiled almost fondly. "And his ears are kind of cute."
His ears perked up at the mention of them and he ran a hand along the tip of his right one. "Really?"
With a secretive smirk, she pressed her finger to her lips once again. "Just make sure he doesn't hear. He'll be impossible to deal with if he finds out."
Beast Boy nodded. "Okay. I won't tell. Under one condition…come dance with me again." Grabbing her hand, he dragged her toward the dance floor.
For once, she didn't fight him. She let him pull her into the sparkling lights reflecting off of a dicso ball in the center of the dance floor. They stayed on the fringes, so as not to bother anyone else, but it was more than she'd ever considered doing. As the soft, slow music wafted from the speakers across the room, Raven stepped in against Beast Boy, draping her arms casually over his shoulders.
His arms snaked around her waist, his warm skin scorching against her own chilly flesh.
She shivered and stepped in closer, letting her head rest on his shoulder. She had a feeling she was going to regret this decision tomorrow, but for now, she was going to enjoy herself. She deserved a break from being the serious one every now and then. And tonight was that night.
OOOOO
Raven gave a pained groan and pressed a hand to her forehead. Even a forty-minute, scalding-hot shower hadn't done much to alleviate her hangover. She now understood why some people said drinking was evil. She'd always detested the out of control way people behaved when they were drunk, but this might be even worse. It was punishment for acting so out of character.
The night was still a bit fuzzy, but the parts she was able to piece together…well, they were alarming. Had she been flirting with Beast Boy? He was never going to let her live that down.
Shuffling down the hallway, she flinched when Starfire came flying at her from the opposite end in a whirl of energy and excitement.
"Friend Raven!"
Raven flinched and held a hand up. "Quieter. Please."
Starfire nodded and Raven could visibly see her friend reign herself in. "Friend Raven," she said on a whisper. Though her voice was more restrained, the excitement in her eyes did not dim. She was floating up closer and closer to the ceiling in her enthusiasm.
Raven had to reach a hand out and pull her down a bit to keep her from bonking her head against the roof. "What's got you so frantic this morning?" she asked dryly. Of course Starfire would be up early and be eager for conversation on the day Raven was experiencing her first—and preferably only—hangover.
"I wanted to hear all about the party from you," the alien princess said in enthusiasm.
"Um…it was a job. We beat up some bad guys. Then we came home."
"No, no, no." Starfire waggled a finger in the air. "I snuck a few quick glances downstairs and saw you dancing very closely to a man with impressive shoulders." She squealed in excitement, causing Raven to flinch. "Did you find someone you wish to smoochy smoochy with? Oh, I am so excited for you, friend."
Raven flinched now for a whole new reason. "That wasn't a man. That was a Beast Boy." Star's words danced through her mind. Did Beast Boy have impressive shoulders? It was true he'd gotten taller over the years. In fact, he'd passed her up in height a while ago. And all of the training Robin put them through had definitely helped add muscle… She felt a blush touch her cheeks as she pictured the way the muscles in his back moved within his tight uniform in the midst of battle. Oh yeah, Beast Boy had filled out. She frowned, annoyed at Starfire for bringing that bit of information to her attention.
"Oh," Starfire said dolefully, drooping in the air with an expression of disappointment on her face. But then her eyes widened and she flitted back up toward the ceiling, only missing the lighting fixture because Raven tugged her to the right a few inches just in the nick of time. "Oh!"
Raven shook her head, shooting her friend a warning glare. "Don't even go there." She headed in the direction of the kitchen, walking completely underneath Starfire as she went. "We were posing as a couple. Don't go looking for things that aren't there."
Without waiting for a response, she headed into the kitchen. Upon entering, she was surprised to see Beast Boy sitting at the kitchen table. He wasn't usually up at this hour.
The normally chipper Titan was sitting with his head in his hands. He was completely silent. He didn't even look up as she entered.
Arching her brows at his lack of greeting, she grabbed her tea kettle from the cupboard, filled it with water, and placed it on the stove. The small metallic clink of the kettle drew a groan from him. That was when it hit her.
"Hangover?" she asked, spinning to face him.
He nodded with another sound of misery.
"Yeah. Me too." She paused a moment before adding, "Though don't think I feel all that sorry for you. You were the one to serve us the alcohol. Not me."
He bobbed his head in understanding. "I figured that would be your stance."
Relenting, she said, "Let me make you some green tea. It always helps me when I have a headache. Hopefully, it will give us a little assistance now."
"Appreciated." He went back to staring at the tabletop while she prepared the tea. The silence was nice, as he was usually talking up a storm. Taking advantage of having no one else around, she closed her eyes and relaxed against the counter.
Just those few minutes of silence went a long way in helping her head clear some. When the kettle whistled to let her know it was ready, she quickly yanked it up off the burner to silence it. Then she expertly prepared two mugs of tea, adding a little bit of honey to each.
Once done, she made her way to the table and sat down across from him, sliding the second mug in his direction.
He took it with a mumbled thanks. Cupping it between his hands, he lifted it to his nose and deeply inhaled the fragrant steam.
Raven froze, watching him with something close to wonder. The sight of him with one of her mugs, drinking her tea… It tightened her chest and filled her with an emotion she wasn't familiar with. She couldn't even place it. But there was something just so…alluring about the sight.
He was so goofy most of the time that she often forgot that underneath he had a serious side. He'd grown up and become someone she felt comfortable with, and she didn't have many people she could say this about. Moments like this, where they just sat in each other's company without the need to force things, it made her look at him in a different light. Maybe wanting to spend more time with him wasn't as crazy as she'd originally thought.
He caught her staring and offered a weak smile.
Clearing her throat uncomfortably, she forced herself to focus on her own tea. Gawking at him wasn't productive. Taking a careful sip, she muddled over the thoughts swirling around in her head. She wasn't used to expressing emotions or having heart to heart conversations, but she felt the need to say at least something. This was a pivotal moment, and she didn't want to just let it pass her up as she had done so many times in the past.
"Beast Boy…"
He remained silently curled over his mug, but he focused his jade eyes on her.
Taking that as consent to continue, she took a deep breath. "Last night…" She shook her head, giving a derisive exhale. "Last night was so completely irresponsible. And dangerous. And…stupid. I can't believe you got me drunk. Without my consent. Your actions throughout the evening were entirely inappropriate. And as I mentioned earlier, it was completely irresponsible…"
She watched his ears droop in shame, watched him eye her warily.
"We should do it again some time."
He stared at her blankly for a moment, before his eyes widened. "What?"
She smiled ever so slightly. "We should do it again. Not the drinking part. But the…hanging out. I actually…" She fought with the admission. "I had fun." And she didn't do fun very often. Last night had been irresponsible, sure, but she'd had more fun with him the previous evening than she'd probably ever had in her entire life.
She'd been lectured over and over again by Robin that she was free of her father, that she was allowed to feel, to enjoy her life. She just hadn't known how. The start of her relationship with Beast Boy had been rocky at best, and he was the least likely person for her to feel a bond with, but, somehow, he'd managed to helped her feel less…uptight. She felt with practice, she might actually have fun hanging out with him. Sure, he was bound to annoy the crap out of her much of the time, but when he wasn't…
"Yeah?" he asked, delight in his voice. His ears perked up and his expression brightened. "I had fun too. I mean, not the hangover part, but the rest. We should definitely hang out again." He took a gulp of his tea before eagerly pressing on. "Did you want to go play laser tag? Or go to one of those bounce places with the trampolines? Or—"
"How about we keep it simple," she offered. "Maybe…maybe the two of us could go get pizza together sometime."
"Pizza! Yeah, that sounds great!"
Smiling into her mug, she nodded. Pizza did sound great.
If you like my writing, check out my stuff on Amazon. The first book in my Dating Tutor series was on their Best Seller list for two years after its release! Super proud of that!
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