Yo it's been literal years but I'm back. It's absolutely not because I'm failing my classes and need a distraction. Nope. Not at all.

What a Beautiful Wedding / Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride

"What is that smell?"

Raven sighed into her herbal tea. It seemed this morning would pass the same way as the past thirteen mornings had; with her teammates arguing. In the six years that had passed since the Titans had defeated the Brotherhood of Evil much had changed.

As well as growing physically, Raven had matured emotionally. She opened up more, spent less time locked away in her room. With Trigon's hold over her broken, for the first time in her life Raven could begin to get a hold on her powers. It took a few years, but finally the empath could express her emotions without blowing up components of the Tower. On the outside, her demon physiology had made itself known in the downright sinful curves of her body, hidden beneath her modest cloak. She wasn't much taller, but she was a woman now, undeniably.

Cyborg too had grown, in his own way. Although 90% of his body was machine, the human parts of him aged, his face in particular, hardening into that of a man, complete with a short beard. Of course, that hadn't lasted very long once Bumblebee had seen it. The Titans East leader had refused to go anywhere near her boyfriend with "that monstrosity" on his face, and he had promptly shaved it off.

Starfire and Robin had grown ever closer, cementing their position as the "it" couple of young superheroes. The alien princess had blossomed, growing from a skinny, sometimes awkwardly long-limbed teenager into a beautiful and graceful young adult, with a body that made most men (and women, for that matter) lose control of their senses. Raven had always been secretly jealous of the attentions her sister received, the effortless way she could command a room. Although she supposed the regal attitude and diplomatic skills came with the whole, "crown princess and heir to the throne of an alien planet" thing.

However, despite the attention Koriand'r received from her admirers, she only had eyes for one; Robin. Although their leader had long since abandoned the moniker, along with his traffic light inspired getup and overuse of hair gel (Thank Azar – his uncharacteristic habit of leaving the sticky goop smeared over the bathroom sink taps drove Raven insane). The Boy Wonder had grown tall and broad shouldered, filling out the lines of his new dark blue suit, with a new name to match; Nightwing. He had caught the attention of the public as a tall, dark and mysterious bachelor, however Starfire had quickly put any rumours of availability to rest with her very public displays of affection.

As the youngest of the Titans, it had been a few years before Beast Boy had gone through his own metamorphosis. His shapeshifting DNA had caused some concern that his "default" form would never change, and he would remain a skinny fourteen year old kid forever. However, a few years passed and the boy suddenly sprouted up, growing almost two feet within the space of a week one March. Within a year Garfield had grown into his long limbs, and began piling on muscle weight. Just like most of his clothes "Beast Boy" now suddenly didn't fit, and Garfield re-emerged as Changeling. He was welcomed by a wave of new fangirls, who turned up at crime scenes and battles, chattering away, asking for autographs and generally making a nuisance of themselves, in Raven's opinion. Changeling had welcomed the attention, occasionally flirting back, but never dating. He would never admit it, but Raven knew it was Terra's fault. She had broken his heart, and Garfield had never been the same since.

"For the millionth time Cy, tofu eggs do not smell that bad!"

Yes, things had changed; but some things remained exactly the same.

"The hell they don't! They stink of lies and falsities!"

"I don't even think that's a word! Rae, is that even a word?"

"Don't bring Raven into this, she agrees with me. And it so is a word!"

"Then how come I've never heard of it?"

"Maybe if you opened a book once in your life you would've!"

Raven quietly placed her head down on the kitchen table, hoping the cool marble would stave off the headache she was sure wasn't far away. Thank Azar this was the last morning she would have to put up with this ceaseless bickering alone. Today Starfire and Nightwing would be returning from their honeymoon.

Sipping her tea, Raven idly watched the daily fight playing out. Her thoughts however, were a million miles away, thinking back to the wedding.

The problem with superhero identities was that the government was unlikely to hand out marriage licenses under made up names. Nightwing had made the decision to trust his team with his true identity, announcing at the same time that he had proposed to Koriand'r the previous night (Raven already knew, had known the second the two had returned from dinner, as Kori had flown straight into Raven's room, screaming and brandishing a ring the size of her fist). Within a few weeks the team had found themselves dressed in their finest, waltzing around the Wayne mansion for the wedding of Dick Grayson and Kori Anders.

The wedding was a private affair, inner circle only. Kori had looked radiant in her Swarovski crystal gown, a holo-ring disguising her orange skin, but not quite covering her natural glow. Raven, Changeling and Cyborg had also been wearing holo-rings, just in case the paparazzi managed to get through the impenetrable security. When Batman is involved, no precaution is ever enough.

Cyborg, as Victor Stone, had walked Kori down the aisle. "I know I'm not your K'norfka, but if you'll allow me, I'd be honoured to give you away." Raven had surreptitiously wiped away a tear as Kori embraced the eldest Titan, taking his arm as the orchestra struck up the wedding march. The ceremony had been beautiful, the reception joyous. The whole day had been perfect, and Kori was noticeably struggling not to float from sheer happiness. Dick couldn't take his (shockingly blue, Raven was surprised to learn) eyes off his new bride, his father proudly standing by, and Alfred by his side as always.

But Raven couldn't get one particular moment off her mind. As the maid of honour, one of her duties had been to dance with the best man, Wally West, as was traditional. He had swept her around the ballroom floor, laughing and joking the whole time, poking fun at her disguise.

"Gotta say Rachel, you clean up pretty good." She had rolled her eyes at him, and he laughed, before ducking in to whisper conspiratorially in her ear. "The green bean can't take his eyes off of you."

Raven had pulled away abruptly, looking to where she had last seen Changeling. It took her a moment to remember he wasn't green, before she adjusted and looked instead for the tan skin and blonde hair his holo-ring projected. He was slouched against a podium, drink in hand, his (still green) eyes fixed on her. A shudder had run through Ravens body; he was looking at her with an expression she had never seen before. One of focus, of intent. Garfield caught her gaze and held it as he placed his drink on a passing waiter's tray. He straightened up to his full height, adjusted his suit, and crossed the floor, gaze never once wavering.

"Mind if I cut in?" Before Raven could answer yes or no, she found her hands in Garfield's, and suddenly Kid Flash was gone, whirling a grinning Jinxx around the floor.

This close, Raven couldn't deny how tall Garfield had gotten. He was no longer the skinny little kid, he hadn't been for some time. How it had taken Raven so long to notice, she would never know. But as he took her hand, wrapping his other around her waist, she could no longer deny it; Garfield was quite good looking. Oh Azar, who was she kidding? He was gorgeous, pointed ears et al.

They had danced for most of the night, although Victor and Dick had cut in occasionally for dances with their sister, and at one surprising moment, the Bat himself. Garfield had been a perfect gentleman, and they had spent the party talking and laughing. At the end of the evening during the last dance, Raven had been so sure he was going to kiss her, and that they would finally acknowledge this energy that had been building between them for years. He had leaned in, eyes locked with hers, and whispered "You look beautiful, Raven." Raven had found herself closing her eyes and parting her lips, ready to take the leap with him and share their first kiss.

Instead, he had pressed his forehead to hers, quietly bid her goodnight, and walked away to his guest room.

And Raven hadn't been able to get the Azar-damned man off her mind ever since. Watching him idly as he argued with Cyborg, she wondered how could he act as if nothing happened that night, as if things hadn't changed between them? How could he stand to spend every day these past two weeks going through the same routine as if nothing was amiss, when Raven couldn't settle, couldn't focus on anything except forest green eyes, a fanged smirk and messy hair that she would love to run her hands through, to pull at while he-

Quickly pulling her hood up to hide her blush, Raven shook the thoughts from her head. All she could think about lately was the possibility of her and Garfield, and more specifically, sex with Garfield. After all, Raven was a perfectly normal twenty two year old woman with needs and fantasies. Despite a brief fling with Aqualad when she was eighteen (Azar, what a disaster that had been), Raven had remained virgo intacto. Every time she and Garth had gotten close, she had chickened out, or there had been a world-saving emergency to interrupt them, until Garth had gotten frustrated and broken up with her, blaming Raven's mixed signals. She was sure he was happier with the Atlantian girl he'd been seeing, anyway.

Sipping at her now cool tea and gazing at the horizon Raven realised she should probably book an appointment with her OB/GYN. She may be a virgin, but pap smears were still important. Although she wasn't sure whether her demon physiology would allow her to develop cancer, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Shut up, Cy!"

"You shut up!"

"No, seriously, be quiet!" Changeling's ears twitched, and he cocked his head, listening.

"What is it?" Raven asks, and he grins.

"They're home."

Over the horizon, a jet appeared.


Ok, so a few things.

1) Biology Lessons will be on hold until further notice. As usual I rushed into a new story with half a plot, and my motivation died after the first few chapters. My bad!

2) This will be a series of one-shots, rather than a chapter story, and I will be updating when and if I want to.

3) A disclaimer: This is heavily inspired by Jane the Virgin, which I started marathoning to avoid my university work. As a result, I failed one of my three classes and I'm retaking in the summer. I'm a mess :)

That's all for now folks, I hope to upload soon!

With love,

Pixie xo