Just an itty-bitty one-shot in honor of Halloween. I would have loved to make it longer, but I didn't have time.
Don't worry, Condemned is still going strong. The only snag is that the next two chapters are going to be incredibly difficult to write, and I want to make sure I have a good idea of what I'm doing before I begin. I'm not good at writing spontaneously (just look at Subconscious).
Enjoy…
It was the same every year.
Every year, on Trick-or-Treat, four of the Titans would dress up and go out for the night, just to relax. The other one would sit in her room and read books. It certainly wasn't Starfire, and that left but one option.
"I still can't understand why she's not coming," muttered Beast Boy, arms folded. He was standing in the Ops Center in a pirate costume, including an eye patch. Cyborg was standing beside him, done up as the Terminator. It hadn't been a difficult costume for him. He even had a voice changer he would turn on once he got outside to make him sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"Man, she just doesn't feel like it," Cyborg said. "All those people out there with their judging eyes… it's not her thing. She's a solitary person."
"But it's so much fun!" Beast Boy argued.
"Not for her," Cyborg retorted.
Beast Boy had his mouth open and a comment halfway out when the door opened and Robin and Starfire walked in, wearing matching costumes (as they had been doing every year since they started dating). This time, it was some sort of Victorian theme. Robin was wearing a velvet suit with an impressively fluffy collar. He also wore knee-length socks and black boots with… were those buckles? His spiky black hair was covered by a hat with a wide brim and a gigantic feather stuck in it. His ever-present mask was still in place.
Starfire had an enormous dress on that looked as though it weighed at least 180 pounds, but she carried it with ease. It was a dark red (the same shade as Robin's coat) with green jewels that matched her eyes.
"Guys… you know we're going trick-or-treating right?" Cyborg said while Beast Boy suppressed a laugh. "There's no formal dinner anywhere."
Robin shrugged. "It's Halloween, right? This suit's plenty scary."
Beast Boy raised an eyebrow.
"Try putting it on," Robin said, rolling his eyes. Then he leaned over and planted a light kiss on Starfire's cheek, causing her to blush slightly and giggle.
"Shall we go?" Cyborg said quickly, in an attempt to change the subject. He headed for the door, and Robin and Starfire followed.
"I'm gonna go tell Raven we're leaving," Beast Boy said, walking in the opposite direction.
"Good idea, but don't be too long," Robin said, then he disappeared around the corner. Beast Boy shrugged and kept going.
(…)
Raven sat on her bed, enjoying the warm heat of the candles on her cold skin. It was always around this time that fall went from slightly chilly to downright freezing (it had reached 32 degrees last night), and her room was always colder that everyone else's.
She surveyed the collection of material that she had set up around herself. There were stacks of her three favorite authors to read around Halloween: Edgar Allen Poe, Steven King, and H. P. Lovecraft. There was also her ihome plugged into the corner outlet, playing some of her favorite music (John Williams was a staple, as was Danny Elfman).
She was sure the rest of the team was going to leave soon. She felt almost… disappointed that they were leaving without her, but she would much rather spend Halloween alone than go waltzing around the city in a claustrophobia-inducing costume, begging complete strangers for candy that was much too sweet for her tastes. It made her shudder just thinking about it.
"Raven?"
She jumped slightly. She recognized Beast Boy's voice through the door, but his presence confused her. Why was he here, instead of going out with the rest? She highly doubted the fact that he had decided to stay behind to keep her company.
She rose slowly from her bed and walked over to the door, pulling her cloak tighter as she left the vicinity of the candles. Upon opening the door she found Beast Boy standing there with a slightly surprised look on his face. Had he not expected her to answer?
"Trick or treat?" he asked, smiling hopefully and holding up his little bag for holding candy in, which was shaped like a treasure chest. Ah, that's it, Raven thought. It's a last attempt to include me… that's sort of… sweet, actually. She looked him over, traces of a smirk playing at the corner of her mouth. It wasn't a bad costume, actually, but it was odd to see that not a single pirate costume came without dreadlocks anymore, not after the release of Pirates of the Caribbean.
"Trick or treat, huh?" she said quietly. She then leaned out and ever so gently brushed her lips against Beast Boy's.
"You decide," she whispered, then shut her door softly.