Robin Hood by Titangirl797

I completely blame Ernest Hemingway for any changes in my style of writing for this small oneshot. At least I use description!

Rated T for language, mostly. If you don't approve of cursing, then don't read. I really don't care.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, Justice League, or Ernest Hemingway's style (sorta, cause it rubbed off on me a bit).

A/N: Obviously, this is before Roy joins the JL. You'll see why.

Enjoy!

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This is awful, Raven thought.

It was Movie Night at Titans Tower, and the Titans East was visiting for the Annual Teenage Superhero Conference held by the Justice League. It was the night before the seminar, and the Titans West insisted on a movie night. The Titans East were eager to get in on the fun. That is, until they learned the tradition.

The debate over what movie to play turned into World War III. Scary, romance, action, drama, anime – it was an all out fight, bird-a-rangs and all. It was finally Starfire who won – alien strength, tears, and a winning smile were all it took. The leggy alien chose a Disney movie, The Little Mermaid.

Raven growled under her breath in frustration, glancing at her comrades.

Cyborg had covertly powered off, and Bumble Bee was sleeping, head on Cyborg's stationary shoulder. Mas y Menos were raiding the kitchen and Aqualad was locked in a thumb war of epic proportions with Beast Boy, while Terra cheered the green boy on silently. Only Robin was slightly attentive, his eyes glazed over, but only to please Starfire, who now had tears pouring down her face. Starfire's over-expressed emotions were something you became used to quickly if you lived at Titans Tower. But where was the elusive fifth member of the Titans East? She saw him, bow slung over a shoulder haphazardly, sneaking up the stairs that would take him to the roof.

Silent as a cat, Raven stood from her position on the couch, following the Titan. No one noticed her leave. The stairs were dark, as was the vast expanse of Titans Tower. She wanted to set her hands on the wall, to feel her way up, but she didn't. She finally reached the door, but she hesitated. What if he just wanted to be alone? What if her presence made him uncomfortable? She was a half-demon witch, after all. Sighing, she prepared to leave.

Instead, she opened the door.

He was standing on the edge of the roof. The red of his uniform stood out in the moonlight. He had recently changed his name – and outfit – and now Robin was considering a new moniker for himself.

"Arsenal," she said in less of a monotone than usual, surprising even herself. She wanted to try out the new name and found that she liked it. He jumped, spinning around, but didn't call out, as she expected. He had no mask on, which surprised her. She caught a glimpse of it, lying on the ground beside him, but he didn't bend to pick it up. He had blue eyes, she noticed, and her heart thumped particularly hard.

"Holy shit, Raven, you scared me."

"Nice to see that I still can."

"You know that you're the only one other than Robin that can scare me. Scratch that – Batman."

He was suave, a smooth talker, who charmed everyone he spoke with. He even charmed Raven, making something inside her flutter like it needed to get out. She looked into his mask-less eyes – blue, she remembered.

"What are you doing up here anyway?"

"Couldn't bear Starfire's choice of movie. The Little Mermaid? Seriously?"

Arsenal chuckled and smiled at her. Raven's knees felt weak – what the hell was wrong with her? Lack of food – she'd only had tea – so, maybe she should have had a few bites of Beast Boy's Tofu Surprise if lack of hunger was causing her these problems.

"Well, yeah, there's that." He removed his bow from his shoulders, cocked an arrow, aimed at a far away buoy in the surrounding ocean and fired. Raven barely saw the red arrow hit the moving target. Wow, what a true Robin Hood, she thought sarcastically.

She laughed under her breath, and he turned to her, one eyebrow raised.

Damn, he'd heard.

"Something funny?" He sounded annoyed.

Raven debated with herself – the truth was a good thing, liberating apparently, but a lie would keep things from becoming awkward.

She nodded, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. He said nothing, just waited, watching her, looking straight in her amethyst eyes.

"I bet I can fire an arrow better than you can," she bet. Where had that come from?

Now, this may seem silly, challenging one of the world's best archers to an archery contest, but Raven had learned to use a bow and arrow at the age of six, and her powers could guide an arrow so well.

Both eyebrows raised, it seemed like he was trying to stare her down. Arsenal nodded, finally, and said, "You're on. But what do I get when I win?"

Arrogant bastard, she thought, as he knees almost buckled again.

"Um…"

She hoped that he wasn't thinking dirty. But, then again, he was Speedy – sorry – Arsenal.

"Eh, I'll think of something after." Raven nodded, attempting not to smile. She didn't want his overly large head to explode, after all.

"Hit that tree," Raven said, pointing to the opposing shore. "You think you can do it?" She ignored this comment.

She grabbed his practically florescent bow, slipped an arrow out of the quiver, knocked it, and fired. Striking the leaves of the palm tree, she almost smiled, feeling triumphant. He was good, but she had magic.

Yes, her powers had helped a bit, but it was well worth the look on Arsenal's face.

"Damn," she heard him mutter.

Arsenal fired as well, but he didn't hit the leaves. He hit a hanging coconut, and, if the smug smirk on his face said anything, he meant to do that.

She conceded.

Arsenal had won.

She shivered – whether from being creeped out or secretly joyous – when he looked her up and down.

"Well?" she asked, becoming impatient. He probably wanted sex or a slave for a day. Why her?

He was silent for a moment before he turned, sitting on the edge of the Tower. For a wild moment, Raven thought that he was going to jump, but, no, he just sat. He was silent, still, for several moments.

Finally, giving into her instincts, she sat next to him. He smelled good.

"I'm sorry," he said, and she was perplexed. For what?

He seemed to read her mind. "For being such an awful playboy bastard to you, Starfire, and even that lying Terra."

Oh, he wanted sympathy. Well, Raven didn't do that well.

"Um…it's fine…"

They were both silent for a moment, and then he asked, "Batman asked me to join his new team. The Outsiders."

"I heard about that. He asked for Robin as well. He said no."

"Yeah, I heard. I don't know what to say."

She decided to try the humanistic approach. "What do you want to say? Is that what you want? To work under Batman with people you don't know?"

Oh well, so much for the humanistic approach. He turned to her, eyes wide, and said, "Well, I'm not really sure. I mean, I'd rather not work under Bats, in all honesty, but, well, the Titans East might be disbanding soon."

The shock must have shown on her face, because he said, in a low voice, "Aqualad has to go back to Atlantis. Something about his kingdom. Bumble Bee wants to settle down and have children, and Mas y Menos aren't sure what they want to do anymore. At least, that's what I think they said. I still don't speak Spanish." Raven understood completely – empath, remember? She knew that the thing that she had to say was very un-Raven, and definitely not what she would do.

"I think – and this sounds nothing like me, but go with it – that you should follow your heart."

"My heart?"

"Yes."

And he was kissing her, his lips pressing hard on hers, trying to convey some emotion that he apparently couldn't say in words. The kiss was only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. His lips were sweet.

She pulled away and he looked questioningly into her eyes. She wanted to change the subject, to pretend as if that lovely kiss had never happened, that his hot lips hadn't been crushing into hers, that…

No, she thought. Shut up.

"You never picked your prize from the bet." The subject change was immediate.

Charming as ever, he smiled at her and said, "Kiss me."

And, throwing her deep-seated fears and worries aside, she did, wondering just why the hell she was doing that.

And nothing blew up.

She thought back to the Speedy she knew – the arrogant, smooth, sex-obsessed playboy – and realized that with the name change came a personality transplant. It was no wonder that Batman wanted him now. She wanted him now.

Damn it, Robin Hood. It had to be you that could make me feel, wasn't it? Damn it all to hell.

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Well, that's my second Raven/Speedy story – see A Chat Between Friends.

If you like Speedy/Rae, check out storied by Japith. I recommend Re-Educating Miss Roth.

Reviews, pretty please.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Titangirl797