"Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"Never."
"PLEEEASE!!!"
"Not gonna happen."
Starfire shook Raven roughly for a couple of seconds before the couch behind them started glowing with black magic. Her green eyes were giving what Beastboy called the "puppy dog" look. The Tamaranian needed a partner for the kissing booth she was setting up for a fundraiser and Raven was the only one without a booth already.
"You will only have to woman the booth when I have gone for a fracture!" she said, combing her long red hair with her fingers. Raven, the mysterious empath, vehemently refused to be stay at the kissing booth, if only for a few minutes. She was always the dark member of the group, preferring to stay far away from the bright aura that everyone else carried.
"It's 'man the booth when I've gone for a break' Starfire. And still no. I'd rather be thrown into a pit of poisonous snakes." she replied, straightening her dark blue cloak and dusting off her black leotard. Her silky lilac hair was severely mussed after Starfire's "persuasive techniques" and the belt of rubies at her waist tilted at an angle now. The sorceress smoothed down her hair, violet eyes glaring reproachfully at the Tamaranian.
"Pleeeeeease, Raven? Pleeeeease?"
"Not if you told me that it would prevent the moon slamming into the earth."
"The moon's gonna slam into the earth?" a small voice quipped from the kitchen. The green changeling Beastboy stood with Cyborg, a half robot man. They both held stacks of brownies, cookies, pies, and cakes for the bake sale they were setting up. The smell was fantastic and, judging by the drool that hung off Beastboy's mouth, Cyborg could only hope that he could keep the shape shifter away from the food long enough for them to actually sell something.
"No, the moon's not going to slam into the earth. I'm just using that as a disaster scenario to better explain to Starfire how I wouldn't help her with the kissing booth if it would prevent the destruction of mankind by stopping the moon from hitting the earth." Raven explained, almost smiling at Beastboy's even more confused expression. Luckily her features were used to holding back small smirks, grins, and smiles.
"Ummm, well okay then." he said in an attempt to make himself appear less clueless. Cyborg smirked, kicking the changeling in the shins with his metal boot. The pile of baked goods clattered to the floor, spilling crumbs and glass shards everywhere.
"Oi! Beastboy, you little grass stain!" Cyborg shouted, balancing his pans in one hand while shaking the green boy back in forth. Raven surrounded the mess in a black aura and put everything back together. The half robot grabbed the reformed pans and juggled the mess to the T-car. Beastboy followed as an olive green fly, not wanting to get in the way of Cyborg.
"Please?"
"For the last time Starfire, no, no, NO!"
"Damn you Boy Blunder." Raven muttered for the fiftieth time, placing her book in front of her face. She was at the carnival with Starfire, hearing her kiss the forty-third boy that day. Robin, leader of the Titans, had heard of her "disagreement" with Starfire and decided she should accompany the alien. "Just for fun." he had said. Of course he would say that. After all, Starfire had the biggest crush on him since the history of ever. And Robin probably returned the biggest crush since the history of ever.
"Oh Raven, are you not glad that you had joined me after all?" she asked, beaming after the boy left. The jar they had was full and Starfire was going to empty it into the donation bin later.
"No."
Starfire's smile wavered a little, but she continued smiling nonetheless. The red gem in the center of Raven's forehead was starting to glow dangerously, so Starfire quickly stopped smiling.
"Do not worry friend, I am not completely enjoying myself either. My nose quite hurts, as do my lips. I may go off and find some sugar cloud soon." she said, trying to make Raven feel better. The empath had to admit that she would feel much better as soon as Starfire and her puckering noises were gone. It was almost dusk and the sun was beginning to go down, turning Raven's pale skin a delicate porcelain color and washing the sky in a multitude of hues.
"I believe that the sugar cloud is that way friend. I will return soon Raven. Please woman the booth while I am splitting!" she cried, already floating away. Raven shrugged, waiting until Starfire was out of sight. Then she put up a sign that loudly proclaimed:
CLOSED FOR FIVE MINUTE BREAK.
Then the sorceress buried her head in her book, ignoring the thoughts of the many disappointed teens that came up to the booth. What surprised her was that many of the youths wanted to kiss her, not Starfire. Raven wasn't sure whether to be flattered or disgusted.
"Hey Raven, where's Starfire?" a familiar voice called. Raven didn't even look up, already knowing who it was.
"Hello Robin, how is your circus act?" she asked, not bothering to look up from her book. The presence of the Boy Wonder drew closer until she could see his cherry red uniform along the top of her book. She still didn't look up.
"It's not a circus act Raven. It's a kind of stunt act. Speedy really is into it, sometimes I think he shoots the arrows at me with more zeal than he should." he replied. Robin knew that Raven was still mad at him for putting her with Starfire and had to be contented to lean against the table until she spoke.
"Starfire's going to be here in five minutes, so you don't need to act so impatient Boy Blunder. I'm sure she'll be happy to give you a kiss for free."
Robin placed a twenty dollar bill on the table between him and Raven. She looked up in shock, though her expression instantly hardened as she understood.
"What are you playing at Boy Blunder?" she asked accusingly. Robin shrugged, trying not to think that Raven could easily blow him back to Gotham if she got angry with him. As Raven opened her mouth to speak, he leaned in and kissed her. She stiffened then relaxed and returned his kiss, forgetting that Robin was Starfire's for a moment and letting herself go. Then her thoughts caught up with her and the balloons surrounding them exploded. Robin broke off the kiss, looking at her gently.
"I, um, you, Starfire, and…" Raven stammered, suppressing the emotions that threatened to bubble over. She sighed in relief as Robin walked away. The sorceress could have felt the happiness that surrounded him from two miles away.
Starfire appeared over the horizon and Raven took down the closed sign. When Starfire finally reached the booth Raven seemed to be concentrating intensely on her book. The Tamaranian sat down next to the empath, trying to pull the sticky cotton candy off her tan skin. Popcorn was stuck to her long red hair and her tight purple tank top had ice cream smeared down the front. Her purple miniskirt and boots were soaked with lemonade. Raven simply raised an eyebrow and Starfire gushed the entire story to her.
"Oh friend, I should not have gone to get the sugar clouds. I flew into a crowd of people who were very rude, tugging on my arms and my hair. They all wanted me to sign pieces of paper…"
"Those were crazy fans that wanted your autograph. Is that how you got all, um, sticky?"
"Yes! I flew into a fluffy corn station, then into iced cream station, then a first aid of lemon one! I wanted to give Robin a kiss, but now I fear I will be unable to. Friend Raven, are you sick? Why are your cheeks so pink?"
Raven, who had flushed a deep pink at the mention of Robin's name, placed her book in front of her face to hide the crimson blush that was slowly spreading over her face.
"You know what Starfire? I am feeling a bit feverish. Want to go get the boys and head home?" she asked, taking care to keep her voice its usual gravelly monotone. Starfire nodded enthusiastically, but then pointed to the three figures approaching the small table.
"But friend Raven, I believe that they are walking toward us already." the Tamaranian added unnecessarily. Cyborg was limping and dragging Beastboy behind him while Robin somersaulted over booths and tables. After a second it seemed that there was a dust cloud following them, but as the three boys grew closer it became apparent that the dust cloud was actually a cloud of people.
"Umm, guys I think we should go home right now. Cyborg and Beastboy got ambushed by a large crowd of screaming and cheering fans and I was thinking that we should esca-leave right now." he panted. Raven had her hood up and it was impossible to tell that her face was the same color as Robin's uniform.
"Escape works for , can you go and get Cyborg and Beastboy?" Raven said, careful to keep her voice expressionless as possible. The alien flew off and grabbed the limping robot and the unconscious shape shifter into the air. Robin took Raven's hand in his own as the dark empath gently took off and flew towards the T-tower. Her hood blew off, so she dearly hoped that her face had returned to its normal pale color. Meanwhile, Robin admired how to wind tossed her lilac hair around her pretty face. Her amethyst eyes were beautiful, he thought.
They alighted at the Titans Tower quickly. Starfire, Cyborg, and Beastboy were waiting for them at the door to the tower.
"You took your time getting here." Beastboy grumbled, nursing the painful dark green bump on his head. The Cyborg smirked over at Robin knowingly over the shape shifter's head. The Boy Wonder refused to meet his gaze, looking at Raven instead. The belt of rubies hung at an angle at her waist, emphasizing her hourglass figure.
"Uh Robin? You can let go of my hand now." she said in annoyance, feeling her face flush. Robin let go quickly and Cyborg's grin grew. He picked up Beastboy and walked into the tower with Starfire following. Raven started toward the tower too, but Robin took her hand and gave her another gentle kiss. Something exploded in the distance, but the Boy Wonder was already inside the tower. He rushed past Cyborg, who had been staring out the window, and went into his room. Raven followed shortly after, gliding to her own room. Beastboy was already sleeping, and Starfire was taking a shower. Nobody else had seen what Cyborg had seen. He smirked.
"Dude, they are totally into each other. Who knew that this started out as a normal day at the carnival?" he said to himself.