Trying my hand at a Teen Titans x RWBY crossover with this one-shot. I've been wanting to do a RWBY and Teen Titans crossover, but I had no multi-chaptered ideas. But then I made the connection of Blake and Raven both being bookworms and thus, this one-shot was born.
I hope you enjoy!
It's not often that a superhero gets a day off like this. Although, to be fair, the criminals haven't been that active since the fight with the Brotherhood of Evil.
Raven slowly walks down the street, dressed in civilian clothes to avoid being recognized. She is wearing a royal blue, hooded sweater, a pair of jeans, and black one-inch heel boots. Her hood is pulled up to prevent any recognition as well. She slows her pace, trying to recall a particular store's location.
She could've sworn it's right next to…Ah! There it is. Raven stops for a moment, examining the building. Compared to the stores adjacent to it, the store is pretty simple. There is a single glass door placed in the center with an open sign attached. Glass windows are on both side of the door, displaying new books. The one to Raven's left are new children and young adult books while the ones to her right are nonfiction books ranging from a biography to self-help books. Right above the door is the name of the store: Pages.
Glancing through the windowpanes, Raven notices that there is no one else in the store. Good. She places a hand on the cool glass and pushes it inwards, the bell at the top of the door ringing to notify any employees.
Her boots make faint thumping noises on the wooden floor as she scans the room, the musty smell of the used books nearby washing over her. Faint footsteps from the back grab her attention away from her survey. The store employee's amber eyes widen in slight surprise before turning back to the back room. Raven doesn't move from her spot.
Within two minutes, the employee reappears, a box in her hands. "It's been a while since you last came here," she observes, gesturing to the register with a nod. Raven takes in more of her appearance as the two meet up at the counter. Her amber eyes are once again complemented by a bit of light-purple eye shadow that flare backwards. Her long and wavy black hair are behind her shoulder and she is wearing the bookstore's uniform: a white blouse with mid-length sleeves and a pair of black jeans. She has a black bow on her head and Raven absent-mindedly notes that she's never seen her without the bow.
A nametag is clipped to the blouse: Blake.
"There's been a lot going on and everything's just calmed down," she explains as Blake opens the box. "How's it been here?"
"Well, not a lot of people have been coming by. But I've been able to survive." Despite what she said, Raven detects a hint of exhaustion in her voice. She also notices the bags under Blake's eyes and, upon closer inspection, her tousled hair. But Raven decides against inquiring about it, moving onto the real reason why she's here.
"So these are-?" Raven asks, leaning over the counter.
"Yes, this one is the latest of the series," Blake begins, pulling out the first book. The background is predominantly a dark purple. On the cover is the back of a girl with long and braided blonde hair. A long strip of red wraps itself down her hair. In the box are the other copies of the book for other customers that had pre-ordered the novel.
Raven notices another book on the counter near Blake. "What's this one?" she asks, hesitating to pick it up.
"Oh, it's a pretty interesting book, in my opinion." The cover is much more simplistic compared to the previous book. Two leaves are on opposite sides of the cover, curling towards and wrapping around one another at the center. Raven's brow furrows when she notices how…similar the leaves are to elephant trunks. "This is…probably my fifth time reading it."
"What's it about?"
"A teenager named Jenna searches for her mother, who disappeared ten years ago after an accident." Blake shrugs, noticing that Raven seems a bit hesitant. "I would tell you more, but it would spoil everything about the story."
"…Are there any more copies?"
"Unfortunately, they've been sold out and the next shipment won't be here for at least another three days. But…" She taps on the book cover. "You can borrow mine," she hands it to Raven.
"…Are you sure?" she asks, receiving it from her.
"Of course. I trust you to return it; I've seen how you treat other books, Raven." Her phone starts ringing in her back pocket before she can continue. Holding up a finger to tell Raven to wait, she pulls out her phone to stop the incessant ringing. A smirk plays on her face as she opens up the message.
"Someone special?"
"…You could say that?"
"Who's the lucky person?" Blake chuckles, typing a quick reply and locking her phone after sending the message.
"I met her a few months ago when she came into the shop."
"Oh?"
"Would you like to meet her?" Blake asks.
Raven, surprised at the offer, takes a moment to answer. "I don't want to intrude…"
"It's no problem; I'm sure she would love to meet you too."
"Are you sure? I mean, I have no right to know your private-"
Blake waves her hand dismissively. "Because you're just a customer? I take it you forgot how you used to come here frequently and just read? I consider you a friend, Raven, and just because you're a superhero…it doesn't mean you can't have friends outside of the 'business,'" Blake argues, leaning forward and placing her elbows on the counter.
Raven is honestly stunned. She normally doesn't get the chance to hang out with anyone else outside of the Titans. Blake was one of the first when she had stumbled upon the store by accident while out at night. She had walked by this street ever since she and the Titans had established their base here in Jump. But that night was the first time she had ever seen the store.
Blake was cleaning up and she struck up a conversation, not even realizing that she was talking to a superhero. Even though Raven revealed herself to be a hero – well, Robin had called her and that basically told Blake everything – she barely batted an eye. She just told Raven that she was welcome whenever she wanted to come by and suggested that Raven should go and "see what's got traffic light in a bunch." Blake's words, not Raven's.
"Besides…" Blake begins, pushing herself off the counter. "She's not going to let you leave without getting to know you."
"Wh-"
The bell rings violently as someone enters the room, causing Raven to redirect her attention to the newcomer. She has long blonde hair flowing loosely and messily, with even a small cowlick on the top of her head. The color of her eyes are lilac and Raven feels oddly warm when she makes eye contact, like the sun is shining directly on her. She has an orange tank top over a yellow, low-cut crop top, brown shorts that barely go past her mid-thigh, and a pair of what looks almost like combat boots.
"Helloooooo!" she greets in a singsong voice, waving at Raven. "Are you the mysterious person that Blake's been talking about?"
She approaches Raven and she notes that this newcomer is rather tall. "I believe you stole my line," she replies as the girl sneaks around both of them, wrapping her arms around a suddenly flustered Blake.
"Yang…you should introduce yourself," she mutters under her breath, a faint flush visible on her cheeks.
"Oh, right," she begins, looking back over to Raven. "I'm Yang Xiao Long, the charismatic and lovable girlfriend of Miss Belladonna." She winks at Raven, a sultry smile playing on her lips. "So, where've you been? Blake says you haven't come by for at least eight months."
Raven stops to recall the last time she had visited. Two months after the literal end of the world, the Titans were pulled into the Brotherhood of Evil battle and they never had a moment's rest for the following six months. "I've been…busy…"
"Saving the world?" Yang asks without missing a beat. She nods in response.
Yang glances to the side for a moment before looking back to Raven. "You know…just because you're a hero…doesn't mean you gotta be just a hero for the rest of your life."
"Crime never stops, that's the problem. Even if we wanted to stop, we'd never be able to. There's always going to be one crimin-"
"My point is you don't have to be just a hero," Yang emphasizes, pulling off of Blake and leaning over the counter similarly to her girlfriend. "Everyone is more than their job, whether it's a superhero," she nods to Raven, "or a stressed owner of a bookstore." She glances behind her to Blake, who is suddenly interested in her hands. She turns back to Raven, concern in her eyes. "We're a lot more than just that."
Raven pauses in thought, letting her words sink in, before offering the pair a smirk. "You sound exactly like Blake."
At that point, Yang grins crookedly at her. "Well, we're two peas in a pod!"
"Oh really?" Blake asks, crossing her arms over her chest as she rejoins the conversation.
"Of course we are!"
"I'm not the one that couldn't even deliver the pick-up li-"
Yang practically slaps her palm onto Blake's mouth. "That's something no one needs to kno-" She pulls her hand away just as quickly, wiping it on the side of her shorts. "Gross!"
Blake shrugs. "That was my only option," she argues nonchalantly, hearing a faint ringing. Raven stifles a groan as she unclips the T-Comm from her jeans. "Trouble?"
"At least he waited until after I got the book," she mutters under her breath as she checks the notification. Blake, without missing a beat, scans the book and places it in a bag, adding in her book as well.
Right as Raven is about to take the bag, Yang intercepts it. "Did she give you-?"
"No, I didn't," Blake sternly interrupts her, scowling.
"Why not? It'd be great to have someone else look at it too!" Blake huffs, bending down for a moment before pulling out a manuscript.
Raven read the title aloud: "Red Carpet Romance."
"I finished writing it a while ago, but I've been hesitant to send it in…"
"She's been hoping you'd drop by and look at it for her!" Yang explains. Blake lightly punches Yang on her shoulder, who barely reacts to the pain.
Blake turns back to Raven, "I know you're busy, so if you don't want t-"
"When do you want it back?" Raven asks as she slides the manuscript into the bag.
Blake barely conceals her surprise as she answers, "Whenever you can. I'm in no rush, and I don't want to force you to read it if you d-"
"Please, Blake." Raven smiles. "Didn't someone say that they consider me a friend? Just because I'm a superhero and you're a bookstore owner…doesn't mean we can't be friends. Right?"
Blake smiles in response, letting out a brief sigh of relief. "Agreed." The T-Comm rings again, ruining their amicable moment.
Raven exhales an exasperated breath, silencing the T-Comm. "Sorry, but I gotta go. At the earliest, I'll be back within the week."
"Thank you," Blake replies as Raven exits.
Raven checks her T-Comm to refresh her memory on the location of the latest wannabe supervillain. Just as she starts to take off, the bell rings as someone rushes out. "Hey, Raven…" She turns around to see Yang, somewhat frantic.
"Is something wrong?"
Instead of answering, Yang grabs Raven's hand and shakes it. "Thank you…for everything. Blake's been busy with the landlord and the rent and she hasn't had time to do anything else other than try and keep the store alive. This manuscript is something she's been working on since college and she probably won't admit it, but this is one of her last-ditch efforts to get money. I've been trying to help her, but she'd only take half of what I offer." Yang pulls back, suddenly realizing something. "Crap…I wasn't supposed to tell you that much."
Raven glances to the bag in her other hand, its weight suddenly heavier. To her, they're just pieces of paper, but to someone else, those same pieces of paper are their last hope. "It's okay, I'll pretend I never heard that. I'll just say you came out to flirt and try to get my number."
Yang playfully drops Raven's hand and brings her hands to her chest. "You wound me. I'm not just a flirt." She cheekily grins as she pats Raven on her shoulder. "Well, I don't wanna keep you here much longer. I bet traffic light's gonna be freaking out the longer it takes for you to get there."
"Right. I'll see you later." Raven takes off, heading to the coordinates Robin had sent her as Yang returns to the store.
After all, even on a day off, a superhero's work is never done. Although, after today, it's not too much to hope that she can be more than just a superhero.
I suck at puns. I probably had a couple chances, but I don't trust myself to attempt it X'D
Also, if you want to know the titles of the two books Raven bought/borrowed, please PM me and I'll answer you there.
Red Carpet Romance is a fanfic here on this website, written by mikotyzini and I personally haven't finished it because it's the last Bumbleby/Bumblebee fanfic from them I haven't read yet. I'm on…chapter 21 or so, which is why I didn't want to reference anything from it. The name of the bookstore is also from mikotyzini. So, thank you to mikotyzini for allowing me to reference your works! :)