A few weeks later, it had finally cooled down enough to make going outside not a chore. In fact, it was an incredibly pleasant day, which was why Damian had decided to practice in the grounds instead of in the training room. There were certainly more advantages to training inside, but the cool breeze and partly cloudy but always sunny blue skies deserved to be experienced. So after donning his Robin uniform and tying his sword to his waist, he headed outside.

The island that was home to Titans Tower was larger than most people might think; large enough for dozens of trees to spend years growing. But despite the number of trees growing, there was a small clearing about 25 feet in diameter that was hidden from the upper floors of the Tower due to the way island sloped. At ground level, it was also hard to spot because the other trees would obscure it somewhat. However, it did have a great view of the ocean.

As he pushed aside branches and stepped into the clearing, he suddenly remembered that he was the most recent addition to the Titans, and that others had been here before him (not that he ever really forgot about the other Titans, he just didn't think of them as often as he probably should have).

Raven was laying down in the center of the clearing, with her hands folded on top of her stomach. At first, he thought she may have been napping, but then her head tilted slightly and they made eye contact. This was unprecedented. He hadn't been expecting his favourite outdoor training spot to be taken, so after a moment's thought, Damian turned on his heel and started to leave. There were other places outside he could practice, so forcing Raven out of this (his) spot seemed a little unnecessary.

"Damian." He turned to face her when she called out to him, and saw that she had propped herself up on her elbows. "Do you need something?" She asked.

He shook his head, taking a few steps into the clearing. "I like to practice here." He said simply, knowing Raven would be able to put two and two together without him needing to spell it out.

She nodded. "Yeah, it is a nice place to be when the weather is nice." She said as she lay back down, putting her hands behind her head.

Not sure how to follow up, Damian said, "Well, I'll leave you to it." Then turned to leave again. Before he could take more than two steps, however, he heard Raven giggle. He turned around, but she had her eyes closed. "What?"

"Nothing. I just thought that you could practice relaxing instead of fighting." She said. Raven didn't look at him, but she could still feel him nearby, and she felt indecision in his emotions. When she heard his footsteps carrying him near to her, she opened her eyes just in time to see him taking his mask off and laying down a few feet from her.

And not two minutes later, Damian asked, "Is it always this boring?"

Raven laughed quietly, turning to look at Damian. "Nothing wrong with relaxing a little. But if you want something to do…" She looked back up at the sky, "See that cloud?" She raised her hand and pointed. "It looks like a duck, don't you think?"

"Hmm. Looks more like a cloud to me." Raven laughed again at his response. "But that cloud," Damian pointed to a different one, "Resembles a marshmallow."

"That's true of most clouds, I think." She said. He'd somehow picked the most square shaped cloud in the sky. "But I can see it. How about that one? What do you see there?" Raven asked.

"Mmm… A reptile." He answered. "Though the cloud lacks any definitive shape to infer exactly which type of reptile it is."

"It's a cloud Damian; of course it lacks any definitive shape."

He turned to look at her, and saw that she was smiling. He frowned, not sure what was so funny, but looked back up at the sky. A few birds flew across his vision, too high above them to be made out. "Probably seagulls." He decided. "That cloud there looks like a person."

Raven titled her head to see the cloud he pointed too. "Yeah, it does. But it looks… sad." A cloud should not have the ability to look depressed, but the cloud Damian had pointed to certainly did.

"Maybe the cloud will cry on us. California has been going through a drought these past few months." Damian said. "Of course, with the recent heat wave it's no wonder there hasn't been any rain. I'm glad fall is on the way."

~What Sounds Like Fun?~

"Damian? Damian, wake up."

"...ngg...mmm…" Was his response. He opened his eyes, and saw that the sky had turned from blue to orange, with only the brightest stars showing up in the sky before it got dark out. "Hmm?" Raven was kneeling beside him, a hand gently shaking his shoulder. "What happened?"

"I guess we fell asleep." Raven said. She wasn't sure when, but at some point they had stopped talking about clouds and lapsed into a comfortable silence, and at some point after that the comfortable weather and company had pushed them into a light slumber. "C'mon, I'm sure the others are probably wondering where we are."

Damian yawned and sat up, stretching his arms over his head. He stood and brushed off his cape and legs before following Raven along the path back to the tower. They saw Jaime and Garfield in the patio area behind the tower, and Garfield was holding a few plastic bags in his hands. "There you are!" He called out to Damian and Raven when he noticed them. "Where were you guys?"

"Relaxing." Raven said with a shrug. "What's up?"

"We're having a cookout!" Jaime said. They turned to look at him, and it was then that Damian noticed the grill he was tending to. "Hope you two are okay with hamburgers and hot dogs; we had to go to the store without you." He said, slightly apologetically.

"Is that all you got?" Damian asked with a raised brow.

"Of course not." Beastboy said. "Kori is in the kitchen making sides."

Raven looked up at the Tower. "I'll go help her out." She said, opening up a portal and stepping through.

"See ya in a bit!" Garfield said with a slight wave. "Alright Dame, let's set the table."

He and Garfield put out plastic plates, forks, knives, and napkins on the stone table in front of them. As Jaime lit the grill and put the various meats on to cook, Damian narrowed his eyes and asked, "Did you buy expired food?"

Jaime looked down, then laughed. "No, that-" He pointed to the discoloured food, "-is tofu for Garfield." He reached into one of the bags and pulled out an empty box with the words "Senor Tofu" printed on it to show it to Damian.

Garfield just shrugged when Damian looked at him. "What can I say? I'm not into cannibalism." He transformed into a cow. "I've been all the meats you guys are eating."

"There's no meat in hot dogs."

"Gross dude!" Jaime said with a laugh. "Don't remind me that hot dogs aren't healthy."

The three continued to joke as Jaime kept an eye on the grill, rotating the hot dogs and flipping the hamburger patties. Garfield pulled out a radio and turned it on, putting it on the mix station. He grabbed a soda and tossed one to Jaime and another to Damian, then said, "Cheers!"

They opened the cans and drank in unison, then sat down.

The main course had finished cooking at almost the same time Kori and Raven brought down the sides, which consisted of corn on the cob, chili for the hot dogs, baked potatoes, beans and smoked sausage (which in Damian's opinion could've been a main dish on its own), stuffed bell peppers wrapped in bacon, different types of potato chips, and various toppings and dressings for the burgers and hot dogs.

Kori made sure everyone got an adequate amount of food, and they all sat down and began eating. "So, Damian…" Kori said after swallowing a bite of her dinner, "How was your training today?"

He stopped mid-chew, looking up and glancing around the table. He'd completely forgotten about his original goal when he left the Tower earlier today. After swallowing the food he was currently chewing, he cleared his throat and said, "Well, I…" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Raven staring at him. "Enjoyed myself." He said, admitting the truth whilst intentionally being vague. His instincts were telling him to keep quiet about being with Raven, but upon reflection he wasn't sure why.

"Good. And what did you do today Jaime?" Kori asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Training, exercising, relaxing… you know, just the normal, boring stuff." He answered. What he'd done today hadn't been any different from any other day.

"Well, while you were being boring, I was getting a sponsorship with Green Bull!" Beastboy announced. He held up his phone, where he'd taken a selfie of himself at the studio. "So now, I get a 5% cut of all the companies profits!"

"Awesome!" Jaime gave him a high five.

"Is that how that works?" Raven mumbled as she frowned at her food.

"Congratulations." Damian said.

"And what did you do today, Raven?" Kori asked.

"Meditated, took a nap, watched the clouds… Helped you prepare- oh crap!" Raven suddenly teleported away, leaving behind a very confused group of people.

"Oh…" Kori frowned. "I forgot we put a few pies in the oven for dessert."

"Noooo!" Beastboy and Jaime fell over in despair.

Raven returned, staring down at the ground. "Unfortunately…"

"Oh, don't tell me." Beastboy said.

She looked up and smirked. "The pies need to bake just a little bit longer."