Author's Notes: Oh WOW!! I love you guys! I have gotten such wonderful reviews, they have made my week, seriously. I feel like I ought to reply to them, simply because if you guys will take the time to review and write, then I'll take the time to answer them!
rising-terminator6- I'm so glad you like it! I'm also glad you find it interesting, I'd hate to be writing this story and finding it entertaining for myself and everybody else thinks I'm rambling... anyway, you were my first review! Thank you! bows repeatedly
Eva- Thank you for reviewing, and I'm glad you like it! Here is the next chapter!
MirandaOtto- Thanks for reading! Well, I had no idea how to start the story, so I did what I've been taught by my teachers: begin with something in the scene, then move on. I think that'll be the last random thing I shove in there, though. Anyway, here's the next chapter!
Rochelle- Thank you for your comments! I hope you like this next chapter.
Piezo- Thanks for reading! Also, thank you for the compliment! I was really worried that everyone would get out of character, especially Raven. I am relieved to find out that I was able to keep them true. Anyway, I hope this chapter feels longer! I realized after I posted how short the first chapter was. I didn't mean for it to be so short. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next one!
samuraistar- Thanks for reading, and here's the next chapter!
Gennie Kag's and Sess's Child- I'm glad you like it, and I hope this chapter is to your enjoyment too! soraoathkeeper- Thanks for your comments! I thought he had a pocket, but I wasn't positive. You never see the line for it, but where else is he going to keep the communicator? Anyway, thank you for clearing that up for me, and I hope you like this next chapter!
Wolf Creek- Thank you for your review! I did read my author's notes at the end after I posted, and I realized how juvenile I sounded, not at all like my 14 years should have been heard. Thank you for pointing it out for me. I know what you mean, to write for yourself. I definitely do, but if I come off as a person only looking for reviews, I'm glad someone caught it! Berkley? What an awesome name! My poor dictionary doesn't have one, although we refer to it as the "bitten" one because my dog tried to run off with it. Anyway, I love long reviews! Hopefully you enjoy this chapter!
theskywillfall- I'm glad you liked it! I hope this next one is one you'll like too!
anonymous- Thanks for reading! I was very nervous about posting my first story, but I'm really glad I did, I got such wonderful reviews, and it was awesome to see my own stuff on a website. Anyway, if you've written one, I'd love to read it!
MindyK1212- Thank you for your comments! I have always loved reading R/S stories, and I hope that this one lives up to all the other superb stories out there! Also, here's an update, and I hope you like it!
The Dark Azar- Thanks for reviewing! I know what you mean, it's aggravating when there are too many flashbacks. Also, as I was writing that chapter, I tried to figure who would be the most responsible of the team, and came up with Raven. I'm glad it went over well! Anyway, never fear, I won't leave this story with no ending, but the way I have it planned out now, it's going to be long! sweat drop I hope you're willing to continue reading for a while, 'cause I would love to continue to hear from you. Also, I should have mentioned my story plan... but you shall see more Raven! Hmm, I'll explain more about plan my ending notes!
RebelRikki- Thanks for reading! I'm glad that everyone seemed in character to you, that was definitely one of my goals! I hope you continue to read, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Anyway, seems to not want me to have strikethrough in my story, so please imagine all bold printed things are "strikethrough"for this chapter. Also, if there are any mistakes in the first chapter with stuff like that, it's because I am only just learning the inner workings of (though I have been familiar with the outer workings for some time). But enough of my rambling, on with the story!
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Chapter 2: "The" Aisle
Robin stepped of his motorcycle as he entered the parking lot for the local grocery store. It was true, the convenience store was a lot closer to the Tower, but Robin knew the list was long, and he would need to really stock up.
Ignoring the stares he got as he stepped on automatic pad which opened the doors, he walked quickly inside. A blast of cold air washed over him as he grabbed a cart. (A/N: I HATE that. It's so annoying, then I'm always cold in that stupid store, then when you get outside again, you roast. AUGH! By the way, I'm totally making up the grocery list below.) He pulled out the list, giving it a quick glance.
4 bottles of soda (any kind)
2 boxes of herbal tea bags
1 bag of mini carrots (GET THEM THIS TIME)
3 boxes of Bisquik (sp?)
fruits, whatever there is and isn't rotting
vegetables, same
1 lb. of turkey
1 lb. of chicken
2 cartons of orange juice
3 cartons of milk (2%)
1 carton of soy milk (so Beast Boy stops whining)
2 dozen eggs
2 bottles shampoo (any kind, Starfire and I will buy our own)
3 bags of potato chips (NOT vinegar)
2 bags of Cheetos
2 packages of bacon
2 packages of bacon bits
3 boxes of tampons
1 bottle of hairspray
3 bottles of cleaning solution (we run out fast)
2 boxes of Cheerios
2 boxes of Healthy Choice cereal (or whatever it's called)
1 package of croissants
1 package of muffins
4 rolls of paper towels 1 new broom (I don't know WHAT she did, but Starfire killed it)
12 boxes of Super Sugary Sweet Stuff Cereal
12 BOXES OF SUPER SUGARY SWEET STUFF CEREAL!!!!!!
I WANT MY CEREAL!
NO BEASTBOY! NO CRAP CEREAL!!
Robin chuckled slightly to himself. Raven and Beast Boy fought like an old married couple. The bottom of the list had even been torn off, where he assumed even more written arguments had taken place. It was also funny to see Raven's tiny, neat handwriting compared to Beast Boy's messy scrawl. He propped the list up in front of him where the seat for toddlers was.
He was making excellent time as he zoomed through the aisles. Robin was so preoccupied in his shopping, he didn't even notice Slade standing only four feet away, in front of a soda machine.
Slade was pacing back and forth, giving the machine cold, hard stares. He had inserted a dollar, like any normal person, but for some reason the stupid piece of metal refused to give him his requested bottle of Dr. Pepper.
"I see your plan," Slade told the inanimate object. "You and I are so very much alike. Stubborn, relentless, strong-willed... but you will see, in the end I shall prevail!" He kicked the silent machine, and only managed to injure himself. Growling to himself, he also missed the teenage hero walking behind him. Slade continued to snarl at the soda dispenser, attracting the attention of several shoppers around. One startled mother covered her daughter's eyes as everyone else backed away slowly.
Robin grinned as he picked up a slight run. He gracefully stepped onto the back of the cart and was soon rushing around the store, taking the corners on two wheels. Although he knew it wasn't exactly a good idea for one of the city's heroes to be speeding around a supermarket like that, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Besides, with all the years of martial arts training, he had complete control over the shopping cart.
He took another look at his list. He took out his pen and scratched out 2 packages of bacon bits. His list then looked like so:
4 bottles of soda (any kind)
2 boxes of herbal tea bags
1 bag of mini carrots (GET THEM THIS TIME)
3 boxes of Bisquik (sp?)
fruits, whatever there is and isn't rotting
vegetables, same
1 lb. of turkey
1 lb. of chicken
2 cartons of orange juice
3 cartons of milk (2%)
1 carton of soy milk (so Beast Boy stops whining)
2 dozen eggs
2 bottles shampoo (any kind, Starfire and I will buy our own)
3 bags of potato chips (NOT vinegar)
2 bags of Cheetos
2 packages of bacon
2 packages of bacon bits
3 boxes of tampons
1 bottle of hairspray
3 bottles of cleaning solution (we run out fast)
2 boxes of Cheerios
2 boxes of Healthy Choice cereal (or whatever it's called)
1 package of croissants
1 package of muffins
4 rolls of paper towels
1 new broom (I don't know WHAT she did, but Starfire killed it)
12 boxes of Super Sugary Sweet Stuff Cereal
12 BOXES OF SUPER SUGARY SWEET STUFF CEREAL!!!!!!
I WANT MY CEREAL!
NO BEASTBOY! NO CRAP CEREAL!!
Robin blinked. He slowed the cart down and jumped off. He blinked again. He looked again, but the words were the same. 'Crap...' he thought.
---
Raven furrowed her brow. She was meditating on the roof. Though the sun wasn't bright, she felt suddenly a little awkward and sluggish. She rubbed her forehead, trying to receive any sort of vision, but nothing came. The momentary discomfort passed, and she resumed chanting quietly to herself.
---
Robin stood in front of the dreaded aisle, staring down. It seemed to stretch out before him, looming larger and larger. It leered at him, making fun of him.
'Am I really going to do this?' thought Robin, as he slowly walked along the glossy tiles. He repressed a shudder. He reached out his hand to grab the first three boxes he came to, when he realized there were different brands. Oh man, and as he looked closer, some were even different colors, some with blue, pink, and yellow pastel writing. Which one was he supposed to get?
Leaving the cart, he ran back to the main hall. He peered around until he spotted a teenage girl. She was heavy-set, with think glasses obscuring her eyes, and wore a pink shirt and jean shorts, showing the world how overweight she was. As odd as it sounded, even to himself, Robin was less humiliated to ask her than some older woman.
Robin tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, her eyes widening in surprise and recognition. Her mother, also larger than average, walked on ahead, oblivious to the fact her daughter wasn't still trailing after her. "I need a favor," Robin said, through gritted teeth.
The girl pushed her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose, and squinted at the Boy Wonder. "What do you want?" she said, in a nasally voice.
"Follow me," Robin sighed as he heard the girl's footsteps slap against the linoleum floor. 'What did I do to deserve this?'
When they got back to Robin's cart, he turned again to the girl. He shoved the list right into her face. "What?" she asked. Robin's ears hurt just from having to listen to the unpleasantness of her accent.
"Which am I supposed to get for the girls of the team?" She looked around, as if just realizing what aisle Robin had guided them into. She grinned wickedly, revealing buck teeth.
"That's a personal preference. Also, it wouldn't help to hear mine, 'cause I'm not your teammates."
Robin sighed. "Thanks anyway," he grumbled. After signing an autograph for her on the back of a receipt she found in her purse, he did the only thing he could think to do.
---
Starfire blinked as her communicator went off. She looked at Cyborg and Beast Boy, who were lounging on the couch, waiting for Robin to return with breakfast. They were watching TV, flipping through the channels, trying to find something worth their time. Raven was in the other room, using a personal computer, searching for a picture that would match her most recent poem, so she could put it in her portfolio. However, the boys didn't look up, and Raven didn't come rushing in, meaning Starfire was the only one being called.
"Hello?" she said, picking it up and holding it to her ear. "Hey Star, I need you help with some shopping..." Robin's voice came in through the electronic device, trailing off, trying to find the right words. But he didn't need to. Starfire was always eager to help.
"I shall be there as soon as I can!" With that, she clicked the gadget off. "I am going to assist Robin in the shopping! I will return shortly!" she cried. Cyborg raised a lazy arm in reply. Beast Boy grunted, and as she sped out the door, he called over his shoulder.
"Make him hurry up, will you? I know you can," he said, lowering his voice. He and Cyborg chuckled evilly until a video tape, one of Beast Boy's favorites and covered in a familiar dark energy came hurtling out of the shelves and smacked Beast Boy on the forehead.
"Ow! What was that for!?" yelled Beast Boy, massaging his aching, aching head.
"I felt like it. Also, it's punishment," came wafting from the other room.
"Punishment!? Why!?"
"You never shut up."
Cyborg rolled his one human eye as Raven and Beast Boy continued their verbal sparring from across the hall. They would keep yelling until they were hoarse, or they got bored, and unfortunately, it was usually the former. He turned up the volume on the TV, attempting to drown out his teammates cries.
---
Starfire landed right outside of the grocery store. She stepped through the threshold and scanned the sea of shoppers for her teammate. Finally, she spotted him near a display of Coke bottles. Robin waved her over, and she floated over gleefully.
"Robin! I have come to help you in purchasing food for our home!"
"Thanks Starfire, but right now I don't need help with food... umm..." Robin's voice died out. He tired to stammer out what he was up to on the list, but he couldn't find the words. He motioned behind him, where the evil objects sat, all lined up.
Starfire's eyes grew wide with shock. She blushed. "Oh... um..." For once, she seemed to be at a loss for words.
Robin put a hand behind his neck. "I didn't know what you wanted..." He pointed to the items name on the list. Starfire took the piece of paper, muttering to herself.
"Oh, of course, Raven never assumed... she thought she'd be going... or...yes, well, I'll go get them." She grabbed the cart and pushed it down the aisle. She knew immediately where to find the brand she was searching for, and quickly knocked three boxes on top of the rest of the stuff in their shopping cart.
Starfire and Robin finished the rest of the shopping with ease, still both a little sheepish at the encounter. As they stepped back into the warmer air of the parking lot, the found the motorcycle and began to unload the bags onto the back. Starfire looked around at the amount of groceries they had accumulated, and said, "How did you expect to transport all of our purchases home on your own anyway?"
Robin glanced around too and shook his head. "I didn't think there was going to be that many bags."
They arrived home at around 9:00, making good time. Starfire helped place all the bags on the kitchen table, then grabbed one of "the" boxes for herself, and jetted off towards her room. Cyborg, who had begun to rip through the packages, gave Robin a curious look. Robin sunk exhaustedly into a seat.
"Was she carrying what I thought she was carrying?"
"Ugh. Yeah. And I had to call her to know what to buy." Robin massaged his temples. "I made a complete idiot out of myself."
"Rough," Cyborg said, through a mouthful of Super Sugary Sweet Stuff Cereal, which Robin had bought anyway.
Beast Boy laughed. "You had to call her?"
"Can it."
"And ask her what kind?"
"I said-" Beast Boy laughed even louder. In a mock, high-pitched voice, he said, "Oh, Starfire, I didn't know what kind you wanted, and my only dream in life is make you so very comfortable on Earth..."
"What are you-"
Beast Boy grinned even wider. He looked very canine at the moment. "Or maybe, people were beginning to wonder what you were doing over there... what with your costume and all..."
Robin stood up. Beast Boy realized a bit too late he had crossed the line. His grin faltered, but did not fade. There was no way he wasn't in trouble, so he might as well make the most of it. He didn't even mean anything he'd said; it was just too fun pushing people's buttons.
Robin strode over to where Beast Boy sat, crossed legged. Beast Boy could tell he was being "intimidating," but it wasn't working on him. He was used to it. Robin reached into a paper bag and pulled out one of the remaining boxes. Beast Boy abruptly lost his cocky attitude.
"What am I supposed to do with that?"
"Give it to Raven," said Robin with sneer. Beast Boy blanched, which was hard for him to do, being green.
"But-"
"Now." Robin shoved the box into his lap. Grumbling, Beast Boy gingerly picked up the boxes, trying not to think of its contents, and walked through the halls until he stood outside Raven's door. He suppressed a gulp and pulled at his collar. He raised a sweaty hand to knock on the door.
'This is the worst thing I've ever done,' he thought to himself, listening to the quiet footsteps getting louder inside the dark room. 'And that's saying something.'
"What?" Raven opened the door a crack to see who was there. Beast Boy held the box out, as far away from his body as possible. "What is tha-?" Raven blushed as she realized. "Why do you have these?"
"I... well, you see... uh-"
"Never mind," snapped Raven, as she wrenched the box from his grip. Beast Boy could see through the gloom that her face was a deep scarlet. She slid the door closed quickly, and it shut with a thud. Beast Boy found himself looking at his own shadow on the metal surface.
Beast Boy stomped back through to the kitchen, where Robin and Cyborg were eating. His face was a mixture of green and red, making him very odd, and strangely Christmas-ish. "That was not funny, dudes," he said sullenly. But by the noise level of Robin and Cyborg's laughs, they thought so.
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Author's Notes: Woo! Another chapter finished. Anyway, I should have said this earlier, but I forgot... my bad. Anyway, this story will be pretty long (I have it mapped out in my head) and can be broken into two parts. Although it will be all one story, the first half will focus a bit more on R/S, and when I get them together, the attention shifts more to the R/BB portion. There will be both couples throughout the entire story, but I want them to actually get together separately. Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that. For now, I must be off to tend to my own dog, ironically enough, named Raven. (But I named her before I started watching Teen Titans, but only just. Like only a few months.) Anyway, please review, it will be much appreciated!
