BBRae Week: Day 5

Casual Love vs Marriage

Friday nights were drinking nights.

No matter how busy their lives got, or how complicated, that was never likely to change, and it was something the group was rather vigilant on.

It had been a year that Kory and Richard were married, and the crew wanted to do something big for their best friends, to help celebrate when they got back from their anniversary getaway.

They'd made reservations at the couple's favourite bar, invited everyone that had ever befriended them, and pooled in some hard-earned cash to buy out most the beer and liquor the place served.

Raven, Terra, and Karen had volunteered to show up early and put up a few decorations before anyone got there. Luckily, the original gang had spent so much time and money at this bar, that the owner had virtually no qualms with helping them out, especially when they'd often left him and his staff a generous tip by the end of every night.

It also helped that their presence, being former Teen Titans, drove in revenue and attention to the otherwise quiet establishment. It was always a full house any Friday the team decided to hit it up for their weekly drinking and socializing festivities.

"You know, it doesn't look too shabby," Victor had remarked when he'd stepped into the closed off area of the bar the girls had been decorating. His mechanical fingers rubbed at his chin as he contemplated the room around him.

"You say that like you almost expected it to look like shit," Terra scoffed, folding her arms over her chest.

This resulted in a coy smirk from the cybernetic man. "Not for anything, but I didn't figure you or Raven for the decoratin' type," he answered rather brazenly, shrugging.

The geomancer rolled her eyes while Raven cleared her throat. Karen took it upon herself to respond before the others could; "What the heck is that supposed to mean? Do I look like some kind of interior designer?"

Cyborg was impassive when he spoke. "I'm just sayin', Rae hated decorating the Tower for birthdays, and Terra tries, but it ends up looking tacky and out of place."

"How about, next time, you volunteer, then?" Terra jabbed him with a finger in his solid metal chest, glaring heatedly up at him.

"Hey, it isn't my fault Starfire and Beast Boy loved overseeing all that stuff. Who am I to take away their happiness?" Raven defended herself.

"Speaking of which, where is green bean, Rae?" Victor quickly changed the subject, opting to ignore the five-foot-tall blonde girl currently giving him a dirty look.

The empath shrugged casually. "I don't know. I'm still waiting on permission to have that tracker installed, Cy," she teased, a playful smile gracing her painted lips.

"Why didn't he want to help decorate the place?" Cyborg pressed, ignoring Raven's subtle jab.

Terra snickered. "Isn't it obvious? He was intimidated."

"What? By three girls?" Karen queried, a single brow raised suspiciously at the petite girl next to her.

Raven sighed deeply, growing aggravated and bored by the conversation. "He said he was picking up a cake for the occasion. He also knew that if he tagged along, I'd just end up doing nothing, and instead, make him do all the parts I was assigned, anyways. Said something about this experience being good for me or whatever," she explained with a disinterested expression, choosing to examine the condition of her nailbeds rather than look at any of her former comrades.

Terra chuckled. "Sounds like Beast Boy, all right," she commented.

Victor shook his head in disappointment. "Bet you still didn't contribute much, did you, Rae?"

"I put up some streamers." The empath indicated the ceiling where a few red and blue paper decorations were dangling, kept in position by a few pieces of clear tape at their base.

"Uh…good job?" Cyborg said, somewhat confused by how little effort was made.

"Thanks," she replied dryly, moving towards the bar where she'd left her beer, and proceeding to take a refreshing swig from the cold, sweating, amber bottle.

"Grab one for me?" Terra asked before joining her on a stool.

The empath obliged, and handed the younger girl a can fresh from the cooler, using her dark energy to crack open the top.

"So, when's everyone getting here?" Karen asked Victor, turning to adjust the position of a few balloons.

He glanced at the ancient clock hanging on the wall. "Should be about now. Star and 'Wing won't be here for another hour or so. I told them to come a bit later than usual, since they're probably jet lagged, and it gives everyone else some time to show up," he explained.

Raven took another healthy gulp from her beer. "Well, I'm starting the drinking early tonight. Wally's got a bad habit of clearing out all the alcohol, and I'm not missing out this time."

Terra smirked, motioning her beverage in the empath's direction. "I always figured you hated the taste of this stuff, Raven," she commented.

"I do," the sorceress agreed gruffly, scrunching up her nose in distaste. "But I helped pay for it, so I'm going to have some. Besides, tonight is about celebrating. What sort of friend would I be if I didn't participate? I'll get over the awful taste soon enough."

With that said, both Karen and Victor joined the two girls with beverages of their own, and the four of them clinked their drinks together in a toast.

"To Kory and Dick," Victor said.

"To a successful night of getting shitfaced," Terra added.

"To Raven getting off her ass and helping decorate," teased Karen, staring at the accused with a mocking grin.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and most importantly, cheers to the Teen Titans who, for all intents and purposes, are no longer teens."

"Amen to that," Cyborg agreed, and they all took a drink.


By midnight, the place was a zoo.

The blaring music from the speakers made the walls shake and the wooden floors thump. Conversation was abuzz, and there was hardly room to move; everyone was drinking, laughing, and having a generally good time.

Both Kory and Richard had been pleasantly surprised when they'd arrived on the scene, delighted that all of their friends had made it out to see them and wish them well. Donna had managed to get her hands on a pair of plastic crowns, one for the new bride and one for her blushing husband. While Starfire gladly donned hers, Donna had to beat Dick in an arm wrestling match to get him to wear his. The shiny, tacky, golden thing sitting lopsided on his head was proof of her victory.

By midnight, everyone was quite drunk, or in the least, tipsy.

"That cake better not be vegan, Gar," Vic slurred, the drink in his hand sloshing about in the cup.

Beast Boy winked. "I'm not tellin'." His smile widened at Victor's incredulous expression.

"How about a top-up, sweetie?" The bartender, a cute vixen with strawberry blonde hair, came by their side of the table, and filled up Garfield's empty glass, purposely leaning down so that her already low-cut shirt hung open enough to display her rather impressive cleavage, and lacy push-up bra.

The changeling burned a shade of crimson, and he couldn't tell if his face was warm from the alcohol or something else entirely. "Th-thanks," he gulped, catching the glint of her blue eyes.

She winked, and smiled at him. "Anything for you, Beast Boy."

Victor burped unceremoniously, interrupting the tension, and the bartender giggled. "My bad. You two havin' a moment?" he mocked.

Garfield narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "Dude!"

"What I miss?"

Suddenly, a very intoxicated empath had sauntered over behind them, leaning her elbow against Cyborg's shoulder as she looked between the three of them. Her eyes were glazed over, and appeared droopier than they normally did.

"Holy shit! You're drunk!" Garfield cried out, swivelling his chair to get a better look at her.

She hiccupped, and her head lolled to the side. "So? I did shots with Kory and Donna. A friendly piece of advice; never challenge an alien to a drinking competition. You will not win," she slurred, slightly swaying.

Raven then glanced over at the bartender before leaning in towards her, and squinting at her name tag. "Cher-yl," she pronounced with immense difficulty. "Pretty name for a pretty girl. I hope these two punks aren't giving you any hassle, Ms. Cheryl."

"Oi! I wasn't doin' nothin'! Grass stain's the one can't keep it in his pants," Victor retaliated, his words still jumbled.

He then immediately clasped his hand against his mouth in stupefied shock, his human eye going wide in terror as he realized his error.

Garfield blanched, and the bartender cleared her throat, shyly tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

Raven stared at the cybernetic man, her expression indiscernible.

She blinked once, slowly. "What?"

Raven then snapped her head in the changeling's direction, who looked like he was either ready to bolt out of the bar, or shrink into an insect. Anything to escape her scrutinizing, violet stare.

"D-don't listen to him. Cheryl was just getting me a refill, and being friendly. Nothing happened. Nothing," he tried to insist, his voice cracking.

Somewhere, a balloon or two popped of their own volition.

Raven's mouth curved into a smile, but there was something sinister about the way her expression darkened.

"Rae, y-you really ought to stop drinking; your powers…," Garfield choked, watching the corner of the bar where Jinx shrieked in surprise as a balloon popped right behind her.

"This seat taken?" Raven ignored Beast Boy's concerns, and pointed at the stool he was seated in.

She didn't wait for a response. "Good." She then took her spot on his lap, much to the shapeshifter's surprise.

She settled into him so that one of his legs was between her thighs, and pushed herself directly against his crotch. "Nnnn, Rae!" he groaned helplessly as she shimmied into him.

"Excuse me, I'm just trying to get comfortable here," she informed him dryly, before leaning in to prop up her elbows on the bar counter, purposely arching her back like a cat. Her form fitting black shirt rode up to reveal the pale skin of her lower back, her position accentuating the dimples just above the hem of her skirt.

"You like the colour green, Cheryl? Is it your favourite colour?" Raven asked the nervous girl standing in front of her.

"Uh, I should probably attend to the other guests…," she replied meekly, her eyes darting over at the other end of the bar anxiously.

"Nonsense. Stay a while. We're talking," Raven ordered with a wave of her hand.

Cheryl froze, uncertain, especially considering the empath's notorious abilities. She was easily one of the most powerful of the bunch; that much was a fact.

Intoxicated?

She was even scarier.

"Uhm…I guess I like the colour well enough," Cheryl gulped, fidgeting with the clean glassware and dish cloth in her hands.

Raven's lips curved into an amused smile. "Cute nose ring, by the way. I've been thinking of getting one myself," the empath noted, pointing sloppily at the silver jewelry sitting against the side of the girl's freckled nose.

"Rae, what are you doing?" Garfield squeaked from behind her, still very much uncomfortable with her suggestive position on his lap. She wiggled against him in response, causing him to throw his head back and bite down on his bottom lip, supressing a groan.

Victor watched the exchange fervently, unable to look away from the impending train wreck of a situation.

Raven smirked, swirling the straw in Beast Boy's drink and moving the ice around in the glass. "Was he your favourite Titan? It's okay; you can be honest with me, Cheryl. I promise, I won't be offended."

Cheryl blushed, averting her gaze to the floor while she nervously twirled a piece of hair around her index finger. The flush of her skin brought out the pigmentation of the freckles that dotted her cheeks. "Uh, well…yeah, I guess he was. I've always been an animal lover, so, naturally, I was drawn to him. It probably doesn't help that he's also awfully…cute."

Victor's jaw dropped, looking between the two females like they'd somehow sprouted a fifth limb.

Garfield croaked from behind Raven; "D-did she just call me…cute?"

"Mhm, I agree. He's adorable," Raven nodded in agreement, turning to acknowledge the changeling with another chilling smile. There was something possessive and dangerous lurking in her darkening stare.

Her fingers were then suddenly in his hair, ruffling it about as she stroked the silken, green waves lovingly. "I can't blame you for flirting with him every Friday night we're in here, or slipping him your number when you thought no one was looking."

Beast Boy gulped, staring up into Raven's chilling amethyst irises, trying to get a better read on the unpredictable girl's emotions. "Rae, I wasn't going to call her. I wasn't." He shook his head desperately, his hands coming up to grip her hips.

Raven used a single index finger to stroke a line down the side of his cheek to the curve of his jaw, until she reached the dip of his chin, where she lingered. "I know," she started, cocking her head to the side, "If you did, I'd have filed for a divorce yesterday, Gar."

It was as if a tsunami of ice cold water had suddenly pummelled all the participants currently following the exchange, minus the empath herself.

"Did she just…when did you…is this a joke? Did Raven just say divorce?!" Victor sputtered, the current realization somewhat helping to sober him up.

Cheryl went as white as a ghost, her eyes widening in horror. "Oh…oh my, God. I-I didn't know, I swear! Everyone said you two were just casual…I'd never have…," she gasped, nearly letting the glass drop from her grasp.

The empath turned on her, a menacing sneer contorting her features. "Well, now you know, so quit trying to sleep with my husband, lady!" Raven hiccupped, fixing an icy, violet glare at the unsuspecting girl behind the counter, her nostrils flaring. She'd also slammed her fist against the bar table, and Cheryl had flinched at the sudden thud.

Just like that, Raven's previous, easy-going demeanour had been replaced with scathing fury, and it sent the girl scurrying away from their end of the bar, not daring to look back.

"There. Problem solved," Raven stated easily, her anger dissipating the moment Cheryl had scampered away. The empath watched her flee with bored indifference, and nearly trip on the other bartenders in her haste.

She then pouted when she'd glanced down at Garfield's hand, her brows furrowed. "Well, almost."

Raven then grabbed his right hand, and proceeded to remove the simple, thick, silver band from his index finger. Once off, she then took his left hand, and slipped it over his marriage finger. "Now it's solved," she echoed proudly, patting his hand between her own.

The changeling clicked his tongue, shaking his head. His eyes never left her face. "You are so going to regret this in the morning, Rae," Garfield warned through gritted teeth once he'd found his voice again.

She shrugged it off. "That's what you said in Vegas, too." She pulled up her own right hand and removed one of the many varying rings that covered her fingers, glittering in the dim light.

The one she was looking for was a simple, thin, white-gold band, with a lovely violet stone set between a few smaller clusters of diamonds around it. She put it on her left finger to match Beast Boy's, and held it up to examine from a distance. "Still married, Gar," she reminded him casually.

Victor slammed his beverage against the counter, the drink splashing all over his robotic hand. "You have to be shitting me! You two got married in Vegas?!"

Garfield sighed, and rubbed at his pulsing temple. "…Yeah. It was during the bachelor and bachelorette parties we had for Dick and Kory…," he admitted in a low voice. "We didn't want to steal their thunder, so…we sort of kept it a secret."

"For a year?!" Victor cried out incredulously, drawing the attention of a few nearby Titans.

Beast Boy grimaced, wary of the sudden eyes on them now. Raven continued to toy with Garfield's hair, ignoring everything else around her but the softness of the short strands between her fingers.

"It's…it's complicated," he mouthed, hoping to change the topic.

"Like hell it is! You guys got married, and what?! Just figured it was clever to not tell anyone?!"

"Dude, can you keep it down?!"

"Wait, what? Beast Boy and Raven got married? When? How? Is this a prank, Gar?" Richard's voice entered the fray as he sidled up next to his former teammates, wearing a lazy smile. His striking eyes were half-lidded, a clear sign of all the alcohol he'd consumed.

The changeling groaned, and rubbed his palm down his face.

Once Dick spotted the rings, his eyes widened, and his mouth became a tight line. "Shit, you weren't kidding…"

"I thought you guys were just having sex," Kory pointed out blatantly, grabbing Raven's hand to examine the shining, glittering rock.

"Don't worry; we still do a lot of that," Raven blurted out, much to the mortification of the shapeshifter underneath her.

"You assholes got married and didn't invite any of us to the wedding?!" Terra exclaimed, thumping the changeling on the back hard enough to send him forward.

He waved his hands in protest. "It isn't like that! We didn't really have a…wedding. It was sort of done on impulse, as a joke," he explained hurriedly.

Donna eyed the ring on Raven's finger with a raised brow. "Did you spend money on those as a joke, too?"

"Of course not!" Beast Boy exclaimed in earnest.

"So, at what point did it stop being funny? When did you two nerds fall in love?" Jinx teased.

Raven took the opportunity to nestle her head against Beast Boy's chest, running her hand along the taught muscles of his torso before embracing him. "Who cares? I have a husband now…"

This earned her a genuine smile from Garfield, and she closed her eyes while snuggling further into him.

"Aww, this is so cute, I think I'm going to hurl," Roy mocked, clutching at the spot just over his heart.

Richard grinned. "I think this calls for a celebration. A round of drinks for everyone in honour of the newlyweds!" he shouted over at the bartenders.

The group cheered, except for Victor.

"I can't believe you kept this from me, B," the older man said in astonishment, shaking his head in disappointment.

The changeling appeared genuinely apologetic. "I'm sorry, but I had to respect her wishes, man. We weren't even sure what we were doing…Or why, for that matter…," Garfield stated with sincerity and genuine sympathy.

The empath stirred in the shapeshifter's arms. "Relax, Vic. You're practically a shoe-in for best man," Raven muttered, her eyes still shut.

This effectively left Cyborg completely stunned, his mouth agape. When he looked to Beast Boy for answers, all the shapeshifter could do was shrug and grin, to which his elated best friend shouted out a loud; "Booyah!"

"So, there will be a wedding, then?" Wally waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the couple.

Beast Boy flushed, scratching at the side of his head while averting his gaze to the ground. It didn't help that he was still somewhat inebriated because of the copious amounts of alcohol he'd consumed.

"I…uh…well, you see…," he floundered, unsure of how to proceed.

Neither him or Raven had truly discussed the idea of an actual wedding ceremony, and they'd both agreed that they would always consider the other's opinion before making any rash decisions that involved them both.

There was no doubt in his mind that this delicate topic happened to be one of those issues.

"We'll have a stupid wedding," Raven blurted out suddenly. As she opened her eyes to regard everyone staring at her with bemused expressions, she felt the urge to add, "What? I want to wear a nice dress."

Kory giggled. "Raven, I don't think I've ever seen you this intoxicated."

Dick passed the drinks around before raising his new bottle of beer and exclaiming rather boisterously, "To Raven and Garfield!"

Everyone else also raised their drinks, and chanted a similar mantra before taking a long swig of their beverage.

As a very drunk empath proceeded to tuck herself into Garfield's chest, her fingers clutching at the material of his shirt, the changeling ran his fingers gently through her short, violet hair, and smiled fondly at her peaceful expression.

It had been strange, how they'd gone from a friends-with-benefits situation to husband and wife in a few short years.

When they'd first started sleeping together, Raven had made it abundantly clear that it was all she wanted from him, and that he was a free man in terms of dating other girls. However, somehow, they had found themselves in a relationship that neither had wanted to label as something more than friendship.

They went to see movies together, spent time together, had dinner together, and were frequently texting and messaging throughout the day.

Despite knowing that they had the freedom to be seeing other people, neither of them ever really did, and then, Raven had randomly suggested that they get married.

For fun, of course.

They'd been laying on the hotel bed in Vegas, bored out of their minds when she'd casually brought it up.

Just to pull a fast one on their friends.

It was supposed to have been funny, to see their reactions.

The pair even went out and bought rings, with the full intent of returning them once the gag had run its course.

Except, they never did tell any of their teammates, they never went back to the jewelry store, and they never did get around to that divorce. It was as if they'd merely forgotten about it, and when the days turned into weeks, and then into months…

It didn't matter anymore.

They were blissfully happy, and had, at some point, accepted that this time, maybe their friends were right; maybe they were always meant to fall in love.


-FIN