Hello Reader,

I apologize for the delays in all my stories. Life caught up with me and it caught up haaard. so many adult decisions, so little time.

This chapter is for runner. Here's your hot pink suggestion which i absolutely loved. There's a hint on what the next chapter will be somewhere within the story. It's quite an obvious hint.

Hope you enjoy.


Raven should have seen it coming. It was just a matter of time. She had tried to postpone it as long as she could, but she had to face it – no amount of magic in the world could stop it. Starfire was as insistent on wearing pink just as Trigon was insistent on destroying Earth. Scratch that. Starfire was way more insistent, Trigon would have been ashamed. At least Raven had belted out a few No's and I don't want to's to Trigon; when Starfire had shown her the ridiculous pink feathered number that she was going to wear, Raven couldn't even form a coherent thought.

"It is my birthday and I wish everyone to be dressed in the most wondrous of colors – Pink," Starfire announced with finality a few moments ago, ignoring the shocked looks her teammates were giving her. No sooner had she said that, she took out a paperbag of clothes; she'd taken the initiative to shop for everyone's outfit that night. Robin, Cyborg and Beastboy could only look in despair as Starfire pulled out three matching pink sequined blazers. Raven would have laughed at them had the normally innocent, but now dictatorial, alien not pulled at her arm and procured her outfit from the bag dramatically.

Raven could not hear herself cuss against the boys' hysterical laughter. Robin was clutching at his stomach, his knees giving way as he fell to the floor, his shoulders hunched and shaking uncontrollably; Cyborg joined Robin on the floor, clasping a hand on the boy wonder's shoulder to steady himself while the other shot up and smacked his forehead; Beastboy was laughing so hard he did not even feel himself tip over the couch.

"Starfire," Raven hissed, her eyes wide and wild as she stared at the hideous excuse for a dress. If only she could burn the thing by looking at it hard enough.

"Is it not the most adorable thing you have ever seen, friend Raven?" Starfire gushed, dangling the dress in front of the empath.

No amount of empathy could have lifted Raven's spirits, however. Finding her voice, she retorted, "Adorable? No!" fighting to keep her hands from shaking, Raven continued with her tirade. "Bunnies in cups are adorable. An army of baby Pugs running through a meadow is adorable. A Corgi hopping down the stairs is adorable. For fuck's sake, watching Kristen Stewart try to smile is more adorable than that monstrosity!"

Starfire scowled – something Raven never thought she could do – and pushed the dress towards Raven, letting out a threat through gritted teeth. "You shall wear the dress tonight or risk not getting a slice of the cake." This was yet another thing Raven never expected her usually good-natured friend to do: threaten her with sweets.

"You know I couldn't care less about cake, right?"

"It is a cake of creamed ice," Starfire pointed out smugly.

"Icecream cake? Damn it," Raven hissed.

"So, you will be wearing the dress?" Starfire asked, clapping her hands together.

Raven grimaced as she took the dress and proceeded to walk towards her room. "I'll think about it," she muttered.

The dress was not as bad as Raven thought it would be. It hugged her body well, the heavy fabric clinging to her figure comfortably and showing off her curves without making her look lewd. Its flamingo pink color accentuated her pale skin, giving her an almost rosy glow, and the glittered feathers went very well with-oh, who the hell was she kidding? She looked like something My Little Pony coughed out. Even Barbie would not sink this low.

She realized that she said the last thought out loud when Karen came up behind her, nodding her head in agreement. "I'm sorry, Rae," she said, eyeing the empath's reflection in the mirror with a strange mixture of sympathy and disgust. "This is the ultimate dress; anyone wearing it would definitely stand out."

Raven stomped her feet, knowing fully well that she was acting like a petulant child. But she was too concerned about her looking like a stripper in Vegas to actually care. "This is ridiculous," she huffed. "This is Star's birthday. Shouldn't she be the one standing out?"

Bumblebee looked at her, brow raised. "Star's a gorgeous alien with the longest legs and the most shapely boobs we've ever seen, Rae. She'll stand out even when she's dressed in a garbage bag."

Raven sighed, sitting down on the corner of her bed. "This is about the mustard thing, isn't it?" she asked, eyes unfocused and distant. "She's taking revenge for the mustard thing."

"You think?" Bumblebee replied, sarcasm evident in her voice.

"Oh, come on Karen. That was a week ago."

"You guys crossed the line with mustard."

Bumblebee walked towards the floor length mirror, straightening her own dress. It was only then that Raven noticed her friend's dress – a simple but elegant powder pink cocktail dress that cinched just below her breasts with a slim, silver ribbon. Her jaw fell open as she looked at Karen with disbelief. "What the hell are you wearing?"

Bumblebee looked back at her, confused. "A pink dress. As per Starfire's instructions."

"Oh, so you get pretty powder pink while I get shocking flamingo?"

"Mustard," Bumblebee pointed out with finality before turning back towards the mirror, fixing her make up.

The night passed by painfully, for Raven at least. She spent the first hour of the party smiling forcefully, controlling her emotions despite everyone – everyone – throwing jabs at her outfit.

"Never pegged you to be a feathers girl, Rae," Roy had whispered, the lustful drawl of his voice unmistakable. She replied by blowing his drink up his face.

So, she wasn't able to control her emotions as well as she'd hoped. Who could blame her? She was dressed like someone even Barbie would not acknowledge. So, the first hour was spent smiling forcefully, and the rest were spent loathing Robin. Why? Because the guy was just as involved with the mustard thing as she was and all he got was a glittery pink tuxedo that actually made him look appealing, for some reason.

By the time Cyborg brought out the karaoke machine from the basement, Raven was sitting alone in the corner, nursing her frustration and a bottle of beer. It was hard for Robin not to notice her sulking.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked as he sat beside her, taking a sip of his own beer.

Raven stiffened. "I don't have use for pennies. In hell, we use souls for money."

Robin froze. It took a few seconds before he slowly turned towards her, his brows furrowed. "Your pissed." It wasn't a question.

"You think?"

"What's up? And please keep your powers in check."

Raven slammed her bottle down on the table and turned towards the agitated boy. "Look at me, Robin! I look ridiculous."

Robin scoffed. "And I look any better?"

Rave gave a scoff of her own as she took her bottle. "Oh please. I look like a drag queen. At least you look cute." She took a huge gulp of beer.

Robin's eyes grew slightly bigger as he straightened up, surprised. Raven hadn't noticed his reaction, however, as she droned on. "This is unfair, Robin. Starfire is punishing me for turning mustard against her. I'm wearing the most outrageous outfit in the planet and all you get is a tuxedo from Elton John's closet."

Robin raised a hand. "Give Star credit, Rae. This thing itches." He made a show of scratching his arm, a show which Raven did not buy.

"Nice try, Robin." She sighed, staring at the bottle in her hand. "It's bad enough that I'm the creepy one, now I have to be the one who dresses weird as well."

"It's just us, Rae," Robin said, trying to soothe her.

Raven gave him a look that made him feel stupid. "Robin, you're glittering more than Edward Cullen. We all look stupid. Do you think Roy's not going to grab the opportunity of sending tonight's pictures to everyone in the superhero community? I'm willing to bet my right arm that Supergirl already has a copy of tonight's pictures."

Robin paused, lost in thought. "I thought you said I looked cute."

Raven blinked and pulled the bottle away from her lips. "You misheard."

Robin was about to argue when Cyborg burst into the room, holding a couple of mics. "I got the karaoke machine set up, ya'll! Time to sing some tunes," he finished with a singsong voice. Raven smiled, relieved that she didn't have to defend herself to Robin for her slip up. Her joy was short lived, however, when Starfire appeared from behind Cyborg, clapping her hands excitedly.

"How about a photograph of all of us before we engage in the singing of earthly melodies?" she announced. To Raven's dismay, everyone eagerly agreed. Panic bubbled up inside her. Grabbing Robin by his lapel, he dragged him down and brought her face close to his. In her nervous state, she couldn't register just how close their lips were. Robin, however noticed, and he gulped in discomfort and excitement.

"You have to help me out," Raven hissed. "I'd rather serve my father than take another damning picture in this cursed dress."

"You might want to say that in a quieter tone; we don't need your dad suddenly appearing at the offer."

"Focus, Robin!" Raven shrieked, her voice hysterical. "We have a minute to think of a way to sabotage me and literally take me out of the picture. You, boy wonder, are going to help me because the whole mustard thing was your freaking idea in the first place, and I'm getting the full force of Starfire's anger. So, you'd better think of something and think of it fast."

Robin bit his lower lip, scanning the room for something he could use. His eyes fell on a bowl of chocolate ice cream that Beastboy had left unfinished.

He did not know what made him do it. His arm reached out for the bowl, and without another word, he tipped it over Raven's chest.

Raven jerked as she took a big gulp of air. Goosebumps appeared on her arms as the chill ran through her spine, spreading all over her body. Despite the cold, she found herself smiling. She looked at Robin, and her empathic powers told her that he was feeling the rush of committing something so scheming just as strongly as she was. She could practically see the mischievous glint in his mask covered eyes – the very same glint she knew Robin was seeing in her own eyes.

Robin grinned back at Raven, pleased to see she approved of his plan. In unison, they placed their hands on her chest and vigorously spread the ice cream around, making sure to make a big mess. It was not until her upper torso was half-covered in chocolate that Raven realized how compromising they looked, what with one of Robin's hand just above the swell of her right breast while the other trailed down her abdomen, smearing chocolate on the way. She slowly dropped her hands to her sides, hoping that Robin would get the hint.

Unfortunately, Robin was too preoccupied with the task at hand to notice that Raven was now glaring at him.

"Robin," she barked, causing her leader to jump in surprise. She gave him a thin smile. "You done copping a feel?"

Robin gaped at her, his cheeks burning a bright red. "I wasn't…I…uh," he stuttered, unable to form a coherent thought. He wiped his hands with a napkin, trying to appear distracted.

"Save it," Raven said with a roll of her eyes. They stood and headed to the other room where the others were waiting. Bumblebee let out a huge gasp the moment she laid eyes on Raven. "Holy shit, what happened, Rae?"

The others turned to look as well and they reacted the same. Starfire flew towards Raven, her hand covering her mouth in shock. Raven felt a tinge of guilt when she saw he concern in her friend's eyes.

"What happened, friend Raven?" Starfire asked, landing beside her.

Raven opened her mouth hesitantly, feeling bad. She shifted her gaze when Roy stepped closer. In his hands, she saw a digital camera. All guilty feelings vanished in a flash. "I tried to clean up, tipped over Beastboy's bowl of ice cream and slipped all over it," she lied with such mastery, it scared Robin.

"Well, you can't be in the picture looking like that, Rae," Robin said aloud, playing along with the lie.

Raven was just about to agree when Starfire raised a hand. "Do not worry, friend Robin. I have a solution," she said, walking over to the side of the couch and taking out the paperbag she had brought in earlier. Reaching inside, she pulled out a lump of sickly pink cloth with feathers sticking to it.

Raven's eyes widened in horror. She'd never seen anything so terrifying in her life. It was a shawl. A bulky pink shawl with feathers poorly glued into it.

"I had taken the initiative to paste the glittery feathers so that it would match your dress, friend Raven," Starfire announced, smiling mischievously. "You can drape it over your shoulders so that awful stain will not be seen in the picture."

Robin looked at Raven sympathetically. The latter did not deign to look back at him. "Trigon, take me now," she whispered, walking slowly towards Starfire and taking the shawl in defeat.

That night, as the Titans cleaned up the tower, Fate decided to add insult to Raven's injury in the form of a voice message.

Beastboy burst into the room, Robin's phone in hand, and announced in a panting voice, "Batman left you a message."

Robin walked towards the changeling, a brow raised in question. "Why do you have my phone?" he asked, snatching it from Beastboy's hand.

"You're leaving your townhall unprotected, dude. You're bringing the clan down," Beastboy retorted, giving him a scolding glare.

Robin grimaced before opening his voicemail. Batman's voice resonated throughout the room, causing the others to stop what they were doing.

"I have information that the new drug circulating Gotham is now making its way to Jump City. Be vigilant; a number of people have already died due to overdose from the drug."

"That's so thoughtful," Raven commented, earning a snicker from Cyborg and a reprimanding look from Robin.

"By the way, Green Arrow's subordinate sent a series of photos to the tower. The League found your…uniforms…adorable, to say the least. You might want to tell your friend to tone down on the feathers next time. J'onn mistook her for an actual flamingo."

Everyone laughed. And that night, they all slept together in Cyborg's room, afraid that Raven would go through with her threat of appearing before them as their worst nightmares.