Part 11: Moving In

It was the very next day after Shadowcobra and Pluto had officially joined the team. Starfire was pleased to have more friends in the Tower. She was one of those girls who took the saying 'the more the merrier' a little bit too seriously. She was just a sweet and friendly girl, basically. She glided into the living room only to see Raven on the couch reading one of her thick and large books.

Starfire approached her friend "Raven, where have the metal men gone?" She asked innocently.

Raven lowered her book and sighed. "They went to get all of their stuff moved here," she answered. She continued, "And before you ask, Cyborg, Terra and Beast Boy are helping them." She turned back to her book. "Didn't you get the memo?" she joked, dryly.

Starfire tilted her head, her face bearing a confused expression. "Memo?"

"Never mind, Starfire."

Today, the Knights Shadowcobra and Pluto were going to bring the rest of their stuff from Tokyo to the Tower. Starfire was puzzled. Where was Tokyo? Was it another planet? Well, Robin had shown her where Japan was on the globe and then he showed her a map of Japan to show where Tokyo was. Starfire wanted to know more. But, what puzzled her more was how her two new friends were going to move all their belongings to the Tower and so quickly at that. She would ask them, but they left rather early in the morning to pack their things from back home. So, she decided to ask the resident Zodiac Knight, Draco.

"I must ask friend Draco how his friends will bring their belongings here. I recall that he is in the training room with dear friend Robin," she said before she left the living room. She hadn't notice Raven smiling at her. The half demon sorceress shook her head before returning to her book.

"You'd be surprised Starfire, you'd be surprised…" she mumbled.

Draco stood opposite of Robin in the large sparring ring in the training room. At the moment, Draco wasn't in his usual red and silver Zodiac Knight armor. Even his helmet was gone, revealing his youthful face, green eyes and long auburn hair, which was now messy with two long lightning shaped bangs sticking out of the hairline and he didn't even bother to tie it in a ponytail. He was clad in a full red leather bodysuit, white gloves and boots. A red dragon with white outlines was emblazed on the chest area of the costume while a white scarf was tied securely around his neck. On his head was a pair of red goggles. Draco had explained to Robin that the material of his bodysuit was not actually leather. In fact it was made of a special material that felt like leather and stretched like rubber. It was quite durable and bulletproof. It was meant to act as some sort of body armor.

Jinx stood at the sidelines. It was obvious whom she was cheering for.

"Ready Robin?" Draco asked

Robin smirked. "I was born ready," he replied. "And this time don't change into your armor or do that trick with the mirrors again," he added.

Draco retorted, "What…a little too much for you, Boy Wonder?" he smiled. The Boy Wonder nickname always got on Robin's nerves. He pulled the red goggles over his eyes and got himself ready

They both got into a ready battle stance, their feet were moving slowly against the ground as they circled each other. Jinx gulped, sweat sliding down her forehead as she waited with anticipation. Draco had his arms out and his fingers bent like claws in front of him, simulating a wild beast like a tiger or…a dragon. Robin was in a basic martial arts stance with his arms held up in front of him. It was clear that the Boy Wonder wasn't going to make a move, so therefore, the Dragon Knight made the first move.

Draco crouched down before he leapt over Robin and did a flip, landing behind him. Robin turned. Too late, he was already off his feet when Draco did a sweep kick under him and then attempted to elbow him in the stomach. Robin rolled out of the way did a flip and landed back on his feet. Draco smirked. He swung his scarf out and lashed it over Robin's eyes, blinding him. Robin held his stinging eyes before Draco landed a punch to his left cheek. Jinx cheered as Draco landed his first hit. The dragon Knight beamed with pride before he swung his leg out to strike Robin's stomach. However, the Boy Wonder anticipated this and grabbed the leg. He twisted it, quickly, causing Draco to spiral and fall on the mat. Draco winched but then smirked as he ignited his foot. Robin let go in shook and blew at his burning, gloved hands.

Draco wagged his finger. "Never underestimate your opponents nor disregard their abilities." He ignited the finger and threw the small fireball at Robin, but he avoided it by sidestepping it.

"Same goes to you," Robin remarked. Draco grumbled, but his grimace turned into a grin as he ignited all ten off his fingers.

"Oh yeah?" challenged Draco. He swung his arms down and the flames on his fingers lashed out and took the form of blades that swept out at Robin. Robin was surprised. He took out his Bo staff and put out the fire blades by spinning it in front of him like a fan. He then regarded Draco.

"Nice trick," Robin complimented, clearly impressed

Draco smiled "Thanks. That was my Flame Slash. Like it?"

"I'm glad we're on the same team," Robin said before he stepped forward and jabbed at Draco with his staff. The dragon Knight dodged.

"Oooh…not done playing, are we?" Draco said playfully. He formed a crescent blade of flames from his right forearm and lashed at Robin back who blocked with his staff. "Neither am I."

Jinx was cheering for Draco. She couldn't believe how powerful Draco was, and this was only a training session. Starfire arrived just after Draco had formed the fire blade and was awestricken.

"My, I did not know Sir Draco had so much power outside his armor," she commented, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Believe it sister, he does!" Jinx smirked. She threw her fist up and cupped her mouth with her free hand. "Kick his ass, Draco!"

Starfire was surprised at Jinx's behavior. What surprised her more was that, although against cheering against one of her friends, wanted to cheer for Robin to win. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "ROBIN! IF YOU WIN I WILL GIVE YOU A KISS!" She hadn't known she said what she did until she did it. She clamped her hands over her mouth and blushed. Jinx stared at her, pink eyes wide. Unfortunately, this didn't have a good effect on Robin.

When Robin heard what Starfire said, he lost his concentration and got slammed in the face by Draco's fist. Starfire gasped. Robin passed out and fell flat on his back, dazed. He had swirlies in his eyes and mini Starfires and hearts flying around his head.

"Robin!" Starfire exclaimed before she flew towards her beloved. "Robin…are you injured?"

Robin spoke in a dazed tone, "Mommy…I don't want to go to school today…" he was obviously delirious.

Draco suggested, "I think we should get him to the infirmary."

"I shall take him," Starfire volunteered, cradling the unconscious Titans leader in her arms before flying off to the infirmary to treat him. This left Jinx and Draco absolutely alone. Perfect.

Draco pulled the goggled back over his head and scratched his cheek. He smiled nervously. "I guess I may have gone a little bit too far." He then noticed Jinx gazing at him. "Um…Jinx?" he sweatdropped. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Jinx smiled wistfully as she gazed at him, "You were great," she told him. She was looking at his emerald eyes. Those eyes… she closed her eyes and sighed.

Draco gave her a wide smile, "Thanks." He was then surprised when Jinx kissed him on the cheek. He blushed and turned red like a tomato as steam practically came blowing out of his ears. He turned to her, eyes wide with shock and embarrassment, as he placed his hand on the spot she kissed. She then surprised him again by hugging him. "Um…Jinx?" he began nervously. "Why are you hugging me and why did you kiss me?" he asked, confused. Jinx giggled. He was so dense and oblivious to a lot of things, but all that made him so sweet and adorable.

"Because I like you," she admitted, "And you're just so sweet when you visited me in jail that time. I still keep the flowers you know," she sighed. "Gosh, you're warm."

Draco smiled, though the blush on his face hadn't faded, "I like you too, Jinx, and I'm warm coz I'm a pyrokinetic, you know, a fire manipulator," he told her. They only smiled at each other as they stayed that way. She sighed as she held herself against him. He couldn't help bringing up his arms to hug her as well.

Back in the living room, a loud yelp rang through the room. A strange ringing emitted from the windows. Suddenly, Beast Boy and Cyborg came tumbling out, literally, of the window. They both groaned, rubbing their heads. Raven was surprised to see this, though, not as much as she saw Shadowcobra, Pluto and Terra, coming out of the window, hauling some boxes and various suitcases and luggage. The Knights' belongings, obviously. Terra walked to Beast Boy and helped him up. He was still in a little pain, but alright.

"I thought I told you people to keep your arms and legs in the tunnel at all times," Shadowcobra said to the changeling and cyborg. His armor shattered away to reveal him in a black bodysuit with matching gloves, boots and a cloak. The collar of the cloak was pulled up to conceal the lower half of his face. On the chest area of the suit was a purple symbol that appeared to be a cobra. "It was lucky for you two that you didn't get lost in the Mirror Tunnel. Who knows where you could've ended up?"

Pluto sighed, exasperated. "Shadow, chill!" he said to his friend. His armor shattered away to reveal him in a dark blue bodysuit with black gloves and boots. A white symbol of Pluto was emblazed on his chest and on his face was a blue mask that went up in two points that ended just past his head and you could see his eyes. A black cape with a large collar hung from his shoulders "At least we got all our stuff here."

"Good," Shadowcobra said, although his eyes were narrowed, he was still glad that everything went as smoothly as possible.

Beast Boy shook his head, just in time for Raven to ask them, "How was it?"

"Raven!" he exclaimed, "It was INCREDIBLE!" he waved his arms. "We were in this BIG glassy tunnel and moving REALLY SUPER FAST!"

"Yeah!" Cyborg agreed. "It was way AWESOME!" he yelled out.

Terra smiled, "It was really fun. But there were some restrictions."

"With good reason," said Shadowcobra. He raised his arms out and covered his belongings in black shadow energy. Raven watched with keen interest as he teleported all of his stuff into his new room. "I'll unpack later," he said, before falling back onto the couch. He turned his head to Raven and smirked. Raven looked away, blushing and went back to her book. Terra, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Pluto left to the kitchen, leaving the two alone.

I am not attracted to him. I am not. She told herself.

She then felt the cushion shift and turned her head to see Shadowcobra had scooted a little closer to her. She scooted away, and he scooted a little closer, too close. She then asked, "What are you doing?"

Shadowcobra pointed to himself, "Me? Not much. Just want to know what book you are reading," he replied. Raven breathed, relieved that he wasn't interested in her. Why did that just sound wrong? She showed him the book and he raised his eyebrows. "'The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe.' What a coincidence."

"You've read it, before?" she asked him. He nodded.

"My family's library is full of many great forms of literature. I could show you my own, if you'd like."

Raven looked at him, thinking, Is he…flirting with me? "Maybe, sometime later."

He smiled at her, "I'd like that." He scooted closed.

Raven's left eyebrow twitch, "You are getting in my personal space," she said.

"Am I?" he smirked, "Not yet, I'm not." He scooted a bit more. "Now I am."

Raven saw that their shoulders were almost touching. She tried to move away, but there wasn't much room to do so. Therefore, she did what she only could: get up and leave. Shadowcobra watched her walk away with an annoyingly cocky smirk. He tapped his finger to his chin and watched with interest as Raven disappeared up the stairs that lead to the roof. "She is quite a puzzle," he said to himself, "And I so like puzzles" He turned into the very shadows and disappeared.

In the kitchen, Pluto, Terra and Beast Boy were waiting for Cyborg to make lunch. Beast Boy grimaced and groaned, getting some attention from Pluto. "What's the matter with you?" he asked.

"Cy's making lamb chops…again!" he placed his forehead on top of the dining table.

"So?"

Terra was patting Beast Boy on the back. She answered, "Beast Boy is a strict vegetarian, a vegan. He doesn't eat anything that comes from animals."

"Why?"

Beast Boy mumbled, "Because I've been most of those animals!"

Pluto thought for a moment before replying, "I guess that makes some sense."

Cyborg licked his lips as he transferred the lamb chops from the pan onto the plates. He then poured barbeque sauce all over the lamb chops. "Nice and spicy! Ohhhh yeah!" the mechanical teen said, mouth watering. "Come and get it!" he placed the lamb chops onto the dining table. Beast Boy could only stare at the lamb chops before he turned a much lighter shade of green. He placed his hand over his mouth.

"Dudes…" he groaned, "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Not over my lamb chops you're not!" Cyborg told him, serving the lamb chops to Terra, Pluto and himself.

Pluto sniffed the lamb chops and smiled, "Mmmmm…lamb," he said. He took a fork and knife and started eating.

Terra looked a little guilty as she looked at the lamb chops. She looked at Beast Boy and apologized sincerely, "Sorry, Beast Boy." She picked up a fork and knife and started eating.

Beast Boy lifted up a finger, "I'm gonna go, now." He morphed into a mouse and scurried away. Pluto watched Beast Boy scurry away and turned to Cy.

"Don't you think it's a bit mean to cook this for lunch? We do have to respect Beast Boy's wishes," the Dog Knights told Cyborg.

"No way I'm going to eat that tofu junk!" retorted Cyborg. "Sides, he always comes back to make his tofu and veggie meals!"

Terra burped and smiled, satisfied at the taste of the lamb chops, "That was nice. I think I'll go get Beast Boy," she said, before leaving the two other teens.

Pluto cut a piece of the lamb chop and swallowed, "You know, these aren't so bad," Pluto said.

"Glad you like em," said Cyborg, grinning with pride.

"But…" Pluto continued, "The meals that Shadow's butler makes are excellent. I think he can cook too."

"The snake guy? Cook? You gotta be kidding."

"I kid you not. I kid you not."

"I'll believe it when I taste it."

"Trust me, it's great."

Draco and Jinx walked in, holding hands. The dragon Knight sniffed the air, "Hey. What's for lunch?"

Both Pluto and Cyborg answered, "Lamb chops." Draco licked his lips.

"I love lamb chops. How about it Jinx?" he asked the pink haired sorceress. She nodded, smiling.

"There's some more on the plate. Take some," Cyborg offered. They did.

"This is delicious!" said Jinx as she ate.

"You know," Draco began. "This is good and all, but nothing beats Shadow or his butler's cooking."

Pluto smirked at Cyborg, "Told ya so."

Cyborg rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah."

Raven was walking up to the roof to do some peaceful meditating. At least I can get away from him here, she thought. However, did she want him to stay away? Did she want to get away? When she got to the top, she was surprised to see Shadowcobra planting rosebushes. The roses were beautiful. They were red, black and white roses. Shadowcobra saw her and smiled.

"What a nice surprised," he said to her, smirking.

"Were you following me?" she asked, glaring

"How could I have been following you when I arrived here first?" he reminded.

"What are you doing?' she asked him, eyebrow raised.

"Gardening," he watered the bushes after planting them. "Keeps me calm and collected. Sort of my own way of meditating."

Raven shrugged, "Whatever works for you."

"Want to try?" Raven's eyes widened. Did she just hear that right?

"What?"

"I repeat myself: Want to try?"

"Sorry, I don't do flowers."

"Neither did I, until I found out it actually soothes the soul." He sniffed the flowers. He then picked up a pair of scissors and snipped off some uneven leaves and branches. "Trust me, you might like it."

"Might is an uncertainty."

"You won't know until you tried."

Raven sighed, "If I do this, will you leave me alone and stop pestering me?"

Shadowcobra looked up and seemed to be thinking. "Maybe…Of course, I'm not promising anything."

"Neither am I," she retorted. She walked up to him and took the scissors. "Alright, what do I do?"

He instructed her, "First, calm yourself. Breathe in the scent of the flowers as you hold the scissors. With me now?" Raven seemed to calm down. He took this as a yes and smiled, continuing, "Good, now picture the uneven leaves, branches and dead buds as bad memories you want to get rid of or cleanse yourself from." She did as instructed as she snipped off a dead white rose bud. After doing that, she did feel a little calmer. However, she was not careful and accidentally pricked herself

"Ouch!" she pulled her hand back.

"And be careful of the thorns," he sighed. He took her hand, "Let me see." She took her hand away.

"I can take care of myself," she protested. He rolled his eyes.

My, my. Strong and independent. He thought. "I just want to take a look."

"I'm fine," she winched. Shadowcobra quickly held her hand and she glared. "Let go," she growled, angrily.

"No," his hand glowed white, surprising her. "Now I will," he let go. Raven looked at her to see the small wound had closed.

"You healed it," she said, a bit surprised.

"It was just a simple healing spell. No big deal," he told her. He picked a blooming black rose. "Here," he presented it to her. "Take it."

"What? Why?"

"Call it a present. You did well on your first attempt." She blushed while taking it. He saw this and smiled. "You were a bit calmed down when you were doing it."

"Thanks," she said. "How did you know I was calmed?"

"Call it a lucky guess and you can tell a lot by looking at a person's face."

"Sometimes, you have to dig deeper," she told him. She tried to hide the rose in her cloak, but he stopped her.

"Not there," he took the rose and put it in her hair, "There, how lovely."

Raven blushed crimson and looked away from him. He was complimenting her. She walked to her spot, only for him to follow her.

"Going to meditate?" he asked. "May I join you?"

"Suit yourself," she sat down and levitated a few inches off the ground. She closed her eyes and chanted, "Azerath Metrion Zinthos…" over and over again. He did the same and breathed silently. Of course, he decided to follow her chant.

"Azerath…Metrion…Zinthos…" he chanted slowly before the words became natural to him. Raven stared at him by the corner of her eye. Her lips curled into a little smile. She then raised her hand to the black rose in her hair and smiled before returning to her meditation.

"Do you think Shadow's acting a little weird?" asked Pluto as Draco helped him unpack his stuff.

"What ever do you mean?" Draco asked while hanging up a poster before going to another box.

"I mean, we know he's a flirt, sometimes." He corrected himself, "Okay, all the time. But we both know that's a mask."

Draco shrugged, "What's your point?"

Pluto grinned, "I think our Ichijyo likes Raven."

"Shadow?" Draco eyes widened. "Nah…couldn't be."

"You have to admit, they do have a lot in common."

"That's a little hard to believe. Raven controls her emotions."

"So does Shadow," Pluto reminded

"Remember when he flung me out of the window," Draco told him.

"You burnt his favorite bonsai. He had good reason to be mad."

"It was a little weed," Draco protested.

"It was 400 year old tree and you turned it into a bon-fire overnight," Pluto reminded.

"I had a cold!" Draco tried to make an excuse.

"Didn't stop him from flinging you out of his 13th floor apartment."

Draco grumbled and went back to unpacking.

Raven and Shadowcobra were done meditating and were looking out over the city. She turned to him. Maybe…maybe he's not so bad, she thought. "Um…Shadowcobra," she began.

Shadowcobra turned to her and opened his eyes, "Hm?"

This was the first time she had a clear look at his eyes. They were crystal blue and almost glowing under the light of the sun. She added, "There's this café I go to, where you can listen to, or share, poetry. There's also this bookstore I always go to." He stared at her, blankly, she continued, "Would…would you like to go, sometime?"

Shadowcobra smiled at her softly, much different from his usual arrogant smirk. She looked down and small blush crept over her face. He lifted her head up by the chin and said, "I will."

"Then it's a date," she blurted out. Shadowcobra raised an eyebrow. The glass window on the door cracked. Raven breathed, trying to calm her emotions. He had a sad look in his eyes.

"It must be hard for you," he told her, "To have to hold back your emotions."

"Not much. I do it all the time," she replied. She stood up and walked back to the stairs that led into the Tower. He watched her go before he turned into shadows and disappeared.

Shadowcobra was in his new room in the Tower. The room was empty of course. "Better start now." He began to unpack.

To be continued…