Chapter 12: Chary
"Guys, you've gotta help me!"
Beast Boy paused his video game and scrambled out of the way to keep Cyborg from squashing him as he jumped over the couch and landed on the seat cushions in the bunker common room.
"Whoa! Watch what you're doing, bro," he chided, then he noted Cyborg's expression of panic and grew concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Wrong? Nothing's wrong. I only have a date tonight."
"Still waiting for you to tell us what the problem is," Raven said in a monotone voice. She looked up at the two from her bean bag beside the couch, book still raised to her chin.
"You remember me telling you about Sarah Simms?" Cyborg asked.
Raven lowered the book to her lap and folded her hands primly over its spine, alert and curious.
Beast Boy split a grin. "Sure. She's the girl you're 'painting' with."
"I do not appreciate your insinuation, B."
"What? You hang out with this chick like how many times a week, staying after construction's done on her school to help her 'finish painting the walls.' What am I supposed to think?"
Cyborg's skin reddened slightly. "First of all, it's not her school; she's only a teacher there. Second, did you think I was lying when I said that? They don't have a lot of money left in their grant to cover the cost of labor for redecoration after they finished building. I really have been helping her and the other teachers paint the walls and move in furniture every day for the past few weeks."
Beast Boy stopped laughing. "Seriously? I legit thought you two were dating."
"Nah, nothing like that."
"You said you have a date tonight, though," Raven reminded him. "That would seem to contradict your claim."
Cyborg shook his head. "'Dating' implies we've actually gone on dates or something. We haven't. Tonight was supposed to be the first. I just talked to her at Caldwell's Bookstore-"
"You know where to find a bookstore? I'm astonished," Raven deadpanned.
Beast Boy spoke up before Cyborg could reply. "Why were you there? You don't read books. You don't even read manuals for all the junk you buy."
"Man, no one reads the manuals," Cyborg retorted. "And for your information-" he directed the comment at Raven, "I have always known where Caldwell's was-it's that I didn't have any reason to go there before today is all."
"Why were you there today?" Raven prodded.
"'Cause yesterday afternoon she mentioned she would be there!" Cyborg yelled. "Why are y'all getting' hung up on the details? Anyway, so I casually happened to run into her at Caldwell's and asked her out, but she seemed surprised or nervous or something so I blurted out that I thought it'd be cool for her to meet the other Titans-"
"Mmm, name dropping," Beast Boy interrupted, "I see how it is."
"Shut up! And she said 'cool,' so I said 'I'll pick you up at 8:30,' and she said 'great!' and now I'm here and I really, really, need y'all to get your butts in gear and get ready for dinner 'cause the T-Car is leavin' in less than two hours."
"What 'chu think, Rae? Busy tonight?" Beast Boy asked, glancing over at Raven whose eyes had already found her book again.
"Super busy," she answered.
"Me, too. They're marathoning Clash of the Planets in thirty minutes and Raven pointed out last night that I could use a brush up on my geek trivia, so…"
"Are you kidding me?" Cyborg sounded half hysterical.
Beast Boy and Raven shared a look, then as one, they started laughing, Beast Boy's raucous guffaws drowning out Raven's quieter chuckles. "Alright, dude. But this is totally gonna cost you."
Cyborg leveled an accusatory finger at him. "Remember all the times I fixed your toilet after you ate one too many of your 'Burrito Monsters' and try to tell me I haven't already paid you back a thousand times."
Raven snorted as Beast Boy paled.
"And don't even get me started on you, little missy. Remember that magazine I caught you reading last-"
"Alright!" Raven interrupted. "Fine."
Cyborg slumped back in his seat. "Good. Now, if one of you would be so kind as to locate Robin and Starfire-"
"Starfire won't be coming," Raven informed him.
"Ah, is her leg actin' up, still?" Cyborg asked.
"Something like that. Just…go easy on her for the next few days. She's had a tough 24 hours."
"And Rob isn't back from wherever mysterious place he had Herald ship him off to after you guys found that bug," Beast Boy added.
Cyborg clapped his hands against his thighs and stood. "Well, alright. Looks like it'll be a double date, then." He winked at the two Titans and their twin looks of horror. "Bring out your civvies. We're headed to that snobby Italian place in the short north and I wanna look the part." With that he clasped his hands behind his back and walked away, whistling.
"Don't expect me to wear pants!" Raven shot at him.
"And don't you expect to wear that creepy cloak," Cyborg retorted cheerfully. "It's summer, you should break out the sundresses."
"Ha ha!" Beast Boy doubled over in laughter.
"What's so funny?" Raven asked caustically.
"He thinks you own sundresses."
Teen Titans Teen Titans Teen Titans Teen Titans Teen Titans
Beast Boy allowed his gaze to wander through the Italian-style restaurant, decorated with plastic vines that crept along plaster pillars and empty wine bottles filled with fresh flowers, fixed atop countertops and tables. Beast Boy's group sat in front of the balcony on the third floor, which granted them a beautiful view of the park nearby. The fragrance of warm breadsticks wafted toward his nose from the basket at his elbow and he could just hear the crooning melodies of big band songs coming over the stereos. They had prompt service and few guests to share their space with-apparently the Titans had saved the owner from an alien invasion or something and he felt the need to show his gratitude.
Despite the welcoming atmosphere and the friendliness of the wait staff, conversation between the four party members had long been suffocated by a tension began with Cyborg's bad timing and ended with his overenthusiasm. He'd been fine on the way to pick up Sarah-if a little nervous-then he'd seen her and been incapable of speaking without stuttering ever since.
His anxiety had quickly spread to the other three who tried to hide it with varying success. Sarah kept trying to make small talk, Raven refused to say anything at all, and Beast Boy made bad jokes.
Their waiter had returned with their drinks about two minutes before-coffee for Cyborg, Coke for Sarah, iced tea for Raven, and Sprite for Beast Boy-and now they all sat in silence, trying not to meet one another's eye.
"So, Cyborg tells me you're all finishing up your construction projects soon," Sarah said. She smoothed out her dress for the umpteenth time and tucked a lock of stray blonde hair behind her ear where it joined a crown of wispy curls held back with bobby pins. When no one answered, she continued. "Are you all excited to put away the construction hats and go back to fighting crime 24/7?"
Raven picked up her glass of iced tea and took a gulp of it. Beast Boy noticed she did that a lot to avoid talking, especially with him. And Cyborg only smiled nervously at Sarah, which left Beast Boy to answer.
"Ah, I'm more looking forward to sleeping in again. This whole eight to five, Monday through Friday thing really puts a cramp in my video game schedule."
Sarah giggled, Raven snorted into her tea, and a heartbeat too late, Cyborg gave a great, belly-rumbling guffaw.
"Ha, ha, ha, B, that's good, you're funny. Didn't I tell you he was funny, Sarah?" Cyborg punched Sarah on the arm. She winced and tried to make it look like she was scratching an itch instead of soothingly rubbing at the spot. They'd had several of these carried away moments tonight, with Cyborg accidentally brushing his fingers or leg against Sarah's and then apologizing loudly for it, or rushing to do something 'gentlemanly' like opening doors or grabbing Sarah's chair halfway through her already having done it herself.
"I'm going to the bathroom," Raven announced. She stood up quickly and pushed her chair in.
Sarah did the same. "I'll join you." Surprisingly, Raven waited for her and the two walked away at a quick pace.
"Don't get lost!" Cyborg held his too-big smile until Raven and Sarah rounded the corner behind him, then he dropped his face into his hands and mumbled mournfully into them. "Man, what is wrong with me?"
"You tell me, dude, why're you so nervous?"
"I don't know, I was fine earlier-mostly-then I saw her and she was wearin' that dress…" Cyborg trailed off.
"Something special about it you forgot to mention?" Beast Boy asked, confused.
It was a nice enough dress, sea green to match her eyes and form-fitting to hug her lean figure, but nothing jaw dropping. A little out of place, too, considering what the rest of them were wearing. Cyborg had put on pants for the occasion, plus a long-sleeved dark blue turtle neck and shiny boots. Beast Boy'd brought out the clothes he'd taken to Japan: skinny jeans, black and gray plaid rolled up to his elbows, and super cool black gloves.
Raven had ended up borrowing a sundress from Starfire, probably when she went to let the Tameranian know the rest of them would be leaving for the night. The ivy-print cotton dress came to mid-thigh on Starfire, but on Raven it nearly reached her knees and she kept pulling down on the hem as if it could make the fabric stretch longer. Additionally, she seemed uncomfortable leaving her shoulders, back and chest bare, continually pulling the straps into place and fidgeting with the wrinkled hem. Beast Boy wondered if her discomfort sprang from her psychically-charged empathy, which had to have been picking up on the awkwardness between Sarah and Cyborg. Beast Boy figured it couldn't have been a self-conscious thing because the dress looked great on her, loose fitting and bell shaped in a way that flattered her small stature. Besides, he liked her in green.
Cyborg was in the middle of a sentence when Beast Boy snapped back into his senses.
"-After she bought it, she talked about it for days, and when I asked if I could see a picture of it she winked and said," Cyborg lifted his voice to a falsetto, "'You've really got to see it for yourself.'" His voice returned to normal. "I thought it might'a been a hint-"
"Totally a hint," Beast Boy agreed, ripping off a piece of breadstick and popping it into his mouth.
"But I wasn't sure at the time," Cyborg continued, speaking over him.
Sarah's perfume wafted toward them along with the scent of Raven's lavender shampoo. "They must be on their way back."
"Hey, Cy-"
"But she's wearing that dress tonight and-"
The women appeared around the corner and Beast Boy tried to warn him. "Cyborg-"
"Hold on, B. So she's wearin' that dress she's been hinting about for weeks, and then there's the way she smiled at me when we met her at the door-"
The two women were only a table away from them now and Sarah reached for Raven's arm to slow them down, putting her fingers to her lips to shush Beast Boy who had opened his mouth again to interrupt.
"She is the most beautiful thing I've seen in my entire life," Cyborg finished.
"I guess it is a nice dress," Beast Boy relented, grinning.
"It's not the dress. It's her. And I'm so afraid of messing it up that it's like the only thing I'm capable of doin' tonight."
"You don't have a wire crossed in that brain of yours, do you?" Raven asked.
Cyborg finally looked up, horrified. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to learn that I shouldn't have been so subtle these past few weeks," Sarah said, beaming at him. "Don't look so worried! It's probably the heat, kinda makes it hard to think. Do you want to go out onto the balcony with me, get some fresh air?" she winked and offered him her hand.
Cyborg took it at the exact moment that the waiter returned. "Hi, is everyone ready to order?"
"I got it," Raven said. "You guys go on."
"You sure?" Cyborg asked.
"You and Sarah discussed menu options for a full two minutes. I think I can figure it out."
Raven didn't wait for the couple to disappear to begin ordering. "The big guy will take the grilled chicken spiedini; she will have the polenta shrimp alla greca with extra sauce; and I will have the minestrone. How about you, Beast Boy?"
He leaned back and slung his arm around the back of her chair and she straightened her posture to keep from touching him. "You did so well with them, how about you try for me?"
She tilted her chin up. "Alright. Ziti al forno with spinach instead of parsley on the side. A spritz of lemon in the sauce, no mushrooms-"
"I love mushrooms!" he protested, amused.
"Not with tomato-based cheeses."
He grinned. "Go on."
"And a side of broccoli. Raw."
The waiter looked to Beast Boy for confirmation and left with an airy, "we'll have it out for you as soon as possible!"
Raven raised an eyebrow at him. "How did I do?"
Beast Boy hiked his feet up to rest on Cyborg's chair. "You reading my mind?"
"Didn't need to. You're kind of…" she drummed her fingers against her chin. "Predictable like that."
"Oh, really?" he leaned forward until he could smell the sugar in her iced tea which she held curled tightly against her chest. "Your turn."
The two of them seemed to be playing a game, lately. One of them would tease and poke and challenge and the other would push and try to prove the first one wrong. It started that night in Tokyo when she took it upon herself to rescue his ruined night, then continued after that. With Starfire and Robin receding into themselves and Cyborg spending his free time with Sarah, they turned to one another for company, going out to dinner every couple of weeks before Raven started spending more time at the hospital, exchanging taunting comments that lacked the maliciousness they would have once had, as well as comforting touches that would have been off limits before the events of Raven's sixteenth birthday: a pat on the back, a hand on the shoulder, thighs and boots brushing together. He didn't want to analyze what it meant, but he liked it, and he loved moments like this when her breath hitched in her throat and she drew unconsciously closer.
"You know, I don't really see myself as being that way," he continued. From this distance his animalistic ears heard the sound of her heart pounding beneath the V-neck dress, and he could see the pulse at her throat picking up. If she intended on stopping him from getting any closer, it would be now.
"I guess you'll have to work harder to prove me wrong." She leaned back and his fingertips brushed her bare back."
Beast Boy raised that same hand so that his elbow rested on the chair back and his knuckles skated along her skin. She shivered and goose bumps formed on her arms.
"Air conditioning getting to you?" he teased her.
Raven turned her head away, though not quite fast enough to keep Beast Boy from spying the red that spotted her cheeks. "Something like that," she mumbled.
Beast Boy loved Raven's blush. In some ways, it was more expressive than she was. For most people, blushes were limited to the cheeks. Not Raven. For her, blushing was a full body experience: her face, her neck, her ears, her legs and now that he could see so much of her skin, he could see the blush spreading like an infection to her shoulders and back, dusting her collarbone and sternum. The rosy pink color reassured him that they were inspired by something other than agitation. If she were angry, she'd be covered in big red splotches like dabs of red paint; if she felt embarrassed, her ears grew pink, like she'd been out in the snow.
He pulled back finally and spied a lanky blonde out of the corner of his eye. He had to resist the urge to catch a better look at her and took a drink of his Sprite instead. The figure had been headed to the kitchen-probably a waitress.
It had been like that since Terra reappeared at the beginning of June, the day the Titans first discovered the monsters and he found out Terra was a student at Murakami High School. He kept expecting to run into her at the grocery store or a park, and every time he saw someone with her hair color or profile he lost track of everything else. But it was never her. Never Terra.
"Beast Boy?"
In some ways, he still held onto her-her memory, at least. She'd never been his to hold, anyway. Raven showed him that during dinner in Tokyo.
"Garfield? Gar-"
"Huh?" He became aware of the world again and the restaurant came into focus, along with Raven who stared at him with an expression halfway between concern and annoyance.
"You zoned out for a minute."
"Did you call me Gar?"
"Garfield, actually, because 'Beast Boy' and 'idiot' weren't working." She frowned at him. "Why are you smiling?"
"No reason. It's been a while since anyone called me Gar is all-I never actually went by Garfield, at least willingly." He licked his lips nervously and dipped his gaze to the cream colored tablecloth. Should he say it? "I liked hearing it from you is all." Her nose glowed cherry red. What did that mean?
Teen Titans Teen Titans Teen Titans Teen Titans Teen Titans
A heavy hand clapped Beast Boy's shoulder. "Glad to see you two didn't kill each other while we were gone," Cyborg said and took his seat. Both he and Sarah wore smiles as they sat down and Raven saw Sarah take Cyborg's hand in hers beneath the table.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Beast Boy asked, laughing. Raven only took another great gulp of iced tea.
Sarah answered. "Cyborg explained your special love-hate relationship to me. He said your pranks lead to more broken bulbs than anything else in the Tower."
"'Cause Raven kept breaking them!" Beast Boy protested.
"That's what happens when you sneak a toad into my tea stock," she replied, allowing a soft smile to contrast the reprimand in her voice.
"He didn't!" Sarah chuckled.
"He did. And he's lucky I blew up the lights instead of him."
"She's kidding," Beast Boy said over the laughter.
"I'm really not," Raven disagreed. "I didn't have the best control over my abilities when I first came to this plain."
Beast Boy's eyes widened and she snorted.
"Don't look so scared, I've improved."
His eyes weren't focused on her, but seemed to see through her and focus on something in the distance. They all turned around to see what stole his attention and the salad Raven had eaten earlier settled in her stomach as if rotted.
"Terra," Beast Boy whispered and pushed away from the table. The woman-blonde, thin and disgustingly familiar-spotted their collective stares and dropped her serving tray of empty dishes.
Terra's mouth formed a perfect "O" of surprise.
She ran.
Teen Titans Teen Titans Teen Titans Teen Titans Teen Titans
Starfire wiled away the hours alone in the combat room. The room remained unfinished for now so she had to take care not to damage the plaster walls which would eventually be covered in steel. Nor had the windows been brought in, yet, so the empty spaces that lined the room near the roof were covered in opaque plastic sheets that rustled in the light breeze that played outside.
She did not worry. Cyborg had every inch of the island outside covered in movement detectors. If someone not fitted with a communicator so much as stepped one foot on the sand, she would know about it.
Leg sweep, high kick. "I am not a victim."
She had the entire room to herself. Eventually the builders would put mats on the walls and floors, but for now she did not have to share the concrete flooring with anyone. Shadows danced on the walls with long branches that extended toward the ceiling to reflect the rafters above. She kept the fluorescent bulbs down low; she had all the lighting was needed in her fists.
Aerial twist, punch, punch. "I will not be frightened."
She flew through the air, striking at imaginary enemies. Fists flying, legs flailing, torso bending and eyes glowing, she used every part of her body as a weapon. She recalled moves she had scarcely used her time training on the moons of Okaara, moves too deadly to use on frail humans. She had not needed them much since her capture by the Psions. Virtually every problem since then could be solved with a well-placed starbolt or a super-powered blow; there had been little need for finesse.
Back tuck, strike out. "I am a survivor."
After reliving her traumas through Raven that afternoon, she needed her old practice routines, the feeling of power they lent her and the sense of invincibility that numbed her to the threat of paranoia that seared through her calm.
Starfire usually clung to her friends during times of stress. She pushed away her anxiety with laughter and let her worries dissolve in the joy of being with her loved ones. Not today. Today she felt ashamed, afraid of the future in a way she hadn't been in a long time. How could she seek comfort in people who might hate her if they knew the truth? Raven knew, now, and she seemed to understand, but that only meant it was time to end her secrecy. As soon as Robin returned, she would tell everyone what Raven discovered that day at the beach. She could not talk about it earlier, but something broke in her when she was forced to address the memories she had suppressed for years. Now she fought to keep those memories from sweeping over her and knocking her down.
"I have suffered worse than this in the past."
Robin had a tendency to lose himself in training, but for him it was a way to work on perceived weaknesses in himself, as if he could train the shortcomings out of himself. Starfire saw her efforts as an escape from her problems, a way to rebuild the walls torn down by confrontation. She needed to separate herself from her mistakes, compartmentalize so she could deal with her issues in a way that did not completely render herself powerless, useless; defenseless.
"I will not be undone."
One of her starbolts went high and struck a rafter instead of sizzling out like the rest. The light briefly illuminated a shape looming in the shadows above-a person, lithe and covered in black-before bursting against the wall and flickering away in a series of sparks. Starfire zoomed up to meet the figure, eyes and hands glowing, but it vanished before her light reached it.
From the floor below, someone called up to her. "You didn't have to throw a fireball at me if you wanted me to leave. You could have asked."
Starfire whirled around. Red X stood in the center of the training room, holding up two white Styrofoam containers and looking as comfortable in the space as if he belonged there.
"What are you doing here?" she asked and flew down to meet him. Once she came within four meters of him he disappeared again.
He reappeared to her right, leaning against one of the walls. "Ah, ah, ah. I'd appreciate you maintaining a distance of at least ten feet from me. At least until I can be certain you aren't going to try to blast me again."
"Why are you here?"
He shrugged. "Can't a guy bring a girl lobster without getting bombarded with questions? Or starbolts?"
She put her hands on her hips.
"Ok, fine, I wanted to see how you were doing. You didn't look too good last we met."
"How kind of you to fret over my wellbeing," she said darkly.
"Ooo, you do sarcasm, now? When did that happen?"
She glided forward and he raised the hand not carrying food. "Okay, okay, cool it, I'm sorry. But seriously, you guys can't even handle me five on one, how poorly do you think your team would do without their 'alien powerhouse?'"
"You flatter me," she deadpanned. Raven would have been proud.
"I try," he responded, and she could practically hear his smirk. "C'mon, have dinner with me."
She crossed her arms.
"You can send out a distress signal on your comm and keep me occupied 'till your teammates get here to try to take me down," he offered.
"You believe I require their help to restrain you?" she asked.
Red X pushed off of the wall and strutted forward. "Princess, you couldn't take me on even if you hadn't almost snapped your leg in two last night, much less in your current state." He laid one of the containers on the ground and backed up, the other one in his right hand still. "Your friends wouldn't be able to accomplish much more, but if you all tried together then might make you feel better to know it wasn't completely your fault when I escaped anyway."
"How do you know they are not already here, ready to capture you?" she asked.
Red X waved a hand in dismissal. "Pft. Sunshine, Booger Boy, and Chrome Dome are at some richy-rich place in the city for dinner with the robot's painter chick, and Bird Boy's halfway across the country with Daddy Bats right now. I think I'm safe."
"How did you bypass our security system?"
"Like I'd share that secret with you. What if I wanted to visit you again and I couldn't because Cyborg fixed his blind spot?"
"Hmm." Starfire prodded the box with her boot, tensed and waiting for it to explode or erupt into a gas or something. It remained unmoving, seemingly innocuous, smelling of butter and something else.
"If it makes you feel better about having dinner with 'the enemy,' you can act like you were phishing information from me to give to your precious Robin when he gets back."
"Or I can prove you wrong and capture you myself." Starfire dropped the remaining decimeter to the floor and gritted her teeth to hold in a hiss as a jolt of pain jarring her injured leg.
He plopped down in the style of Indians about five feet in front of her and threw open his container, revealing a burger and a side of fries. "I'll take that as a yes."
She knelt down gingerly and tucked her legs behind her. Red X watched her-at least, she thought he did, the way he kept his mask fixed toward her-as she carefully peeled back the plastic lid, revealing a bright red creature with eight legs, two claws, beady black eyes and stringy antennae on its face. It looked like a pest of similar coloring common to Tameranian forests, a woodja, which clung to trees and ate of their leaves. Blackfire had dared her to try one as a child. Thankfully Galfore had stopped her before she did; woodjas were poisonous. Could this be as well?
"Did you say this was 'lobster?'" She plucked a piece of parsley from the box's side and poked at it as though it would come to life and leap toward her or spray venom from its mouth.
He scoffed. "Can you at least look like it doesn't disgust you? That's a delicacy. And it was very expensive."
She fixed him with an incredulous look and he wilted, his shoulders drooping in a fantastic show of remorse she did not believe to be genuine. "Or it would have been, if I hadn't stolen it."
"I cannot eat stolen food!" she said and slammed the box shut.
He sighed. "Fine, I'll go back and stick a fifty in the cashier's box tomorrow." She pursed her lips and he added, "I left my wallet in my other pair of pants, leave me alone."
"How do I know you did not poison it?"
"Ha! Princess, if I wanted to poison you, I would've laced your morning mustard drink. And if you think I couldn't have, you're wrong. Look how easy it was for me to break into here."
She regarded him silently, wearily. Then, "How did you know I like to drink mustard?"
"Out of all the things in that statement that's what you're curious about?" She did not answer and he continued. "You'd be surprised what you can learn from social media. That's how I knew about your friends, anyway. Except for Chuckles-I admit to keeping tabs on him. For laughs only, I assure you."
Did he truly know Robin's location? Before Raven left for dinner, she told her: "He's chasing a lead on Oberon Digital. Cyborg said it had something to do with spyware that we didn't plant. Robin wouldn't tell them where he was going."
Starfire crossed her arms again, stubborn. "I refuse to try it until you perform the test of tasting."
"Not a fan of lobster, thanks."
"Then I shall not eat a single bite."
"Ugh, fine. Slide it over here."
She dropped her hands to her lap and cocked her head to the side, all innocence. "Why do you not approach me? You did not have a problem being near me last night."
"Nice try. The thing about criminals is we have these weird hang ups about taking unnecessary risks that might lead us to being arrested."
She smiled meaningfully.
"Unless they involve dinner with a beautiful alien Titan."
"With super strength," she added.
"And mad fighting skills."
She rolled her eyes at his flattery and scooted the plastic toward him. Red X snatched the container from the floor and opened it back up, then pulled one of the creature's legs from its body. Turning away from her, he flipped his mask up to his nose and sucked something from the leg like liquid from a straw. He shivered and pulled his mask down before facing her again. "That's disgusting." He scooted the box back toward her.
"If it disgusts you then why did you select it for me?" she asked, indignant.
"Think of all the weird things you eat and try to convince me you have a discerning palate."
She frowned at him and ripped off one of the lobster's legs, then sucked on it like she'd seen him do. Flavor burst in her mouth: spices, garlic, a dash of salt, and something like the crab meat from the sushi she tried in Japan. "Mm!"
Starfire snapped off another leg and popped it into her mouth, whole, and chewed.
"You're not supposed to eat them like that! You know what? Never mind, way to prove my point."
"I will forgive you because this is delicious," she said, smiling. She picked up the small container of melted butter nestled in the corner and poured its contents over the lobster.
Red X shook his head and picked up a fry from his own container, then slipped it beneath his mask.
The motion made him look awkward-something she thought to be impossible-but prevented her from making out his features. She glimpsed a strip of tan skin on his neck, but nothing else. "I didn't think this through." He held up a finger. "Excuse me a moment." He disappeared and she spotted him over by the light switch, flipping it off.
They were cast into darkness and when she lit a starbolt she gasped, surprised to see him back in his seat across from her, peering at her through the skull's eyes.
"Geez, didn't mean to scare you," he said blithely.
"We cannot see to eat," she pointed out.
"True enough. Ah!" he pulled something out of his belt, slim and filled with an orange liquid. He bent it in half and something inside it crackled. It began to glow a cheery carrot color and he set it on the floor between them. "Perfect. Now, then, what's the deal with you and Boy Blunder?"
Starfire nearly choked on her lobster leg.
"I told you not to eat those things," Red X admonished, pulling his mask up to his nose. She caught hints of a slim jaw and thin lips that reminded her of Robin's, but nothing else. "You are projecting," she chided herself. She saw Robin everywhere she looked these days; his supposed resemblance to Red X was merely an indication that her thoughts had spilled too deeply into her perception of reality.
"What is your interest in our relationship?" She spluttered, tapping on her chest to dislodge the food.
He shrugged and popped a fry into his mouth. "Nothing. Making conversation." The synthesizer continued to modulate his voice without the mask's presence. "It must be connected to the suit," Starfire deduced.
"I would prefer we 'make the conversation' regarding another topic."
He whistled. "That bad, huh?"
Starfire responded by snapping the lobster's claw roughly from its body. "It is not anything."
"So that's the problem, that you two aren't 'anything?'"
She dropped the claw and it splattered butter onto the concrete. "I am not discussing this with you." Perhaps she would not wait until he turned his back on her. If he continued in this infuriating manner she would knock him unconscious with a giant starbolt powered by all the anger he inspired in her.
"Defensive. Does that mean he's the one who won't cooperate?"
"It means I do not appreciate you pursuing a topic I have designated feet off. You may have saved me, but that does not entitle you to my personal life."
He swallowed a bit of burger he was chewing. "It's 'hands off,' first of all. Second, if you don't like the conversation topic, then change it."
Starfire picked up the claw again, contemplative.
"Make sure it's covered in butter. It's supposed to be better that way," he advised in between bites.
She did so and bit off a tip of the claw, chewing its hard skin between her molars with a sound that, by the sound he made, seemed to sicken Red X.
"You're supposed to crack it open to get to the meat inside," he chided.
"Is that a metaphor?" she asked, head cocked in an imitation of innocence.
"Nope," he answered, his mouth full. "Though I do admire your attempt at a subject change."
Starfire attempted a shrug to affect nonchalance, like she had seen her teammates do so often. The motion felt odd to her, as if she were trying to emulate a wave with her shoulders. "It would make sense," she said, taking another bite of buttery lobster claw. "There must be some reason as to why you risked yourself to save me last night. Something beyond your arrogant demeanor and evasive attitude."
"Oh, I'm the evasive one?" he teased.
"You are evading currently," she returned, errantly twirling the other claw in the air.
"Touché."
She could barely see his smile-his smirk-in the flare light, a shadowy impression of lips curving up crookedly.
"Then why?"
"To keep you guessing as to where my mysterious moral compass points," he answered mischievously.
"Try again," she said. "I will ask someone later to explain the 'compass of morality.'"
"Crack open the middle first. That's the best part."
She reached for the thick lobster body and snapped its shell in half, revealing the meatiest part of the animal, and ground it into a puddle of butter in her Styrofoam box.
"Let's see," he trailed off, tapping a finger to his chin. "That was my audition to join the Titans so I could become a goody-two-shoes hero like the rest of you and live a boring life saving kittens from trees?"
She took another bite and shook her head.
"So hard to please. No wonder he's being so difficult-probably worried he wouldn't meet your standards."
Starfire flicked butter at him from her fingers before licking them one by one. Then a spell of dizziness over took her and she had to rest a hand on the ground to steady herself.
Either Red X did not notice, or he pretended not to. "Fine, I'll go back to my first answer: your team needs you. Can you imagine what a wreck your Robin would be without you? I doubt he'd be able to gel his own hair, much less lead a team of junior justice leaguers."
Her eyes felt heavy and she fought to keep them open. "What-"
Red X flipped his mask down and rested his hands on his thighs, then continued as if oblivious to her sudden fatigue. "He needs you." He spoke the words with a matter of fact tone that surprised her through the fog that suffocated her mind.
Her world tilted on its side and she felt herself settle in Red X's arms. He moved faster than she thought possible or she had temporarily lost consciousness without realizing it.
"How did you-" her words slurred.
"The butter." Did he sound apologetic? "I need the info from Oberon Digital and tonight was my best chance to steal it back, what with everyone else gone. I probably could have done it while you were busy here, but I needed your palm print for the door scanner and I knew I could trick you into giving it to me. Robin's right-you're way too trusting."
She tried to glare at him but it took too much effort to raise her head and keep her eyes open.
"You'll be fine. If you're not already asleep, then you will be soon, and you'll wake up in the morning safe and sound." He lifted her up and her head tilted back, unsupported.
Then he spoke the words he had whispered into her ear last night as he passed her onto Robin:
"Fi un sigurata."
The words followed her into sleep.
Teen Titans Teen Titans Teen Titans Teen Titans Teen Titans
Dinner was a somber, formal affair at Wayne Manor. Candles laid out along the center of the banquet-style table and a chandelier provided dim lighting; a single shaft of dusky sunshine managed to escape through the tightly closed velvet curtains that covered the ceiling to floor windows in the dining hall, cutting directly across the middle of the mahogany table; a barrier between the two dinner guests. The formality provided by the environment alone almost lead Robin to expect an entourage of people to file through the kitchen doorway, rather than his adopted brother and Alfred.
Bruce's insistence on maintaining seating etiquette only increased the awkwardness. He sat at the head of the table and Robin, his 'honored guest,' sat at the other end, unmasked and feeling as naked as if he sat there in his underwear, though the dress pants and powder blue dress shirt should have made him feel constricted. He would have to guard his expressions more closely without his mask on and he fidgeted to keep from reaching up to his cheek bones to feel for the familiar strip of fabric. At least Bruce let him keep his steel-toed boots on.
Alfred rattled around in the kitchen and the fragrance of his homemade lasagna and whatever else he'd decided to prepare wafted in from the servant's door behind Bruce. Another table setting at Bruce's right reserved Jason's seat, and while they waited for him, Bruce and his legal ward stewed in awkward silence.
Robin reached for his wine glass-filled with cranberry juice-and took a swig to sooth his parched throat. Then he picked up his silver fork and tinged it lightly against his crystal plateware to push around the remaining salad there. At the sound of the light tinkling noise in the otherwise quiet room, Bruce raised his eyebrow at him.
"Problem?" Bruce asked.
"Nope." He struggled to follow up with a conversation starter. "I'm vaguely surprised Alfred is still using such breakable dishes with Jason around."
"He isn't a child, Dick."
"Didn't he use them for target practice at the shooting range a few months ago?"
Bruce gave a half-smile, barely noticeable in the low lighting. "He has a different sense of humor than you."
"Where is he anyway?"
"Running late. Said he needed to 'run some errands.'"
Before Robin could ask him to elaborate, the kitchen door cracked open and Robin saw Alfred's thin, white fingers clasp gently around the frame, his face and right foot sticking out. "Pardon me for the interruption, masters, but Master Jason has requested your presence in the kitchen."
Bruce and Robin shared a look as if searching for signs that the other had put Jason up to something. If Bruce knew about it, he showed no indications.
They entered the kitchen to find Alfred's servants' table-the one he used to cut vegetables and eat at-pulled away from the wall and surrounded with four chairs. Someone had covered it in a cheap plastic red tablecloth and laid it with all new table settings: plastic forks, knives and spoons, kelly green; and paper plates, napkins and plastic cups with cartoonish depictions of Batman and Robin imprinted on each of them, like something from a party store.
Robin turned toward the stately butler, still holding the door open. "Alfred, what's-"
"It was Master Jason's idea, Master Dick. He thought you might me more comfortable in here."
"-Plus Alfred said it wasn't his 'place to eat in the formal dining hall,'" a voice added from behind him.
Robin turned around to see his adopted brother standing in the kitchen behind him, wearing a wrinkled red dress shirt, black pants, and a mischievous grin. His dark auburn hair, which looked redder than usual in the fluorescent lighting, slung over his forehead and he pushed it away from his face before slipping his hand into his pocket. He had filled out a bit since coming to Wayne Manor, and good thing, too. When Batman found him-trying to steal the tires off of the Batmobile-he had been a scrawny eleven-year-old street rat, abnormally pale and malnourished. Now his pallor had a healthy pink tint and he'd had the chance to put on some muscle.
Good thing, too. Twelve-year-olds needed three square meals a day every bit as much as they needed stability.
"Jason," Robin greeted, smiling. He cast out his arms in welcome and Jason raced to embrace him. Jason barely came up to his collar bone, but he squeezed Robin with all of his childish strength and only let go once Robin started ruffling his purposely tousled hair. "It's great to see you."
Jason pulled away, still beaming. "I set it myself," he said, indicating the table. "I stole Alfred's vegetable plate and when he went to look for it, I took over. That's why I needed to run errands," he added to Bruce.
"Looks like he pulled a fast one on you, Alfred," Robin teased.
The butler regarded Jason in mock-irritation. "In the future, young master, you might consider asking for help before resorting to thievery."
"Old habits die hard," Bruce answered, a gleam in his eye. To Jason he said, "But he has a point."
Jason shrugged and chose a seat. "Whatever, got you all in here, didn't it? C'mon! Before the food gets cold."
Alfred dipped around to the other side of the counter and opened the oven. Heat billowed out and Robin loosened his blue and black striped tie before sitting down in one of the seats next to Jason. "As if I would ever allow that to happen, Master Jason."
Bruce grabbed a decanter of wine and a bottle of cranberry juice from the dining room and poured them into their respective cups at the kitchen table. When he tried to pour juice into Jason's cup, Jason covered his cup with his hand. "Don't you think it's time I get the good stuff?"
"How about we wait another decade on that," Bruce replied.
"Out of the way, Master Bruce!" Alfred chided. He stood behind the billionaire holding a casserole dish full of lasagna in two kitchen gloves. He clucked his tongue. "This is why I dislike self-serving. Everyone is always in the wrong place."
"My apologies, Alfred," Bruce said and took his seat across from Robin.
Alfred dished out the lasagna before taking the remaining seat. "Now then, Master Dick, I'm so glad you could join us."
Robin finished chewing before responding. "Me too, Alfred, me too."
Next chapter: Dinner continues for the other two parties.
A/N:
1.) This chapter too required some background info on Robin and Starfire's pasts, so I apologize is anyone was confused by something. Go ahead and Google things or ask me to elaborate if you'd like. The training Starfire mentioned on the moons of Okaara is canon, but cartoon!Starfire has not shown herself to be the best hand-to-hand fighter, so I wanted to explain that.
