Author's Note: This one is a bit longer than normal for Scribbles, but I hope I'll get no complaints. Also, I've used the "wrapped up in Red X's trap" already before, but it's such a good trope that I couldn't resist it. I hope you like it!

-=oOo=-

Enough is Enough

The elevator ride from the garage was silent, slow and awkward. Raven glanced at her green teammate, wondering if he could smell the irritation – no, the downright anger flowing from the other three Titans as clearly as she could sense it through her empathy. His eyes were guilty and apprehensive; he obviously felt it also. The heavy, oppressive frustration rolled in burning waves from her three friends, crackling and smoldering on the deep, powerful foundation of care, affection and friendship she had always cherished and treasured. It made everything even worse.

She bit her lip. No clear reason for her friends' behavior would come to her mind. Yes, she and Beast Boy bungled and Red X escaped, but nobody got hurt. Usually such mistakes would earn them a scolding from their leader and maybe a few extra hours of training next week, but everyone else would just wave it away and forget about it almost immediately. Something was not right.

Ding! The elevator door opened and they filed out into the Ops room, with the empath and the morpher bringing up the rear after exchanging another confused, worried look.

"Raven. Beast Boy. Twenty minutes to freshen up, then to the Conference room for debriefing!" Robin snapped over his shoulder before turning to the other Titans. "Cyborg. Starfire. I need to talk to you."

It was definitely a dismissal, and one that promised more than just a verbal lashing soon enough. She sighed and pushed it away from her mind. She'll find out in twenty minutes. They both stepped out and walked to their rooms in silence.

-=oOo=-

After taking a quick shower and putting on a clean leotard she hurried to the Conference room. As she turned the last corner in the hallway she noticed Beast Boy slipping inside. He obviously also realized that punctuality was paramount; no sense stoking up Robin's irritation any further.

Their leader was seated at the head of the table, with Starfire and Cyborg at his sides. Garfield sat stiff, straight and very uncomfortable at the other end, instinctively seeking to be as far away as possible from the impending doom.

She felt a hard stab of apprehension in her guts. It all looked so ominous, as if she entered a court of law where her destiny was to be decided. She swept her gaze over her friends. Robin's face was stony, Cyborg was scowling and Starfire's small, dainty eyebrows were gathered in an uncharacteristic frown, only somewhat tempered by a heavy dose of concern.

Let's get this over with, she thought with fatalistic determination. Keeping her expression carefully blank, she sat beside Garfield and prepared for the worst.

-=oOo=-

"I'm very disappointed in the two of you!" Robin began, going straight to the point. He rose and started pacing across the room. "And it's not only today!" he growled. Suddenly he stabbed an accusing finger at the apprehensive duo.

"Do you have any idea how long we worked on it? Do you realize how expensive it was? How much effort we wasted, how much we sacrificed?"

"Robin, I'm sorry –" Raven tried but was instantly cut off by a gesture as savage as it was dismissive.

"Three vials of Xenotium, Raven!" he shouted. She felt Gar tense beside her, knowing the verbal blow was directed at him, too. "Three vials! A year's supply!"

The sorceress felt her cheeks burn. She thought she was ready for anything, but the mixture of anger, disappointment, frustration and love crashing into her was overpowering. A retaliatory rage rose up in her and she clenched her fists.

"If anyone was stupid enough to keep that much Xenotium in one place they deserve what they got!" she shot back, keeping her voice calm and cold with an effort. "It was an open invitation for Red X! They could as well have placed a 'Steal Me' neon sign above it!"

"Steal? We gave it to him!" Robin exploded in anger, then ran a hand through his spiky hair, pulling himself together.

Raven blinked, then glanced at the other two Titans. They were still frowning but they were looking down, avoiding her gaze.

"We didn't exactly 'give it' to him, Robin!" she replied heatedly, then forced calm back on herself. "He had to fight us tooth and nail! I admit, Beast Boy and I blundered –"

"You are failing to have the understanding, friend Raven," Starfire's voice interrupted her. "We have truly given the vials to Red X."

Raven's mouth opened and her jaw hung slackly. She sneaked a quick look at Garfield to confirm that his own jaw was also on the floor.

"He played it perfectly!" Robin's arms went up in frustration. "Everything went according to plan! He had you lined up just at the right time and in the right place, and he wrapped you both up nose to nose in that X of his, just as we instructed him!"

"Instructed… ?" Raven croaked, completely bewildered.

"Then we faked going after him and we left you alone for two hours wrapped up intimately close, face to face, noses touching… The plan was perfect, the execution flawless!" He slammed his fist on the table. "Two hours! And. You. Two. Did. Nothing!"

An eternity of silent seconds tiptoed away before Beast Boy cleared his throat.

"Uh… Dudes… I know I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but can someone tell me what were we supposed to do?"

Cyborg sent a withering glare his way. "You were supposed to kiss, Evergreen!"

-=oOo=-

A strangled gurgle rose from the green morpher's throat. Raven sat frozen stiff. Another eon of deafening silence passed.

Robin placed his hands on the table and leaned towards the two stupefied Titans. "You see, Raven, we know."

"Know…" the Azarathian barely managed to breathe.

"... what?" the shapeshifter completed her question in the same hoarse whisper.

"We know y'all are head over heels in love with each other!" Cyborg grumbled.

"The obviousness is indeed painful!" Starfire nodded her agreement.

"But…" Raven tried.

"Please, friend Raven. Your cheeks color with the prettiest shade of the pink whenever I mention friend Beast Boy."

"Dude…" it was Beast Boy's turn to attempt to refute, to which Cyborg clucked his tongue and shook his head. "Nuh-uh. Every time you're in the lead, I only have to mention Raven and y'all zone out for a few seconds." A malicious grin spread over his face. "Why d'y'all think you never won a game these last few months?"

"I didn't need to be a great detective to figure it out either," Robin drove the final nail into the coffin. "Now let's stop pretending and get back to what we were discussing!"

Garfield snorted. Raven facepalmed. "Are you telling me that you have set all this up just to –"

"NO!" Robin almost snarled at her. "This? This was just the tip of the iceberg, Raven! The last straw! Enough is enough!"

"Dude, you're tellin' me – hang on!" Garfield exclaimed, then turned suddenly to Cyborg, his eyes growing wide. "The T-Car? You let me drive the T-Car that time because…"

Raven picked up Garfield's meaning right away and glared at her adopted big brother. "And you sent me with him not to make sure he drove carefully but because…"

Cyborg's answer was clear as crystal in his impassive expression. The half-demon turned to Starfire.

"I thought it was surprising that you ran out of mustard that other day, Koriand'r!" she growled at the Tamaranean. "It was a ruse to have me and Beast Boy go to the store for more, isn't that right?"

The chagrined alien looked away. "It is indeed right. I had to throw away my entire supply to create a credible dearth. So much of the mustard discarded into the can of the garbage… It is a most distressing memory." Her eyes rose and she met Raven's glare with a defiant glow in her eyes. "I would do it again, friend Raven. I would give up all the mustard in the Universe if it would bring the two of you into the togetherness."

"And don't forget the joint patrols before that," the Boy Wonder scoffed. "And all the sparring before that. And even all those romantic movies!"

The sorceress massaged her temples. "I thought the movies were for Starfire…"

"I did obtain much of the enjoyment from them, but their main purpose was to inspire you," her alien friend muttered defensively.

"In any case, all that is meaningless right now!" the young acrobat glowered at them. "As leader of the Titans, my duty to the team is clear and I have made my decision!" Then his tone softened and his voice became earnest. "But as your friend, I have talked it over with Star and Cy, and we all agree."

"Agree on what?" Raven almost whimpered. Here it comes, she thought.

Robin let out a long, gusty breath. "We are locking you two in a room, together!" he said, then continued fiercely. "And the only way you're coming out of it is as a couple!"

Raven rubbed her temples harder. Beast Boy guffawed and giggled.

"Garfield!" she growled a warning towards the green shapeshifter, but his giggles were already turning into a roar of laughter.

"Gar!" she shouted at him. With a monumental effort he smothered his mirth and calmed down, but his shoulders still shook from time to time with repressed laughter.

"Rae, don't you think we should –"

"Hush, Gar," she spoke softly and placed a tender hand over his own. "Let me handle this."

She turned to Robin. "While we were entangled in Red X's trap, Garfield and I had a long discussion," she began.

"Yeah, it took a lot to convince you!" Garfield chuckled.

She frowned at him, but her voice was gentle and her eyes affectionate. "It's not that I needed much convincing, Garfield. It's just that I enjoyed how you went around doing it."

He gave her a goofy grin, the same one that always made her insides flutter all over. She pushed back the urge to kiss the living daylights out of him and turned to Robin.

"You see, Robin, Garfield and I decided to come out clean. We've been… seeing each other for months now, but I asked Gar to keep it quiet."

She swept her gaze over the trio, stunned into silence by the revelation. "I decided I'm finally comfortable enough in my feelings towards Gar, and confident enough in his feelings towards me. However…"

A small, crooked smile appeared on her face. "We do feel responsible for what we did and we will take the punishment you have laid down for us. We will be in my room for the next several hours, and I assure you that we will come out of it as a… couple."

She gestured and a black portal appeared. Grabbing Garfield's hand in hers, she stepped towards it before turning to her astounded friends. Her smile widened with a positive touch of mischief.

"Don't worry about locking the door, by the way. I'll take care of it myself," she purred and pulled her grinning boyfriend into the portal.