Richard paced back and forth. Okay, okay. He reminded himself to breathe. His heart was racing a mile a minute, and he wasn't sure what to do with himself. He rubbed his face with both hands. This was crazy. This was insane. He didn't know whether he should be annoyed, mad, or thrilled. He needed to talk to her. Wait. No, he couldn't do that. He didn't want to scare her off. Maybe…maybe…he should wait it out. Looking back at all the times he'd seen the worried looks on her face. He thought she was worried about his mental state, what these gifts were doing to him. It turns out she was concerned about what she was doing to him. And Bruce and Alfred…Richard gasped. Traitors, he thought. He would get them for this. First, he needed to find out if any other teammates knew about this…true love. There's no way, well…she'd always been resourceful. He had also noticed how…stiff and tense things between them were lately. He needed to relax. If he were relaxed, then Raven would be relaxed. And maybe he'd be able to salvage what was left of this vacation. He needed to spend less time finding his true love and more time getting to know Raven.

Richard closed his eyes. He was out of practice, but this was something he needed to do. Peaceful thoughts. Happy thoughts. Things that made him relax. After five minutes, Richard opened his eyes. He began racking his brain for gift ideas. A lightbulb went off in his brain. Yearbooks were easy enough to download and find online. She was going to love this. This, he knew for a fact.

She shot up in her bed. He knew. He had figured it out. Her heart began to beat a mile a minute. She didn't know what to do with this information. She…or he didn't seem to be upset. If anything, he seemed more relaxed than he had been in days. Maybe he'd finally spend time with her and get to know her. That's all she'd ever wanted since last year. Today was the 21st. Christmas was the 25th. The ballet tickets were for the 23rd. The 2nd to last Christmas gift would appear early morning of the 24th. And a partridge in a pear tree at 11:30 p.m. Christmas Eve. She fell back onto her pillow. If she pulled this off, she would owe both Alfred and Bruce big time.

"So," Richard announced brightly, strolling into the kitchen, his gait light and happy. Alfred and Raven both exchanged looks of confusion. This was the earliest he'd risen since they'd been here. 8 a.m. Also, he was happy. Too happy. "Morning," he smiled at Alfred, winked at Raven. "Raven," Richard said as he poured coffee into a coffee mug. "I thought we could go skiing."

"Skiing?" she Raven repeated with a raised brow. "I can't ski."

"I know," he smiled. "I'm going to teach you." The look of horror that crossed Raven's face made Richard want to laugh. He kept himself composed. "I'm going to break my neck," Raven stated.

"No, you're not," Richard disputed.

"You should be worried."

"About me? About you?"

"No, about the other skiers around me. This isn't a good idea. I know I come across as someone who is in perfect control of her appendages, but I am not. You saw that with the ice skating," she tried to reason with him.

"You fell three times," Richard sat across from her with a plump.

"Five-year-olds were laughing at me." Richard rolled his eyes. "Do you know how humiliating it is to get laughed at by a five-year-old?"

"I do not," Richard smiled cockily, taking a piece of fruit off her plate and popping it into his mouth. "You were fine. She was fine," Richard turned to Alfred, who was obviously eavesdropping even though he pretended to be washing dishes. "You'll be fine," Richard said. "No one will get hurt."

"No one will get hurt. And how, may I ask, do you know that?" Raven asked, a bit of humor in her voice.

"Because we'll be the only ones up there," Richard's eyes danced joyously.

"Will you be taking the helicopter, Master Richard?" Alfred asked. "Should I call the pilot?"

"No need to worry, Alfred," Richard said. "I've already done it."

"Hm," Alfred said, "keep doing things for yourself, and soon my place here will be obsolete."

"Don't be dramatic, Al," Richard smiled cheesily at the butler.

"You want me to ski from a helicopter?" Raven was horrified. "No," she shook her head. "Absolutely not. No."

"No," Richard laughed. "Bruce has a ski chalet…a small, private one. An hour drive to the heliport. Thirty-minute flight. Has a miniature ski lift."

"You put me on skis; I will die," Raven reinforced her earlier sentiment.

"It's not a huge slope. 100 feet, maybe. Bruce used to have…winter sleepovers with females who were not otherwise athletically inclined in any way. You won't die. Besides," Richard pinned her with an intense stare, "I'm going to be right there with you. I won't let you die. You know that."

"What if there's an avalanche?" Raven asked.

"Remind me again, can you still teleport?" Richard asked. Raven held up a waffle with her powers. "I will throw this waffle at you," she said, her face not flinching at all.

"C'mon," Richard almost begged. "It will be fun; we'll be back by nightfall. Tomorrow, I will take you to the biggest library in Gotham." Raven perked up when she heard that. Raven's Achilles' heel – libraries. She sighed heavily, and Richard smiled, knowing he was about to get his way. "Fine," she said. "When do you want to leave?"

"I need to gather the ski equipment. Is an hour enough time for you to pack?"

"I don't know what to wear or pack for skiing," Raven was looking confused and terrified. She hated last-minute trips. "You'll figure it out," Richard smiled, "I have faith in you." He jumped from his chair and left the kitchen.

As for Raven, she could only stare at the space Richard had been occupying in abject horror. This was…she couldn't…her plan. Raven stared at Alfred, silently pleading for him to get her out of this. "Oh, Raven," Richard's head popped back into the kitchen. "Do you have a swimsuit? There's a hot tub. You know what, it's fine if you don't," he waved it off. "Bruce always keeps numerous types of swimsuits from Europe still in their original packaging." He disappeared as quickly as he came. Raven's head fell into her hands. This – this was going to be a complete disaster.

Eight hours later, Raven was sitting on the bathroom counter in a spaghetti top and hot shorts, with her hands on both sides of Richard's head. Bloody towels and tissues littered the counter top. "I can't believe it," Raven tutted. She was currently healing the right side of Richard's face. "I thought you were supposed to be a pro," she laughed.

"I got distracted," Richard moaned as he felt the skin on his jaw repair himself.

"Richard, are you sure you don't want to sit?"

"I'm fine," he asked.

"So," Raven's healing reached his cheek. "What distracted you? You're always so focused." Richard didn't answer immediately. He didn't know how to tell her that he was staring at her instead of focusing on the slope, and that's why he didn't see the rock and ended up in the trees. "I was just thinking," he said.

"About what?" Raven asked, leaning into him, checking Richard's head as she finished repairing his eye. Her scent enveloped him, and he unconsciously gripped her hips. Raven figured he was bracing himself. "Are you sure you don't want to sit?" she asked again.

"I'm good," Richard answered, "the pain is already subsiding."

"Okay, but if you pass out, I'm not going to revive you," Raven joked. Richard gave a half-smile. "I'm finished," she said, smoothing his hair. Richard took a step closer to her, looking at his reflection over her shoulder. "Wow," he said, "not even a scar." He leaned forward to get a better look, momentarily forgetting that Raven was still sitting in front of him. "Maybe I should have left a small one. Girls seem drawn to guys that have one or two scars on their face," he felt Raven's breath on his neck as she spoke.

"Are you one of those girls?" Richard looked at her, holding her stare. Neither moved an inch forward or an inch back. They stayed where they were, frozen, each waiting for the other to make a move. "You really want to know what I was thinking?" Richard asked, reaching his hand up to place a strand of purple hair behind her ear.

"If you want to tell me," Raven whispered breathlessly, a small shudder working its way up her spine. Richard's hand fell to her jaw as his thumb brushed her lower lip. "You," Richard whispered as his lips gently brushed against hers once. Then twice. Then…his phone rang loudly. He reluctantly pulled away. "I'll…clean up in here," Raven motioned to the bloody towels and tissues.

"Thank you. I'll…get my phone," Richard was going to murder the person on the other end. "Hello," he nearly growled into the phone.

"Master Richard, are you okay?" Alfred asked.

"Yes," Richard's demeanor immediately changed. The old butler didn't deserve his wrath. "What's up?"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to cut your day with Ms. Roth short. An extreme blizzard will be passing through there. The helicopter is on its way to you now."

"Okay," Richard said, expertly hiding the disappointment in his voice. "I'll let Rae know. Thank you." Richard ended the call. "Hey, Raven!" he called out. "We need to leave early! There's a blizzard on its way!"

"Okay!" he heard her call back. "I can't wait to tell Alfred and Bruce that you wiped out on the bunny slope!" Richard groaned. He was just happy she didn't have pictures.

Raven and Richard returned to the manor later that evening. Tired, sore, but in good spirits. "I am so glad you've returned," Alfred said. "Your assistance is needed in the kitchen." Raven blanched as Richard's face paled. "Oh, don't give me that look, you two," Alfred said, "I only need you to make shapes in the cookie dough."

"Cookie dough?" Raven looked at Richard for clarification.

"The orphanage?" Richard asked. "I thought you and Bruce did that, not that I mind going. I don't."

"This is for the homeless shelter," Alfred stated, leading the two into the kitchen. Raven and Richard entered the kitchen. Every inch of the counter was covered in massive balls of dough and cookie cutters. "Enjoy," Alfred said, leaving the two alone.

"Does he want us to bake them?" Raven asked.

"Probably not," Richard said with a shrug, "but we should do it anyway."

An hour or so later, the two young adult Titans were stomping shapes into cookie dough, baking cookies, then decorating. "Oh," Richard said, "by the way. The night of the 23rd, we're going to see The Nutcracker Suite." Raven paused in her decoration of a snowman. "Your snowman looks like a yeti," Richard laughed.

"Back up," Raven said, "you're taking me to see a ballet?" Richard nodded. "You're going to sit through an entire ballet?" Raven asked him, disbelief coloring her voice.

"You were there when I showed you the two tickets," Richard said, not sure what she was playing at.

"I know," she blushed, "I didn't think you were going to take me," she said, her eyes betraying her happiness.

"I was told to," Richard said with a shrug, placing another cookie sheet in the oven.

"Your secret admirer told you to take me to a ballet?" Raven asked.

"Yep," Richard answered as he began rolling out more dough.

"Me, specifically?" Raven asked for clarification. Richard looked at her with a smile. "You, specifically," he said. Raven froze, her heart pounding in her chest. "Snowmen are very easy to decorate," Richard muttered, looking at Raven's work of art.

"You're taking me?" she repeated. Richard stared at her. She looked genuinely surprised, which confused him. He could have sworn… "Yes," Richard said. "I wouldn't go with anyone else." Raven sucked on her lower lip, fighting a smile. "Seriously?" Richard looked back at her cookie. "That looked like a snowman when I took it from the oven."

"What time?" Raven asked softly.

"It starts at 6, but we should get there by 5:45. We should leave here by 5:00."

"Okay," Raven said, wanting to laugh and cry simultaneously.

"You weren't joking about your art skills."

"Shut up," Raven laughed. "I'm doing my best."

"What were you trying to do?"

"Give him arms and boots."

"What's with the nose?" Richard pointed out.

"That's a pipe," Raven blushed.

"No, no, no, no. Give me the pipe," Richard tried to grab the frosting from her.

"No, you'll ruin it."

"I'll ruin it?" Richard asked, trying to yank it from her hand. The Titans soon began a tug-of-war game with the piping bag as the rope—both completely unaware of Alfred and Bruce eavesdropping.

"You know they're going to destroy your kitchen," Bruce said to Alfred.

"I have complete faith in Raven's cleaning ability. Richard, not so much." Bruce laughed. "I think we may be able to pull off this Christmas miracle," Alfred said.

"It will be a Christmas miracle indeed."

A little after midnight, Richard sat on his bed, just finishing his shower. He had such a fun day. He and Raven kissed…almost kissed…it counted as a kiss in his mind. They skied. They made Christmas cookies. Raven's cookies looked like the Ghost of Christmas Future…or the Grudge, depending on how you tilted your head. He smiled to himself. Raven may have understated her lack of art skills. He was about to climb into bed when he noticed a small present on his desk, decorated with red wrapping paper. He grabbed the gift and returned to his bed before unwrapping it. Opening the lid to the box, he found a piece of paper. Clever boy. Last-minute ski trip to throw me off my game. I had to improvise, something I do not like to do. But...I think you know who I am now. Here's your third day of Christmas present. Richard held up a large sandwich bag filled with small cookies, or should he say, little cookies in the shapes of ovals and chickens. The ovals were eggs, and the chickens were most likely hens. Richard laughed to himself. "Clever girl," he muttered. "Clever girl."