Not much to say here, except thanks again for the kind words. This is the second to last chapter. Chapter 8 will be the last one. Now, ONWARD TO VICTORY!
It was dawn in Jump City. The sunlight was just peeking up over the bay, shining it's warm rays into the OPs room of Titans Tower. Normally at this time, one would find Raven, cross legged and floating, in front of the main window as she quietly mediated, preparing herself for whatever the day had in store for her. Yet, the empath was not to be found. As a matter of fact, all of OPs was completely empty, not a single soul anywhere in the main room or the kitchen.
The tranquility of this early morning scene was broken up by the main doors swishing open and a very exhausted Robin stepping in. His black hair was all kinds of messy, disheveled and sticking up like a jet black porcupine. His mask was oddly missing, something he rarely was without, and his normal icy blue eyes seemed to be dull and weary, with deep purple bags underneath them. He was shirtless, showing off his athlete's body, along with a pair of plain black sweat pants. He was barefoot as well.
Shuffling to the kitchen, he yawned loudly as he opened up the fridge for a can of Coke and some bagels, ready to make himself a lazy man's breakfast. He was joined shortly by an equally tired Starfire who lazily floated in behind Robin, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her tired head on his shoulder. This morning found the alien princess clad in her nighttime attire of bright pink sweats and a matching slightly over-sized tee-shirt.
"Good morning, beloved" she said with a yawn. "How are you feeling this morning?"
"How do you think, Star? I couldn't get a wink of sleep thanks to those two." he said, spreading the creme cheese on his bagel. "It was just crazy."
"Indeed." Starfire said as she floated to the fridge for a bottle of mustard. Robin had desperately tried as of late to gravitate the crimson haired beauty's palette to a more earthly nature and, had met with limited success. The proud princess stuck a neon pink straw into the container and gleefully sucked up the the tangy yellow contents. "I had assumed the act of making of love was supposed to be sweet and gentle. This did not sound like it."
Robin sighed as he plopped down on the table and took a chug of his Coke, followed by a large bite of his bagel. Starfire sat next to him, resting her head back on his shoulder as she sipped on her mustard bottle contently.
The door to OPs swooshed open again, and Cyborg now joined the group. Sagging slightly as he yawned loudly, he reached into the fridge for a can of Red Bull, his drink of choice.
"Friend Cyborg! I trust you slept well?" Starfire asked. Cyborg finished his drink in one swift move, crushing the can in his hand and nailing the long distance shot to the trash can perfectly.
"'Fraid not, Star. I was trying to re-charge my power the whole dang night, but those two kept waking me up." he said with a sigh. "I almost called the cops cause I thought maybe Slade broke in and was roughing them up a bit."
"Forgive my misunderstanding, friends, but I had always held the impression that the making of love was intended to be a sweet, romantic process?" Starfire asked, as she took another quiet sip of her mustard. Both Robin and Cyborg instantly looked at each, each Titan silently begging the other one to explain to her just what was going on that night. Cyborg just raised his eyebrow, his facial expression saying volumes, as the Boy Wonder knew it was his job as her boyfriend to explain it to her.
"Okay Star..." he finally said, tuning back to face her. "You're right...sex can be sweet and loving...but..."
"But?" she asked, her curiosity growing.
"But...well, some people like things a bit more...rough." he said, trying to hide the fact his cheeks were getting hot. He took a huge swallow of spit, trying to clear his throat before getting into detail. "And that's what Raven and Beast Boy were doing last night."
An uneasy silence hung in the air as both Cyborg and Robin stared at the confused princess. Her emerald eyes seemed to glow, as she tried to understand what she had just been told.
"So during the process of sexual intimacy, one partner may deliberately injure another, in order to induce pleasure?" she asked, the tone of her voice clearly indicating that the concept was not meshing with her. Robin just give a tiny, wordless nod as his sole response. Starfire sighed and took another sip of her mustard. "I am afraid I shall never truly understand Earth culture."
As always, it was Raven who woke up first. The sun was again forcing it's way through her curtains, spilling it's golden beams on the pale girl's face. She made a mental note to buy heavier curtains as she sat up in bed, groaning slightly to herself as the immediate sensation of soreness jumped crashed into her body. Memories of the night before came back to her groggy state, her body serving as the painful wakeup call.
She threw back the sheets and blankets covering her and groaned again at the aftermath. Her breasts still showed the nasty bite marks from Beast Boy's sharp teeth. Her back and sides were sore as well, with deep red furrows running down them from his fingernails. Gingerly touching the side of her neck with the tips of her fingers, she could feel the encrusted blood that had dried over night.
"I feel like a lawn mower ran over me..." she muttered quietly and turned her focus towards the still sleeping Beast Boy. The changeling had fallen asleep almost instantly after the erotic exchange, the Beast's sex drive having wore him out almost completely. He was sprawled on his chest, his arms and and legs splayed in a random fashion. "Gar...wake up..." she said quietly, shaking her green skinned beau from his deep sleep.
Slowly, surely, Beast Boy awoke and sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He yawned loudly and stretched his lanky arms to the heavens, the blood rushing through out his body. Scratching his side, he slowly gazed over at Raven, before his eyes widened like a deer in oncoming traffic.
"Oh man, Rae. I beat you up pretty bad..." he bemoaned, suddenly feeling very guilty. Raven smiled softly and kissed him gently on his lips.
"Relax Garfield. You didn't do anything I didn't allow you to do and, it was...fun. Not something I'd want to do every night, but I wouldn't mind doing it again." she said, finishing the last part of that sentence with her cheeks a rosy hue. Beast Boy blushed just as deep, as both Titans found themselves unable to make eye contact with one another for a brief moment.
"So, uh...I guess you'll be meditating then?" he asked. Raven gave a nod and brushed some strands of violet hair behind her ears.
"I need to if I ever expect to get better, but first, I need a shower." she said. "What about yourself?"
Beast Boy shrugged casually as pulled up his boxers, followed by his sweat pants, snugly tying the drawstring off at his wast.
"Dunno, dude. Probably just gonna get some breakfast or something. Tofu eggs sounds awesome right about now." he said, licking in his lips in preparation. Raven shivered at the thought of tofu, regretting the one time she caved in and tried it, after his incessant begging and pleading had finally worn down on her will to say no.
"You go and do that." she said flatly, quickly regaining her composure. Her blue robe floated out of her closet and directly into her hand, which she then slid over her body. The belt was fastened around her waist, as she took one final glance back at the bed, the memories of the night before still fresh. Without realizing it, her hand again reached up to her neck, scratching at the raw teeth marks her lover had left.
"Um, Rae...are you okay?"
The empath snapped back to reality, her mind having drifted off.
"Yes Gar, I'm fine. Just thinking about last night, that's all." she said. Beast Boy frowned slightly, as despite her assurance that she would be okay, he still felt guilty for ravaging her in such a manner. Raven didn't need her empathic senses to see the look of concern on her green beau's face. A smile hinted at the corner of her lips and she gave him another reassuring kiss on his cheek.
"Relax, Garfield. I'm going to shower and mediate, then we can see Knowledge and Love to see if that accomplished anything."
"Right...sounds good." he said. The two Titans shared a quick hug before parting for their morning activities.
The door to OPs swished open again, the green changeling walking in, whistling the 'Transformer's theme to himself. His hopes of tofu eggs were dashed when the cupboard in the kitchen looked empty and there was no way he was going to eat real eggs and bacon. His frantic search paid off did pay off, however, as he found a box of Super Frosted Bomb Pops. Starfire, Cyborg and Robin were still sitting at the kitchen table, but their conversation came to a screeching halt when Beast Boy entered the room.
At first, the changeling was oblivious to their stares, as he poured the brightly colored confectionery treat into his bowl. Adding a little soy milk, he grabbed a nearby spoon that looked clean enough and joined his friends at the table. Beast Boy eagerly slurped down the purple horseshoes, green shamrocks and red marshmallow trains. For awhile, the slurping sound was the only noise in the kitchen, the changeling engrossed in his breakfast treat, while everyone else just simply stared back.
As the door to the bathroom closed with a satisfactory swish, Raven punched her personal code to lock it shut. A soft 'click' and the light on the keypad turning red served as her indication that the room was secure. Her hands carefully unwrapped the cloth belt of her robe, letting the dark blue fabric fall off her body and pool around her ankles. Dreading the results, she slowly turned to face her naked self in the mirror, and immediately winced at what she saw.
Short dribbles of blood had encrusted themselves on her neck, with bright purple bruises peaking on her pale skin. Bite marks and deep, red furrows could always be seen plain as day, the wounds making her look she just survived some hectic battle and not having shared a night of passion with her lover.
"They say love hurts." she mused to herself, and not wasting anymore time, stepped in the shower.
"Uh, you dudes gonna talk or what?" Beast Boy asked.
He had finished about two bowls of his cereal and during the entire time, with neither Cyborg, Robin nor Starfire having said so much as a peep. Starfire had opened her mouth a few times to ask a question about the previous night, but quickly changed her mind each time she saw the disapproving glance from Robin.
"We're just a little tired, that's all." Cyborg finally said. Beast Boy nodded absentmindedly as he tilted his bowl to his lips, happily gulping down what was left of the soy milk.
"Indeed. I did found it most difficult to slumber." Starfire said quietly.
"Any idea why that would be, Beast Boy?" Robin added. Beast Boy's cheeks got hot as he wiped away a milk mustache that clung to his upper lip.
"No clue..." he said, lying and doing a terrible job at it. Cyborg smirked, loving the fact he managed to get his point across without being too direct.
"Yeah, I betcha you wouldn't know anything about that, would you B?" the cybernetic Titan asked, his smirk spreading into a full fledged grin. Beast Boy's tongue tied itself in knots several times over as he tried to fumble out an excuse. That failing, he decided to change the subject instead.
"I think I'm gonna buy some more tofu..." he said nervously. Quickly excusing himself from the table, he practically dropped his dishes into the sink and shuffled himself out the door. The door itself had barely shut closed before Cyborg roared loudly with his infectious laughter.
"Aw man, did you see the look on B's face? We busted him big time and now the grass stain has run off to go take care of his tofu fetish." he said. Starfire giggled politely, while Robin just shook his head, his arms crossed over his chest.
"I don't care if they want to have a love life, that's fine by me. But if it's going to interfere with the rest of the team's sleeping habits, then it needs to stop." Robin said. "I'll talk to Raven about it later. Hopefully, she'll do what's best for the team."
The warm water was a welcome friend to the Azarathian. It ran over every inch of her body, washing away the sweat, blood and 'other fluids' that had found themselves a temporary home on her body. After a few minutes or so, the water had done it's job, but now she needed to take it a step further. Specifically, her herbal bath wash sounded very soothing at this moment. Raven grabbed the light purple bottle and giving it a good jolt, attempted to squirt some of it into the palm of her hand. The bottle belched loudly, but gave up nothing, being completely empty of it's contents.
"Fantastic." she groaned. With her usual method of washing impossible, she was forced to try other means. Cyborg never used the shower, as his idea of cleaning was lubricating all of his joints and buffing his body down with high-grade, professional automotive wax. Starfire had taken up the habit of sharing Robin's shower gel, as she felt it made them closer, so there was a distinct possibility that their shower gel might work.
Raven flipped open the lid to their shower gel and gently took a whiff, instantly grimacing and turning her head the other way.
"Repulsive." she snarled with a wrinkled nose. The shower gel was too strong, powerful in it's high powered aroma, way too intense for Raven's tastes. That left Beast Boy's shower gel, something he picked up on sale at the dollar store. It was a brand called 'Captain Lumber Jack's Manly Man', the exact fragrance being 'Mega Musk.'
"Mega Musk? Wonderful..." she said as she squirted a dollop of gel in the palm of her hand. It was roughly about the size of a silver dollar, which was immediately followed by her rubbing the Mega Musk all over her body.
"Hi-yaaaahh!" Robin let loose as his battle cry, his bare foot connecting squarely with a heavy 4x4 of solid wood, reducing it to toothpicks. The ninja Titan fell back into a battle pose, his body shirtless, with baggy black martial art pants as his gear. Starfire clapped in approval, with Silkie resting comfortably in her lap, as she sat crossed legged on the floor of the Titans' gym.
The gym was a huge labyrinth of physical fitness. Starfire and Cyborg's weights sat in one corner of the room, Robin's various punching bags and kicking boxing gear taking up most of the space, and Beast Boy's treadmill sat in the other corner, collecting dust and unused.
"Most impressive, my love." Starfire said sweetly, and rewarded her beau with a darling kiss on the cheek. Robin grinned wide, happy to show off in front of his girlfriend like this.
"Thanks, Star. Always nice to know I have a fan." he said. Grabbing a nearby water bottle, he sat down abruptly next to his princess and took a big swig from it, letting the cool water run down his throat, replenishing the sweat that pooled itself so profusely on his forehead. It had been a hard day of training, so relaxing and spending the rest of the day with Starfire seemed like a nice escape from being a Titan. That is, until Starfire asked her question.
"Robin, what is 'the fetish'?" she asked innocently. Robin nearly choked on the water he was drinking, having to lunge forward and swallow down the H20 as best he could.
"Wh-what? Why do you want to know?" he managed to spit out once his coughing fit was finished.
"During the breaking of fast, friend Cyborg had mentioned the fetish of tofu? I am most curious what a fetish consists of." she said.
"A...fetish? Well...a fetish is...okay...see...a fetish is...something that...turns somebody on." he managed to say, each word taking a Herculean effort to escape from his throat.
"'Turned on?' You mean in which one becomes sexually aroused?" she asked, borrowing a page from Raven's book with an arched eyebrow.
"Yeah, um, that's pretty much it. Except...well, a fetish can vary from person to person. What turns one person on, may not turn another person on." he said, and with that, hoped this would be the end of the conversation. For a moment, it seemed to be just that. Robin wiped down his forehead with his towel, while Starfire seemed to stare off in the distance, petting Silkie in her lap.
"Robin, what is your fetish?" Starfire asked suddenly, the question smacking Robin right between the eyes with the full force of a barreling freight train.
"My..my fetish? Why do you even want to know?!"
"As your lover, I feel it is necessary for me to posses this information." she said matter-of-factly. Robin just stared back in shock.
"Information? Lover? Star...we've never had...sex," he said, the word 'sex' coming out barely above a whisper. "because you said Tammaranian tradition says you have to wait till marriage."
"This is true, Robin. However, you are, in fact, my husband." she said in response.
"I AM?!"
Starfire smiled and nodded.
"On my planet, if a relationship continues uninterrupted for two more glebnarks with no sexual intimacy, then they are officially wed. And we have been together for three glebnarks." she said. Robin stared back at her, his eyes wide like saucers, unmoving and unblinking. It's not that he never planned on marrying Starfire, but, more along the lines of he hadn't planned on it for awhile. Yet here they were, husband and wife (according to Tammaranian traditions, at least.) He sighed and ran his fingers through his black hair, and shook his head slightly.
"My fetish? I guess...I guess having my hands tied to he bed would be it. I dunno...I've always found that to be appealing." he said, his cheeks blushing a deep shade of red. Starfire smiled and kissed the Boy Wonder softly on his cheek.
"So the act of restraint arouses you during sexual intimacy? I shall have to make note of this." she said, just wanting to confirm it for herself. Robin gave a tiny nod, his cheeks still simmering and blushing.
"Yeah...that's it, Star." he said. "But keep it to yourself, okay? Last thing I need is for this to get out to the tabloids."
"I have shall have the honor of the Boy Scouts!" she said with a proud voice. Robin's blush lightened as he chuckled softly, not really wanting to take the effort to correct her.
"Sounds good, Star. Anyway, I think it's time I talk to Raven about last night. I don't want this to become a nightly feature in the Tower." he said, before pulling a black Bruce Lee tee-shirt on.
"Farewell, my love. I shall see you shortly." she said and smiled as he left the room. She waited till he was completely gone, before she flipped open her communicator and paged Cyborg.
"Yo Star! Wassup?" Cyborg said, as he wiped automotive grease from his hands with a large, brown work towel.
"Friend Cyborg, I wish to accompany you to the store of hardware this evening."
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."
Raven chanted her mantra as she floated in the lotus position, a few feet above her bed. Her mind was focused on turning her healing powers inward, slowly repairing the damage Beast Boy had done that night before. The wounds gradually began to disappear, as bruises faded into her pale skin, cuts closed themselves up, and annoying hickies vanished into thin air. Since leaving the bathroom, she had changed back into a fresh leotard, but had forsaken her cloak.
As it always seemed to be the case, her mediative trance was broken up by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She grit her teeth and continued with the mantra, hoping they'd go away. If it was Beast Boy back from the store, he knew the code to unlock it and she openly hoped it was him, but the continued knocking signified that it wasn't. With a heavy sigh, she floated down the ID pad and punched in her code, the door swishing open to reveal Robin, his face serious and etched in stone.
"Hello Raven, have a moment to talk?" he said. Raven wordlessly extended her arm, motioning for him to sit down her large chair next to her bookcase. Robin nodded in understanding and made his way to the chair, the doors swishing shut behind him. Raven had taken this chance to float back above her bed, her legs crossed once again in the lotus position. Robin sighed as he knew this wasn't going to be easy, but as team leader, he felt he had to. "Raven...about last night."
"Save it." she interrupted coldly. "What happens in this bedroom is between Garfield and I and is none of your concern."
"It becomes my concern when your wails are so loud it wakes up the entire tower. If a villain were to attack this morning, I'm not sure if we'd win, because of our sluggishness." Robin shot back. He had a mutual respect with Raven and the one thing they had in common was that neither one would back down.
"Use earplugs next time." she said simply. Robin sighed again and massaged his temples, as this was going exactly how he thought it would. Bad.
"I'm not asking you to stop with the romance. I'm just asking you to keep it down. You don't need to be that loud." he said.
"You're a virgin, aren't you?" she asked suddenly, completely catching Robin just as off-guard as Starfire's fetish question had.
"That's really none of your concern, Raven. But for the record, yes, I am. Why, is that a problem?" he asked. Raven smirked slightly and floated down to her bed, sitting on the edge, her legs crossed.
"Not at all. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised. I figured with Starfire in your bed every night, you would have caved in long ago. But, I ask because I don't think you quite grasp what you're asking me to do." she said flatly. Now it was Robin's turn to arch an eyebrow.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" he asked defensively.
"It means the sounds I make aren't necessarily something I can control. Sex is raw, powerful, emotional...it burns like a fire and can reduce the strongest of souls to jelly. I can sit here and describe it all day to you, but unless you've felt it, there's no way I can properly convey how it feels." she said, her arms crossed briskly over her chest.
"And...?" Robin asked, not sure where she was going with this.
"Telling me to stop moaning loudly would be equal to telling Starfire to stop being so cheerful, or telling Cyborg to stop yelling 'Boo yah' all the time. It can't be helped. It's part of who we are." she said, having gotten her point across. Robin sighed as he knew the empath had backed him into a corner, with no way out. He looked at her once more, trying to figure out a way to counter act her argument. But even Batman's training couldn't beat the most powerful force in the universe, a woman's constitution.
"I'll have Cyborg install sound dampening technology first thing tomorrow morning." he finally said. He hated losing, even if it was just a trivial argument and furthermore, didn't feel like arguing with her any longer.
"Thank you, Robin. And for your sake, I'll keep it down until then." she said with a smile hinting at her lips. Robin sat up from his chair and left without a word, letting Raven momentarily bask in her victory, before resuming her healing mediation.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."
It been an hour or so since Robin left. Raven still floated peacefully above her bed, her mind a million light years away from her surroundings. She had healed herself physically, her body in the state it was before her night of passion with Beast Boy. As of now, she was trying to feel about Nevermore, to see if she could sense traces of Demon Lust, but was getting little results. The emotions seemed to be blending together, blurring into some sort of mash up. As soon as Beast Boy were to return from the store, they were going to go straight to Nevermore.
"LUCY! I'M HOME!"
It was Beast Boy arriving back from the store, doing his typical greeting whenever he came back to their bedroom. She both loathed for it's annoyance to her peace and calm, but enjoyed as it meant he had returned from wherever he left.
Floating down, she sat on the edge of the bed, eying up the rumpled brown bag he clutched tightly to his person. He grinned as he plopped the bag down on her desk, casually unloading it's contents...deodorant, hair gel, tofu, more tofu, even more tofu, an issue of "VIDEO GAMES MONTHLY" and more Captain Lumber Jack's Manly Man.
"Hey babe." he said with a smile, as he flipped the lid to take a whiff of his shower gel. Raven opened her mouth to speak, but was immediately cut off by the changeling "Yeah, dude, I know. You don't like being called babe. Not like it's gonna stop me." he said. Raven rolled her eyes, not feeling the urge to humor him with an argument.
"We need to get to Nevermore soon. Something doesn't feel right in my meditations." she said. Beast Boy nodded in approval, as he made his way to her storage chest, rumbling through her belongings till he found the mirror. Raven snatched it from his grasp, not trusting it for too long in his hands. Holding it gingerly in her fingers, she closed her eyes and recited her mantra rather loudly.
"AZARATH METION ZINTHOS!" she shouted, causing the mirror to glow an in an unearthly hue. Beast Boy swallowed his spit hard, always dreading this part. The sensation of floating in nothingness hit him again, the cold, inky blackness the only thing he could see, hear or feel.
A moment or two passed, before the gentle breeze touched his face, signifying they were back at Nevermore. Beast Boy opened his eyes and glanced around the horizon looking for the familiar pink cloak of Love, or the biting, razor sharp comments of Sarcasm. But nothing could be found, just empty space. Not even Knowledge was there, sitting under her favorite tree with a huge stack of books.
"This is weird..." he said, scratching the back of his head. Raven bit her bottom lip, the emptiness ahead sending a chill down her spine.
"This isn't good, Gar. Not good at all." she said.
"Well, let's go see what Love is doing? Maybe she knows what's going on." Beast Boy said. Indeed, it did make sense. Love was the person they needed to see anyway, to learn the fate of Demon Lust. As they walked through the rocky terrain of Nevermore, one couldn't help but notice the complete lack of any emotion. This only confused Raven, because if no emotions were around, how could she feel anything to begin with?
After stepping through the gate, they were warped to Love's bedroom or rather, what was left of it. The huge wooden door had been ripped off it's hinges, the statues of Beast Boy smashed to nothing but pebbles. The giant four post bed was rendered to kindling, with burn marks all over the walls.
"Raven, so glad you could join us." Demon Lust said, as she stepped from the shadows. From her hand extended what looked to be a blade of hellfire, the very tip of which was held to the neck of Love, the flames just barely licking her skin. Demon Lust held Love in a strong hold, making sure she couldn't escape. "I have been waiting for you." she said with a sneer.
"Let her go, Demon Lust." Raven warned, her eyes glowing white. "You shouldn't even be alive to begin with, we.."
"Destroyed me?" Demon Lust interrupted. "Hardly. You think one little kinky night is going to get rid of yours truly? I will admit, you did weaken me, but after I absorbed the rest of your emotions, I'm more powerful than you could ever imagine. Once I destroy Love, I can take her place and have complete control of you."
"NO!" Raven screamed, and from her hands short forth a huge screaming bird composed of her own powers, the winged fury heading straight towards Demon Lust...