It was the morning before the Gala and Raven found her wardrobe somewhat lacking when it came to "Gala" worthy attire.

Her civilian clothes, for the most part, were composed of jeans, some leggings, combat boots and a slew of hoodies and black tops. The few dresses in her possession were gifts from Starfire and far too short in the sorceress's opinion. Sighing, Raven concluded that there was only one thing for it.

She needed to go shopping.

Slipping into aforementioned jeans, boots and hoodie, Raven sunk into her floor and moved through the tower to the basement, where the gym was located. There she found the alien princess, bench pressing what must have been the weight of a small building.

"Kori." She said, drawing the curiosity of her team-mate and friend. Raven rarely called any of them by their real names. "I need to find a dress. A new one. Preferably from somewhere discreet."

Starfire gasped and threw the weights down (causing a mild tremor) so that she could sit up and look into the smaller girl's eyes. "Truly!?"

"Would I lie about this?" Raven asked, allowing herself a small, but fond smile for the only other female Titan. "It'll be Girltime."

Starfire laughed happily and clapped, rushing to undress from her gym clothes and shower. Raven looked away from her with a blush, as Starfire had never fully understood the idea of modesty.

The other Titans had learned long ago that Tamaran had very different customs when it came to clothing and the lack thereof, the closest word to "Naked" on Starfire's homeworld was "Unarmored" and the princess thought nothing of being unadorned around friends, though she had learned it made them uncomfortable and tried to humour their ideas of privacy when she could. The other Titans, for their part, had simply learned to accept that every so often she would forget that changing clothes was something humans did out of sight.

It was fortuitous, perhaps, that she shared a floor, and bathroom, with Robin.

Raven handed her a towel when she exited the gym shower and waited outside her room as the alien girl dressed for their shopping trip. Listening as Starfire babbled excitedly through the door about having "The Girltime" with Raven, something Kori had come to regard as a precious gift from the stoic spellcaster. As she listened, the empath could not help but bask in the overwhelming delight emanating from Starfire and feel a little guilty about how infrequently she indulged her one and only girl friend in the simple pleasure of time spent together.

Perhaps, as she was doing with Beast Boy, she could learn to adjust to the similar, yet vastly different, emotional spikes of "Girltime".

Starfire came bursting out of her room in a blackish blue sundress, floppy grey hat and mid-calf black boots, eliciting a surprised smile from Raven, for whom the colour scheme had not gone unappreciated by.

"How will we get to the city Friend Raven?" Kori asked, taking Raven's offered hand without hesitation, sinking through a swirl of Raven's energy. Starfire had never disliked teleporting, unlike her other, far more human, team mates. Raven took her communicator out and tapped a quick message to the boys, telling them not to panic when the two were missed.

"We'll take the Racer."

The Titans were well known for the vehicles they utilised, none more so than Cyborg's T-Car and Robin's motorbike, yet even Beast Boy's moped was a familiar sight. This meant that when they needed (or wanted) to go unremarked upon, a more clandestine mode of transport was required.

Enter the Racer, a somewhat ironically named mazda sedan with chipped red paint and windows tinted dark enough that all an observer would see from the outside is the vague outline of those within. It was older than any two Titans combined and took numerous key turns for the motor to turn over, the car was so singularly boring that most people barely noticed it's passing.

Raven loved it.

The girls slipped into the car and Raven drove them through a vortex of energy into a parking lot she knew would be relatively empty, since calling up the submerged bridge between Titan Island and Jump City would entirely defeat purpose of driving the Racer at all. Starfire directed her through the city to a small one way street that was filled with antique stores, thrift shops and a single clothing store named "Mystique Designs".

Parking on the street, Starfire led Raven into the clothes shop and excitedly showed her the myriad dresses of black, purple and dark blue that the store had to offer, most of which were a gothic style that appealed to Raven's more macabre sensibilities.

"This doesn't seem like the kind of shop you'd go to Star." She remarked, uncaring that the store attendant was close by and undoubtedly eaves dropping on the two. Dressed as they were, the Titans could pass as regular people at a glance, but in such a confined space it was hard not to notice Starfire's golden skin and green eyes or Raven's pale grey complexion.

"It is not, Friend Raven." Agreed Kori, who was sifting through a series of ball gown style items. "This is where I come to find you gifts."

The dress Raven had been holding shredded itself to pieces, and Raven gaped at the back of the princess's head as she continued browsing. The store attendant hurried over to clean up the tattered remains of the garment. "Sorry miss, it must have been moth eaten to just come apart in your hands like that." She said, fully aware that no such thing was the case.

"No no. I'll pay for it." Raven said, not wanting to get the poor girl in trouble. "Just add the cost to my bill when we're down please."

Frowning, the attendant gathered up the last of what had been a pretty dress and moved to the counter, where she started tapping furiously at the keyboard of her computer.

Starfire called from across the store. "I have found it Friend Raven!"

Raven came over to where Kori was admiring a mannequin, or more accurately, what the mannequin wore.

The gown was made of two materials, the first being a heavily stylised lace that left the back all but uncovered, it flowed in tendrils to expose the wearer's collar bones and ribs, forming a pattern that was not unlike the arms of a great, subnautic leviathan. The second material was silk and it hugged the figure of the mannequin snugly, a high collar and long sleeves giving the illusion of modesty, but the lace tendrils accentuated that which the silk hid and clung to. The dress fell just passed the mannequins knees, allowing for the full sight of whatever footwear one chose to accompany the dress.

Raven gulped quietly. "You don't think it's a little… Revealing?"

Starfire looked blankly at Raven, realisation lifting her eyebrows high after a moment as she comprehended what the sorceress was asking. "Oh!… I do not believe so. Does it not cover more than your uniform?"

She had the shorter girl there. Raven circled the dress and had to admit that it would look beautiful on her, lifting up the tag, she understood why it was on a mannequin and not the racks.

"It's so expensive…" She muttered, frowning slightly.

The Titans all had their own money, Cyborg's father made sure to send through enough for him to survive on, despite the distance his son had placed between them after the accident, Robin had access to the same source of seemingly limitless money that had paid for the Batcar and endless black capes his former team seemed to never be short of, Starfire regularly appeared on ads and as a model in fashion magazines, mostly for the entertainment of seeing herself on TV or in the magazines she read, but it also provided her with a decent income. Even Beast Boy, who rarely bought anything outside of comics and games, had let slip during a movie that he had appeared in a television series as a child and still received royalties from the show, as well as an allowance from the Doom Patrol (Or more specifically, Rita and Steve)

Raven however, had no family, nor enough personal celebrity to appear in advertisements. She received a monthly check from the Wayne Foundation for her assistance as an "Expert in the Occult" despite them never calling her, or her ever calling them. This paid for her uniforms and bedroom furniture as well as rare personal expenses like civilian clothes or items needed for her magic.

The dress, though stunning, was somewhat beyond the budget she had set herself.

Starfire watched as she set the tag down and frowned. "If you want the dress, then get it." She said, upset to see her friend so torn. "I will do the buying of it for you."

Raven shook her head. "I don't want you spending money on me Star, especially not on something I will in all likelihood only wear once."

Kori accepted that logic with a disgruntled huff, but did not push the subject. Much to both of their surprise, the store clerk (Who's name-tag read Vanessa) came over and began taking the dress from the mannequin, folding it carefully and placing it in a box.

"Has someone bought it?" Raven asked, only a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"No, the store owner has instructed me to give it away." The girl said matter-of-factly, presenting the garment to Raven. "He said Titans don't pay in his shop."

Raven took the box uncertainly, looking between it and Vanessa in wonderment. "But it costs so much?"

Vanessa shook her head. "It's nothing, not a damn thing, compared to what you've given us." She paused and took a pendant from her own neck, slipping it carefully onto Raven's. "Here, emerald is my birthstone, and green goes perfectly with that dress."

In something of a daze, Raven allowed Vanessa the store attendant to latch the necklace firmly in place. "Thank you." She said quietly, touching the gift. "Really. Thank you."

Vanessa smiled at her beatifically. "You've saved us from monsters, from invasions, from evil itself and from our own accidents. You've given us so much, we can spare to give back just a little."

Starfire pulled the girl into a hug, thanking her enthusiastically and asking for the business number so that the Titans could tell people where the dress had come from.

After they were done, Raven put her new dress into the Racer carefully and went with Star into a thrift store, followed by a curio shop, then a boutique where the staff almost cried over Starfire's golden hue and Raven's unblemished skin.

When they had been to all the stores Starfire was interested in they got back into the car and, on impulse, Raven headed towards the city centre, rather than towards the Tower.

"Friend Raven, are we not meant to be going home?" Kori asked curiously. "You have purchased a dress that is most splendid, was that not our goal?"

"No, well… Yes, but that wasn't the only point." Raven said. "We're out here for Girltime, remember?"

Starfire squealed, clapping her hands quickly.

The sorceress took them to a cafe tucked in behind a bookstore that Raven trusted to be discreet. They were given a corner booth and ordered drinks as they looked over the menu.

"I haven't seen much of you lately, Raven." Kori lamented. "Though I have been spending more time with Robin, I had hoped we would not become the distant because of it."

Guilt riddled Raven's thoughts as she set down her tea. "It's not that Star, I've just been dealing with my own things lately. My emotions aren't stable at the moment, you know how I get."

Starfire nodded, sipping her special made lettuce and vinegar milkshake. "Is it because of Friend Beast Boy?"

A salt shaker fractured and broke apart at their table, but Raven was glad that was all that happened. "You… You know about Beast Boy."

"Well, we happen to eat at the same table and he is the hard to miss." Starfire quipped. "Since he happens to be green."

Raven sighed. "Kori, we both know you understood what I meant."

"Yes." The princess admitted. "I know about Beast Boy. You follow him with your eyes and when he laughs your chin lifts up, like you are trying to hear it better. He makes you smile more than the rest of us, and he can also makes you flee with a look."

Raven was uncomfortable beneath her gaze, a look of understanding that transcended species, crossed worlds and dimensions. Raven swallowed nervously.

"What about him?" The shorter girl deadpanned.

"He loves you." Starfire said flippantly, smiling as a waitress placed their food in front of them and pointedly avoided staring at either of the heroes. "He's always loved you."

Raven snorted, feeling her heartbeat calm as they moved passed her own feelings. "I doubt it."

Koriand'r, Princess of Tamaran, where emotions could be seen, felt and touched, levelled a look as serious as the grave upon her misinformed friend. "Garfield cares for you as Robin cares for me, he did so when Adonis tore through our home and he became a monster to protect you, when Trigon came to this world and he risked himself in every way to make you safe, and he does so still in the quiet moments when he thinks none are looking."

Raven put a chunk of her salad in her mouth to save herself from replying, giving nothing more in response than a non-committal hum.

Conversation turned to lighter matters, they spoke of the Gala and who they thought would be there, they talked about earthly customs and the things they considered ridiculous, as well as what they found fascinating. Raven spoke of the quiet on Azarath and how she found earth to be so noisy in comparison, whereas Starfire thought it too muted after the revelries and rages of Tamaran.

They spoke of family, how Starfire missed her own and how Raven regretted never having siblings that understood the problems of her demonic heritage.

"It is most wondrous then, that we have both found a sister here on earth." Starfire announced, smiling at Raven as she touched her hand. "Were it not for that, life would be doing much of the sucking, no?"

"Sister?" Raven whispered softly, vulnerably, she curled her fingers around the alien's own, and nodded. "Sister."

They found the Tower in disarray when they returned, clothes strewn everywhere as the boys rushed to get ready for an event that was hours away. Robin was dressed in an undone white shirt and formal pants, frantically asking for a delivery from the store that provided his hair gel, Cyborg turned over the couch searching for his holo ring and Beast Boy… Well Beast Boy was sitting at the table, calmly eating a bowl of soup.

"Hey guys, how was shopping?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as Cyborg began tearing through the kitchen cupboards. "Things have been pretty normal here, as you may have noticed."

Starfire flew to Robin and shot an apologetic smile at Raven as she steered the Boy Wonder from the room. Raven smiled back before calling to Cyborg. "I think I saw your ring in the gym Cy, near the mirrors."

"OF COURSE!" Shouted her gigantic friend, turning to sprint from the room. "Thanks Rae!"

That left two.

"You found something." Beast Boy stated, pointing at the box she clutched. "Can I see?"

"No." Raven smirked, already descending through the floor. "You can wait until tonight."