Author's Note: Hello! This is my first Teen Titans fanfiction. It was inspired by the phrase that goes something like, "I'd give you the moon if I could." I do not own Teen Titans. After you read the piece, you can try and solve the "mystery." Have fun and enjoy!
They had forgotten her birthday.
"No," Raven automatically corrected herself. "They didn't forget. I never told them that my birthday was today."
She gazed pensively at her reflection in the water. Amethyst eyes, pale white skin, a solemn expression…
Why should I care about my birthday anyways? It's just like any other day…
She watched as a golden yellow leaf silently floated down from the tip of a tree branch and landed in the water. She tried to focus her thoughts on something else. Why had she let the Titans drag her to the park today?
"Raven?" A voice interrupted her reverie.
Raven turned around from her seat by the fountain. "Oh, hello Robin."
"Are you okay? You've been awfully silent today. Is anything wrong?"
Raven looked up into Robin's concerned eyes. "I'm fine," she muttered.
"Are you sure?"
Raven nodded, not daring to speak in case her voice trembled.
Robin took Raven's hand in his. He began to speak earnestly.
"Remember, I'll always be there if you…" his voice trailed off as he realized he was holding Raven's hand.
The two blushed, and Robin immediately let go of her hand. An awkward silence followed.
"Don't worry about me, Robin. Anyways, we should try and catch up with the others."
Robin agreed and the two slowly walked along the path through the trees.
"And," Raven tentatively added, "I'll always be there if you need me, too."
Raven closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. Despite all her attempts to meditate, she found her thoughts wandering. She squinted in the bright sunlight and began to reach for her cloak, which was sitting on a chair. Then she changed her mind.
"It'd be better close the curtains," she thought, trying to keep her mind busy.
She slowly walked toward the window as if she were in a trance. Suddenly, she found herself by her bedside table rather than at the window. Without realizing what she was doing, she opened the top drawer and put her fingers around a long chain. She held up the silver chain in the light, watching it glisten and sparkle. Then Raven loosened her grasp to reveal a silver locket. A flood of emotions flowed through her, and she tried her best to control them. She fingered her initial, which was engraved on the locket.
R
Her fingers moved down a line.
Natali….
Crash! Raven snapped back into reality. She quickly tossed the locket on top of her cloak. She exited the room, heading toward the sound of the crash.
In the living room, Raven found Cyborg holding a controller with his jaw hanging and Beast Boy as a bird flapping his wings to blow away a cloud of smoke. She coughed and searched for a cloth to cover her mouth.
"What happened?"
As the smoke began to die down, Raven saw Cyborg's Game Cube lying in front of the TV. It was badly out of shape. A wisp of smoke rose from the Game Cube. The wire connecting Cyborg's controller and the Game Cube had ripped, leaving Cyborg holding a controller with a long wire trailing from its end. Finally coming to his senses, he dropped the controller and tried to explain.
"Beast Boy and I were playing head to head, and I was winning…"
"Hey!" Beast Boy interrupted, resuming his normal form. "I was winning!"
"Anyways," Cyborg continued, ignoring Beast Boy. "Suddenly, our Game Cube exploded. Just when I was about to win, too."
"Are you deaf?!? I was about to win!!!" Beast Boy screamed.
Starfire emerged from her room.
"Friends, I heard an explosion. What happened? Are you injured?" Star said.
"Everything's fine. I was winning when…" Beast Boy started.
"No, I was!" Cyborg interrupted. "I was winning when…"
The two continued to argue and interrupt each other until what both were saying was unintelligible. Robin walked down the hall.
"Raven! There you are. I've been looking for you. You left your book in the kitchen this morning," he said, handing Raven her book.
"Thanks."
He looked around the room. "What happened here?"
Cyborg stopped fighting with Beast Boy long enough to start saying, "I was showing Beast Boy who's boss and…"
These words were the only ones Robin could make out because Cyborg and Beast Boy began fighting again.
"You're just a sore loser!"
"No, you are! I could beat you any day!"
Raven sighed. "Here we go again…"
"There." Tweaking a few more wires, Cyborg smiled. He stepped back to admire his work.
If the Game Cube had been once badly deformed, it was now completely unrecognizable. Masking tape covered the entire thing. Red and black wires criss-crossed the entire Game Cube, if you can even call it one. A few strategically placed pieces of duct tape held the controller's wire to the system.
"Let's try it out!" Beast Boy shouted, and eagerly grabbed the second controller, which had not been damaged during the explosion.
"No fair! That's the good controller!"
"You snooze, you lose. Sucker!" Beast Boy taunted.
"We'll see who's gonna lose when I win," Cyborg retorted as he turned the system on. Surprisingly, it worked.
Starfire, who had been watching, clapped her hands eagerly. "Good luck, my friends!"
The two ignored her, concentrating intensely on the game. Bored, Starfire turned to a pile of books on the table. She glanced at each one. Chemistry, Latin, and…
"Oooo…American history!" she squealed and started perusing the book. After a while, she began to ask questions.
"Beast Boy, how can a horse be mentally ill?"
Beast Boy looked up at her and began to answer when he realized Cyborg was going to win.
"Hey, that's not fair! Star was talking to me!"
"Fair's fair," Cyborg grinned as he pulled into the lead.
Starfire turned to Cyborg.
"Friend, how can a horn be both little and big?"
"Well you see Star," Cyborg explained, "it's not actually a horn, it's…"
"Oh yeah! I win!" Beast Boy yelled. He began dancing. "Loser!"
"No fair! I wasn't concentrating!"
"Fair's fair," Beast Boy mimicked, sticking his tongue out.
"That's was beginner's luck."
"Liar! I could beat you any time, any place," Beast Boy defended himself.
"Sure you can…." Cyborg said slyly.
"Fine. Rematch, " Beast Boy gave in.
"You're on!"
Raven awoke that night when she heard a knock on the door. Her fears were abated when a familiar voice called her name.
"Raven?"
Tired, she closed her eyes and hoped the voice would go away. But it persisted.
"Raven? Are you awake?"
With a sigh, Raven slowly sat up in bed. She looked at her alarm clock. 4 A.M.
"I am now," she replied sarcastically.
"Raven, listen. We need to go. Now," Robin's voice came from the other side of her bedroom door.
Sensing urgency in his voice, Raven got out of bed. She groped around in the dark and grabbed her cloak from the floor. She opened the door and almost bumped into Robin.
"Let's go," he said.
"What about the others?" Raven looked around. Only Robin was standing beside her in the hallway.
"There's no time. Come on," he whispered.
Raven followed Robin down the stairs and out of the Tower. They walked along in silence for what seemed to be ages.
What's going on? Another bank robbery this late? And why aren't the others here? Maybe they'll meet up with us…
Raven's musings were interrupted by Robin's voice.
"Here we are."
Raven looked around her. Robin and she were on the top of a hill overlooking the city. She could see the city's lights, twinkling like little stars.
"Where are the villains?"
"There are none."
"Then what are we doing here?" Raven raised an eyebrow quizzically.
Robin smiled mysteriously.
"We have to celebrate your birthday."
"H-how…." Raven stuttered.
Ignoring this, Robin went on. "And my gift to you is…"
"The stars…"
Raven looked up at the stars, twinkling gently down on them. Now that they were so far away from the city lights, she could see how clear and beautiful the stars truly were. The night embraced the two in a blanket of darkness, not foreboding but calm and tranquil. She was gazing into a star-dusted sea and felt so tiny amidst the vast heavens around her.
"The moon…"
The moon shed her pale rays on them. Its soft light was comforting, like a giant nightlight for the world. She imagined the civilians in the city below sleeping peacefully, the moon's rays lighting up their faces. A cool wind tugged at her hair and lapped at her face.
"And…"
Raven noticed that Robin's eyes seemed to twinkle in the moonlit night. She cast her gaze upon the horizon. On its very fringes, far beyond the city, she could discern pale edges of light.
"…A new day," Robin smiled.
More rays of light danced upon the edge of the horizon. Slowly, the rays extended across the sky. The sun peeked out from behind the hills. It slowly ascended into its place in the sky, tinting the landscape with pale pink and orange hues. The clouds sparkled in the sunlight. Raven could almost feel the sun's warm rays kissing her face. She saw the night's mist leave and small drops of dew take its place and decorate the world before them. The rich, dark purple of the night faded into a very pale blue tinged with lavender. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen, beyond all words. A surge of emotions flooded Raven.
Robin smiled as he watched Raven's eyes light up, little stars dancing half-hidden within them. They reflected a new depth and brilliance, a new understanding. He reached over and gently brushed a tear from her cheek.
"Happy Birthday, Raven."
Finis
(A/N: Yes, I know it's not Raven's birthday anymore because it's morning. Let's not be too technical here.)
1. How did Robin know it was Raven's birthday?
2. Bonus Questions: According to this story, what time of year is Raven's birthday?
3. What period in American history was Starfire reading about?
All the clues needed to answer these questions are in the story. Later on, I'll post the correct answers. Thank you and have fun!