Holly Daze
A Teen Titans Christmas Fiction

Summary: The Titans meet a pair of girls and quickly become friends. But there's something special about these girls, and their feuding could cause a major disruption in the city's Christmas celebration! Can the Teen Titans fix the broken bonds of the two girls before it's too late?

Chapter Three
Feelings

Raven turned off the T-Car, watching Beastboy, Holly, and Starfire exit. Guilt washed over her as she saw the bright alien secretly stuff the small jewelry box into her pocket. She had threatened Robin on more than one occasion not to hurt her, because a depressed Starfire meant one less fighter on their team. A broken hearted Starfire meant not a very merry Christmas...

"Comin' Raven?" Beastboy asked as he started to lead Holly in.

The half demon nodded, climbing out of the car and following the two Titans and their friend.

"We have returned!" Starfire exclaimed as she entered the tower, taking off her jacket. She seemed puzzled when no one answered.

"They must be on the Gamestation," noted Beastboy.

Holly smiled, "You guys have a Gamestation?"

"Yeah, you play?" Beastboy asked, a goofy grin on his features.

Holly nodded, pulling wet gloves from her hands. "I'm one of the best players in any game," she taunted.

Beastboy raised an eyebrow, "Is that a challenge?"

"We'll see," Holly smirked, putting her hands on her hips. She straightened her crimson sweater and skirt, her blonde hair falling in her eyes. "So, what else do you guys have here?"

"I'll be happy to show you around," Beastboy said, offering an arm. His eyes glittered with a flirtatious fire that hadn't been there for months.

She laughed, taking his arm, and the two walked off.

Starfire smiled, "They seem to be happy together."

Raven nodded, removing her winter clothing. "It's good for him, I suppose. He's been distant... since, you know..."

With silent agreement, Starfire wandered into the kitchen, searching for the industrial sized box of hot cocoa they had stashed somewhere.

"...She doesn't let anyone in her room?" Holly asked with surprise. "Raven seemed pretty friendly in the car."

Beastboy shrugged as they continued down the hall, "She's usually a bit... cold... to newcomers. Heck, she'd cold to us most of the time."

"Must be the seasonality," Holly shrugged. "Cyborg's room?" she asked, reading the inscribed letters on the metal door.

"Yep. He's downstairs, you can meet him and Robin after the grand tour," Beastboy said.

They continued down the hall, Beastboy pointing out Starfire's and Robin's room.

"Who's room is this...?" Holly asked, nearing the door to see what was inscribed. The words were scratched out, so she couldn't tell. "...Beastboy?" she turned to see why he wasn't answering. "Hey, are you all right?"

Beastboy stared at his feet, but his eyes were closed, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry if I brought up... bad memories or something..." Holly apologized, her face slightly flustered.

"It's okay..." Beastboy shook his head, "Her name ... was Terra."

"A loved one?" Holly suggested.

"I guess... you could say that..." He looked up at her, green eyes showing little emotion, "You've never heard of her?"

The blonde scrunched her nose, "I think I have... All I know is that she was a Teen Titan."

"Yeah," Beastboy nodded. "She betrayed us, but saved the city in the end. She's... dead."

"Oh," Holly's face turned to sorrow, "I'm so sorry..."

Beastboy waved his hand, "Just... forget it. Come on! We're almost to my room," he led her farther down the hall, a feigned smile on his lips. It'd been almost half a year since Terra's demise, yet he was still touchy around the subject of the petrified blonde.

Starfire put the cup of hot chocolate to her lips, slowly taking in the warmth, letting it rush through her body. She could hear Robin, Cyborg, and the guest she hadn't met yet, yelling at each other in the next room over the game.

"...unfair! You two are ganging up on me!" Cyborg cried.

"It's a street fighting game!" the guest giggled in a soft voice.

"Anything's allowed!" Robin laughed.

Starfire smiled, her cheeks and skin finally gaining their normal color, now that she was warm again. She wandered out to the doorway as she heard a happy cry from the guest and Robin.

"We won!" laughed Ivy, throwing her arms around Robin in a celebratory hug.

"And you said you could beat us," Robin teased Cyborg, unconsciously wrapping an arm around Ivy's waist.

Ivy chuckled at Cyborg's expense, her peridiot eyes full of laughter as she bent closer to Robin, planting her lips on his cheek.

A crash was heard from the doorway, and a flustered alien rushed from the room, scurrying to be elsewhere.

Robin looked up, seeing a shattered mug and spilled cocoa on the floor. Immediately, he released the newcomer as if she was poison ivy, and collapsed back on the sofa, burying his face in his hands.

"Oh... I'm..." Ivy bit her lower lip, her face turning red with embarrassment. "I didn't realize that..."

Cyborg put up a hand to silence her, "It'll be okay..."

"What happened?" Beastboy's voice asked as he stood in front of the doorway with Holly. "We heard a crash."

"Star saw something and took it the wrong way," Robin muttered.

Holly glanced up from the mug, seeing the other guest. Her emerald eyes narrowed and she frowned, "What are you doing here, Ivy?" she spat.

Ivy folded her arms across her chest, "I was about to ask you the same thing, Holly."

The three males of the team looked from each guest to the other. "Wait, you know each other?" Beastboy raised an eyebrow.

"Unfortunately," Ivy hissed. She tugged on the sleeve of the lilac robe, glaring at Holly.

"Ivy is my sister," sighed Holly. "Come on Beastboy... Let's go..." and with that the taller girl turned on her heel, stomping from the doorway.

Beastboy scratched his head, then silently followed her.

With a languid sigh, Robin stood, "I should probably go talk to Star..." and he exited the room.

Ivy collapsed with a huff on the sofa, staring at the screen that read "Winners - P2 and P3".

"Guess you don't want to explain why you're mad at your sister, huh..." Cyborg spoke in the eerie silence of the tower.

She looked at Cyborg, shrugging weakly. "We've been fighting because of our powers."

"The ice thing...? She has that too?" Cyborg questioned. He hunched over, putting his chin on his fist, listening intently.

Ivy shook her head, "No. Holly has a more materialistic power. She creates all sorts of little trinkets and such."

"So why are you fighting?" the metal man asked, confused.

"We both hold another power, and it... conflicts a lot. She's been using it like crazy, and it's wearing on both of us." Ivy rubbed her temples with her small hands. "It's been disrupting the atmosphere around us as well," she signaled by gesturing a hand toward the window.

"The snow?"

Ivy nodded, "If this keeps up, Jump City'll turn into a giant glacier..."

Starfire held her knees to her chest, gently fingering the necklace she had purchased earlier. She was confused and sad. It was true, sometimes she was a bit oblivious to Earth ways, but she did know what she had witnessed was not a normal human celebration. It was a move she had seen on the television and was a symbol of more than just friendship. Tears burned in her eyes, trailing down her cheeks.

Then, she realized she was not just upset - she was angry.

Who was this... this kompatibid - as any Tamaranian would say - who wanted to take her Robin from her?

Her Robin...?

The alien ran her fingers through her fiery hair, overwhelmed with emotion. She had always considered her and Robin more than just friends... like, maybe, best friends...

Since when had he belonged to her?

Reading the inscription on the ring, Love Starfire, the green eyed girl sighed. Maybe Robin didn't love her; she had always been so sure he felt exactly the way she had...

Robin leaned against the wall in front of Starfire's door. He felt extremely guilty about acting the way he had with Ivy...

Even if she was gorgeous and skilled in everything she'd done so far.

Why had he felt guilty? Because he had left her in the market, cold and wet? Because he had expressed the win against Cyborg with Ivy more than he would with her?

Because inside, he knew how Star felt about him?

Or maybe it was that threat from Cyborg earlier.

In any case, he'd felt it was best for him to apologize, at least for ditching her. Taking a deep breath, Robin brought his fist up, ready to knock on her door when a voice interrupted him.

"What are you doing?"

Robin faced the speaker, a discomfited frown on his face. "Nothing..."

Raven, with a cup of herbal tea in her hands, raised an eyebrow. "What happened downstairs earlier?" Her eyes narrowed and she walked away, his silence enough of an answer for her.

The masked Titan sighed, and knocked on her door, knowing now was his only chance to apologize to her.

"Who is it?" a timid voice called. It sounded like Star's voice, but it was shy. It sounded like she had been crying.

"It's me, Star..." Robin sighed again.

She was silent. "Go away."

Robin was taken aback by her words, surprised. Was she angry at him? "Star... are you okay?"

"I said, go away!" she said, her voice forced in an attempt to hide tears.

"But, Starfire..."

"Leave!" Starfire's voice shrieked from her room.

Shocked and confused at his friend's reaction, Robin wandered away, heading to his room where he could indulge himself in his work.

"So why are you two fighting?" Beastboy inquired.

Holly shrugged. The two were sitting in his room, lazily tossing a ball back and forth. "I can't really explain it. She's mad at me because she thinks..." she bit her lip in thought, "She's mad because she's just a worrywart, I guess."

Beastboy scratched his head, but didn't bother to continue pestering. After all, everyone had their secrets. "So," he tossed the ball back at her, "what do you want for dinner?"

Holly shrugged again, "I've kinda lost my appetite... Maybe I should just go home."

The shape-shifter hung his head, "I understand..."

"Oh!" Holly looked away, "I didn't mean anything by it. Just, with my sister here and all..."

"Okay, okay. I'll go ask Cy if I can use the T-Car," Beastboy got up, leading her out of the room.

Holly smiled weakly, "I'd like to see you again sometime."

"Really?" Beastboy faced her with a giant grin, "I'd like to see you again too."

Holly giggled, running ahead of him, "Race you down the stairs!" she laughed.

Ivy and Cyborg stood in the kitchen, putting together a meal. "I still feel bad about Starfire," Ivy whispered.

"She'll be all right," Cyborg assured. "The thing about Star: nothing gets her down for long." He flipped over sandwiches on the griddle, still marveled at the silence in the Tower. He didn't remember it ever being so quiet.

"And Robin? Will he be all right?" Ivy questioned. She was helping, a spatula in her hand as they flipped the long row of grilled cheese sandwiches.

Cyborg shrugged, "He's probably buried in paperwork, searching for a villain. He's like that..."

"Is he always like that?" Ivy wondered. She pushed her blonde hair behind her ears, "He seemed to be pretty fun when we were down here."

The metal man yawned, "Yeah. First time I've seen him have fun in a long time."

"I see," Ivy set down her spatula, "I'll be right back..." When Cyborg gave her a quizzical look, she said, "Restroom," and he let it go. Brushing off her hands, she climbed the stairs, passing the green one and her sister who were racing.

She looked around the dark hall, squinting her eyes to read the names on each door. She didn't have any need to use the restroom, but didn't want to say she was going to see Robin. Her peridiot eyes sparkled like the snow outside as she found the right door, and gently knocked.

Starfire was surprised by her own actions. She listened as Robin walked away, and sobbed as softly as she could. She hated being angry - especially at Robin. Now, she sat on her bed, a violet blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The girl was tired, her lime eyes and face red and blotchy.

She also hated being locked in her room. Starfire wished someone other than Robin would try to comfort her. Her stomach growled for food - as did Silkie's (who was busy munching on a box of tissues) - but she refused to leave her room. She might see Robin or that girl.

A part of her was telling her how silly she was being. She was holding a grudge against someone whose name she didn't even know. The other part agreed whole-heartily that the guess (not Holly) was responsible for stealing Robin from her.

Back to square one - since when did Robin belong to her?

Starfire never remembered being so heartbroken, sad, and confused all at once.

There was, of course, not a single villain in Jump City with a plan to attack. It was that special time of year when even evil had something to be cheery about. Yet, Robin had to ruin it... He didn't think it was fair. He liked both Starfire and Ivy as friends. Although he'd just met Ivy that day, he felt closer to her in one day than he had been to any of the Titans in a year. But Raven didn't seem to understand that - and he feared leaving his room for finding her in a dark hall could prove most painful. He figured he wouldn't have to leave until all the Titans were asleep anyway - he wasn't hungry.

So instead of work, he had two pieces of paper and a pen. One paper had two columns: Starfire Ivy and a list of their attributes that he particularly liked about them... Both were near equal. The other paper held attributes he wasn't particularly fond of. While Starfire had a rather short list, Ivy had nothing. Rather than sensibly thinking it was because he didn't know Ivy as well as Star, he assumed she was perfect - and why not? She was lovely, and understood everything about Earth.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on his door. "Come in," he rasped, shoving the two lists in a drawer. He heard the door open and shut, and turned to see who it was. Robin was surprised to see it was not Starfire, but Ivy. "Oh, hey..."

"Hiya," she smiled, "I was just coming up here to see if you were all right."

Robin smiled too, gesturing for her to sit beside him. "I'm just fine," he lied.

Ivy sat on another chair beside his desk, her eyes wandering his room. She saw a variety of different newspaper clippings about various villains. "You must work pretty hard up here."

The masked boy looked down, "Yeah."

The blonde's eyes rested on him, "Is Starfire all right?" she asked.

Robin refused to look up, but he could feel her gaze lingering over him, "Not really. She's... mad at me."

"I'm sorry," Ivy apologized again, standing.

"Where are you going?" he asked, glancing up. He watched her, Starfire's lilac robe still wrapped tightly around her figure, and noted how it was too long, almost dragging on the floor.

"Just standing," she said. "The snow is really piling up out there."

"You can tell that from here?" Robin asked, noting that the window was closed and the blinds were pulled down.

Ivy nodded, "This may sound freaky, but I can feel it. I know when the snow is drifting, or when it's packy, just by closing my eyes."

"That's an interesting power," Robin smiled.

Her two peridiot orbs sparkled, "That's a first. Most people think it's too weird."

"Have you met my roommates?" Robin joked. The two teens laughed.

"Cyborg and I were making grilled cheese sandwiches, if you're hungry..." Ivy said.

"Yeah, I think I am," Robin grinned.

"Well, come on!" Ivy led the way out of the room, Robin close behind.

"You want to drive - in this weather? No way!" Cyborg denied the request of Beastboy and Holly.

Holly glanced out the window and winced, "But I have to get back to my shop and--"

"I'm sorry," Cyborg cut off. "I don't even think I could drive. The plows are having problems getting out."

"Cmm ahh!" Beastboy whined with a large bite of grilled cheese in his mouth.

"No - that's final. Holly and Ivy'll just have to stay here for tonight." Cyborg shook his head, "If they can't get along - one can stay in the guest room and one in--" he stopped in mid-sentence as the lights all shut off.

"Did we blow a fuse?" inquired Beastboy after swallowing.

Cyborg turned on a flashlight and wandered to a control box in the living room, Holly and Beastboy close behind. He opened the box, and pushed a few buttons. "I don't believe this! The generator broke down too!"

"Why did the power go out?" Holly questioned.

"The snow," Cyborg figured. "Probably froze the generator."

"Aww man!" Beastboy plopped on the sofa, exasperated. "I can't believe this..."

Holly crossed her arms over her chest, "Guess I'm staying here for the night."

As Robin and Ivy made their way out of his room, the lights flickered, and the Tower shut down. "Whoa! What was that?" Ivy whimpered.

"I don't know. Let's go downstairs and check it out," Robin said.

Ivy shivered, "It's so cold up here. It wasn't this cold earlier..."

Robin looked around, and pointed to the end of the hall, "The window's open."

"Well, we should probably close it," Ivy sighed, running down the hall. She was nearly at the window when she slipped, falling on her rear end.

Robin, quick as ever, ran to her. "You all right?"

Ivy nodded, "Yeah, but look at this." She knocked on the carpet where she had slipped. Instead of a cushion-y feel, it was hard as a rock - frozen.

Robin leaned up and shut the window. "Wow," he said, his breath visible in little light there was. "The entire city's out of power."

Ivy exhaled, a puff of steam emitting from her mouth. "This is crazy."

Lending a hand to help her up, Robin almost slipped on the now-icy carpet as well, accidentally pulling the blonde closer than just-friends would stand. Arms around her waist, he blushed, chuckling quietly.

"Hehe," she smiled, "Watch your step."

A loud blast startled both of them - but not enough to separate - as one of the bedroom doors fell down. An eerie green light lit up the area, and a lime eyed girl glared at the two embracing. She spoke nothing, but floated away with speed to make Flash jealous.

A/N: Dun, dun, dun. What will the Titans do without power? Who knew Star could fly so fast? Just what is Robin thinking, hands around another girl's waist? Hehe. I hope you reviewers are semi-fans of BBxTerra because I won't lie to you - there will be quite a bit of Terra reminence in the next chapter or two. I have some awesome ideas. Review on your way out! - Letselina