Sorry this one is so short, and doubly sorry that I have a hard time describing formalwear. Thanks for the review, rock'n'roll. And nope, I don't own the Titans.


Chapter Eight: Formal Where?

Starfire walked through the mall, her attention drawn to every flashy storefront and colorful window display. Raven walked in front of her and Terra and Bee to each side to effectively block her in and keep her from running into any other stores.

But still the Tameranean was happy. "Friend Raven, not that I am complaining about the spending of time with you, but it is most unusual for you to be the one to initiate a trip to the mall of shopping. Perhaps you have changed your mind about the wonders of this glorious place?"

"No, Star, no change. But we all need dresses to wear for the opera. None of us have one. You have your prom dress, but you already wore that out with Robin."

Star gasped. "You mean that for this opera we participate in the wearing of pretty dresses and make up and the styling of hair?"

Raven sighed. "Yes, Star."

Four voices chorused the same word, three in a droll tone, one positively exuberant.

"Glorious!"


Across the mall, the boys were walking towards the tuxedo rental shop. Beast Boy had struck upon an interesting point. "You know, it's strange. We can rent tuxedos any time we want. They're cheap and we just have to turn them back in when we're done. The girls have to buy a new, expensive dress every time they go out. We've got it so easy."

Robin nodded. "Like at the Oscars, no one pays much attention to what the guys wear, a tuxedo is a tuxedo."

They entered the store and looked around, flipping through the different catalogues of designs and deciding what they wanted. Bow tie or Windsor knot, vest or cummerbund. Simple choices, to be sure.


Were it not near prom season, the girls would have had a more difficult time finding dresses. As it was, they were inundated with choices. Starfire wanted something purple, but had to be talked out of one that revealed her midriff.

Bee had been apologetic; she would have to make the same sacrifice. "Star, that's not really appropriate for the opera."

Star hung up her choice sadly, but quickly found another purple dress that caught her interest. It was nearly similar to her ill fated prom dress in a deep purple silk, but swept lower and relied upon spaghetti straps that crossed behind her back to stay up. She already had the gloves and shoes for it. She tried it on and found that it was, indeed, glorious.

Raven had settled on something in a light blue. She intended on wearing her cloak with it, and with the way things were going with Aqualad, if she wanted her cloak to match her dress she would need a lighter color than usual. The dress she found was a sky blue that shimmered in the right light. It was oriental in style and had the high collar that she liked. She tried on a pair of high heeled shoes and walked around a little. Even if she couldn't walk in them, she could always hover.

Terra chose something in a dark green. She and Beast Boy had discussed it and they decided to match dress to vest to Beast Boy. She went simple, dark green silk that hugged her curves tightly, a low neckline, and a slit to mid thigh with a pair of high black heels. She worked the heels like a model, much to everyone else's amazement and confusion.

Bee went for something black with a low cut back to accommodate her wings. Each dress she tried on had one requirement, she had to be able to take off and land in it. She finally found a nice one with enough wing room that looked wonderful in the front, too. A pair of shoes, and she was done.


They met the boys in the food court. In the time that they had waited, they had found nachos. Judging from the many empty boxes in front of them, they had found lots and lots of nachos.

Beast Boy perked as they approached. "Dude, finally, you've been gone forever."

Terra sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hush, it only felt like that. You boys ready to get back to the tower? Mall life doesn't seem to agree with Raven."

Raven had put her hood up and was standing next to Aqualad. Her cloak completely covered her except for the small gap where his arm went in to wrap around her. She had closed her eyes and was leaning heavily against the Atlantian, who held both of their bags in his other hand.

Aqualad smiled. "Nah, she's just tired. Too much excitement." A soft nod from the blue cloaked figure indicated her assent. Maybe it was just the light, but to everyone it looked like her cloak had softened in color a bit.