Chapter 8 – Day 3: Progress

(A/N: Holy crap this is sooooo much longer than I thought it was going to be… oh well, enjoy the fluffiness!)

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Raven again found a rare night of peaceful slumber, one of many that should would likely experience in the coming years, now that her inner demons had been fought off, in more ways than one. Not only were her emotions and powers under her control, but she also had warded off Trigon's curse. 'He was a little impatient… strange that he didn't wait for the prophecy to unfold. Oh well… at least he's gone.' She thought to herself when she opened her door.

She now had a chance at a normal life, at least as normal as a super heroine's life could get. She was once again the first person to awaken, not surprising the sorceress, as the other Titans were thouroughly exhausted from last night's festivities. On her way to the command center, she paused briefly by Starfire's room, remember the moment they shared the night before.

'It all just seems too good to be true…' she thought, continuing to walk toward the Tower's equivalent of a living room. 'Starfire actually accepted me… and my feelings. But… what can I do next… I can't just ask her out… plus Robin would get a little suspicious.' Her mind stopped as she passed by the counter, viewing a piece of paper folded in half. As she read the front and what was inside, her heart skipped a beat.

Raven – Meet me at the training grounds ASAP – Robin

Raven, I talked with Starfire last night, and she told me about you two. I don't disrespect you, but we need to sort something out.

'I thought I was the only one up… but Star… why did you tell him! I suppose you needed to get it off your chest but damn… this isn't making it easier.' Raven slapped herself in the head, realizing what she was thinking. 'Calm down Raven… she trusts the both of us… she was just doing what she thought was right…' Raven took a deep breath and flew to the training grounds.

The obstacle course looked different than it had when Terra was training. That was the last time she had been there. 'Well, I'll have to get used to it… I am going to be training here from now on, and he does change it every day…'

"Raven?" The sorceress turned around to see Robin standing behind her. The two were silent for a few seconds, each waiting for the other to begin the conversation they dreading to start. Raven finally decided to break the tension. "What did she say?" she asked him, trying not to sound resentful.

"Not much… she basically said that you had feelings for each other then ran off. It was pretty vague, but after a while I sort of just… guessed. She said she had to tell me… so I… wouldn't get mad later." Raven chuckled; Robin's deductive skills were far more advanced than she originally thought. "Trusted your instincts? Well… they usually are right."

"This time, I didn't want to be right."

Raven turned around again, not wanting to show her face to him. 'Starfire told him… for everyone's well being… but still…' She thought, assuring herself before speaking of her reasoning to the Boy Wonder. "Robin… I don't really understand… what I'm even feeling. She's my best friend, we do everything together, and yet… it's more than that. The way she acts, how she treats all of us, her values… it pushed me over an edge I didn't even know existed. I discovered… I was falling in love with her."

"Raven… I know how you feel. All those same things triggered inside me too. I… I love her too, but now… I don't know if I want to be a part of something so complex. More importantly, I don't know if she would want to either. I just… want her to…"

"…to be happy?" Raven finished for him, turning back around towards him just in time to see him nod. "I feel the same way about that… but at the same time, I didn't want to just cast my feelings away… I couldn't. If she was happy with you… I'd go crazy for the first day or two, but I'd… I'd know to give her up; I'd know she was where she belonged."

Robin tried to look composed, and somewhat succeeded. "You'd do that… for us? But… I don't want to be so selfish… Raven, I don't want to hurt you either! This is bigger than Starfire and me! I'd so the same for you guys! Why are you-" He was silenced by Raven's finger on his mouth. "You know… we could probably argue about this forever…" she said, slightly exasperated. "Tell you what… we'll play it by ear. We'll take her out a few times, and we'll see if what happens. Someone may or may not get hurt, but… that's life. Sometimes… it's the only way you learn. I know I did… with Malchior."

Robin gasped slightly, realizing Raven's reasoning. "You're right… you're right. We should… probably go on as if we never even talked. That fine with you?" He asked, stretching out his hand.

"Deal," she said, shaking hands with her leader.

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Later that same morning

The starting buzzer rang, and Starfire began through the new obstacle course. Flying with her everlasting grace, she blazed through the first few turns, able to shoot disabling Star Bolts at any cannons and other artillery that came out of the ground, many of which having no chance to shoot. The next part of the course tested her agility, walls sprouting from every which way out of the sand. Starfire bobbed and weaved through the steel slabs, sometimes only grazing the metal with the end of her boot while moving in preparation for the next wall. While this deducted from her overall score, it was only a very small percentage, nothing that wouldn't cause extreme disorder on the battlefield.

Finally, heading toward the finish line, the ground opened up, revealing wind tunnels underneath the shifting sand. The fans, protected by a thick metal mesh, sucked Starfire down toward the ground, touching down with a thud on the metal. From this position, she found it difficult to get back on her feet. Once she was stable again, she started to run atop the steel surface, catching a glance at Robin, who was grinning despite Starfire's mishap in the course. Crossing the finish line, the fans stopped and was covered up once again.

"Nice job, Star!" Robin offered her a complement. Starfire scoffed at him. "I believe you almost enjoy training us and making us suffer on this course!" she accused him mockingly. She knew that the training process was for the good of the team and the good of the city, but he indeed made it look like he was somewhat amused on the sidelines, controlling the random events of the course. "Well… I'll admit it is a guilty pleasure once in a while." Robin joked back, in turn making Starfire hit him playfully on the shoulder before taking his post on the sidelines once again. 'Just watching you from the sidelines is a guilty pleasure too.' He thought before turning to Raven.

"All right, your turn Raven. You ready?"

"Always." She declared, almost smugly. The sorceress prepped herself, readying for the starting buzzer. Amidst the cheers of encouragement from the others, she could somewhat hear gears and machinery working underground, preparing themselves for her round. Then, the signal rang out, and Raven, much like the previous session, took off very quickly.

Raven's course was much tougher than Starfire's was. Not only did she have to watch out for random walls of metal jutting from the ground, but she had to disable the cannons and lasers almost at the same time. However, she handled the task forcefully and with swiftness unmatched. Midway through, a pit opened up in the sand, with naught but more metal on the bottom of it almost twenty feet below sea level. At the same time, along the length of both sides of the pit, lasers began arming themselves. Raven slowed down almost to a stop, her eyes glowing white.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she cried out, the energized form of a bird escaping her body. Spreading its wings wide, it flew across the length of the pit, laying waste to each and every artillery still forming there. It then soared straight back to Raven's body, which then soon crossed the finish line. The Titans on the other side were left almost stunned at her mastery of the course just after seeing it five times. (The other Titans went before Starfire.) The time of '1:48' flashed on the scoreboard in the middle of the control panel, shattering Cyborg's time of 2:56. He was obviously disappointed, as he was already heading back to the tower. Beast Boy followed closely, slapping him on the back, trying to cheer him up.

"Aw, c'mon buddy! It's not that bad. I did worse than you anyway and why were you bent out of shape when Raven finished? Both Robin and Starfire finished faster too." He explained, leaving no reason for him to be upset. "Yeah, well I expected THOSE results, but not Raven beating everybody." He said, still somewhat depressed. Beast Boy was still smiling, that is until he realized what Cyborg meant by that. "Hey! Are you saying you've always been better than me at that course, 'cause you would be so wrong!" he proclaimed, forcing Cyborg to laugh heartily, and Robin and Raven to sigh.

"Some things never change." They said at once. Terra, Robin, Raven and Starfire followed the rivals from a safe distance so they wouldn't get caught up in the fight. Raven stayed unusually close to Starfire, forcing herself to ask something she was waiting to do for quite a while.

"Starfire?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes Raven?"

"Well… I was wondering… tonight… if you wanted to… see a movie or something? There are a lot of good things out right now." She explained, hoping to find a way to go out with her secret love. As she thought, Starfire's eyes lit up at the request. "I would love too! Please, what will we be seeing?" She inquired, looking very excited. "Actually… I don't know. We'll see when we get there, OK?" Starfire nodded, setting their unofficial date in stone. Raven looked over at Robin then, giving him a wink. Robin smiled and nodded, letting them go do as they wished.

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Dressed in their civilian clothing, Raven and Starfire inched forward in the small line before the ticket booth in the movie theater. Raven scanned the board above the counter, trying to find the right movie for the two of them. 'Hmm… I suppose I should have shown Star the other 'Star Wars' movies, but I don't want to pass up on Episode III… aw hell with it, that's fine.' She decided, and ordered the tickets. Starfire immediately went to the concession stand and ordered a large bag of popcorn for the both of them. Making their way into the theater itself, they found seats along the back row.

"Why do you wish to sit in the back, Raven? Is the front not closer to the screen?" Starfire asked, slightly confused about the customs of watching movies in public. "It's a better view from back here. Besides, some movies can get loud, it's quieter back here." She explained. 'Plus no one can see us back here.' She commented in her mind.

Starfire's civilian clothes were not that much different than her normal uniform, a plain light blue T-shirt with a pink stripe going horizontally through the middle, stopping just above the line of her denim blue jeans. She still wore her boots and her wrist guards in case of an emergency at the theater, but neither of them wished for it to come to that. Raven's attire was also similar to her usual cloak-leotard montage, with a pitch-black tee and equally dark jeans.

Soon the film began to start with it's trademark quote. 'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…' As it faded, the Star Wars logo burst onto the screen with the familiar triumphant fanfare, making Starfire jump in her seat. Raven chuckled and put her hand on top of her friends'. "You don't have to be afraid… I'm right here." Raven said calmly. "Thank you Raven, I am fine. It merely startled me…" she trailed off as she read the on-screen explanation of the events from Episode II. "Umm… perhaps we should watch the other films later?" Raven laughed, again realizing she and her were thinking the same thoughts once again. "I was thinking about that… I'm sure Beast Boy has them all somewhere…"

They stopped talking for a while as the movie continued. Raven's hand only left Starfire's periodically when she went to reach for some popcorn.

(A/N: For those of you who have seen Star Wars Episode III, these will not be spoilers to you. Also, in reference to the infamous arrival of Darth Vader I must say this now… the views of the author or the Teen Titans characters do no necessarily reflect the views of the public. If you haven't seen it, or you're not a fan of the series, read on only if you wish… you have been warned!)

Raven tried to keep fixated on the movie, but her gaze kept inching away toward Starfire. Her face, mesmerized by the screen and the characters made her look ever better in the dim light. A scene in which Darth Vader's lover, Pamdé, died, brought tears to the young Tameranean's eyes. She soon fell into Raven's arms, sobbing quietly. Raven stroked her long red hair, and gently kissed her forehead. "It's okay… it's just a movie." She whispered into her ear, continuing to watch the film.

"Where is Padmé?" the Sith Lord asked in the film. The Emperor looked upon his apprentice with sympathetic eyes. "It appears that in your anger… you killed her." Vader ripped apart the shackles that tied him to the platform he was resting on. As he knelt on the ground, he thrust his arms out wide, causing many of the bottles on the shelves nearby to shake violently. "Nooo!" he screamed in his newer, deeper voice.

"Oh, come on… that's just not right… just screaming would have been better…" Raven scoffed at the decision the director made with that scene. Soon the film ended, and the two girls walked out still holding hands.

"That was a very interesting movie Raven! Thank you very much for taking me! Perhaps we may watch the other ones in the series at home sometime, because it leaves many unanswered questions for me." Starfire suggested, forcing a smile out of Raven. "That would be fun… thanks Star."

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Back at Titan's Tower

Raven followed Starfire into her room this time. Although she had a good time on her 'first date' with Raven, she still felt somewhat guilty about telling Robin about her situation. "Raven… I… enjoyed our time together as I always have. However… there is something you must know. I… I told Robin about what you said to me."

"I know… we talked." Starfire did not look entirely surprised as she hung her head. "I did what I thought was right… I don't want to see either of you hurt, but in the end… I will have to choose but one of us to be with. It is a choice… that I almost cannot bear to make!" She slumped down ever further, showing her evident sorrow. Raven leaned in and put her hands on Starfire's shoulders. "It's okay Star… I know it must be hard. Both of us know that. But… both of us just want you… to be happy. We both love you so much… as long as you're happy with someone… that's all that matters. It'll be okay. Besides…" Starfire looked up to see Raven finish her inspiring speech.

"It's not like everyone loves only once, right? Although… sometimes it does happen… you have nothing to worry about." Starfire's eyes gleamed with happiness as she again tumbled into Raven's arms, this time forcing the sorceress to fall backwards onto the bed. "Oh, I'm sorry Raven… are you injured?" The princess asked weakly. Raven could sense the fatigue in her voice. "I'm fine Star, just surprised…"

"Thank you… for cheering me… up…" Starfire whispered in the silence of her room before leaning up and planting a quick peck on Raven's lower cheek before succumbing to her fatigue and falling asleep atop the slightly dazed Raven. 'She's actually asleep? And she… kissed me? Wow… that felt better than I thought… but I didn't know she was this tired.' She then looked at the clock across the room, which read 1:43 AM.

'Holy crap that WAS a late movie… I barely even noticed. Well… maybe I should leave.' She thought, just moving slightly, but then noticed how comfortable Starfire looked. It was as if she was using her as a pillow. 'She looks so beautiful… and peaceful… I couldn't leave her like that… Oh well… it's not like I'm complaining.' She decided, stroking the crimson hair once more, coaxing a sigh out of the slumbering Tameranean before closing her own eyes.

'I'm… where I belong.'