Calculated Risk

Chapter Six: New Beginnings

RJ's eyes snapped open, taking in the mostly darkened room save for the lit lamp standing next to him and Fran. He became aware of a weight against the top of his head and figured it was Fran's own head resting on him. Listening to the steady sound of her breathing, RJ deduced that she must have fallen asleep some point after he did.

Gingerly he lifted his head away from Fran, carefully guiding her head to rest on his shoulder as he focused his gaze on the digital clock built into the cable box sitting on top of one of his televisions. The glowing green read out told him that it was eleven thirty at night. Way too late to send Fran home and he was far too tired to drive her.

A smile began to make its way across his face. All the more reason for her to stay!

RJ quietly huffed out a chuckle. He had been hoping Fran could stay over again, he just wasn't expecting to be this soon. Not that he was complaining, mind you.

The movement from his soft laugh was enough to wake Fran who sat up, rubbing at her tired eyes as she murmured incoherent nonsense. She stretched for a minute while she tried to get her bearings before finally looking over at RJ. "I should go home."

"It's late," RJ replied. "Half hour til midnight."

That made Fran more alert. "I slept for nearly three hours?!"

RJ grinned. "Guess you needed the rest."

"Yeah," Fran laughed. "I guess." Her laughter tapered off into a yawn. "Ugh, I think I could still go straight to bed."

"I could get you the futon."

Fran shook her head. "It's okay. I'll walk home."

RJ arched a brow at that. "At this hour? In this heat? Fran, it's sweltering out there, you'll melt."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm not that sweet."

That remark earned her a chuckle from RJ. "Seriously, Fran. It's no trouble if you stay here tonight. I can see how tired you are."

Fran sighed heavily, exaggeratedly. "Well, it is a very comfortable futon and you are inviting me. So I guess I can stay."

"Great!" RJ popped up from the recliner and darted off to find the futon. As he walked about his loft, RJ was hit with the memory of several hours ago. He recalled snuggling in to Fran as he sank into a deeper sleep. He could also hear himself telling Fran that he liked her.

His eyes went wide as that revelation solidified itself in his mind. Oh. Oh man, oh no. He told her that he liked her? Did she hear him? Did she remember that now? His stomach clenched in slight fear as he wondered if he went one step further and actually asked Fran out.

RJ also mentally replayed the conversation he had just had with Fran after she had woken up. She made no mention of his confession, their talk was full of banter and cajole as per usual. If Fran knew that he liked her, no doubt that she would be sheepish and bashful, insisting that he could find someone better than he even though RJ was pretty damn certain that Fran was already a perfect fit for him. Or as close to perfect as one could be.

Finding the futon, RJ slowly began pushing it over to Fran. He was hesitant in his steps, afraid to find that in the chance that if she was more alert; she would remember what he had told her. He just hoped that even if she turned him down, Fran wouldn't be uncomfortable in his presence going forward.

He jumped when Fran's voice broke him from his melancholy reverie. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's great."

Fran crossed her arms and tilted her head. "Then why is your aura hiding in the clouds?"

RJ laughed weakly as she recalled his own words to her from last month. "I'm just…nervous."

"About what?"

"Uh…" he swallowed against a suddenly dry throat. "I was just remembering something, something that I may or may not have said to you. No big thing, I may not have even said it but I feel like I did? Okay, so maybe it is a slightly bigger thing than I'm making it out to be but—"

"Breathe, RJ," Fran told him with a hint of amusement in her tone.

"That's my line." He absently raked a hand through his hair in a clear display of nerves before taking a deep, centering breath. Might as well bite the bullet…He lifted his gaze to meet hers. "Did I ask you out?"

Fran was taken aback. "No?"

RJ absorbed this, unsure if he should be relieved by her answer or not. Alright so he hadn't made things weird or uncomfortable between the two of them, but now that it was on his mind, RJ found that he actually wanted to ask her out and hopefully she would say yes.

"You did tell me that you liked me," Fran went on, completely unaware of her friend's thought process. She smiled. "That you liked me so much."

RJ stared at her, suddenly nervous again. Ah crap, she had heard him.

Fran's smile widened and there was kindness in her eyes, enough to fill RJ with slight hope. "I told you that I liked you too. So, so much. You just happened to be asleep when I said it."

Green eyes went wide at her words. "Wait…" The beginnings of a wide grin showed on his face. "Really?"

"Can't you read the truth in my aura?" Fran asked playfully.

RJ laughed loudly at that as he crossed the room to her in four strides, wrapping her up in a tight hug. He smiled into her shoulder while holding her close, reveling in the sweet feeling of warmth and relief that washed through him. "Will you go out with me?"

Fran nodded, tightening the embrace. "Yes, I'd love to go out with you."

Filled with glee and completely unable to help himself, RJ lifted Fran off her feet and spun in a circle, laughing at her surprised shriek that quickly tapered off into giggles. When he set her back on her feet, their gazes locked and the moment quickly became heady as they found themselves unable to look away.

Fran became aware of her breath becoming heavy as she continued to stare into RJ's eyes, this time more of an emerald rather than sea green due to the relative darkness of the loft. Her heartbeat quickened when RJ gently caressed her face, cupping her cheek. There was an intent curiosity displayed openly on his own visage, an expression that made her both nervous and excited.

"Can I kiss you?"

Fran stared at him though deep down she knew she shouldn't have been so surprised. She was a reader, for heaven's sake. She knew how to find context clues and how to read between the lines fairly easily. Yet she still found herself shocked that RJ wanted to kiss her.

As coyly as she could muster, Fran replied, "Before the first date?"

RJ laughed softly but kept his hand on her cheek, his thumb gently stroking her skin. "If you don't mind…"

"I don't…"

RJ leaned in, Fran shyly tipping her head up to meet his. They gently brushed lips. Once. Twice. Then Fran pulled away, burying her flaming face in his shoulder, grinning madly as she did so.

RJ chuckled, running his fingers through her hair. "You okay?"

Fran giggled helplessly. "Mhm." After a minute, she caught her breath and straightened. "Can we do that again?"

He closed the gap in lieu of a response, softly pressing his mouth to hers. Instincts she didn't even know that she had kicked in and she kissed him back, winding her arms around his neck as his came to rest around her waist. Her fingers became entangled in his soft locks, nails lightly scraping against his scalp eliciting a moan as he kissed her harder.

When the need for air became too much, the pair broke apart. As they caught their breath, their gazes met and wide, silly grins crossed their lips. They kissed again, lips hardly meeting as they breathlessly giggled. A minute passed and they regained their composures long enough to kiss properly, mouths fitting together, fingers sliding through hair as quiet moans were the only sounds that filled the silence.

"Should have kissed you ages ago," RJ said after catching his breath a second time.

"Yeah, same."

RJ kissed Fran briefly before forcing himself to take a step back. "As much as I'd like to keep doing that, we should really be heading to bed."

Fran glanced at her watch. "Five minutes after midnight," she reported. "Funny, I don't feel like much of a pumpkin."

"Cinderella doesn't get turned into a pumpkin," RJ mock chided. "You know that."

"I do."

The new couple held hands as RJ led Fran over to her futon. He kissed her hand, eyes remaining on her flustered face. "Good night, my princess."

She threw herself onto the futon and hid her steaming face in the pillow. "Good night, my rogue!"

RJ laughed as he made his way to his own bed. "I'll make my way up to knight."

"Of that, I have no doubt."

RJ paced back and forth in Jungle Karma's kitchen nervously gripping his phone as he walked. It had been three days since he and Fran had revealed their mutually held romantic feelings for one another. In that time they had met up—mainly at Jungle Karma due to their differing work schedules—and shared plenty of kisses, but they had yet to go out on an actual date. The problem was; RJ had no idea where to take Fran.

The movies seemed too cliché as did a walk on the beach. RJ knew that she loved books but had a feeling that she would tell him to go to the pond for being such a silly goose if he suggested going to the bookstore even if it did have a café in it.

Fran was adorable like that.

RJ let out a quiet growl as he roughly raked a hand through his hair. This shouldn't be so hard! Why couldn't he just think of a place to take Fran? It didn't necessarily have to be perfect; as Fran would have told him, perfection was boring as there was no room for growth and finding out what levels one could go beyond.

Granted, it probably wasn't that deep for a first date but still.

He was on what he guessed was his twentieth lap around the kitchen when his phone vibrated. Glancing at the display, he beamed and accepted the call. "Hi, princess."

Fran's voice was both fond and exasperated. "Hi, RJ."

"What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you were free after closing this Saturday."

"I normally do my grocery shopping for the week on Saturdays," RJ admitted. "But no reason I can't do it Friday night instead. Why? What's the plan?"

Was she about to make things worlds easier for him by planning the date?

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the pier," Fran said. "It's the annual summer festival. Live music, carnival games, even food trucks and fireworks!"

RJ smacked himself in the forehead. "I can't believe I forgot all about that!" He exclaimed. "It's part of the reason why there's an increase in customers around this time of the year!"

"Do you think it's a good enough place for a first date?" Fran asked and RJ can easily imagine her twirling the coiled cord of her kitchen phone, a sign of her nervousness.

"I can't imagine a better place," RJ assured her sincerely. And really, he can't. Despite Fran possibly telling him otherwise, the summer festival held on the pier is perfect.

"Do you wanna meet up there at eight?"

"We could meet here," RJ offered. "Then walk together and not have to worry about parking."

"That's true," Fran conceded. "Okay, see you Saturday night!"

"See you Saturday night, princess!" He chuckled when he heard her embarrassed groan before hanging up.

The pier was alive this night, bursting with activity as people roamed the boardwalk, enthralled with the sights, scents and sounds of the festival. A gorgeous sunset melting into night over the sparkling ocean water painted the backdrop of the evening.

RJ and Fran held hands as they wandered through the festival, having already ridden the rollercoaster and walked through the house of mirrors. "Oh, look RJ!" Fran nodded to a point five feet ahead of them. "A photo booth!"

"Let's do it."

The couple went inside, Fran sliding in three dollars to the money feeder while RJ perused the photo options. "Two three by fives or a strip of four two by fours?"

"The photo strip," Fran decided. "That way we can strike more poses."

"Good point," RJ said, as he selected the option. "What do you wanna do first?"

"Classic smile?"

They did just that, RJ wrapping an arm around Fran's shoulders as they beamed. It was followed by a mock menacing pose, a pair of silly faces, and kiss. Fran had intended to kiss RJ's cheek but apparently RJ had the same idea and their lips met instead. He pulled away after a minute, grinning sheepishly. "Whoops."

Fran shrugged; a grin on her own face. "Can't say I'm complaining."

He pecked her lips before stepping out of the booth. "Me either."

RJ picked up the photo strip and laughed. "No offense, princess, but you're too adorable to be scary."

Fran stuck her tongue out. "Like you're one to talk, babe?"

Her boyfriend looked at her in interest at her words. "Babe, not rogue?"

"You can be both."

"Eh, you're probably right about that." RJ held out the photo strip for Fran to see. "Which photos do you want?"

"Which ones do you want?"

"Ladies first."

"It's the twenty-first century, but okay." Fran studied the proffered photos. "I'll take the first one and the third one, if you're okay with that."

"I was hoping to keep the adorable monster one."

Fran rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. RJ carefully tore the photos along the perforated edges and handed Fran her chosen pictures who slipped them into her purse. "Want to try some games?" He asked.

"Sure."

They walked over to the section nearest to the water where the carnival games were set up. Prizes of all kinds hung from the roofs of the booths, mainly stuffed animals of various sizes. RJ strolled up to a booth that held empty milk bottles stacked in small pyramids. "Totally gonna win you something," he cheerfully told his girlfriend.

"You don't have to."

"This isn't about obligation," RJ replied as he confidently plopped a five dollar bill onto the counter. "I want to do this."

Fran blushed and smiled, pleased. "Okay."

RJ picked up the first of four softballs that had been placed in front of him. He did a few mental calculations and threw the ball, striking the pyramid directly the center. The second pyramid fell just as the first one did.

"One more and you can get one of the large prizes," a man named Johan who was running the booth encouraged RJ.

He eyed the prizes above him thoughtfully, gently tossing the third ball in his hand. "And if I knock down all four I can upgrade?"

"Of course," Johan said. "But the final pyramid is tricky…more bottles to knock down."

RJ smirked before turning to wink at Fran. "Watch this."

Fran giggled. "I'm watching."

He struck down the third pyramid with ease before turning his attention to the final pyramid. "Piece of cake."

"Being cocky isn't attractive."

"I can win with grace," RJ answered blithely as he threw the final ball. It flew true and the pyramid crumbled. "Bullseye!"

Fran applauded him. "That was awesome!" She watched as RJ pointed in the general direction of the largest stuffed animals and burst into giggles when he handed her a jumbo sized phoenix plush.

"Something comical about phoenixes?" RJ asked in slight confusion. "I thought you loved mythical creatures."

"I do, I do," Fran assured him as she buried her grin into her new toy, the smell of newly manufactured plush fabric filling her nose. "I was just thinking of this inside joke between Chip and me." She peeked up at him and winked. "Maybe one day I'll let you in on it."

"I look forward to it."

Stretching to her full height, Fran wrapped a hand around RJ's neck and pulled him in for a short, sweet kiss. "Thank you for the phoenix."

"You're welcome." As they walked away from the ball game, RJ asked. "What're you going to name it?"

"Bowen," Fran answered decisively with a silly grin on her lips and mischief in her eyes.

"Is that name part of the inside joke?"

"It is." Fran looked down at the jumbo plush, its cuddly form overflowing from her arms. "Want me to win you a prize?"

"You don't have to." RJ grinned and gently hip checked her.

"I know. But I want to." Fran's eyes roved the scene before them. "Ooh! Archery!"

RJ was surprised at that. "Wait…seriously?"

Fran led him over to the small archery set up. A large target sat about fifteen feet away from a short set of painted lines that represented the distance between the target and the archer. "Wow," RJ said, impressed. "You weren't kidding."

"Chip taught me a few things," Fran admitted. She held out Bowen the toy phoenix. "Hold him for me?"

RJ took on her burden. "Of course." As Fran walked over to a young woman who was running the booth, he called out in encouragement. "You've got this, princess!"

Fran grinned and winked before turning back to accept the bow and set of five arrows held out to her.

"The closer you are to the center, the better the prize," the young woman whose name tag read Monica instructed.

"Alright."

Fran walked over to the line that dictated she was ten feet away from the target. She lifted the bow and knocked back the arrow, carefully lining up her shot. The arrow flew through the air and sank into the second ring from the center.

"Woo!" RJ cheered. "Awesome shot!"

Fran giggled as she rolled her shoulders and head, loosening up before taking her next shot. It sank into the center.

"Well done!" Monica praised, walking over to the set of prizes.

"May I try one more before making my selection?" Fran asked.

"You've already won our top prize," Monica pointed out. "But I don't see why not."

"Thank you." Fran stepped back to the line that was farthest from the target and lined up her final shot. She took a deep, steadying breath, focusing on the arrow in her hand, the target before her and nothing else. Fran released the arrow, watching as it flew true before burying itself into the center, barely missing the arrow that was already in the middle.

"Yeah!" RJ whooped as he rushed over to Fran, lifting her in his arms and spinning her. "I didn't know you were a warrior too, my princess."

"Hush," Fran playfully chided, her face heating up at his effusive praise. "My cousin was a really good teacher, that's all."

"And it would appear that you were a really good student."

"I suppose…" Fran quickly made her way over to the set of jumbo plushes to choose her prize for RJ. She stood there for a minute before snickering and selecting one of the options. She returned her bow and remaining arrows before she made her way back to her boyfriend whom was dusting off the toy phoenix he had abandoned to congratulate her.

The couple exchanged prizes. RJ examined his before he rolled his eyes and deadpanned, "Really?"

The plush Fran had selected for him was a sizeable husky dressed in a chef's coat and hat, clutching a mixing bowl and whisk between its paws.

"Fitting, don't you think?" Fran winked.

It's almost a little too on the nose, RJ admitted privately. Out loud he replied, "This is gonna insult the cats."

"They'll probably turn it into a napping place."

"True," RJ conceded before looking at the toy husky again. At least the eyes weren't green. "I'm gonna name you Francesco."

Fran burst into laughter at that. "Oh gee, thanks rogue!"

RJ pecked her on the cheek. "Anything for you, babe."

"Any chance we can head to the food trucks now?"

"Works for me," RJ agreed. "I saw a pizza food truck not too far from here. Kinda wanna see how it compares."

"I doubt it'll compare at all," Fran said. "Though you should totally consider getting a food truck."

"I should." He kissed her nose, eliciting a giggle. "And thank you for the faith in my pizza but maybe don't go giving me an ego."

Her eyes were wide in faux innocence. "Who, you? Get an ego? Never."

"Let's hope not," he replied in jest.

The pair sat at a small table in the middle of the food truck section under an umbrella lined with fairy lights. "Ready to see how this pizza compares to yours?" Fran asked.

"Maybe you could try it first?"

Fran eyed him in slight concern. "Nervous?"

"A smidge," RJ admitted.

"I'd say you're being silly, but your nerves are valid."

"Thanks, princess."

Fran took a bite of her pizza and chewed carefully. Her eyes went wide after a few seconds before her face crumpled into the most repulsed expression RJ had ever seen on her. She frantically reached for a napkin before spitting the pizza into it and taking a large sip of her soda. "Gross!"

RJ smirked at her. "No need to be so theatric there, babe."

Fran looked at him with a completely straight face. "RJ, I could taste the metallic tang of the can that the tomato sauce came from."

Her boyfriend chuckled at that. "Aw, c'mon Fran. It can't be that bad."

"It was also ice cold."

"Well, points off for that," RJ conceded before taking a bite. He lasted about as long as Fran had before gagging into a napkin. "Oh wow…my taste buds are actually sad."

"Told you."

"Yeah…" RJ agreed after downing half of his soda. He shoved the rest of his slice away from him. "Ugh…think there's a chance that the ice cream here is any good?"

"So long as that's actually cold, it has a head start."

They agreed to get ice cream on top of funnel cakes and much to their relief; the dessert tastes much better than the sad attempt at pizza they had tried earlier.

"Salted caramel sauce goes great with strawberry ice cream!" Fran enthused.

"That does sound like a good flavor contrast, but nothing beats chocolate ice cream and peanut bu—hey!" RJ stared at his girlfriend with a look of mock outrage for she had stolen a spoonful of ice cream from his plate.

Fran merely smiled innocently around her spoon as she held out her own plate in truce.

"It's only fair," RJ stated without any heat as he took a spoonful of her own ice cream. He popped it into his mouth and nodded. "I was right, a good flavor contrast."

"Definitely. Ferris wheel after we finish this?"

"Absolutely."

Fran beamed as she took in the night sky, littered with glittering, winking stars. "It's gorgeous tonight!"

"Yeah, it definitely is," RJ agreed.

She turned to look at him and blushed when she realized that his gaze wasn't lingering on the sky. "Th-thank you."

"Anytime."

Their Ferris wheel cart had stopped at the top, a warm evening breeze ruffling their hair and adding to the serenity of the night. RJ wrapped an arm around Fran who leaned into his embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. "Tonight's been so much fun," she sighed.

"Any idea what you wanna do for our second date?"

Fran looked up at RJ. "Movies?"

"At the theater or a movie marathon at JKP?"

"Both sound good, both would have you."

RJ hid his grin on top of Fran's head. "There's a drive-in theater not too far from here."

Fran was surprised at that. "Wait, seriously?"

"You didn't know?"

"No clue!"

"Oh well, now we have to go." RJ thought for a moment, remembering a fact about the drive in. "We can go on Tuesday. Tickets are four dollars on that day of the week."

"Any chance we can do a double feature?"

"I'm game."

"It's a second date then."

The sky exploded with color, effectively cutting off any response RJ may have had as fireworks shot through the air; popping, crackling and booming. Catherine wheels, peonies and brocade crowns shimmered and showered down over the wine dark water.

"Oh man, it's so beautiful," RJ murmured in awe.

"Absolutely," Fran agreed. He glanced at her and was only a tiny bit surprised to see her looking at him instead of the fireworks display in front of him.

"Knew you were looking at me." A blush spread across his face, expression pleased nonetheless.

"I had to return the favor."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

RJ pulled Fran into a kiss which she quickly deepened. The new couple soon became lost in their own fireworks as the sky continued to blaze and explode with color.

Wooooo! They got together and had their first date! What should happen next? Meeting some family members? Not Master Finn, not yet, obviously.

A few nods to Mystic Force can be found if you know where to look. In sticking with my headcanon that Fran and Chip are cousins, I feel like Chip would have taught Fran her way around a bow and arrow, since it's his weapon of choice. Also no reason for her not to have made bullseye.

To answer trouble-scorn about whether or not I'm having fun with writing this fic…the answer is yes, absolutely yes. I'm having a blast writing this fic. I don't think it's been this easy to write a fic since when I wrote for Teen Titans fanfiction. The inspiration is just there and the writing flows. Getting such wonderful reviews like yours helps me out a ton as well.

I'm thinking at least one more chapter of shenanigans and fun before we start heading into the relative canon of the show…before we take that and flip it onto its head entirely! Stay tuned readers and please review!