Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans


Thanksgiving Part Two:

Downstairs the atmosphere was much lighter. Everyone was laughing and joking and enjoying each other's company.

The women were in the living room laughing and visiting while the Thanksgiving parade played on the TV. Violet was talking and laughing with a woman about Rachel's age. She was pretty with chocolate brown skin and matching eyes. Her dark hair was pulled back in a bun and she wore a yellow sleeveless blouse with black pants and black heeled boots.

Two children played on the floor with Will and Willow. The girl looked exactly like the woman in the yellow blouse while the boy was taller and older than the girl. He had dark skin and an afro that would have made any 70's hipster proud. The girl wore a yellow shirt, white leggings, and a pink tutu while the boy wore a pair of jeans and a blue shirt. Neither wore shoes, having probably taken them off at the door.

"Karen, I'd like to introduce you to Airen, Violet's roommate." Rachel said sweeping into the room.

The woman Violet was talking to looked up and smiled.

"Hey, girl! It's good to finally meet you! I've been hearing so much about you!" Karen got up walked over and gave Airen a huge hug. The hug caught Airen off guard. She wasn't used to physical contact with anyone except her family.

Karen didn't seem to mind Airen's stiffness. She simply stepped back and gave her a warm smile. Airen also noticed that Karen gave her a decent once over.

"My my…. Airen Stevens as I live and breathe. You are every fashion designer's daydream." Karen gushed.

"And every fashionista's worst nightmare…." Violet muttered as she sipped coffee from a mug that read 'I was raised Goth'.

Karen ignored the comment and continued to study Airen. "Perfect body, gorgeous hair, and those eyes…. girl I bet you could pull off anything I set my mind to."

Airen inwardly rolled her eyes at the attention, but she was used to it. Designers, photographers, and wardrobe personnel alike all gave her the same treatment when they first met.

"Karen, leave the poor girl alone!" Rachel chided. To Airen she said, "You'll have to excuse her. She's a fashion designer."

"One of the best! And you know I can't help it!" Karen agreed. "But Rachels right. It's a holiday, no work! I will however introduce you to my kids." Karen turned to indicate each child. "The little girl in the tutu is my daughter Rose, and the child with the outdated hairstyle is my son Waren." Karen sighed heavily. "Leave it to the fashion designer's children to be out of date and out of style with their clothes and hair." She muttered.

Airen raised an eyebrow while Rachel merely rolled her eyes and Violet chuckled.

Suddenly a crash from the other room followed by shouting made everyone jump.

"Get away from the stove!"

"Back away from the cutting board with that meat!"

"Oh, don't you dare put any of that white crap in my mixing bowl!"

"CY, I mean it- DO NOT PUT MEAT ON MY COUNTERTOP!"

"KEEP THAT TOFU JUNK OFF OF MY SPATULA BB!"

All of the women groaned and rolled their eyes while the children seemed unimpressed and went back to their game.

"Here we go…." Violet said amused as she took another sip of her coffee.

"They're at it again." Karen moaned.

"I'll take care of it." Rachel said in a bored monotone as though this kind of thing happened often.

"Wha…?" Airen looked between all of them confused.

"Come with me Airen. It's better if you see it rather than we try and explain it." Rachel said walking toward the back of the house.

"Ain't that the truth," Violet said.

"Amen." Karen chimed in.

Airen followed Rachel throwing Violet and Karen a confused look over her shoulder.

Rachel led Aired through the living room and to a dining area. In the dining area, a table was set up on one end of the room filled with food. Muffins, fruit, bacon, eggs, loaves of bread, and every other breakfast food you could imagine were laid out on the table. Across the room from the first table, a second table sat with coffee, orange juice, milk, water, and ingredients for mimosas.

"Woah…" Airen muttered.

"Come on." Rachel waved her on through the room, barely stopping to acknowledge the spread. Airen reluctantly followed, her very empty stomach growling in protest.

Rachel walked through the dining area and through a doorway the size of a wall into a huge kitchen.

The kitchen took up most of the length of the house. It had gray tiled floors, white walls, and white ceilings. The cabinets lined the back wall with a break for a set of large windows that looked into the backyard. An island the size of a king-size bed sat in the middle of the room. Bar stools with a dark brown stain on the legs and gray cushions lined the side of the island closest to Airen and Rachel. On the other side, a sink had been built into the island. The cabinets were dark brown, and the countertops were black and white granite. Stainless steel appliances were placed throughout the kitchen.

Off to the left in one corner a spiral staircase led upstairs. In the opposite corner, a white door stood open to reveal a walk-in pantry. Off to the right, another counter and row of cabinets lined the lower half of the wall while hooks filled with pots and pans filled the upper half of the wall. In the back corner, a door led to the backyard.

Despite the largeness and beauty of the kitchen, it felt small and looked near-disastrous in its current state.

Food covered the countertops, as well as dishes filled with cooked food as well as raw ingredients. Dirty dishes lined the counter on one side of the sink while wet and newly cleaned dishes lined the other side. The soft sound of water slushing indicated that the dishwasher was currently running. The heat in the room suggested that both stainless-steel ovens were currently running as well. Several pots sat on the stove with steam coming off each dish too. Airen felt her cheeks flush from the heat when she entered the room.

Five men sat and or stood in the kitchen. Three of them Airen already knew or had previously met. Mason sat on one of the bar stools at the island with a steaming mug of something sitting untouched in front of him looking bewildered and lost. Johnathan stood at one of the counters silently chopping something listening to the chaos going on around him. If she concentrated hard enough Airen could detect a hint of a smile on his face.

Dr. Garfield Logan whom she had met at the fundraiser months ago stood in between the island and the far wall of counter and cabinets with another man whom Airen had not met. Garfield seemed to be in an intense conversation with the second man, both of whom took turns waving their arms and hands wildly while shouting at one another. They alternated between that and standing there with their arms crossed glaring silently at one another.

The man who Garfield was arguing with looked slightly familiar to Airen. He was tall with dark skin and a bald head. He had dark brown eyes and was clean-shaven. He made NFL linebackers look small and had an almost frightening presence. Despite this, Airen got the feeling that he was just a big goofball and wouldn't hurt a fly. He was currently glaring at Garfield with his fists on his hips while Garfield waved a wooden spoon in his face.

"Don't you wave that spoon at me BB. Ain't nobody who don't eat meat gotta right to wave nothin at me!" The big man hollered.

"It's MY kitchen CY! I'll wave whatever the hell I want at whoever the hell I want!" Garfield shouted back.

The situation would have been far less comical had neither of them been wearing 'Kiss the Cook' pink aprons with purple and red hearts on them. It didn't help that the aprons were clearly two to three sizes too small for both of them.

Rachel turned to the fifth man in the room. "I thought you were supposed to be watching them?" She phrased it as a question but said it as a statement.

Airen turned her attention to the fifth man in the room while waiting for his response. A chill went down Airen's spine. For some reason, he seemed familiar in a different way than everyone else, but she couldn't put her finger on why.

He couldn't have been more than 40 years old, maybe not even that. He seemed to be about 6 feet tall, maybe a little taller. He had a slender muscular build, not as slender as Garfield, but he was nowhere near as buff as the other man. He was roughly about as muscular as Johnathan, though if Johnathan kept up working out it wouldn't take long for him to get buffer than the fifth man.

The fifth man had a light tan, nothing to brag about, but he wasn't quite as pale as Rachel. He had short dark hair that had a strand or two of gray in it, though they seemed to be hidden well. He was clean-shaven and had the beginnings of laugh lines and crinkles around his eyes. His eyes were the most startling part of his appearance. They were a clear electric blue, clear and deep. Even though he didn't look old at all, anywhere near it, in fact, his eyes seemed ancient, as though he had seen far more than most people his age should have. Airen knew that look well, she had seen it in her own eyes more than once.

He wore a pair of jeans and a dark blue long sleeve shirt with a pair of gray tennis shoes. His hair was slicked back as though he had used gel or something to make it look neat. His sleeves were pushed up to his forearms just in front of his elbows, revealing an expensive watch and several small white scars on his forearms. He also wore a gold wedding band on his left ring finger. Airen could also smell whiffs of decent cologne coming off of him. He looked clean and neat, just like a businessman on vacation or something.

He was sitting at the island a few chairs away from Mason. He sat where he could see everything going on in the room at once. He had a steaming hot mug in his hand that he periodically took a sip out of.

He seemed to be watching the ongoing argument with amusement, grinning quietly as though he enjoyed the show but couldn't let anyone know that he did. Airen did notice however that the grin didn't seem to quite reach his eyes. As though he wasn't truly happy, hadn't been in a long time.

Rachel crossed her arms waiting for him to respond. He merely glanced at her with a raised eyebrow while Garfield turned to address her.

"Aww come on Rae! We don't need watching!" He protested. Rachel merely scoffed.

"What? You don't trust us all of a sudden?" The big man chimed in.

"I trust you just fine. It's the shouting and screaming I could do without." Rachel stated firmly.

Garfield grinned. "But that's all part of the fun! Isn't it guys?" He turned to the others in the room.

"Yeah!" The big man said.

"Humph." Johnathan huffed from his spot without facing his father.

Mason just looked at Rachel hopelessly and desperately.

"Mason doesn't seem to think so." Rachel pointed out.

Garfield's face darkened slightly. "Well, we'll just have to fix that won't we?" He said darkly. Airen could see Mason visibly gulp.

"Sides, if he's gonna date my niece he's gonna learn to adapt to the family atmosphere." The big man said.

Rachel glared at both of them.

"Look, Rachel, I'll keep an eye on them if that'll make you feel better. Alright?" The fifth man got up from where he had been sitting and walked over to the other two men behind the island.

Rachel didn't seem pleased with this arraignment. Before she could voice her disagreement, the big man seemed to take notice of Airen. At first, he seemed confused, then surprised. Then he began studying her as if he was trying to solve some sort of mystery.

"Who've you got there Rae?" He asked suspiciously. Everyone's focus shifted from the conversation to Airen who suddenly felt nervous. Even Johnathan seemed to perk up and adjusted his stance so that he could see who they were talking about.

"This is Airen Stevens, Violet's roommate." Rachel said. She seemed to be cautiously watching the fifth man in order to see his reaction.

"Airen, this is Victor Stone,"

The big man nodded toward her and grinned. "Sup little lady!"

"And this is Dick Greyson." She said, her eyes never leaving the fifth man.

The one who hadn't come after them. No wonder he felt familiar.

Anger heated her cheeks as she fought to remain calm. How dare he stand here at ease and relaxed when they had been suffering all this time? How dare he act like nothing was wrong?

Airen fought to breathe. She needed to stay calm. If she was going to keep her secret she needed to not lash out.

Airen turned to greet the fifth man, who she now knew as Dick, and realized why Rachel was watching him.

Dick was studying Airen intently with a frown on his face. Airen shifted uncomfortably. Instead of a greeting he simply said, "Stevens?"

Airen nodded slowly.

"Mmm…." was his only response. Garfield appeared nervous and Rachel seemed cautious. Even Victor seemed unsure of what to make of the situation. If Mason or Johnathan felt the tension in the air they didn't let on.

After what felt like an eternity Rachel cleared her throat.

"So, you've got dinner?" she asked.

That seemed to bring everyone back to normal.

"So long as your husband doesn't try to ruin my dinner with any of his tofu crap!" Victor said.

"Excuse me?! ME ruin YOUR dinner? I don't think so! I've got this as long as YOU don't put any of your filthy killer meat in MY dinner!"

"Now look here BB, it ain't Thanksgiving without a turkey."

"That's why we have a tofurky."

"That's not even a thing!"

"Is too!"

"So is not!"

"Y'all got this all wrong," Dick interjected. They continued like that for another minute before Rachel sighed loudly.

"Do I need to cook dinner?" She asked.

"NO!" All three men turned toward her shouting in unison. Airen was surprised by the genuine fear that she heard in their voices at the prospect of Rachel cooking.

"Then figure out how to get along." Rachel said darkly. With that, she swept out of the room, Airen on her heels.

When they got back to the living room another woman and two more children were there. The woman was short with shoulder-length brown hair and watery brown eyes. She had a fake-looking smile that reached her eyes but not quite in the right way.

Something about her seemed to be off to Airen, but she decided that for now, she would keep her thoughts to herself.

The new woman sat on the couch next to Karen as though it was her home and not someone else's. Karen and Violet both seemed stiff and uncomfortable and far less happy than they had when Airen and Rachel had left. Violet looked up when they entered the room and made a face at Airen which Airen understood as 'She's awful, save me'.

The new woman had her feet propped up on the coffee table in front of her and had a glass with white wine in it. 'Who drinks whit wine at 10 o'clock in the morning?'

Karen was looking at her judgmentally and seemed to be trying not to snarl.

Rachel made a face of distaste before she rounded the couch to confront the woman. When the woman saw Rachel, she extended her free arm as though she wanted a hug.

"Rachel! So good to see you! Lovely home!" She exclaimed.

"Thank you." Rachel said calmly. Rachel looked at Airen and nodded.

"Melissa, I'd like for you to meet Airen, Violet's roommate. Airen, this is Melissa." Melissa moved to where she could see Airen.

"I know you! You're the model everybody can't stop talking about!" She exclaimed. "I love your work!" She squealed.

"Thank you," Airen said quietly.

Melissa struggled to get to her feet and stumbled over to Airen. "You probably already know who I am, you know, being Dick's wife and all. You know, Gotham royalty." Melissa bragged.

Airen clenched her teeth in anger.

'Not only did he not come after us, but he turned around and got married!? And not just married but married to that!? How much of a jerk is he?!'

Once again Airen fought to stay calm.

"I'm sorry to disappoint," Airen said with a forced polite, but bored smile, "but I'm afraid that I have no idea who you are."

Melissa's off-looking smile melted into confusion and then an angry pout.

"What?" She asked partially confused and partially insulted.

Airen saw Violet behind Melissa trying hard not to snicker. Directing her attention back to Melissa, Airen forced herself to be serious.

"I'm not from around here so I'm not familiar with all of the local celebrities. Also, I don't keep up with the tabloids and entertainment news. I actually have a life to live, unlike some people." Airen sounded a little snobbish and rude, but she didn't really care. She could already tell that nothing was going to make her like this woman.

Melissa's face turned red from anger while the other women looked impressed and pleased. Apparently not very many people stood up to Melissa.

"How dare you?" Melissa said quietly.

"How dare I what? Tell the truth?" Airen stated firmly.

"Insult me!" Melissa screeched.

"Ma'am, if you are insulted, it is your own fault. I have done nothing except tell you the truth." Airen remained calm and cool.

"I am not a ma'am! I am the same age as you!" Melissa shrieked. Her eyes shifted to something, or rather someone behind Airen.

"Sweetheart! Did you hear what she said to me?! She is being absolutely insulting and rude!" Melissa whined.

"Is that so?" Dick moved from behind Airen to stand beside his highly unpleasant wife.

"Yes! She even called me ma'am! Even though I'm her age!" Melissa pouted.

"Well, if that's true then we'd need to have your oh so beloved husband here arrested, seeing as I'm only 18. So, if your my age then that means you would have to have been only 15 when you had your youngest child." Airen said.

'Please don't defend her, please don't defend her…' Airen silently pleaded to herself.

"OOOhhhhhhh!" Melissa was on the verge of turning purple at this point, but Airen didn't care. Her focus was on Dick.

Instead of looking outraged like his wife, Dick looked impressed and slightly pleased. Pride and joy swelled inside Airen's chest. Maybe he wasn't such a jerk after all.

The moment was quickly ruined, however, due to Airen not being the only one to notice Dick's lack of defense for his wife.

"Dick! Defend me!" Melissa shouted.

Hot blue eyes flashed as Dick turned to his wife.

"Why should I?" He growled almost at the same volume as Melissa.

Everyone seemed stunned by his response, but none more so than Melissa.

"B-because I'm your wife." She muttered weakly.

"Not because I want you to be." He growled.

You could have heard a pin drop in that room. No one moved, no one breathed. Everyone seemed stunned into silence, even the children who had been playing until the shouting had caught their attention.

The expression on Melissa's face went from shock to anger really quickly.

"Well, I didn't make you propose!"

"But you didn't give me much of a choice now did you!" Dick roared. His voice thundered through the house and made Airen feel small.

Airen felt uncomfortable and out of place and could tell that no one else was used to Dick yelling like this. She almost felt bad for causing it.

On the other side of the room, Airen noticed that Violet was ushering her siblings to take the children upstairs. She also noticed that Karen and Rachel had backed away from the yelling couple. They were currently blocking the kids' view of the screaming parents.

Airen felt something shift next to her and suddenly felt a warm presence right behind her. She looked up and found herself directly staring at Johnathan's chin.

Johnathan placed a firm hand on her shoulder and when everyone else except Melissa and Dick had left the room, he gently guided her away from them and back into the kitchen.


"It's all my fault." Airen moaned into her hands.

20 minutes later everyone was still crowded in the kitchen listening to the constant yelling of the un-happy Greyson's.

"No, it's not. This has been lying under the surface for a long time." Rachel said as she handed Airen a hot cup of tea.

"Here, drink this. It'll help." Rachel said.

Airen took the mug but still felt guilty.

"If only I hadn't been such a smart ass…" Airen muttered.

"You were only being yourself. If Melissa can't handle that then that's on her. Besides, she gets offended way too easily and someone needed to put her in her place." Violet said reassuringly.

Airen looked at her. "But I didn't put her in her place. I just aggravated the situation."

Violet shrugged. "Well, they needed to have this fight anyway."

A pot clanging behind them made them both jump.

"Quit messin with my dinner woman!" Vic hollered.

"I would if you quit doing it wrong!" Karen hollered back. Karen was standing next to Vic behind the island with her hands on her hips glaring up at him.

Meanwhile, Vic was standing there with his arms crossed, wooden spoon in hand, with his 'kiss the cook' apron, and a white chef hat, glaring back at her.

"Wrong?! You think the way I cook is wrong!?" Vic said loudly.

Airen leaned over to Violet as they watched this new spectacle and whispered, "Where'd he get the chef hat?"

"I have no idea," Violet whispered back.

"Enough! Stop it both of you!" Rachel yelled over them. Vic and Karen both glared at her.

"He-!"

"She said that I'm cookin wrong!" They both began to protest.

"I don't care! We already have one fighting couple in this house and if you two don't stop it we're going to run out of places to hide really quick!" Rachel said sternly.

"You don't have to hide," Dick said from the doorway.

Everyone turned toward him in surprise.

"Hey man, you okay?" Garfield asked.

Dick smiled weakly. "Yeah. We're just…. tired." He said just as weakly.

Everyone nodded sympathetically and waited for more.

"She's- we're just going to keep our distance for the rest of the day. We'll work it out later when we go home." Dick supplied. "Now, how's that food looking?"

Everyone else seemed to accept his solution but Airen could tell that it wasn't a permanent fix.

Dick looked like he had aged ten years at least with that one fight. Even after the atmosphere in the kitchen had returned to lighthearted happiness, he still seemed sad and disappointed. He looked so…. broken.

Dick suddenly looked up right at Airen. His sad blue eyes met her unwavering green ones. An understanding passed between.

Even though she was angry that he hadn't come after them, Airen no longer held that against Dick. Clearly, he had so much more to worry about.


"Why do you stay with her?"

Later that night Nightwing sat on a rooftop overlooking the city of Bludhaven when a shadow appeared out of the roof.

Sighing he dropped his head in shame.

"Would you accept it if I told you it was complicated?" He asked quietly.

"You know I wouldn't," Raven answered as she sat down next to him. "I mean come on Dick, you know better! We see this all the time! It would be one thing if it were just a simple trap, but it's way beyond that now and you know that! She's controlling you."

"I know," Nightwing said quietly.

"Then why stay? You could get full custody without even trying."

"It's not-it's not about the kids." He said.

"Then what is it?" Raven pressed.

"I just…. I don't…." Nightwing sighed heavily.

"You just what?"

"There's no one else!" Nightwing shouted angrily.

If his outburst surprised Raven, she didn't show it.

"There's no one else to go to once I leave." He said weakly.

Raven waited for him to finish.

"There was only ever her for me. Yeah, I was stupid and didn't realize for a long time, but once I did…." He hung his head. "There's no one else. Never was, never will be."

Raven remained quiet and allowed him to continue at his own pace. He sniffled quietly before continuing.

"Her death," He choked on the last word. "was devastating. I never thought…. I never thought that I would have kids after she died. But then…." He sighed as though he couldn't finish his thought.

Raven shifted to try and get more comfortable.

"But you do have kids, and you need to think of them too. They're living in the same toxic environment, same abusive environment, as you. Even if there is no one else, that's no reason for you to stay."

Nightwing nodded. "I know."

"Then why stay?"

He was silent for several seconds before he answered.

"Because I deserve it."

He said it so quietly Raven almost didn't hear it.

"What?" She asked shocked.

"I deserve it." He said louder.

"I heard you, I just can't believe that you would say that." Raven clarified.

"Well, I do," Nightwing said with a hard tone.

"Well you don't, and the fact that you believe such a thing…." Raven didn't know how to finish the sentence. The whole conversation was just too unbelievable.

"I do." He growled. "God, you don't understand!" He shouted as he stood up.

Raven looked up at him and waited for him to continue.

"Why?"

"Why?! Why!? Well, how about because I didn't go after her the first time?! How about because I didn't fight for her hard enough?! How about because I didn't look hard enough! How about Because I didn't make her stay! Because I didn't protect her! Because by the time I found her it was too late!" Nightwing screamed at the top of his lungs.

He paused and looked at Raven. She knew him well enough to know that behind his mask was a dejected look pleading for help.

"Oh, Dick…." Raven moved toward him. As she did, he fell to his knees in surrender to his overwhelming emotions.

Nightwing fell forward burying his face in his arms on the ground, his body wracking and shaking from sobs. Raven rushed to him and knelt beside him. She tenderly put her arms around him as his overwhelming grief, anger, and sadness washed over her. It was so strong and powerful that it brought tears to her eyes and brought out her own grief.

There they stayed for a long time, Nightwing finally letting go, and Raven grieving with him as she tried to comfort him. There they stayed until well after midnight, crying together for the friend and family member they had lost. There they stayed as Raven held the form of a truly broken man.


Christmas:

Christmas at the Logan house was far less eventful than Thanksgiving had been since the Greyson's spent it at Wayne Manor and the Stone's went Vic's parent's house. Despite this, however, there was still some strife in the Logan household.

"Do we have to go?"

"Yes! Now put on the dress."

"I don't want to wear the dress."

"Why not? What's wrong with it?"

"It has ruffles."

"You like ruffles."

"It's pink."

"Your favorite color is pink!"

"Mom!"

"Mom!"

Airen winced as Violet and Willow both yelled for Rachel in unison.

Once finals were over Violet once again dragged Airen to her parent's house to enjoy the Christmas season. It had been surprisingly enjoyable, reading by the fire, hot chocolate and tea whenever you wanted, delicious meals (even if they were vegan), and a happy, loving, family-filled atmosphere.

She had even been growing closer with Johnathan without feeling as though a relationship was inevitable.

Or at least, it had been enjoyable until today. Airen sat on the couch in her comfy clothes, feet propped up and book in hand as she watched and listened to the chaos of sisterhood. Today was Christmas Eve and tonight was the famous Wayne Christmas Eve gala, ball, whatever you wanted to call it.

It was a fancy room that was overdecorated and filled to the brim with a bunch of drunk stiffs in formal wear trying to dance.

Airen was glad she wasn't going. She was looking forward to a quiet evening at the house alone with a good book, all the chocolate she could think of, a hot bath, and going to bed early. The perfect night.

"Both of you stop it!" Rachel intervened.

"I don't want to go." Willow pouted.

"She has to go!" Violet protested.

Rachel glared at both of her daughters.

"I really don't want to go either, so I don't know why you think I'm going to help the situation." She addressed Violet.

Violet deflated while Willow looked triumphant.

"As for you," Rachel turned her attention toward Willow. "I don't want to go, but your father is making me go, and if I have to go, so do you." Rachel growled.

Willow immediately deflated right alongside Violet.

Airen chuckled as she turned her attention back to her book. Not 30 seconds later a hand fell on Airen's shoulder.

"And by 'you' I mean everyone in this house." Rachel said in Airen's ear.

A chill went down her spine at the close contact and her eyes grew wide in surprise.

"Wha-?! But! But I…!" Airen protested.

"Yes!" Violet did a triumphant fist bump while Willow looked on in sympathy.

"No buts. You're going and that's final." Rachel didn't even give her time to protest further. She merely walked out of the room sealing Airen's fate for the evening.

"Hehehe…." Airen turned to look at Violet who had an evil smile on her face and was rubbing her hands together like a villain in a cartoon.

"Have I got plans for you…."

"Oh no…."