Quick Dedication: To the lovely reviewers who are keeping me going (you know who you are ravenrouge19, Tecna, Teen Titans Terminator, MrsSakuraPotter, Cherished18, sbu-liz, and Cherry Jade!) and to TheScarletRaven who unfortunately is stuck with dumbass firewall blockers.
…..
She watched them from the corner of the room, stirring her spoon and deaf to their cries.
"Ohhhh! I'm gonna win!" Beast Boy grinned in building victory.
Cyborg said as he pounded the buttons on his GameStation controller viciously, "Hell no! I'm gonna wipe the floor with you, grass stain!" They battled fiercely with fast fingers and wide eyes. She noticed her female teammate glaring at them from the far end of the couch. She imagined that Friend Raven would be plotting their immediate doom if either of them attempted to speak to her.
On the giant screen in front of them, there was an image of a racetrack with two cars speeding beside each other. Suddenly, the blue car went into turbo and left the green and purple-striped one in its dust. The scene froze and big red letters spelled out: CYBORG WINS! BEAST BOY IS A LOSER!
The metal man threw down his controller and did a victory dance. "Whoo! Booya!"
Beast Boy demanded noisily, "Alright, that's it! I challenge you to three rounds of Extreme Stankball! You're going down!" He turned to a reading Raven. yelling loud enough for her to hear, "Hey, do you want to play too? You could be on my team."
Starfire stopped stirring and observed the empath as she looked up from her magazine she was secretly reading hidden in the Book of Azar.
"You both are idiots. You should know better than to ask me to play mindless juvenile games." Raven rose to her feet and tucked her book under her arm.
As Cyborg glared disdainfully, Beast Boy glanced back at him, angrily.
"Stop looking at her like she's some kind of heartless old witch. She doesn't have to play if she doesn't want to."
"Man, I don't get it. She treated you like shit before and you never used to take it. What changed?"
Beast Boy smiled. "I know whatever insult she throws at me, it means nothing cause she still cares about me. Ain't that right, Shorty?"
"Now that you know my secret, you must be destroyed." Raven came up behind Cyborg with two basketball-sized Stankballs hovering. "I'm not old or heartless, but I do know a little magic now and then." She let them drop on his head and Beast Boy turned into a donkey, braying annoyingly. Raven hit him in the face with a particularly stinky one. Cyborg's hostility lessened when a small, amused smile played on her lips.
She spoke up softly as they unraveled themselves from particularly foul-smelling, cotton feet-wear, "I always cared. Showing it was the hard part."
Beast Boy wiggled his eyebrows. "Not when it comes to certain people, huh, Widdle Rae-Rae?"
Her smile disappeared.
"You're pushing it, Beast Boy."
The left side double doors to the operations center slid open and Robin came down the stairs, absorbed with the files in his hands. He barely noticed Starfire standing nearby. Cyborg muttered, elbowing BB, "Speak of the devil." They cracked up but they couldn't laugh with a mouthful of sweatsocks via airmail Raven Ex. Robin narrowed his mask at the three of them.
"What are you all doing?"
Raven simply replied, "Playing," and Cyborg spat a clod of socks at the back of her head.
"Right… Back to business, the Hive members have been transported to a higher security prison base north of Gotham. Since Brother Blood was killed in battle, we can rest a little easier."
Cyborg cracked his metal knuckles; even dead, that villain had a way of provoking him.
"But that doesn't mean we should slack off. An alert can come in at any given time and we could be facing a new criminal-"
Beast Boy yawned. "Didn't you tell us this speech already?"
"I'm being serious."
"When aren't you?"
If they could see through his mask, they would find his right eye twitching with frustration.
Raven said. monotonously, "Basically what you're saying is to keep on our toes when nothing could happen."
"Basically."
"Shall I make a suggestion?" Starfire decided to speak up, wearing a cheery smile that made them believe she could do no wrong. Robin looked at her interested.
"What's on your mind, Star?"
The Tamaranean floated several feet off the ground, gleefully. "Might we take 'time off' for an evening of bonding time? Today we may explore the city and have free time to ourselves?"
Robin's interest seemed to shrink at the idea. "I don't know…" he mumbled.
Cyborg broke him off, "Yo, I think it's a great idea! We all need a day off from fighting bad guys every so often!"
"Second it, I second it!" Beast Boy raised his hand. Robin glanced at the empath.
"What do you think?"
"-We must also dress for casual recreation!" Starfire squealed, "In the hanging out clothes!"
"One problem. We don't have any." Her spirits were not discouraged by Raven's negativity on the subject.
"That is why we must visit the Mall of Shopping to first obtain some new clothing!" Starfire begged, "Will you not come with us, Friend Raven? Or do you desire alone time?"
Raven rubbed her temples. Damn.
"Can't hurt."
The three Titans cheered at their success to win over the unmovable Raven, but Robin otherwise didn't look convinced. It took Starfire pouting, Cyborg's suggestion of tying him down, and Beast Boy turning into a sad puppy with whining included. It wore him out to have to listen to that.
He sighed, finally giving in. "Fine… as long as we keep our communicators on us."
Starfire clapped her hands. "Splendid! To our destination!"
…..
"Raven, are you ever coming out of there?"
Another rack of brightly colored garments were tossed over the door.
"I'm not wearing these."
Beast Boy shook his head. "Then ask someone else to help you because I'm sick of putting stuff back." He walked out to the front of the store where Cyborg met with him. On Cy's large ring finger was a gold band. The ring that transformed him into 'Stone'. He flexed his ripped bicep.
"Well alright! I'm liking this!" Cyborg wore a muscle shirt and comfortable gym pants. He eyed the shorter boy. "Nice hat."
Beast Boy pushed a black beanie over his pointed ears and slid on a pair of stylish sunglasses. "Dude. I look so awesome." A loose-fitting shirt with black and green pants hung over his frame. His best friend shook his head as Beast Boy lowered his glasses and winked at a passing girl, who waved back uncertainly. He grinned. "She totally digs me."
Cyborg snorted, "right," and went back to pay for the purchases.
"Who is digging whom?"
Starfire floated over from the cashier, dressed in a pink glittery top, and semi-short skirt that was white. The white thigh high boots looked similar to the purple ones she owned back home. Beast Boy removed his sunglasses, gaping slightly, "Whoa, you look… great." She beamed at him, no one else catching the red going up her cheekbones.
After a period of intense silence, Beast Boy cried out impatiently, "Where's Robin? What's taking him so long?"
"I'm right here, Beast Boy."
Robin tapped his shoulder and scared the boy right out of his sneakers. Beast Boy shivered. "Don't do that!" He squealed, "I don't want to die young and good-looking!"
"I'm going to check on Raven." Robin said dismissively, "How about we all meet up somewhere tonight? Um-?"
"Don't even think of saying Sato; I am so sick of that place!"
"It's the closest one so we're going."
The alien woman gasped ecstatic. "Glorious!" She clapped her hands despite Beast Boy's groan.
"Then it's agreed, team; we'll meet around ten. Keep your communicators on-" but his friends were long gone, running off in all directions.
"Some help?" Raven's voice drifted from the dressing room. He stuck his head in.
"It's just us two, what do you need?" Her gray hand appeared over her dressing door, clasping several articles of clothing.
"Put these somewhere. I'll be out in a minute."
Robin set them on a bench but cautiously inspected a ruffle schoolgirl skirt and a shirt with the phrase Need Food in bright green. He guessed Beast Boy had something to do with that one. His ears picked the background music in the store's speakers. As a terrible hip hop song overpowered the customer's faint voices, the small door swung open to revealing an untroubled Raven who was obviously happy with her wardrobe choice. A tight, long-sleeved shirt in blue and slim, black corduroys.
As they stepped out of the store, she looked at his somber jeans and hoodie without concern but stepped closer, her fingers playfully jiggling the metal chain hanging from his pocket. "Tough guy?"
"Mind doing that again, it was hot." He pressed her back against the wall carefully, an air of mischievousness settling over him.
She was about to say something equally crafty but hesitated, staring fixatedly at his mask. "Why are you still wearing that?"
Robin asked, "What do you mean?"
"We're not on duty. Incognito."
"I'm not taking my mask off."
"Just for today, don't be a baby about it," she said as she reached for it.
His hand roughly seized hers.
Robin said quietly, "I'd like to see you try to take it from me." There was no anger in his voice, just a cool challenge.
Her violet eyes narrowed slowly. They faced each other off, hands still clenching- before anything else could happen-
"There he is girls! OMGOMGOMGOMG!" Just past Sally's Beauty Centre, a horde of teenage girls were screaming and holding cardboard signs decorated with red, yellow, and green.
"ROBBIE-POO! ROBBIE-POO!-!"
Raven let go and turned around to stare. "Fan girls? Oh he-…"
"-Run!"
He grabbed her arm and yanked her past Chambers Toy Shop, the quivering mass of hormones right at their heels. Somewhere between the food court and the escalators, the girls lost sight of their beloved teen-hero and glumly began searching the food court. A swirling blue hole formed on the wall and Raven poked her head out, then flung her boyfriend onto the floor. As he got up, she said pointedly, "Now are you going to listen? No one can recognize you without your mask."
"You know what, you got me." He huffily removed it-
sightlessthelightsglowing-
and tucked it in his pocket, "Satisfied?"
Her face flashed to semi-horror and then resumed its emotionless state. "What?" he asked.
"Nothing." She pulled on a pair of sunglasses from a rack and shouted to the group in the distance, "Hey! Over here!"
He panicked, flailing his arms. "Raven…are you-!"
Raven shoved him behind her, adopted a high squeaky voice, and pointed in the direction of a sports store, "He went in there, don't let him get away!" As the hormonal girls vanished, she took them off smugly. "My job is done." Raven set them back on their rack. "So, where are you thinking of taking me?"
He frowned, still trying to figure out what happened, and she added deliberately, "Our date you're taking me on. Lead the way, Robbie-Poo."
"I guess I owe you."
"You did make me talk to them." Raven shrugged with a small smile. "It will only cost you spending the day alone with me."
Robin lifted her chin with his hand, bringing his face closer. "That's well worth it." The empath smiled against his shaven cheek and he pulled away. "I know a place not too far away. It's nice to eat at."
When they got there, the no-particular-theme restaurant was already packed with screeching children and old couples.
Raven commented, attempting to find some bland humor in the situation, "Well, it looks like everyone else got the very same idea." He rolled his eyes and grasped the elbow of a nearby hostess.
"Excuse me, can we get a table?"
The blonde woman looked him up and down, greedily lingering over him, "Of course, Sir. For you and your sister." She led them to a slightly quieter, nonsmoking part of the diner and smiled dazzlingly at Robin. "I'll find you a waitress. Don't go anywhere, cutie."
"I don't think that will be a problem."
The hostess giggled, leaving. Raven crossed her arms over her chest. "Do I look like your sister?"
He smiled in her direction.
"You're an idiot," said Raven, stiffly.
"You're jealous, aren't you?" Robin started laughing. She gave him a look that could freeze an 80 watt lamp, if it really wanted to, and his leg hooked hers. He touched her hand under the table. "You know I don't like blondes. I have better chemistry with the purpl- haired type." He squeezed her hand once with another smile. Raven's face couldn't help but melt into a twin smile. Damn him.
"You're still on thin ice, buddy."
Her skin tingled.
With pure intuition, Raven turned her head to the next table. The waitress stumbling in her chunky heels took a terrible spill onto the ground, her tray of dirty dishes soaring out of her hands. A blue glow encased every falling plate and they set themselves neatly into a pile on the floating tray.
The waitress ogled bug-eyed at Raven as she gave the tray over to her. "Here. You might want to try that next time without the shoes."
"Oh Lordy- Ma'm- you just saved my job." The waitress put a hand over her heart. Her eyes traveled over Raven's unusual features. "H-Hey-Aren't you that scary chick from Teen Titans?"
'Here comes the questions…'
The empath settled her hand under her chin, speaking monotonously.
"Yes, I'm that scary chick."
The waitress snapped her fingers. "Oh, it's Raven. Sorry. Hey, I thought you'd be going out with a superhero- not some ordinary guy." She looked at Robin, "Mister...?"
He politely held out his hand. "Dick. Dick Grayson."
She began shaking it, excitedly.
"Hold up, Dick Grayson? Dick Grayson, the adopted son of the famous billionaire Bruce Wayne residing in Gotham City?" He exchanged a glance with Raven who one-arm shrugged, uninterested.
"I have an uncle who works in Wayne Enterprises, no kidding," the waitress said, grinning. "Wow. I get to meet two famous people in one day."
"Must be your lucky day," remarked Raven, dryly. The waitress pulled out a pad of paper.
"I will totally take your order for you." She turned to Raven as a pen was fished out of a apron pocket. "...Is it true, by the way, that Robin is breaking up with Starfire?"
Robin blurted out, "I heard they already did."
"Really? I thought they were so cute together. That's such a shame. I mean... better for me now that he's on the market..."
He secretly winked at Raven. "I thought Robin would be more interested in the mysterious girls. You know, like a puzzle you can't solve and can't get out of your head."
"Strange and infuriating?" Raven responded with a furtive smirk.
"At times, but it makes the mystery worth figuring out."
The waitress didn't quite spot their flirting and cleared her throat. "What'll you have?" she asked.
Robin said without ever looking at a menu, "The grilled cheeses would be good. And two Cokes."
She jotted it down, saying absentmindedly, "Of course, any girl would be lucky to date Robin. He is so hot."
"I'll be sure to let him know," Raven announced.
The waitress blushed. "Oh, please, don't…" she pleaded.
"I think it would boost his ego a few points; don't you think so, Dick?" Raven glanced at Robin who had been keeping a straight face the entire time. The waitress weakly smiled.
"I'll be right back with your food. Sorry I was too talkative."
Robin said as she turned away, "It's no trouble."
A moment of silence passed between them and Raven began chuckling. "To think, we could have gone somewhere else for lunch." He chuckled as well.
It didn't take long for the food to come to their table. After a few minutes, the children in the diner began a massive food fight. Chaos ensued and the only people free of speeding kiddy meals were eating and talking lightly in a force field of pulsing and radiant blue.
…..
Robin asked as cold night air hit their faces, "What's in the bag?" He peered down at the brown sack hanging limply in her right hand.
"I heard you talking about dancing later. I bought something for the occasion," she said.
His forehead creased, hilarity fully noted.
"Alright….. where's the real Raven? What have you done with her?"
She said in all seriousness, gazing at a clock in a shop window, "I left her in Nevermore where she belongs." His smile faded and Raven stopped walking. "...It's complicated."
"Make it not complicated."
Her violet eyes hardened.
"When I started knowing-"
'-I loved you-'
"-I cared for you in a different way than I thought I had previously, something changed in me. It might have helped that I was free from my Father's influence, but it feels like I've left a part of me behind. A part that shielded me from the world… I haven't entirely gotten use to be bared."
Robin said, honestly, "I'm glad you had the chance."
"But my emotions… they are still dangerous, but only to me… and I can't… I can't get over it, there's still…"
Her head bowed defeated and her voice shook a little. She was about to run her sleeve over her dry eyes when Robin boldly hugged her against him and kissed the side of her face. She dropped her bag in mild surprise. This man was not known to be affectionate on a public street corner.
He said gently, letting his palm cup her cheek, "Forget about your emotions. I know you hate talking about them. This was one of the greatest days I could be having. I got to outrun crazy people and watch a food fight at a restaurant with less than four stars. The thing that made it great was that I spent the day away from my responsibilities and enjoyed it with you. How many guys get the opportunity to be in the company of the most beautiful girl in Jump City?"
Raven smiled at this, not only flattered and happy, but also laughing on the inside. He was such a liar. They both knew Robin wouldn't trade his duty for anything. He loved fighting for justice, especially the fighting part, and it would always feel like it was his sacred calling. Secretly... she felt the same.
She glanced back at the clocks. "We have a half an hour to kill," Raven observed. "How are we getting to the club?"
"Walk?" he said "It's only three-fourths of a mile and if you get tired, I can give you a piggy back ride."
Raven snorted softly.
"I think I'll pass."
He said considerately, "...Or I can do this-" With his amazing reflexes, he picked her up around the waist and sling her over his shoulder. Raven beat her fists against his back, not wanting to use her magic to hurt him. Though it was very tempting.
"Put me down this instant! Don't make me knock you over!"
Cackling a bit manically, he pulled out his concealed Grappling Hook. A yellow cord wrapped itself high above a building.
"Dick! Don't even -"
Despite her death threats, Robin did the unthinkable and swung off his feet. Soon, they were zooming through the air, Raven screaming at the top of her lungs. Her energy inched up the cord, breaking it in half. They took a tumble onto the road. She landed ungracefully near the curb and looked up as an oncoming car veered into Robin's path where the bottom half of his body would most likely be crushed. Raven clutched the back of his hood and wretched him out of the way seconds before the Corvette passed, blaring its horn at them.
He took a moment to catch his breath before yelling, "Are you deranged or something?"
"Me? I'm not the one who decided to take up flying on an unstable wire!"
"It was unstable when you snapped it in two!"
Blue eyes and violet eyes glared.
They rose from the sidewalk. Robin ran his hands through his spiky hair and said more evenly, "I got overexcited. Someone could have gotten hurt."
Raven nodded, "You're right," and took a hold of his arm fiercely, eyes glowing, "Now it's my turn."
His bright blue eyes widened. She shot straight up into the air, dragging him through air currents and evading clouds, then pitched through the night sky, settling a few feet from Sato's entrance. Raven said loathingly, "How did you like that, Boy Wonder? Not so fun when you're the victim?"
He just stared at her, a windswept mess. She sighed as if this one-sided conversation was boring.
"You asked for it."
Raven went for the entrance. When she saw that he wasn't moving, Raven pushed him inside irritated. The techno beat pounded into their skulls and she disappeared into the women's restroom. After some blank moments, the first signs of anger took his thoughts. What the hell was her problem? He was sorry for scaring her, but did she have to be more terrible bac-?
All remnants of anger were replaced by hot desire when Raven came back, bright lights from the ceiling flashing in her face.
Substituting the casual look was a petite scarlet dress. But not any ordinary dress. It had tiny clean slashes in the front, coming from the neck to the stomach, exposing a bit of skin and suggesting the curve of a breast. Raven liked the gleaming in his eyes and twirled around, the back had black stripes on the shoulders diagonally crossing each other.
"That's what you bought at the mall?"
"Uh-huh."
"To dance in?"
"Uh-huh."
"You also chose this because it would appeal to me?"
"It certainly isn't for Starfire's attention." Raven put her hands on her well-rounded hips, giving him a knowing look.
Robin threw up his arms ridiculously, and said, clearly thrilled, "Titans dance!"
'On second thought, maybe this wasn't such a good idea…'
It didn't matter. A new song picked up and they were swept up in the rhythm, losing all conscious thoughts. People all around them- get away -bumping, grinding- "so block out the sun" -twisting, turning- where was everyone else -when the song ended and the crowd divided, Raven thought she saw the top of Cyborg's head somewhere in the back.
Robin wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her back to reality, and slow danced with her. All of his concentration on her. No matter how many times he gazed at her with those big blues, her heart would thump a little faster and her cheeks would glow a little redder. She was use to him looking at her through a mask but when it was his affectionate gaze, she felt restless yet intoxicated.
Raven swallowed, thinking about her center, focusing on her center, so she wouldn't act like a complete idiot.
"Robin, if you didn't want to take off your mask, you shouldn't have."
She prayed to Azar he'd put it on.
He smiled. "As impossible as it sounds, I'm okay without it. It could be the fact that it's really dark in here."
Raven couldn't look into his eyes without losing some kind of control. They separated and she stared over his shoulder. "If I knew I'd been stepping out of bounds, I wouldn't have tried." Robin caught on to how she avoided his eyes.
"Okay, what's going on?"
"I just feel bad."
He said, slightly annoyed, "It's fine, Raven. I'm not mad anymore." His hand didn't stray for his pocket. She was torn, half of her begged him to listen, the other half glad and had all intentions on ripping the stupid thing and obliterating it into Hell. "Do you remember the first time we ever came here?" he asked a bit more relaxed.
"The age limit in the bar was eighteen, we were underaged, and Beast Boy almost got us kicked out for trying the alcohol," Raven vaguely recalled.
"No, that was at a different club. I meant here when we were seventeen."
How could she forget? It was the place of many firsts. The first time she willingly danced in public, the first time she wore absurd clothing, the first time Robin cheated on Starfire, and her first kiss with the last person she expected would have feelings for her.
"What about this place?" Raven asked this question as they took a seat near the bar. The bartender slid them two beverages, bubbling patiently.
"I don't think I'll ever forget," Robin said almost serenely, taking a sip of his drink. Raven raised an eyebrow.
"Go on…"
"When I tore the walls surrounding you. Tapping into something no one else could."
"And that's something to brag about? You make me sound like I was some sort of experiment. 'Oh, let's see how far I make Raven trust people, maybe I can finally solve this mystery that I so compulsively can't get over'." She didn't realize that she said it with such antipathy. Raven pushed her drink aside impatiently.
Robin didn't say anything for a minute. It seemed she had pushed it too far. Or cut into too deep of a wound.
His blue eyes flashed, surprising her. "I think on it now and I take it back."
"Excuse me?"
He couldn't seem to get a grip on himself, his voice only issued resentment. "You mock everything and don't feel any remorse, don't you? I must have been stupid to think you of all people could act in any way loving, that I could somehow bring out that side of you. You're just not capable of that. If you want to be cold for the rest of your life and shut yourself away in your ivory tower, Raven, that's fine; just don't expect me to understand and don't expect me to live with that."
If Indifferent Raven had been there, she would have thought nothing of his words and made a stinging remark back in his face. But that part of Raven was gone, and she didn't have that protection anymore. Amethyst eyes glittered with unshed tears. "If anyone here is unfeeling, it's you."
Within the crowd, the rest of their friends pushed through, laughing and sweating profusely. Starfire was the one to spot the birds and waved frantically, "Friends, we have found you-!" She stopped calling when Beast Boy's hand clamped over her shoulder.
"This can't be good," he whispered.
The couple didn't seem to aware of anyone else around them. They were caught up in their own hateful world. Robin shouted clearly over other voices, "Oh yeah, Raven, I'm the one who bitches at everyone because I didn't like how they think and doesn't give a shit about their feelings in the process!"
"I feel as much as any person in this damn room! What hurts me are selfish, uncaring, bastards like YOU!"
He grabbed her bare shoulders roughly and their teammates feared that he might strike her. If he wished to, he never got the chance. A glowing starbolt hit the center between his eyes and Robin fell back into several drinking people, sliding across the floor. Starfire stood unmoving, her right arm thrust out in front of her, glowing green eyes vivid with horror and grim satisfaction.
Cyborg said boomingly to the gawking onlookers, "There's nothing to see here, y'all. Go back to your dancing." They obeyed, nervously standing a few feet in the distance. Beast Boy ran past Starfire to another motionless figure, gazing blindly at the floor. The only thing that moved were the rare tears dripping down her sallow face.
"Rae. Say something."
Cyborg picked up Robin's body, his head dangling unkindly backwards.
"Rae?"