Disclaimer TEEN TITANS and all other related characters and material are the property of DC comics and Cartoon Network, I claim no ownership.

Chapter 27: Countdown

By: Ansa

Friday 5:13p.m., 21hrs 47mins Until the Wedding

Work was rough today. That is not to say that things were busy, not at all. Rather, it was hard to concentrate, knowing that in 24 hours he would be married, that and the fact that every few minutes another one of his co-workers would come up to congratulate him and incite him in some sort of lengthy conversation that would only accomplish in taking away time from the task at hand. At the end of the day, all he got done was one replaced alternator and two busted break lines. Anyone who worked on cars could tell you that those didn't take any time to fix at all.

Walking home seemed to take longer than usual, the night sky above him a pitch black, as if the stars themselves were too tired to come out. He looked at his watch for what seemed like the millionth time, 5:13, not even a full 24 hours any more. Slowly it seemed to creep up on him, and still, it felt so far away. His mind had been so very occupied, still wondering about money amongst other things. The traditional thoughts that are attributed with cold feet sneaking their way in as well, making him wonder whether or not if either one of them were ready for such a change in their lives.

Halfway home he checked his watch again, 5:20. Time seemed to be crawling by no matter how he tried to keep his mind off it, hoping it would slip away faster without him paying attention to it. He had no such luck. It would be another seven minutes before he would reach the footsteps of his apartment building, but to him it felt like just above an hour. He was tired, and ready to lounge about on the couch. Tonight was Friday, that meant take-out night, which in turn meant that he didn't have to cook. All he had to do was open the Chinese food boxes to get to his food while watching the hour block of "Friends" reruns on TBS. Even though he never really liked the show much, Starfire had taken a liking to it, insisting that it reminded her of them. She claimed that he was a perfect fit for Chandler. He wasn't exactly sure how to take that; the only thing he was sure of was that he was glad she hadn't seen him as Ross.

Despite the abundance of canned laughter and stale sitcom plotlines and jokes, the night he had planned for himself sounded quite good to him at the moment. Even if time had decided to torture him by mimicking the land speed of a catfish, that would also mean his relaxing night would seem to last forever.

"STAG PARTY!" Seemingly out of nowhere a chorus of voices followed by their perspective hosts sprung out of the side bushes of the building. After his heart took the time to slow down from a near heart attack he scanned the faces. Cyborg, Dick, Derek, and even Aqualad clad in cheesy looking party hats that would be found in any dime-store shop and party blowers beamed suspicious smiles at him from their positions.

"WUAAHHH! Guys! What's going on—" then those two words previously shouted finally made a connection in his head, and his eyes widened with both surprise and fear. "Uh-oh…"

"That's right B, it's your last night an unmarried man, we need to usher it out with a bang!" Cyborg grinned from ear to ear, a party blower sticking out the side of his mouth, bobbing slightly as he spoke.

"Hehehe, no we don't. Can't we just go inside with a pizza and watch some movies?"

The four of them looked at each other in pause before bringing back the evil grins, taking a party hat from out of nowhere and planting it on his head.

"Sorry, don't think so. Come on lightweight, tonight you learn how to drink like a man!"

Beast Boy hung his head in defeat, feeling his arms being snagged and pulled off towards the T-car. As he was slowly dragged off to the one party that would for sure be out of favor with his soon-to-be wife, and with a sullen look upon his face, he waved goodbye to his simple, quiet evening of Chinese food and "Friends."

Friday 5:53p.m., 21hrs 7mins Until the Wedding

The bar/restaurant they dragged him to was loud and smoky, even in the non-smoking sections. The walls were covered with natural wood-looking panels with shelves of sports and movie memorabilia placed neatly upon them, but no so neat as to not be manly. The restaurant itself claimed to be a family establishment yet, "delightfully unrefined" as written on the menus. Even though he was sure their claim to be family oriented was only half serious, he seriously doubted that anyone would make the mistake of taking it seriously given the skimpiness of the uniforms that the waitresses were forced to wear.

"Hehe, nice place isn't it?" Derek reveled in all his glory, having picked this particular restaurant himself. Partly because it was often tradition to have stag parties here, but mostly because how much fun he would have watching his friend squirm. Beast Boy never was one to openly ogle girls, and simply being around a large number of attractive women seemed to only make it harder on him not to, thus making him quite uncomfortable. The rest of the guys however, didn't seem to have that problem.

"Damn…how come there aren't places like this back home?" Aqualad sat on his stool only glancing briefly at the menu, his eyes roaming around elsewhere. Next to Cyborg shrugged agreeing, his own eyes currently occupied with the scenery.

"Rae isn't going to be too happy about this, you know that right guys?" Beast Boy lifted his head slightly from its buried position in the menu. If he was going to get into trouble for this, he might as well enjoy it.

"Oh I don't think she'll have too much to say about it." Cybrog grinned happily taking the cold bottle of beer that had just arrived on the table from the waitress putting on her best fake smile.

"Really? Why not?"

Again, Cyborg grinned, looking over to Dick who only slightly returned it, his mind currently elsewhere, but where that was, he wouldn't tell.

"Because right about now she's having her own little party."

Beast Boy laughed nervously, not for is own sake, but for Starfire, Susan, and Jynx. It wasn't going to be as easy as it was with him to drag her out for such a thing, and they had their work cut out for them.

"Relax, we won't let you go too overboard tonight, besides, by the end of the night I'm sure she'll have more to keep from you than you from her."

"Yeah, like that makes me feel any better." Beast Boy sprouted a small grin, taking up his own beer and bringing it to his lips. Just as he set it down he started to notice just how quite Dick was being tonight. Although he never saw his former leader of being the partying type, he had been known to loosen up during birthdays back at the tower. "Hey, you ok?"

"Hmm? Yeah, sorry…I'm just, thinking is all."

"Well stop thinking and start drinking!" Dick soon found a bottle of beer shoved under his nose from across the table, Derek getting a bit too into the party mood. The intoxicating smell from the lip of the container wafted up into his nostrils and seemed to send him back in time. That horrible night came back to him, the warm, and dehibilitating embrace of alcohol presenting itself in front of him once again. He wanted to reach out and take it so badly, but he knew he couldn't. He needed his mind clear if he was going to figure out what exactly was going on with Bruce, and he was quickly running out of time.

"Umm, maybe that's not the best idea right now." Casually, Cyborg slid the bottle out of his reach, bringing it closer to himself and answering Derek's questioned look with a simple shake of the head.

"Ohhh! Sorry bout that…"

"It's ok…you didn't know." Dick straightened himself up on the high stool and started peering through the menu. No matter how hard he tried to focus on what level of Buffalo wings to get, his mind always drifted back to Bruce and the elusive cottage.

"How long have you been sober?"

"About a week or two now."

The whole table fell into an awkward silence, all accept Aqualad, leaning over to his leader to inquire when the infamous Robin started drinking. Thankfully for them, the waitress with the fake smile had returned for their orders. Beast Boy sat back after ordering a special celery-stick only platter, they rest of the guys ordering the world famous Buffalo wings. Although it was taking him some time, he was quite slowly starting to enjoy himself. It had been some time since he had spent a "guys night out" like this, and it would most likely be their last chance in a while. Still, one thing remained in the back of his mind that he couldn't seem to let go of through the night. That being, how exactly things were going with Raven and her party?

"I am so excited, I have never been able to take part in an earth party such as this." Starfire beamed from her spot in between Raven and Jynx in the back of the car. Not only because she wouldn't bee too squished being in the middle, but also because Raven had still yet to warm up to the former villainess. In the driver's seat, Susan peered at them through the rear view mirror, smirking slightly at Raven and her uneasy state, much like that of Beast Boy's earlier mood.

"You need to learn to lighten up a bit girl. Come on, this is your Bachelorette party, you're going to have a blast, I promise you that much."

"Well you could have at least warned me."

"Oh please, you should have known, it is your last night unmarried after all. It's a sacred tradition passed down from generation to generation…now lets go find us a 'Chippendales.'"

With that one word Raven's eyes bulged out, her face turning a beet red. She had only seen her own fiancé naked the one time, how was she expected to watch a strange man in such a state? On the other side of Starfire, Jynx's eyes light up a large grin curling her lips. Even Starfire seemed excited at this prospect.

"Oh, you mean we are to shop for furniture?"

A dead silence fell over the car, everyone except Starfire with large sweat drops hanging over their heads. Taking the initiative, Jynx leaned over to whisper, explaining things to her.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh…" With that, the excitement left her face, and was replaced by a heavy blush, slowly sinking back into her seat in back and falling silent. Even on her home world there existed places such as this, but she herself had yet to visit one. To be honest with herself, it's not that she hadn't thought about doing so, and even if it was the tiniest bit, she was curious about going. However, something deep inside tugged at her, making her chest feel cold and hollow, her stomach sinking like a stone. What was this? She hadn't felt as such for quite some time now…not since that night on the roof, not since she made her peace with him. If this was all behind her, then why did she feel this way? She hadn't bothered to think of him since then, her mind more consumed with other things…or maybe not. Maybe she didn't want to think of him, she didn't really know. That night, she thought she knew what she wanted; she was so sure of herself and her anger. Why? Why did this feeling in her gut suddenly re-appear, and what was it? Was it a lingering feeling guilt, or perhaps love, desperately hanging on the edge of the void in her soul?

"Do anyone else besides me have a police record?" Susan leaned back over the seat at the stoplight, her playful grin never leaving her lips since she managed to get Raven into the back seat.

"Wh-what?" Jynx instantly fell cold, her body straightening out and becoming stiff as a board. Everyone knew that she had a criminal record, but only she knew that it was still active, and updated almost weekly with each heist she attempted. She started to sweat, unsure why she was becoming so uneasy. If and when she got arrested tonight was the time to worry, doing it now would only draw suspicion. "Um…I have an old one, why?"

"Heh," Susan could only smile. "Because last time I came here I got so smashed I actually got up on stage and the cops had to come get me down."

"I don't think so, you're driving us home so if anyone is going to get drunk it's going to be everyone but you." Raven finally spoke up, this time with a concerned and slightly annoyed tone in her voice. She didn't exactly want this party to begin with, but she'd be damned if she was going to run the risk of getting in trouble for it. Next to her, Jynx let out a relieved sigh. This she could control, she just had to make sure she didn't drink too much and end up pick-pocketing people. As for Raven and Starfire, they didn't exactly seem to be the drinking type, so she figured she didn't have to worry too much about them.

"Aww man, you're kidding me? It's you bachellorette party, I HAVE to drink."

"You don't have to, and you're not going to. I don't want to spend the night before my wedding in jail because of you."

"Oh please, I may have had gotten a few tickets now and then but name the one time I was put in the slammer for drinking too much?"

"Freshman year, winter break, you got drunk at some party and broke into your neighbor's house thinking it was your own." The car fell silent except for a few muffled giggles on Jynx's part, the light finally turning green, and Susan turning back forward quietly to move on forward.

"…Ok, name two times."

Friday 11:15p.m., 13hrs 45mins Until the Wedding

"Oh my…I'm afraid I might have drinken…um…drunken…yesh, drunken too much. Is it normal for the earth to spin so quickly?" Starfire stumbled out of the car, supported on either side by Susan and Raven, Jynx having a bit too much to drink herself yet managing to gain enough composure to make it up to the elevator of her hotel, at which they dropped her off first.

"You think so?" Susan smirked, quite surprised at just how much Starfire had managed to throw down before the effects started kicking in. Had she been allowed to, she would have gladly taking her on in a contest. She was the only person she knew to have downed two long island ice teas and still managed to toss back a number of shots of vodka.

"Yesh…I think perhaps it was that…Shirley Temple of yours that put me over the top."

"Ok hun…Shirley Temples have no alcohol in them."

"Ohhhhhh…then maybe it was the 6 shots of…vodcha…vodchka…VODKA."

"Shhh, not so loud, and yes, I do believe that might have been it."

Raven could only shake her head, helping ease her friend up the stairs and finally down onto the couch of her apartment, letting her sit there quietly for a moment while she said her goodbyes to Susan. Looking at the clock she could only wonder what time the guys would be back and hope that her fiancé, for his sake, managed to keep his drinking under control.

Inside the apartment things were strone about everywhere in preparation, open RSVPs on the table, the bouquet in the freezer, one of Dick's old tuxes pressed and hanging in weight on the bedroom door, and two suitcases with one small bathroom bag packed and ready by the front door for their honeymoon, the plane tickets resting on top. Tomorrow had seemed to sneak up on them, and come all too soon. Looking at the disarray Raven couldn't stop herself from smiling, hoping that in long last, it was a sign of her acceptance that this was happening, and that they would both be happy.

"Raven…"

"Man, you're going to have one nasty hangover tomorrow." Raven moved over to the couch, helping remove Starfire's boots and ready her for bed. She need to get some rest if she was going to shake off the after affects by the wedding tomorrow. "Why did you drink so much anyways?"

"I dunno…maybe because I feel bad."

"…If you're going to be sick, please do so in the bathroom ok?"

"Noooooo, not like that…I mean I felt bad before I shtarted drinking."

"Really? Why?"

"I dunno…" Starfire rolled away on one side, like a child ashamed to admit that they ate a cookie before dinner and ruined their appetite. "Maybe ish because I'm gonna see him again tomorrow."

"Him? Oh, you mean Dick?"

"Yesh…"

"Why should that bother you?" Finally having freed her feet Raven laid her down on the pull out mattress, slipping her legs under the covers before pulling off her shirt so at least she wouldn't be too uncomfortable sleeping in her clothes. "I mean, you settled things out didn't you?"

"Noooooooo, I shtill wuv him silly…I wash jusht maddathim."

"What?" Starfire's speech began to slur uncontrollably, so much so that they hardly seemed to form any real words anymore. But before Raven could get anything discernable out of her, she had already passed out, the stench of liquor leaking out with each deep exhale she made in her sleep.

Raven sat back at her knees and thought for a moment, unsure what to think at this moment. She never quite understood what was going on between the two of them, and what was just said only made things even more confusing for her. The only thing she knew at this time was that tomorrow, it might be best to have someone keep an eye on her, especially if alcohol is going to be served.

Ok guys here's the deal. Since I write so much better at work, I'm going to stop trying to finish these during weekends and write only at work. Yes this means they will be posted a few days later then they have been, but on the other hand it means a better quality fic. Anyways, hope you like and be warned, I will be taking my time with the next few chapters seeing how important they are. Also, when I finish this part, I am going to take a well deserved break before starting Part III. That's all for now, Later Days!

ANSA