Down the hallway, in Beast Boy's room, an hour before the ceremony …
"That tux looks good on you, green bean."
Gar was standing in front of a full length mirror. As Cyborg had just mentioned he was attired in a very sharp looking tuxedo, which Victor helped him select at the Dudes' Warehouse. He was struggling with his bow tie, and failing. His latest attempt resulted in a lopsided mess. He sighed unhappily as he undid it.
"Cy, a little help here?"
The tin man was already dressed for the occasion. His tux was huge and so was his tie. He even had a top hat to wear later.
"Sure thing, B." He said as he walked up to his friend. "Now stand still, this is tricky, even for me."
Vic stuck his tongue out through the corner of his mouth as he went to work, his metal fingers performing a virtual ballet as they did their magic with the black tie. After a long moment he stepped back.
"Done! You're good to go. I have to say, I'm getting the knack for this."
Gar looked back at his reflection and smirked. The tie looked perfect. He struck a very cocky pose.
"The name is Bond … James Bond." He said in a terrible mock British accent.
Cyborg suppressed a guffaw. "You wish! So, are you ready to do this B?"
He didn't answer right away. Cyborg didn't repeat the question and waited for a reply. Gar's self assured stance evaporated and he adopted a slight slouch.
"I guess I am."
"You guess you are? This is a big deal, B. You aren't getting cold feet are you? Cuz if you leave her at the altar …"
"No … not that … of course I'm going through with it, but …"
"But what?"
Gar sighed and sat down on a chair, leaning forward with a worried look on his face. . "Cy, do you really think I'm good enough for her?"
A small frown appeared on the Tin Man's face. "Ohkaaay. What's going on, B? Why all the self doubt all of a sudden?"
"Well … I mean … Raven is the only girl who didn't dump me."
"So, you think she's gonna leave you standing at the altar?"
"Well …"
"OK, why are you worried about this? Is this about Jill and Terra?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Why?"
"Because they both dumped me. Terra even betrayed me."
Cyborg shook his head.
"I never met Jill; but if I remember right, Terra lured you out of the Tower before Slade attacked us. I mean, in her own screw ball kind of way, she cared about you, she didn't want Slade to hurt you, and I'm sure Slade didn't like that one bit."
Gar dropped his head. "I know, but later …"
Vic plopped one of his huge mechanical hands on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I know, 'things change'. Look, I don't know why she did that. We know she was messed up, big time, and she disappeared after that, almost five years ago. And Jill, well Jill doesn't count. How old were you then? Thirteen?"
"I know, but that's the thing. Raven is way better than they were."
"And she's been with your almost four years and, if I might add, she happily accepted that half assed proposal you made. Look, B, I don't get it. That proposal of yours, that took some hubris, and now you're worried? But getting back to your point, yeah, our Raven is head and shoulders above those two. But that's why she's with you. Because she's better than they are, she knows you're the real deal. She knows you're a keeper."
Gar nodded. "Yeah, you're right, I guess I'm just having some jitters, I mean, this is a really big deal. You know what I mean?"
Victor smiled. "Yeah, I do. But I'll be there with you, your best man, until you're officially hitched. Then you're all hers. And speaking of that, B, I expect you to be good to her. I mean really good. As in treat her like a princess. And on the honeymoon, you be gentle with her, because she isn't some skank who's been around the block. Once she's … well you know what I mean … then you guys can try all that crazy kama sutra stuff together, I mean, if that's what she wants. And don't tell me what you guys do; I don't want to know, OK? But whatever you do, never forget, she's your lady now, and deserves to be treated like one."
"You know that I'll be good to her. But there's something I haven't told anyone, it's about Jill."
Cyborg arched an eyebrow. "OK, tell me then. I promise that whatever you tell me stays here."
Gar nodded. "Mento, he uh … tried to reconnect us. But she already had a boyfriend."
"I see, and, what did you think about that? Were you interested in getting back together with her?"
Beast Boy shrugged. "I guess, I mean I was totally on the rebound at the time. But … when I found out she wasn't available, I kinda felt relieved, because, well, it didn't feel right. She broke up with me once, why wouldn't she do it again?"
"I see, so what then?"
"So I forgot about her, again. Which was easy as there were Doom Patrol missions and lots of them, in far and distant places … and at night, while I was alone in my pup tent, I thought about you guys."
"But you thought about her more than us."
Gar walked over to his suit case, which he had finished packing for their honeymoon trip tomorrow. He opened it and checked its contents before closing it again.
"Yeah, a lot more. And then, maybe 15 minutes after we got back from a mission and right before I jumped into the shower she sent me a text. She asked me to call her."
"I know, you've told about me this."
"But I never you told how I asked her to be my girlfriend. Raven offered to come and get me. So she came, and before we left she asked me to never leave again. I said that if she became my girlfriend that I would never leave again."
"And she said yes, right?"
"Well, she kissed me. So I kinda took that as a yes."
"That was gutsy. Now I understand your proposal, and I think I get why she was good with it. To be honest I was expecting you to do the whole drop on a knee thing. I think I know you guys, and then you surprise me."
"I think I surprised myself. It's like my brain shuts down and I go and do crazy things."
Cyborg laughed. "What? You do crazy things? Nah. Never."
Gar began to pace around the room. He stopped and looked back at his friend.
"I have to stop being stupid, impulsive and crazy."
"You sure about that? I think she kinda likes that, I mean the way you are now, not stupid like when you hit Star with that balloon full of motor oil."
Gar sat back down. "For some reason, asking her was easy. But this is a huge step. This is a lot bigger than her being my girlfriend … she's gonna be my wife. She's even going to take my family name, she's gonna be Raven Logan. And then, I might become a dad … be honest, Cy, can you really see me, Goofy Gar, as a dad."
"I think you'll be a great dad, and Raven will be a great mom and you'll have awesome kids. And since I'll be their Uncle Vic, I'll get to spoil them rotten … and I'll teach them the wonders of bacon."
Gar laughed. "I bet you will."
A timer beeped in Cyborg's arm: five minutes left.
"You ready, B?"
Gar nodded.
"Then let's not keep the future Mrs. Logan waiting."
-(-)-
Robin kept making the rounds in the makeshift chapel that had been set up in the Tower's foyer. A simple altar, with Azarathian artifacts which he did not recognize, was at the end of the room. He never got around to asking Raven what they were or what they symbolized, but at least they weren't creepy looking. When she had told him she would be setting up the altar, he had no idea what it would look like. Would there be a human skull on it or would it be covered in strange runes? Sure, there was a gold chalice and some gold plates, with golden domes over them. That didn't seem too weird. A copy of the Book of Azar was on it as well. There was also a huge dagger like object, which did concern him. What was that for? Would they cut themselves and mingle their blood?
Robin pondered this as he went around the room, stopping occasionally to straighten a chair that looked askew, after which he would double check his cummerbund or his tie to make sure it was also straight.
Starfire had volunteered to conduct the rite. She of course was not a priestess of Azar, but Raven said that she could legally preside over the wedding. The princess had also taken an online course to conduct weddings at a website called "youcanmarrypeople dot com" and had a huge and very official looking certificate to prove that she was qualified for the task. The marriage license was lying on a side table, waiting to be signed after the ceremony.
Guests began to arrive and take their seats. Jericho and Kole arrived first, with Gnarrk joining them, looking utterly out of place wearing a tux, though he remained bare foot. Robin wondered what they would do with Gnarrk, as they too were engaged. Would he live with them, or would he find a nice cave woman of his own to settle down with? Robin concluded that it was none of his business and he didn't really want to know. He ushered the trio to their seats.
More guests arrived and the hall began to fill up. At Raven and Gar's request, only the extended Titan's family was invited, with a few exceptions. No one from the Justice league received an invitation, especially since no one from the League ever apologized over Zatanna's rude snub of Raven at a superhero meeting years ago.
The Doom Patrol were one of the exceptions, and had already arrived and was seated in the front row. Even though he was wearing a tux, Mento still wore his helmet.
Robin continued to greet the guests and usher them to their seats. The invited guests were allowed to bring a non Titan companion, though few did. Speedy brought a well stacked brunette, whose bust looked as if it were about to pop out of her snug dress. She seemed like Roy Harper's kind of date.
The next couple to be ushered in was one that Robin was surprised to see on the list: Jillian Jackson. She had been invited at Elastigirl's insistence. From what little Raven had told him, Rita was still upset that Jill dumped Gar years before, and invited the girl as a way of "rubbing it in", especially since Jill was still not married and had gone through several boyfriends and had no serious prospects.
Sometimes Robin just didn't understand people. Why bother inviting Jill? And why did she come at all? He greeted the couple, with the invitee list on a clipboard in his hand.
"Jillian Jackson and date. This way please." He said before leading them to their seats.
As he walked back to the entrance to usher the next couple, he frowned at who was next in line.
Aqualad.
Robin knew that Gar had forgiven the Atlantean, which puzzled Robin to no end. Two years ago, at the Titans New year's party, Aqualad had come stag, and appeared to be on the hunt for a date that evening, which really meant he was looking for a quick and easy one night stand. Raven and Gar had an extremely rare spat earlier that day and were a little cool with each other that evening. For some reason Aqualad thought that meant Raven was fair game that night. When she rejected his offer to "trade up", he refused to take no for an answer. Before Gar, who was at the other side of the common room talking to Kid Flash, was even aware of what was happening, Raven punched the Atlantean in the face and broke his nose.
"When I say no, I mean NO!" He remembered Raven bellowing at poor Garth.
Aqualad apologized and Raven was magnanimous enough to heal his nose before Robin threw him out. Garth had not shown his face at the Tower since that day.
For some reason, Raven and BB decided to invite him to the wedding. Starfire said that Beast Boy did so to do the "bragging that he was marrying the beautiful Raven". Cyborg mentioned off hand that maybe Raven wanted an excuse to punch him in the face again. Whatever their reasons, he was on the list.
But there was something else. Garth brought a date with him. Robin double checked the list. Aqualad had indeed sent an RSVP for two.
She was a shapely blond woman, not as tall as Garth but about as tall as Robin. The first thing the boy blunder noticed was her rack, as it was, well, perfect, and her dress exposed ample cleavage. Robin then forced himself to look back at her face as he approached them. When he was about twenty feet away, he recognized her. At first she looked like someone else, but then her features stood out like a sore thumb.
No, it couldn't be her … but it was.
It was Terra.
Robin slowed down his pace, mentally weighing his options. He could turn them away, and perhaps that would be the easiest choice. But Aqualad was on the guest list, which stated "and date", the list did not say "except for Terra". He could maybe reject Terra but then Garth could make a fuss, and that was the last thing Robin wanted, a scene being made right before the ceremony. And where the heck did Aqualad find Terra? The girl vanished after she finished high school. Robin knew, because he kept tabs on her, especially once Raven and Beast Boy began to date. But after graduation she simply disappeared from the face of the Earth. Aqualad he could deal with, he could rely on Bumblebee to keep him on a leash, but Terra? There was no telling what the blond was up to. Was she really dating Garth? Or was this just a ruse so she could sabotage their wedding? He had no idea.
He kept a straight face as he reached them, with his clipboard in hand.
"Aqualad and … date." He said in a monotone as he wrote on his clip board. "This way, please." He gestured them to follow him.
Instead of leading them to their originally assigned seats he escorted them to the farthest corner in the room. Aqualad frowned; but said nothing. Robin quickly left them to greet the next couple. The room was filling up and he checked his watch. Ten minutes until show time. He discretely looked in Aqualad and Terra's direction. She looked cross and was clearly grumbling to Aqualad over being given the worst seats in the house. He was going to keep a close eye on them. If they made a scene during the ceremony, there would be hell to pay.
Of course, the reception would follow. Robin's mask narrowed as he frowned. He was going to do whatever it took to keep them away from the newlyweds at the reception. And if that meant throwing them out, then so be it. Superboy, Supergirl and PowerGirl were in attendance. He would ask for their help if needed. Always good to have some extra muscle in the house.
-(-)-
I'm bringing back an old tradition: the mail bag.
Raven'sFavoriteSpell (Hecho en el Tec) – So glad I can make you feel nostalgic. It has been 13 years since I started this crazy hobby, which I will admit doeswn't take as much of my time as it once did.
Relentlessly Optimistic – I figure that with the Chromatically Challenged Couple nothing they do is conventional. Then again, the same could be said for some other Titans pairings. I think we have some time due with Jinx and Kid Flash next chapter.
Yachtdepon – While Raven is no doubt the mightiest of the Titans, Rob, Star and Cy know she is also very vulnerable and their instinct to protect her is strong.
Titanfan45 – I don't think that I've ever written a story that is centered on their wedding day. Sure, I've married them off more times than I can count, but this story is about what lead them to the big day, and the big day itself. Plus some drama thrown in (cough … Terra).
Artorias78 - I will endeavor to provide more of that.
Invader Johnny – Let's just say that they already understand each other better than most married couples do after 20+ years. And to be honest, I don't think Raven wanted the whole drop to the knee thing. But they will be getting an Azarathian ceremony, which will be … unconventional.