The nine teens sat around the table, eating cookies and washing them down with hot cocoa as even more snow was falling outside. The youngsters traded stories about the differences between living in California vs. Colorado.
The hot chocolate was in what looked like an oversized teapot. Dylan finished his mug and reached for the chocolate, only to have Arella snatch the pitcher first and pour the last cup from it.
"Gee, Arella, thanks!" The grey lad complained in a voice dripping in sarcasm.
"Just go make some more." His sister replied. "And bring some more cookies while you're at it."
Dylan frowned at his sister, but before he could say anything Jenny stood up. "I'll get it."
He shook his head. "You're our guest, Arella should make some more, since she drank the last bit."
Jenny grabbed the giant teapot. "It's OK, I don't mind." Before anyone could protest she scurried off to the kitchen. To her surprise, Raven was there by herself. The sorceress smiled at the young girl. Jenny grinned sheepishly.
"I … uh … came to make some more hot chocolate."
"Let me help you." The sorceress replied. She gestured with her hand and a canister of Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix floated out of a cupboard.
"That is so cool. Mrs. … uh … I'm sorry, I don't know your last name."
"It's Logan, but you can call me Raven. But whatever you do, don't call me ma'am. I hate that, it makes me feel old."
Jill giggled. "You don't look old, Mrs. Raven."
"No Mrs., just Raven … and I am old, but I was younger than you when I became a Titan."
"I know! That's so awesome, you were a teenage superhero."
"We all were." Raven replied wistfully. "But that was a long time ago. Now I'm almost too old to be in the Justice League."
Raven filled an electric kettle with water and turned it on. "I'm glad you and Sam hit it off with the kids. Other than Arella and Marie, mine don't make too many friends."
"Because they look different?" Jenny asked.
Raven beckoned Jenny to have a seat at the kitchen table. "Sort of, but there's more to it than that."
The girl looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"They've been homeschooled. None of the local schools in Jump will take them because they're a security risk. It's also hard to get them into extracurricular programs. So far Dylan is the only one; he's shown an aptitude for music. He's become quite the guitar player."
"Wow, that's cool."
Raven laughed. 'My kids all have superpowers, but you're impressed that Dylan can play a guitar."
"Well … yeah … I mean I'm also impressed that they have powers … Mrs. Raven … may I ask you a question?"
"Sure, fire away."
"How old were you when you became a Teen Titan?"
"I was fourteen."
"Fourteen!? That's middle school age."
Raven nodded. "Yes, we were very young … and I know what you're thinking. Why won't we let the kids become Titans until they grow up?"
"Well … they told us about Melvin. They said that you blame yourself …"
"I don't … not anymore. But when she died I did blame myself."
"They said that she was like a surrogate daughter … how exactly did you meet her?"
Raven sighed. "I was about your age. Melvin and her brothers, Timmy and Teether all had powers. The Brotherhood of Evil was trying to kidnap them and I got stuck doing security detail for them."
"They were in good hands."
"Not really, they ended up saving me … I know it sounds hypocritical, but I don't want my kids exposed to all that danger before they're adults. I guess Melvin's death really hit a nerve with me. She was an orphan and I kind of felt responsible for her, even though there were others looking for her. It just …"
Raven sniffled. "It was just so unfair. She was such a good girl … not much older than you are. She had her whole life ahead of her and then, just like that, with no warning she was gone. It was wrong, she was just a kid."
"You didn't have a normal childhood, did you, Mrs. Raven?" Jenny asked in a soft voice.
Raven patted her hand. "None of us did, but mine was especially messed up and that's the last thing I want for my kids. I know they can't have a normal life like you or Sam but at least it's better than what I had. And I know they hate me now for not letting them be Titans but … I'm their mother and I don't want that for my babies, not now anyway. We're now trying to live normal lives, and I know how hard that is. It's like we're the Munsters, a bunch of oddballs and weirdos pretending to be normal."
Jenny smiled. "Actually … I think Dylan is kind of cute."
Raven did a double take. "You do? I mean, of all my kids he's the one who looks the most like me."
Jenny's smile widened. "Well, now you know why your husband fell for you."
A small smile appeared on Raven's face. "Flattery will get you nowhere. So you really think Dylan is cute?"
"Yeah, and I want to hear him play his guitar."
"Won't Sam get jealous?"
Jenny shrugged. "He's not like that … he knows that … I'm faithful and stuff. But that doesn't mean that I can't look at other guys." Jenny's eyes suddenly twinkled with mischief. "Did you ever have a crush on another guy, Mrs. Raven?"
Raven grinned. "As a matter of fact, I did. It was Aqualad … he was a real hunk of a guy. When I was in college I found out that he had a girlfriend. Her name is Tula, and they got married. But even though I was smitten with Aqualad, Gar has always been my true love."
"So you understand?"
"I do. I just don't want Sam to get jealous and pick a fight with Dylan. While my son can't control his mystical powers, he does have superhuman strength."
"He does?"
"All of my kids do. They inherited it both from their father and me."
"From you?"
Raven smiled. "Look at me, Jenny. Do I look fully human? You see, I'm not. I know I don't look like much, but I'm stronger than any non meta-human, and so are my kids. And then there are Kori's kids. Now those two are super strong. Not quite Kryptonian strong, but close. You know, stronger than a locomotive and all that stuff."'
The kettle began to whistle. Raven scooped several tablespoons of mix into the teapot and poured the contents of the kettle into it. She also handed Jenny a box of cookies.
"It was nice talking to you Jenny. You and Sam are welcome to stay as late as your parents are OK with you being out. If the kids ask for us, I'll be with my husband in the hot tub in the gym room."
Raven got up and left the kitchen. Jenny picked up the tray with the hot chocolate and headed back to the dining.
Their mom is really cool. She's really pretty too.
As Jenny entered the dining room, the others shouted at her.
"Where were you?"
"I was talking with your mom."
Mark laughed. "Did she try to scare you?"
"Did she do the four eyes thing?" Dylan asked. "I can do it too."
"I don't know what you're talking about; your mom is really cool."
Mark and Coraline looked at each other. "Mom … is cool?"
"Who cares?" Mar'i interrupted. "Let's play Cards Against Humanity."
As the teens opened up the box containing the irreverent card game, Dylan cleared his throat. "Let's get some pizza."
"Does anyone have any money?"
It turns out everyone was broke.
"I'll go ask mom." Coraline volunteered.
"She's with your dad in the hot tub."
"Dylan, Mark, let's go ask her for some money. She can't resist the three of us."
The three teens ran off to nag their mother for some pizza money.
-( - )-
The changeling was already in the hot tub when his wife entered the room in the house's basement that also housed the gym. She was wearing a Turkish bath towel robe. She had a wine bottle in one hand and two wine glasses in the other. He wagged his eyebrows at her and she closed the door behind her.
"So, you're all mine for the next 30 minutes?" He asked her in a seductive voice.
"I am, until the Graysons kick us out, they have dibs on the Jacuzzi after we're done."
He picked up the wine bottle and filled the two glasses. Raven took off her robe and lowered her now naked form into the hot tub. He handed her some wine and they clinked their glasses together.
"When was the last time we had a vacation, a proper vacation?" She asked.
"Too long." He replied. "Though I wish we could have one without the kids, just you and me, being spoiled rotten in a five star hotel."
"How about we get away this summer? I'm sure we could dump the kids on Cyborg and Karen."
A huge grin formed on his face. "I like the way you think, babe. We could go to the South Pacific, just you and me."
They gulped their wine down and the changeling quickly refilled their glasses. Raven picked hers up, slowly spinning it around its stem, before putting it back down. She locked eyes with her spouse and quickly moved onto his lap, exposing her torso above the water's surface. He greedily pulled pulled her into a sensuous kiss.
"I feel like I'm young again." He gasped between smooches.
"Shut up and kiss me." She replied. "And while you're at it, you haven't given me a good groping in a long time."
"I thought you'd never ask."
-( - )-
"Damn, this is almost as big as our house." Dylan remarked as they walked down the hallway to the gym in the house's basement.
"What if the say no?" Coraline asked.
They reached the gym and Mark grabbed the doorknob. He released it.
"You're right; in that case we'll need to bring out the big guns."
"I hate doing 'the face'." Dylan immediately protested.
"Hey, it always works, at least with Dad." Coraline retorted.
"But Mom's in there too. You know she's gonna shoot us down. She'll say that if we're still hungry, that there are leftovers in the fridge." The gray boy replied. "And all that's left is Tofu Surprise. How can Mom and Dad eat that crap anyway, it's gross."
"You're Mom's favorite. You butter her up."
"Nuh uh, no way. She'll just schedule more training time with me." Dylan complained.
"She already gave up on that." Mark cajoled him. "Cor and I will do the face while you work on Mom."
"This sucks, why do I always have to be the one who kisses Mom's ass?"
"Because when you do it, it works!" Coraline chastised her younger brother. "So unless we want to go back empty handed, you'd better pucker up."
Dylan frowned. "Fine, I'll do it, but you guys owe me, big time."
Mark grinned and reached for the doorknob. He twisted it open and the three of them barged into the gym. As soon as they entered the room, their jaws hit the ground.
"MOM! DAD! WHAT THE HELL!?" Coraline shrieked as she covered her eyes with her hands.
Their parents, their middle aged parents, were having a no holds barred, R rated make out session in the Jacuzzi. Raven was facing her mate and appeared to be on her knees leaning over him. They were kissing very sloppily while their father was cupping both of Raven's breasts in his hands, squeezing them repeatedly.
The three teens, their sneaky plan to extract pizza money from their parent already forgotten, turned tail and fled the room, slamming the door shut behind them. They ran all the way to the garage and stopped there.
"That was the grossest thing I've ever seen!" Coraline shrieked. "Parents aren't supposed to do that!"
"I'm going to need eye bleach and a lobotomy." Dylan remarked as he began to hyperventilate.
"I'm gonna have nightmares for a month, if not longer." Mark announced in a deadpan eerily reminiscent of his mother's own monotone.
"So what do we do?" Coraline asked.
"NOTHING!" Dylan shouted. "We saw nothing! We asked Mom and Dad for pizza money and they said no. That's our story and we're sticking to it. No one and I mean no one can know what we saw."
"Mom and Dad know." Mark interjected.
"Don't remind us." Coraline pouted. "Oh Azar! What are we gonna do? We saw Mom and Dad doing the nasty!"
"No we didn't! All we saw was Dad getting to second base." Dylan retorted.
"And that makes it OK?"
"Hey, it's better than seeing them …" Mark paused, looking anxious.
"Are we sure they weren't fu …" Dylan asked.
"Don't say it!" Coraline shouted. "I don't want to know. Oh Azar, this is so gross. It's worse than the time I walked in on dad when he was taking a shit."
"OK, everyone, just calm down." Their father's voice echoed in the garage. The three teens froze, until Coraline finally turned and saw her parents, wearing their robes.
"There's no reason to freak out." Their mother calmly announced. "Yes, you walked in on us during a private moment. And while it was awkward, it's no big deal. You are our kids, our flesh and blood. It's OK, we aren't angry, it was my fault, I forgot to lock the door."
Garfield cleared his throat. "What did you guys want anyway?"
Dylan timidly stepped forward. He dug the ball of his foot into the garage floor as he spoke. "Uh … we're still hungry and … we were wondering if we could have some money for pizza?"
Raven walked back into the house and returned promptly with $60, which she handed to her gray son.
"Have a good time with your friends."
Dylan stared at the cash in his hands. "Uh … thanks, Mom."
The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ went back into the house. Mark broke out into a huge grin.
"Huh! That was easier than I thought."
-( - )-
More hijinks to come!
Come on, readers! Review! I want to break the 1800 mark! Only you can make it happen!