~~~ripples continue across space time~~~

Chapter 4:

Jump City:

The Titans got back to the tower as the sun was setting over the bay, and they immediately scattered for post mission showers and changing out of uniforms. After that, they all drifted into the common area to relax Wally initially laid down on a near whole side of the couch, flipping the TV on. He stared at it blankly, only moving to sit up to let Jinx sit so she could read. Wally laid back down with his head in her lap, her hand almost unconsciously moving to rustle his hair lightly. Beast Boy, who had initially also sat on the couch on the other end to stare at the screen, gazed over at them a bit too long, before returning to the TV. Wally made an internal note to remember this.

Raven had just sat down with her tea, when Donna near instantly sat down next to her and stared at her intently. Very few things made Raven nervous. People staring at her and radiating impatience was admittedly being added to that list at the moment. Probably only because it was Wonder Woman's little sister doing so. Raven returned the stare with one of her own.

"...Yes?" Raven questioned in relaxed monotone.

"When should we start up time-of-girls?" Donna asked, impatience not sinking into the question but still radiating from her.

Raven's eyes narrowed slightly,a red flicker flashing through them, 'Why are they not letting it go, damnit?'. Donna continued staring, waiting for an answer. Recognizing that there was no way out, and inwardly cursing Starfire for even bringing it up, Raven answered at last, "Fine, we'll meet in my room, twenty minutes, in night clothes"

Donna's expression became a mix of confusion and amusement at the last statement, evident by her both tilting her head and smirking. Raven's hood went up rapidly,amazing how quick she can do that sometimes, "It's just a rule of it, Star's idea and it just seems to be more comfortable that way, don't ask me to explain it." She mumbled out.

Donna smiled at Raven "Alright, see you in twenty." she looked over to the couch as she stood up. "Hear that, Jinx?"

Jinx snapped her book closed. "Yup, I'll go get ready." She looked down at Wally, who had his eyes closed. "Wally, I need to get up." There was no response. "...I know you're not asleep."

"No, but I am comfortable here." He stated playfully, eyes remaining closed.

"...If you don't move, I'm tickling you." She said in a threatening tone, eyes narrowed, eyebrows raised. There was a blur and Wally was sitting up, elbows resting on his knees, hands woven together in front of his face, and his eyes open and locked onto the TV, as if he was like that the whole time. Jinx kissed him on the cheek before getting up and walking towards their room, followed by Donna shortly after.

Beast Boy looked over as the girls left, then back at Raven, who was still nursing her tea at the table. "Hey, aren't you going to go change too, Rae?" The question was laced apparent curiosity and pure mischievousness.

Raven didn't look back, annoyance in her response; "I'm going to finish my tea first. It doesn't take me twenty minutes to get changed."

"Oh, and how long does it take?" He needled a little bit.

"You're going somewhere wrong with this, I know it." She monotoned.

"Basic math. If I figure out how long it takes you to get changed, I divide it half and I know how long it takes for you to get undressed and then I save that info for later." Beast Boy gave a wide, fanged smile, by this point having turned around on the couch to rest his head on the back of it to watch her.

A small crack appeared on Raven's mug as the light hanging over the table blinked for a few seconds, before she abruptly stood up, leaving the tea and walked out of the room. As she did, the couch cushions that were not occupied leapt up and piled onto Beast Boy roughly, pressing down on him. A single arm waved frantically from beneath the pile as she left the room, a frenzied muffled yelp heard from beneath them. Beast Boy exploded from the mass of cushions, inhaling needed air. Wally simply maintained his position, though his eyes were fixed on Gar.

"Playing with fire, there, buddy." Wally watched in amusement.

"Did she make any kind of face?" Beast Boy panted, surrounded by loose cushions.

Wally raised an eyebrow. "She did not. At least not one I saw. Hood kinda covers things a bit." He motioned a hood quickly with his hands before returning them to their resting folded position in front of him.

Beast Boy sighed. "Damn. Wanna give me a hand with this?" He turned towards Wally, motioning at the cushions surrounding him. Wally nodded, so he turned to go put one in the empty spot next to him, feeling a brush of wind behind him. Gar went to grab another one, but then noticed they were all back in place, and Wally was leaning back into the couch, feet resting on the coffee table in front of the couch, drinking a soda he must've grabbed from the fridge. Wally just looked over at a blinking Gar.

"You were taking too long." He said with a smirk. Wally pointed at a unopened can soda on the table in front of Gar. Gar just shook his head with a smile, grabbing the soda and relaxing in a similar manner to Wally. Wally waited for him to open the can and take a sip before asking "So why do you bug Raven so much when you know it's not going to end well?"

Gar choked slightly on the soda, coughing for a sec, before turning to look at Wally, managing a slightly garbled response of "What?"

"Just keep noticing it, not just the past week but other visits too. You just seem to poke her, wait for a reaction, which ends usually in magical violence towards you, repeat. What gives?"

Gar took another sip of soda, seeming to weigh things in his head. "Dunno, just enjoy getting a reaction out of her. Even if it ends badly, knowing that I cause a reaction in anyway from Raven is kinda..nice." he managed to finish.

Wally looked at Gar, a grin forming. "You like her."

Gar went wide eyed, coughing up another attempted sip "Stop doing that shit when I'm trying to take a drink, dude!"

"I'm not hearing a no." Wally teased, eyebrows raised as Gar finished coughing, face red, but he wasn't sure if it was from the question or lack of air.

"Listen, it's not like-" Gar started then stopped, "I'm not sure I-" He tried again but halted, "I-" He stopped himself a third time. He looked around the room shifty eyed for a second, shoulders slouching, and face going a tinge redder, "Yes, okay? Just...don't tell anyone."

"Well the first step is always admitting you have a problem." Wally calmly took sip of soda.

Beast Boy put his drink down, giving up on it. He slouched into the couch, arms folded over his chest, face still red looking away from Wally as he pouted slightly. "You're an ass."

"Not the first to say that." Wally retorted calmly.

"I'm sure Jinx was." Gar grumbled.

"No, actually I think it was Grodd." Wally stared into open air intently. "No, no it was totally Captain Cold. Remember it now. Grodd did call me an ass later. But it was totally Cold first."

Beast Boy just raised an eyebrow at Wally's outward thought process.

Gotham City; Same day, but earlier.

"Boyfriend-Richard, I'm about to head out for more exploration of the local urban area, would you like me to acquire anything for you while I do so?" Kory asked as she was getting dressed in comfortable civilian clothes. Dick was still in bed, sprawled in his attempt to get cozy. He let out a low, tired groan.

"Like I said the past few days, I think I'll be fine, Kory." Dick's words were muffled by a pillow trying to block out the sunlight entering the room. There was a pause as she continued to get dressed, "Thanks, though."

She walked over and kissed him on the top of his head. "I will see you in the evening, get some rest, okay?" his hand lifted up wearily and gave her a thumbs up as she left.

The past week had been going on like this; Kory going to explore Gotham, both to sight see and become familiar with the layout. And shop. Dick rested during the day and trained under Bruce at least an hour and a half before heading out for night for patrols. The training was, in a word, brutal. The other Titans may have found Dick's training regimen strenuous, but in truth it was him going easier than what he trained under. Bruce could probably break a Marine instructor or two, simply through the physical aspect alone. Added in were the random questions; scenarios of opponents, chemical compositions of various drugs and poisons, basic first aid, advanced first aid, escape methods from several kinds of lock, basics in disabling various firearms, etc. They were relentless, and if he didn't answer quickly enough, Dick would have to start the whole course again. Exhausting was an understated description of it all.

Thankfully, afterward, they would usually take the Batmobile in to Gotham. Even on his first night doing patrols, Robin had easily settled back into his work routine with Batman. Even though it had been a few years since they had an actual mission together, they worked seamlessly as a team. It was when Dick went on his own during the second half of the night that problems would start. Where he should be, places he should avoid, if it was one of the bigger bads, wait for Oracle to call backup, and if it was Joker, avoid at all costs. Dick didn't think Joker was out of jail, let alone back in the states yet, it was still too soon after what happened overseas, but then again, it was the Joker. He seemed capable of damn near anything sometimes.

Dick found this aspect of patrol grating. He had been working with a team the past five years that had on at least two separate occasions saved the world from immediate destruction, once after the fact. He had fought Slade Wilson to a near stand still, something even Batman had trouble doing. It was like Bruce was ignoring all of that experience purposefully. Probably was, Dick had thought to himself one night. Why, he wasn't sure yet but it was beginning to wear on him with every rough training and every barked order on patrol.

Jump City: Later again;

The girls had settled into Raven's room after getting settled into proper attire. Donna wore a plain white tank top with blue sweat pants with stars on it, while Jinx had put on one of Wally's shirts with purple pajama pants. Raven's attire was a tad off compared to the other two, dark blue shorts and a black hoodie, the hood already up, and her hands hiding in the pockets of it. Jinx spoke up before Donna could.

"You seriously expect us to believe you wear that to sleep?" Skepticism laced the query.

"I actually do...when it's cold." Raven monotoned in response.

Donna raised an eye brow. "That's cheating, c'mon. Take it off."

Raven buried herself into the hood deeper. "No, it's comforting right now. Comfortable." She cursed internally, recognizing she didn't correct fast enough.

"Why is an Assassin's Creed hoodie comforting?" Jinx tilted her head. The other two girls stared blankly at her. "What? That's what it is. The beak on the hood gives it away."

"What the hell is Assassin's Creed?" Donna was lost.

"It's a video game series. Wally's played a bunch of 'em. I thought you didn't play those things, Raven?" Jinx's wide grin appeared on her face, beginning to suspect something...

"I...I don't. It was a gift. Winter Solstice gift." If she could, Raven was pulling herself deeper into the hoodie, bitterly missing her cloak now.

"From whom?" Donna shared both Jinx's curiosity and suspicion.

"A friend."

"Which one?" Jinx pressed.

"One that lives in the tower that is here to give me gifts on such an occasion."

"Beast Boy?" Donna stared at where she guessed Raven's eyes were in the hood. There was a long silence. And a lamp on Raven's bedside table fizzing before the light bulb made a small popping noise as it exploded, glass contained by the lampshade. Donna frowned at the smoke rising from the ex-lamp, Jinx just grinned while she waited for a reply.

"Maybe." Raven said finally, realizing that they had both backed her into a conversational corner.

Common Room:

"Soooooo How long, man?" Wally asked after letting Gar pout for roughly ten minutes. Gar shuffled in his spot uncomfortably.

"Remember how I told you about that time Me and Cyborg ended up in Raven's mind?" He finally said after a few minutes.

"The time that you told me to not tell her that you told me otherwise she'd probably put me in a realm of Lovecraftian horror?"

"Yup. That one. I'd say it probably started after I realized she didn't hate me." Gar muttered, reminiscing.

"So you've been carrying this for roughly over four years? What about the whole Terra thing?" Wally pried a bit further

"She...well...Terra was important. Is important. I think I latched onto her because Raven just didn't...respond I guess?" He shrugged. "It wasn't like, I just went for the one that responded, it was...I dunno, a faster connection. Less work, less pain. Or at least looked like less pain at the time." He scrunched up his face a bit. "Does that make any sense?"

Wally nodded. "Sooo I'm guessing after you let Terra go, your harassing has reached it's current state?"

Gar looked admonished. "That's kinda a harsh phrasing, dude."

"Well, if a guy bugs a woman, and it ends up getting rebuffed in, perhaps non-lethal but violent ways, I kinda might just categorize it as such." Wally stated in an officious tone.

"You sound like a cop." Gar quirked an eyebrow.

"My uncle's a cop. Hang around anyone long enough, and something's bound to rub off." Wally scratched the back of his head.

"It's still...it's not really like that. It's just how...we've always really interacted for the most part. I poke, she responds, and just maybe I get a smile." Gar looked away sadly.

"That's...hrm...that's kinda..." Wally was trying to dance around the word that kept floating to his mind.

"Pathetic, I know." Gar finished.

Wally sighed; "Okay, glad you said it, not me."

"You're right, though. It didn't get quite as bad until the past year. I just...can't seem to break through, ya know?" Gar stumbled out.

"Have you tried...I dunno, just talking to her?"

Raven's Room:

Raven continued to hide in her hoodie as Donna sighed at Jinx, who was laughing, not hard, nor in a mean way just seemed to be letting out something she'd been holding in.

"Sorry, it's just..." Jinx breathed and controlled herself as Raven glowered from inside her hood. "It's just been so...obvious."

Raven's expression shifted to a confused,almost panicked one as she tilted her head at the statement. "How?"

"First things first; Loose the hoodie." Donna took control of the conversation for second. "I want to actually see your face when we're talking, no hiding."

"...Do I have to?" A sense of pleading ebbed at Raven's monotone.
Jinx initially opened her mouth to talk but Donna's hand covered it, causing her to cast a glare in Donna's direction.

"Only if you want to know why it's obvious." Donna smiled, quirking an eyebrow at Raven. Jinx's glare instantly went away with a happy nod of her head.

Raven sighed and very reluctantly began shed the hoodie. She unzipped it to reveal a simple black tank top and as she tossed the jacket to the side, the lack of hood revealed that her face was a deep shade of red. Raven folded her arms over her chest. "There, happy?"

Donna nodded, still smiling as she removed her hand from Jinx's mouth. Near instantly Jinx began to pick at Raven; "See, that just adds to it! He's not even here and just bringing him up gets a reaction."

Raven just glared at her for a minute. "How is a reaction a sign that I like him?"

"We didn't say you liked him, just that he got you the hoodie that you were wearing for comfort. " Donna pointed out.

"...I hate you." Raven's hands went to her face.

"Hey, don't get mad at us for pointing something out." Jinx continued in a playful tone.

"I was talking to myself, but sure." Raven curled her legs up to her chest and rested her head on her knees while wrapping her arms around her legs to form a ball of embarrassed disgruntlement.

Jinx sighed, continuing to smile but with less of a teasing edge; "The only reason I say a reaction is a sign of anything is because that's how Wally got me. Poked and prodded to get me to think out of the little box I was in, not just as a villain just...being alone I guess."

"Then the poking and prodding took another meaning, I take it?" Donna looked over at her.
Jinx nodded cheerfully until it sunk in fully what Donna said, then turned beet red. Donna took the opportunity to leap in charge of the conversation again.

"Why are you so uncomfortable with liking someone?" Donna was genuinely confused. Raven just sighed.

Common Room:

"Dude, talking to her about it is...more dangerous than teasing." Gar responded to Wally's question after a minute of panicked thought.

"Really?" Wally looked skeptical.

"It can be." Gar said softly. "Her powers are emotion based, so even though poking gets those little out bursts...prolonged conversations on sensitive topics can be...continuously hazardous."

"Sounds you're talking from experience." Wally smiled, eyes looking curious.

"Well...kinda...sorta. It just...Okay, so do you know about the Malchior thing?" Gar said quickly. Wally shook his head, so he went on, "It was this dragon trapped in a book, disguised itself as a trapped wizard in a book and manipulated Raven using her feelings of loneliness. Broke her heart, half the tower and my hand if I remember correctly." Gar examined his left hand momentarily before diving back into the story; "So afterwards, I talked to her...actually comforted her for a bit...then got hit in the head with a stinkball." His eye twitched remembering the interruption.

"None of this sounds bad so far." Wally said, kinda confused.

"Welllll, after the game, which Raven actually won, I tried to talk to her again about it and well..." Gar scratched the back of his head "It didn't go entirely according to plan..."

Raven's Room:

"...and so the more he talked, the more he pried I eventually kinda snapped and blew up the hallway. And some of the near by rooms. Robin wasn't happy." Raven explained her half of the situation to the girls.

Donna gave a simple "Huh." as she took in the tale.

Jinx's 'up to no good' smile, that hadn't left, somehow got wider "So was it the conversation or the fact that it was him?"

Raven blinked at the question. "...What does that mean?"

Donna elaborated, picking up on Jinx's point. "Exactly what it sounds like; is it just any close relationship or is it just Beast Boy that gets this reaction out of you?"

Raven rested her head on her knees, mulling the question in her head. "Honestly?"

"Wouldn't ask for anything else." Donna stated sternly.

"Probably because it's him. Robin pushes when he needs for answers, but pulls back when he knows he's upsetting me. Cyborg just doesn't pry too much. He asks but respects it when I say I'm not up for talking. Gar is just relentless." Raven sighed, trying to hide a small smile in her knees as the lamp on the other side of the bed flickered.

"So why not just tell him? Instead of.." Donna began.

"Trying to maim him brutally?" Jinx finished dryly.

Common Room:

"I think she just can't handle getting close, like really close to people." Gar answered Wally's question.

"So why do you keep trying?" Wally had one of those slight grins, like he knew the answer but had to ask anyways.

"I...just...do." Gar struggled out. "I can't think of any other way to approach her. So I just keeping going on, take the hits and roll with it. Dunno." Gar just stared forward blankly.

"Hmmm." Wally nodded his head with his eyes closed.

"I don't like the sound of that." Gar muttered.

"Well, to me, it just sounds like you might just need to change your tactics." Wally suggested.

"Really now?" Gar said blandly.

"Is what you're doing now working?" Wally turned to look at Gar, who didn't answer. "Well there ya go."

Gar sat there thinking for a second before asking, "How do you and Jinx make it work, like, seamlessly?"

Wally coughed into the soda he was taking a sip of at the question. Gar took in the high speed blurs of the coughing as wonderful karma. When he was breathing a second later, Wally spoke up.

"Well...it's not been completely unicorns crapping rainbows. Been a few ups and downs, but overall it works because we've made it work. These things, surprisingly, take a lot of effort, man." A silence fell over them for a minute before Wally broke it, "Is that what the jealous looks are for? We got something you don't, so it bugs ya?"

Gar straightened up a bit, looking really uncomfortable before grumbling a soft "Sorry 'bout that."

Wally just smirked. " 'sall good. Just...cut it down a bit. I can only deal with so many people after me at once."

"Your loss." Gar grinned.

"Oh, believe me, I know." Wally sighed, putting his hands behind his head. "I know."

Raven's Room:

"I'll think about it but...just talking about this to you two has destroyed two lamps and a perfectly good evening." Raven said, annoyance entering her monotone after what felt like hours of hassling, "I really don't want to think of the state of the tower if I talked to him about it. Now I'm throwing you out because I need to get more tea and sleep."

Donna sighed and stood up, stretching; "Alright, but keeping this stuff bottled up can't be good for you. I promise, I won't bug you next week about this, but if you need to talk, I'm here, kay?" Raven simply nodded.

"I make no such promise, but I'm always up to lend an ear." Jinx said as she stood up to leave, meeting Raven's glare with a wide grin.

"Though I think next time, we'll bother Jinx about her relationship." Donna said, thumbing in the pinkette's direction.

Raven looked over at Jinx, small smile appearing; "That works"

Jinx bristled "Only if the week after we get to bother you about your love life."

"Well that will be a short conversation." Donna replied smoothly, causing to Jinx puff up momentarily in anger, then go back into her grin, a thought crossing her.

"Alright, we'll leave ya alone." Jinx grabbed Donna's arm and dragged her, somewhat unsuccessfully out of the room.

"What on earth was the quick exit for?" Donna let herself get dragged a little ways down the hall before effortlessly yanking her arm free.

"I got a plan." Jinx looked positively giddy.

"That statement coming from you almost scares me."

Jinx waved her hand dismissively "Well, I'll have to do better next time to get rid of the 'almost'. Look, it's simple. She needs a little push, that's all."

"And?" Donna's tone was skeptical

"You're going to give her that push." Jinx pointed at Donna.

Donna stared at Jinx, eyebrows raised, arms crossed. "Why me?"

Jinx's grin, if possible, grew wider, "Well I can't flirt with Beast Boy, I'm taken."

Common Room:

"Seriously though, you get in a rut, you need to talk, lemme know. If I don't have answers, I know people who do." Wally said as they were playing a racing game, deciding it was safer than Street Fighter.

"Like who?" Gar asked, somewhat distracted.

"Well, if you need sex advice, we go to my Uncle Hal. You need relationship advice, we go to Uncle Barry. And if you want to be sick for a week from pure relationship happiness, we talk to my Uncle Ralph." Wally tried to hide his irritation as Gar passed him.

"Okay...I got Ralph, he's public, I hate to ask but who are the other two?" Gar asked in mild confusion.

Wally sighed; "Well, you'll find out eventually; Hal is the Green Lantern from Coast City-"

"The crazy one?"

"Yup. And Uncle Barry is Flash." Wally was catching up in the race.

Gar struggled to maintain his lead. "So how are they all your Uncles?"

"Uncle Barry is actually my uncle, the other two I've just known forever." Wally passed Gar at the last moment, winning the race. "BOOYAH!" he stood up and cheered...then stared ahead awkwardly, frowning. "I have no idea why I said that."

"It happens." Gar grinned. "One more race?"

"Damn right." Wally started setting up for the next race.

"Walllly, I'm going to bed!" Jinx called from the hall.

"Kay!"

"And I'm naaaaked!"

"Wastotallyfunbutsuddenlyamverytirednightdude!" came out all at once as Wally disappeared from his spot on the couch in a blur of sparks. Gar sighed and shook his head as he turned the console off and switched the TV to a cheesy monster movie, before hearing a disappointed Wally from the hall "Heeeeey, you lied!"

Raven waited for the noise in the hall to go down before going out into the common area to get her pre-sleep tea, finding just Beast Boy sitting on the couch staring at the screen.

"Oh...hey."

"...Hey." He replied as she started to drift towards the kitchen to make her tea.

Metropolis:

The past month had not been going well for Cyborg and his father. Mostly his father, who Cyborg avoided any chance he could. Vic spent most of his time in town either helping ease Superman's burden of crime fighting, or hanging around Dr. John Iron's Steelworks. Though initially not bothered, as weeks went on, John began to slowly try and understand Vic's reasons for being there.

"I just don't see how you're not grateful, that's all." John had said while they were welding a patch for his suit sometime during the fourth week.

"It's...hard to be grateful, Dr. Irons. I don't have anything resembling a normal life anymore. I haven't in years. All because he couldn't let go. Add in him using me as goddamned science experiment on top of it..."

"So you've said before, but you still have a life. One that you've done a lot of good with. That's gotta be worth something, right?" John stared at Vic steadily, who avoided eye contact. "Look, I'm not going to tell you to forgive him, or even keep up ties with him after this visit, but Christ, Vic, you're not even giving him a chance. You're acting like...whose that little green guy on your team?"

"Beast Boy?" Cyborg winced as he mentioned the name, knowing where this was going.

"Yeah, you're acting like him...if he was 12." John stopped working on the patch to remove his welding mask to look at Vic in the eyes directly.

"...He was actually disciplined at 12." Cy muttered.

"What the hell does that say about you?"

"...Not a whole lot of good, it seems." Vic's gaze dropped to the floor, his gut with it.

"Just try. I'm not Kal, I'm not going to press the issue anymore, but just give him a chance. I have trouble thinking a terrible father wouldn't do anything to save his son." John flipped the mask back down to finish the patch job.

Gotham:

"I am still not sure what I am to wear." Kory complained as she paced around the room in her underwear, well more accurately her bottoms. She never really did wear the bra when she didn't have to.

"You have at least 30 dresses to choose from." Dick replied with mild irritation, trying his best to stare at the ceiling as he continued to lay in bed. He knew better to look at her in moments like this. It'd take away any wits he had. She knew it. He knew it. Dick suspected that anytime Star sensed an argument brewing is when she felt the need to walk around their room topless, or less.

"I do not, it is merely 18."

"My apologies, I was off by 12."

"...Maybe I should go looking for another." Kory wondered out loud.

"...You went shopping the first two weeks you were here!" Dick put an arm over his eyes.

"It was you who suggested that I do so!"

"I said go browsing, I didn't say buy half the damn shops on 5th." This last statement came out in a rough growl.

"Dick, you are growling." Kory reminded him softly. He knew it was bad, she hadn't used the honorific. Or his full name. There was a lull in the conversation which he used to calm down and think things over.

The past month had possibly been the closest he had been to Hell. And he had been to Hell, more or less. It got a little better after Star joined him on patrols but Bruce didn't let up in training or orders. In fact, it just seemed to get worse. Adding more stops for his patrols, chastising him for incredibly minor errors in reports. He even got into an argument with Robin in front of Gordon on top of the GCPD a few nights ago. Gordon, for his part, looked as if he felt very bad for Robin but didn't want to step in the middle of it. Smart man, Jim Gordon. The added stress is now the Martha Wayne Foundation Mid-Summer Charity Ball, which as the adoptive son of Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson and his girlfriend, Kory Anders (a foreign model or something, no one really knew), are expected to be there. It was a day before and it seemed that shit had hit the fan for Dick already.

Dick took a deep breath, and sighed, removing his arm, and sitting up to look at Kory. Her green eyes were already locked on him, her arms crossed under her breasts, waiting. She really did know him too well.

"I'm sorry." he said softly. "It's been a rough month."

Kory sighed quietly "I am aware. This is why I am not entirely angry with you."

"Not entirely?"

"You are still being of no help in my search of a good dress." A grin appeared on her face, finger tapping on her arm impatiently.

"Star, I'm going to be completely honest with you. I don't think it matters, you'll be able to do well in anything. Hell," He looked her up and down for a second "You seem to do well with nothing at all."

Kory's face tinged red as she began to strut towards the bed, grin turning into a seductive smile. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Boyfriend-Richard."

Jump City:

The past month had been mostly uneventful. A major villain hadn't shown up since Light, but minor crimes popped up here and there. The free time allowed the visiting Titans to settle into their roles a bit further and better. Though the inaugural time-of-girls had left Raven a tad miffed at Jinx, she didn't pass up a chance to talk to her about spells and books still. That and she couldn't seem to get a free moment with just Donna.

Donna had been spending a great deal of time going over notes with Gar, and time in general with him. Chatting him up during gym and training sessions, asking him about the games he was playing, little things. Raven didn't think too much of it until during one of the note reviews, she noticed from her spot on the couch that Donna had leaned over almost specifically to show off her chest. Raven's eyes narrowed underneath her hood. Not that she felt that she was underdeveloped herself, it's hard to compete with someone literally carved by gods, if the rumors of her and Wonder Woman's origins were true. Beast Boy, for his part, did his damnedest not to look. He starred intently at the tablet screen and seemed to be forcing himself to make eye contact with Donna. Well, almost entirely, as Raven saw his eyes flicker down momentarily then staring back up, to which Donna seemed to smile more at.

Wally's can of half full soda on the coffee table crinkled into itself roughly, sending it's contents all over the table. He paused his game to look over at Raven, who simply stared back at him, almost daring him to say something with glowing red eyes. Wally, for his part stared for a moment before dashing up, cleaning the table, replacing the soda (set a tad further away from Raven's end of the table) and restarting his game within a few seconds. He would look over at Raven nervously every couple seconds, who was back to watching Donna and Beast Boy's conversation.

'I may need to have a talk with her.' She thought to herself as they laughed and the TV, which Cyborg had set up years ago to be protected against Raven's powers, none the less blinked off. Wally initially groaned but thought better of it as he saw the red glare in his direction out of the corner of his eye.

Jinx didn't look up from her book, but smiled. 'Seems to be working.' passed through her mind as she turned a page.

Gotham:

The Gotham Plaza Hotel ballroom was, of course, well decorated for the evening. When the owner of the hotel says "Hey, we're doing a charity ball on the thirtieth , make it happen.", they do their damnedest not to disappoint. Across the vast room were various pieces of art completed by artists who had in someway received assistance from the Martha Wayne Foundation. The music was being played also by musicians who owed the foundation their careers. The room looked positively packed as well, as was usual for a Wayne event in Gotham. Anybody who was or wanted to be anybody made sure to come to these. Bruce observed the room from his private table in a raised area of the ballroom, pretending to nurse a wine glass. Dick and Kory were dancing to the waltz in the crowd. Selina Kyle dancing with someone different every other note, which is to be expected, probably had at least 10 wallets by now. Reporters from all over to get needed shots and hopeful interviews from some of the visiting high society and industrial big wigs. He frowned when he saw one of the people giving and interview was Lex Luthor. Bruce didn't remember inviting him, meaning Lex probably bought a ticket somehow, something to look into later. Bruce looked at the crowd dancing and noticed an absolutely stunning dark brunette dancing with a large, almost clumsy looking bespectacled man. While his date had dressed very well for the occasion in a dark blue backless dress, he seemed to be wearing a simple blue suit with red tie.

"Clark looks like he's in way over his head, doesn't he?" Bruce heard from his left, shaking him out of his thoughts. He turned to see a blonde man, sporting a goatee and fine, dark green suit.

"Oliver, sit, sit have a drink!" Bruce smiled broadly, shaking Ollie's hand and near shoving him into the seat next to him. "So, what brings you to Gotham?" his tone almost overly playful.

"You have too much fun putting on a show." Ollie said in a lowered voice as he reclined in his seat, grabbing an offered glass of champagne from a waiter.

"What can I say? Alfred insists I practice acting to not loose my touch. Might as well enjoy it." Bruce's smile seemed to darken a bit with his lowered tone of voice. "Care to join me for an interview for the Planet in a moment? As soon as the reporters are done with the song that is?"

"Sure, I'm sure it'd make Perry happy. Tell them about the new contacts we joined up on?" Ollie took a sip of the champagne.

"Which ones?" Bruce said as he pretended to sip his wine. Ollie looked almost insulted.

"The...the big ones, man."
"...oh, right for your company. Right, those big ones." Bruce seemed to say without thought.

Ollie's eyes dropped into a light glare. "And they say you have no sense of humor, Bruce."

"Who says that?" Bruce raised an eyebrow at Ollie.

"Throw a dart in the Watchtower cafeteria." Ollie drank deeply from his glass.

The song ended with a polite applause as the various dancers dispersed into a crowd.
Dick and Kory made their way up to Bruce's table, taking their seats next to him. He had settled on a simple black suit with a dark blue tie, and Kory had (finally) settled on a dark purple dress. It seemed to be made of a single piece of cloth, with a strap of fabric going around her neck to hold it up, allowing the dress to seem to drape onto her figure. It was simple, but showed off enough curves that turned heads, and cause disgruntled looks when noticing whose arm she was around.

"Ollie, good to see you made it. Fly yourself in this time?" Dick grinned cheerfully.

"Naw, decided to pay someone to do that this go around. Didn't want to think on the way out here." Ollie returned the grin. A red-haired young man appeared out of the crowd dressed in a dark, dark red suit that seemed almost black. He took initially went to take the seat next to Ollie before being stopped.

"Hold on, Roy, you haven't introduced yourself. Dick, have you met my associate here?" Ollie said quickly, unable to not widen his grin.

"I'm not entirely sure." Dick did his best to hide the teeth grinding he was doing as he went around the table with Kory. "Dick Grayson." He held out his hand which Roy reluctantly took, putting on a poorer attempt at a polite face.

"Roy Harper." A flash bulb went off of to the side of them, capturing the moment, which they ignored as Dick and Roy tried to see who could crush whose hand better. Jimmy Olsen would later discard it, finding it not one of the more memorable images from the evening.

Kory coughed. Dick instantly let go and motioned towards her."And this lovely woman is my girlfriend, Kory Anders."

Roy delicately took her hand and kissed it "My-"...and winced as her thumb pressed onto his fingers out of sight. "-Pleasure." he finished as she smiled sweetly at him.

The three sat down at their own spot of the rounded table as Clark Kent and Lois Lane Kent joined the table next to Ollie and Bruce, striking up pleasant conversation. Dick ignored it mostly, turning to Roy.
"Surprised you kept as straight of a face, Roy." He grinned.

"Well, I don't have as much practice. I don't get dragged to these often, just when Ollie feels like he has to show off his protege. That and it gets me out of Steel for a while." Roy muttered doing his best to shake the pain out of his finger. He grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waitress, watching her walk away for a second before turning back to the two. "So, how's the home tour going?"

"Peachy." Dick grumbled.

"Figured as much, any word from Vic?" Roy leaned back in his chair, sipping the champagne.

"Victor has been well, though he did not say much of how he and his father are doing together." Kory deciding not to mention the fact that Vic's been ducking out with Clark sitting across from them. A small advantage of dating Robin; getting a key in on who is actually who in the hero world.

Roy nodded, before looking around for a sec then motioning the two to lean in so he could talk lowly, "I got a problem and I need some help, guys."

"No, I am not helping you find a weed guy while you're in town." Dick sighed.

"What? No! That's not it at all-look all I do for that is steal some of Ollie's-beside the point." Roy quickly threw his hands up a little "I think Vic is trying to cheat me out of money again."

Kory and Dick stared at him before laughing. Roy just glared at them, letting them finish.

Dick recovered first, "Please, please tell me he didn't hook you into another bet."

Roy slumped his shoulders while nodding.

"Friend-Roy, you need to avoid these. I can not imagine this is good for your finances." Kory looked at him worriedly.

"No it's not, but honestly, I thought I had him this time. I did." Roy stressed "But then it gnawed at me, so I gotta ask while we're here; Is there any way, shape or form, that Gar and Raven would hook up?" He said this with the up most seriousness, but it still caused the other two to look at him like he was crazy.

"Please, inform us that this is not the bet that you took." Kory had an expression that was somewhere between genuine worry and amusement.

"I could, but it'd be a lie." Roy replied

Dick had to actually put his face into his arms on the table for a minute.

"Are you okay, sir?" a passing bus boy asked in a concerned tone.

"Something's not hitting me right, I'll be good in a minute." Dick answered trying to shake off the laughing fit. He sat up as he watched the bus boy walk back towards the kitchen, noticing he seemed a little young to work here, but dismissed it for the moment to hassle Roy.

"Seriously, man? Thought you learned your lesson last time." Dick was smiling broadly at Roy's disgruntled expression.

"I think I lost another two hundred, didn't I?" Roy finished his glass of champagne before grabbing Dick's untouched drink. Dick didn't say anything until Roy took a sip.

"That's rum."

Roy coughed and sputtered, face wincing at the burn. "Thanks for the warning."

"My pleasure. As much as I want to confirm your lost bet, I can almost honestly say that they're not a couple." Dick calmly took his drink back, swapping it with a water smoothly as a waiter passed by. Dick smiled again at a confused Roy. "Just got it to see if you'd steal it."

"Honestly still hung up on the first thing, I'll be angry at the second in a moment. They're not dating, but I lost the bet?" Roy was straining his brain a little.

"They have yet to be honest with themselves, but they very much care for each other deeply." Kory explained.

"Oh. Great. Damnit, Vic, you're playing hardball this time." Roy grumbled, slouching in his spot. "I'll get 'em."

"I'm sure you will, Roy." Dick took a sip of his water, still enjoying the unintentional show of the evening.

Jump City: The next day"What the hell did you do to this thing, Wally?" Gar stared at what was once a normal treadmill.

"Modified it so I can can run on it. Be nice to get a few hundred miles or so a day again. I used to have one at home, and every time Jinx and I crash at a tower, I make one from memory." Wally finished connecting a large bundle of wires from the monstrosity into an open panel in the floor.

"And the wires are for...?" Gar felt as if he was watching a mad scientist at work.

"Connects to the power, biggest addition I put in is a turbine, that's why it's so bulky. So not only can I run inside, but I can help lower the power bill." Wally said proudly as he stared at the contraption.

"Just...don't rip a hole in space time." Gar backed away to start on an elliptical bike, which he turned around. This way he could watch in case a fire broke out from the dangerous looking machine and he had to jump out a window.

Wally plugged ear buds in, and stretched before stepping onto the tread mill and began to run, slowly first to ease the turbine in, but settled into a small blur of energy as he ran faster, spacing out as he found a comfortable pace. Sparks scattered from the edges of the turbine, but not enough to cause a fire. 'Yet.' Gar told himself.

Gar shook his head as he began to start up on the bike before noticing Donna walk in carrying a small blanket and target sheet under her arm. He nodded at her happily, which she returned. They'd been getting along surprisingly well the past month. It helped with the note process, and she genuinely seemed to listen to his input on which to discard and which leads to follow up. It made Gar actually feel like a team leader. That and she laughed at his jokes, sometimes a fake laugh (he's gotten good at telling over the years) but some were full on. He watched as Donna set up the target on the wall across from Wally's treadmill, carefully revealing a set of throwing knives from the blanket. Gar's eyes lit up like the big kid he is as he looked on.

"Duuuuuuuuuude, that is so cool!" He winced as the pedals he had stopped pedaling on kept moving into the back of his leg. Donna chuckled at his reaction. He hopped off to walk over and hunch down to look at the simply, but elegantly designed knives. "Why do you have these?"

"It was part of my training on Themescyra, to help with coordination and timing. One of the lessons we had to learn is to count the rotations before it hits the target." Donna explained as she held up a knife, then balanced it on her finger delicately, looking at the target intently, then pushed it up with her finger half a foot in the air, grabbing it with the same hand and tossing it near center into the target. Donna grumbled to herself "Five rotations, I think I would've gotten yelled at for that in this distance."

"Hey, can I try?" Beast Boy asked as he looked up at Donna, very hopeful expression. Donna looked at him, thinking for a second before shrugging.

"Sure, but don't hurt yourself. I might feel bad." Donna smiled. Gar practically leaped up, knife already in hand, but Donna frowned. "Don't hold it like that, you're holding it like you're going to stab someone." Donna picked up a knife, holding the hilt loosely in her hand. "You don't want to keep a tight grip, it's supposed to leave your hand, but you need to keep control. Most of the weight in these are built into the blade, so when you lift it back, hold more towards the end of the hilt then let it go, let the knife do all the work." As she said this, she demonstrated the knife effortless spinning to hit near the center dot again. Donna muttered to herself again, must've been too many spins, as Gar tried his best to follow her example of throwing. For the most part, he followed the motions well, but let go way too soon, causing it fling towards the floor underneath the target sheet.

"Damnit." Gar muttered as the knife sunk itself in the floor with a dull thunk. He looked at Donna, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, we have discovered yet another of thing for my list of shit I can't do."

Donna just laughed cheerfully, "You just need practice and help with it, here." She picked up another knife and handed it to him before standing right behind Gar, pressing herself into his back delicately. "Just throw it like this." She helped him move his arm in the proper throwing motion. " And let it go here." She said as they completed the throwing motion. "Got it?" Donna looked down at Gar, smiling as she asked.

"Uhm..yeah, give me a sec though." He stuttered out, returning the smile nervously. 'Just keep it cool,man. Star gets this close all the time. Rarely with the boobs pressing into your back though. Like big-FOCUS motherfucker! Just throw the knife, get it right and dig yourself out of this awkward situation.' He thought all of this as he breathed in, then out, and began to start up a throwing motion, Donna matching it.

"There ya go, move just like that." Donna said, maintaining cheer but Gar picked up a hint of...flirtatiousness? He dismissed it as he brought the knife to full swing.

"Garfield, can I talk to you for a minute?" The door had slid open as Raven asked the question.

In moments of intense stress, time always seems to slow down, allowing the brain to process every little detail. Raven took in the closeness of Donna to Gar, damn near pressing into him fully. She also noticed their looks of shock, though Donna's possessed a great deal more panic than Gar's. Gar and Donna took in the subtle details of Raven's face trying not to shift into an expression of full rage as red seemed to be slowly glowing from behind her eyes.

All three failed to notice the knife leave Gar's hand in the complete opposite direction of the target.

"SON OF A BISCUIT EATING MOTHER FUCKER!"

They snapped out of the moment to look at the source of the cursing, and brand new owner of a Themyscrian throwing knife embedded into his left shoulder, Wally.

A/N 2022: Another one down. I initially was like "Oh, I should be able to do this in a few days, no problem." First chapter, 8 pages in the document. Easy. Second; 11 pages. No problem. Third; 21 pages. Hrm. Fourth; 27 pages. ...oh no.

So this project of hammering this into shape may take a bit more time than I thought. My goal was to try and do 4 chapters at a time for up loading, but that's...probably not happening. As I'm going on the tweaks are getting...more so? Again, not enough to shift the overall plot in major ways just keeping finding things that I have to shake my head at. Like, at the time I really liked the word "smirk" Just can't tell y'all how many 'smirks' I've deleted out of these pages. That's enough ranting though, please review and leave a kudos if you enjoyed it. If you didn't. Well. Can't make everyone happy.
-Tearlach