27. "Try some."

Pairing: Raven and Dick (Robin)

Setting: Teen Titans (2003-2006 show)

Age: 15-17

"I have a feeling you watched a dozen romantic movies before this." The violet-haired teen noted, more to herself, as she took in her surroundings.

A nice, quiet part of the park where people didn't really hang out that much. Nearby a lake with people swimming in the distance. A checkered blanket laid out under a tree to provide shade from the bright sun. A picnic basket, probably filled with sandwiches, heart-shaped chocolate and champagne or something. All the cliché things. Predictable. And somewhat disappointing if she had to be honest.

Well, she couldn't say she had expected something grand or completely new and not done before. In fact, she had little to no expectations at all when Robin just kind of declared that he was taking her out even though many possible scenarios did play out in her mind (quite literally). Granted, Raven was still new to this whole "dating" thing, they both were, so the first steps were bound to be a little rocky and awkward.

"Nah." He simply shrugged with a sly smile on his face as he placed the picnic basket on the ground and sat down next to the girl. "I'd say it was only like five or six at most. Among a few searches of 'Ideas for a perfect first date'."

"And this is the best they had to offer?" Raven scoffed, but instantly realized that it might have come off like his date idea was a bad one. "I mean- I didn't mean to make it sound like I don't like it. I just- I suppose I thought you'd go a bit overboard trying to create the 'perfect date'."

"Am I really that much of an overachiever?" Robin chuckled and glanced at her through his dark sunglasses, raising an eyebrow. Her face said it all. "Okay, it's not that bad." But Raven grimaced at him again and he had no other choice but to comply. "Fine. Fair enough."

His gaze remained on her for a moment longer before he hummed and turned to the picnic basket to start unpacking it, still a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow at him, as she watched him take out some packed sandwiches, two cups and a thermos.

"Well," he shrugged, "it might have not been on the top of the list for the best first date, but I figured I'd just do something simple. Let's face it, we do the most unbelievable things like every Tuesday. Our lives are not ordinary. Not a single day is like the last one, there's always something new and unknown going on. And well, we never really have the time to just sit down, relax and enjoy the things that other people do. So then- So what if it's cliché? Have you ever done any of this before?" The teenage boy asked her, but didn't exactly wait for a response because he knew it already.

"See, neither have I. So I don't think it's bad for us to do something that others might have experienced millions of times. We haven't. That alone makes it special." His lips had curved into a smile as he talked, his hands working on opening the thermos and pouring hot liquid into the cup. "Here. Made your favorite tea."

"You don't even know what my favorite tea is-"

"Chamomile, right?" Her eyes widened in surprise. Guess she underestimated him twice today already. Smiling, she took the cup from him and tasted it. "It was my first time making it though, so I don't know if it even tastes alright." He quickly added with a nervous chuckle.

"It's good. Don't worry." The confirmation that he didn't completely screw it up made his face light up in joy and he reached into the basket once again, retrieving two plastic containers.

"Strawberries? And whipped cream? Really?" She chuckled almost in disbelief.

"What? Don't tell me you don't like strawberries with whipped cream."

"I- I've honestly never dared to try that…" Now it was Robin's turn to look at her in utter disbelief.

"Well, we've gotta change that then." He quickly grabbed a strawberry, dipped it in the whipped cream and reached it towards her mouth, making her flinch back a little. "Here. Try some."

"If you smear my nose with that, Richard, I swear-"

"I won't, I won't." He laughed. "Just try it. The whipped cream is homemade, not that cheap fake stuff you can buy at a store. It's really good, trust me."

Giving out a small grumble of uncertainty, the girl leaned closer to his hand and took a bite as he watched closely for her reaction. And he could swear that her eyes lit up for a split second. Although she didn't show all that much emotion in her face, her eyes always gave it away.

"It's… actually really good." She slowly concluded in amazement, reaching her fingers up to her lips to clean off some leftover cream.

"See? I told you." He smiled brightly at her and ate the other half of the strawberry, looking out towards the lake when he heard some screams and splashes. Looked like people were having fun over there. Otherwise it was so peaceful and quiet here and both of them took a moment to appreciate the silence before Raven's voice broke it.

"You know," she tilted her head a little to the side, having propped herself on one hand, "cliché is not bad."

"Thought you might agree." He smiled at her and placed his own hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

The most beautiful things in life were indeed the simplest ones sometimes.