This is set sometime in the future when the Titans have grown up. Their ages are in mid to low 20s. The teen titans are not mine.
"Hey, Raven! Do you think we should get married, too?" With a grin on his face, Beast Boy threw his arm around my shoulder casually. We were sitting on the common room couch, watching as Cyborg kicked Robin's butt on the new game station. I was actually pretty surprised to see Robin (Or Nightwing, as he liked to be called nowadays) taking part in an activity that didn't involve Starfire, who he had recently proposed to. I rarely ever saw them apart- expect when Starfire wanted to talk wedding plans, in which case her fiancé smoothly exited the room, knowing that Starfire could go on for hours about her crazy wedding ideas. Unfortunately that usually left me with the task of explaining to her why she couldn't have Tameranian Flarnops present at her wedding.
I looked at the arm that was slung around me, and carefully extricated myself from the hold. I wasn't in any mood for Beast Boy's antics right now. He was lucky I hadn't thrown him into the bay yet.
"I don't think that would be the best idea." I began, "If you value your life at all, you might not want to aggravate someone who could send you to a dimension where your flesh would slowly rot off your bones, turning you into a half-alive green zombie."
"Huh. I always though being a zombie would be cool." He smirked and stood up, holding his arms out in front of him and closing his eyes. "Brains!" He muttered, shuffling forward toward me. I created a black tripwire by his feet, making him fall face first on the floor. "Oof!"
"Don't make me toss you off the roof of the tower again." I threatened, my eyes returning to their normal color.
"Jeez, after all this time you still can't take a joke." He mumbled, getting up off the floor, eyeing me warily.
"I can take a joke. I'm just not in the mood." I glared at him, "Especially now, after you've irritated me."
I watched him roll his eyes. "Whatever, Rae. Your always in a mood." He complained. "I didn't think it was possible for PMS to last so long."
I growled at him incoherently before getting up and stalking to my room. But not before I tied him up with black energy and left him hanging upside down in the common room. Maybe I'd let him down after dinner... I sighed. Perhaps I was being a bit cruel to the changeling, after all, he was only joking. It wasn't like he was being serious when he suggested that we should get married. I shuddered suddenly at the thought. I made my way to my room and curled up in the lotus position on my mattress, hoping to get at least a good solid hour of uninterrupted meditation. After about two minutes of tranquility, there was a loud knock on my door.
"What do you want, Beast Boy?" I snapped. I was starting to wonder if he really wanted to die in a slow and painful way.
"It is I, Starfire. I apologize if I am disturbing you, but I have an urgent question." The alien princesses voice sounded from behind the closed door. I sighed in relief, secretly glad I wouldn't have to kill Beast Boy today. I focused my energy and slid the door open effortlessly with my powers, beckoning for Starfire to enter.
"What do you need?" I asked politely, hoping she wasn't about to talk my ear off with her wedding babble.
"Well, you see friend Raven, I have a pressing concern with this." She held up a magazine, which was a bad sign. "It says in here that matching the colors are a must for Earth weddings. I know for certain that the tablecloths will be pale yellow, so I simply cannot have the dark flowers adorning the tables. I have considered pink, but the roses for the archway are to be red, so I fear that either I must change them to pink or I must purchase new cloths for the tables." Starfire looked truly upset over this.
"Um... Why don't you just order both red and pink roses? It's okay to have different color flowers. In fact, most of those magazines aren't the best thing to consult while looking for wedding decorations."
"Both colors? Oh, that is a glorious idea, Raven! Perhaps I should even consider the colors orange, purple, and green!" She smiled whimsically as her mind wandered. "I could have a collection of-"
"Why don't you just stick with the two colors, ok?" I cut her off, "You can use the pink flowers for the table and the red for the archway. It's best not to go overboard." I advised. Starfire pondered that for a moment.
"I suppose you are correct, I do wish to have the perfect wedding in regards to Earthly custom. Though on my planet, it is common that-"
"So, um. Was there anything else you wanted?" I interrupted before she could launch into full prattle mode.
"Yes, in fact. I hear that expensive dinning ware is often used in the reception. I have considered crystal wine glasses and silver knives and forks, but I would not want to fall over the board. I must insist on decorative napkins, though, as they seem quite adorable." She beamed at me. "I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to the shopping mall to assist in the picking out of such things. It would be a tremendous help to have your opinion. And there are also some shops I wish to take a look in, although I promise it won't take long."
I looked at her pleading face and decided that my meditation could be put on hold for a bit. Besides, it was dangerous to let Starfire go to the mall without supervision, as she would no doubt buy large quantities of the most useless items. Not wanting her to return with a truckload of plastic birdhouses again, I decided to accept her invitation.
"Sure, I guess we can go." I shrugged flippantly. Besides meditating, I had nothing better to do with my time anyway.
"Glorious!" Starfire exclaimed, dragging me out the door while talking rapidly due to her excitement. "We shall have much of the fun today! I am sure the beauty salon will be open, and we could explore the gardening supplies, and I hear there is a new department of the shoes that carries..." I tuned her out, wondering what I had gotten myself into.
:::::::::::
"Raven, do you think that the pink tinted placemats will go well with the roses and napkins?" She help up an elegant pink rectangle, which matched the color of the napkins she picked out exactly.
"Yeah. It's perfect." I told her, wishing that the male store employee who was blatantly checking her out would go away. He had immediately insisted on 'helping us' from the moment he had laid eyes the Tameranian, even going so far as to flirt with her, even when the entire city knew of her engagement. Being the innocent alien that she was, she had no idea that it wasn't conventional for a man to offer an engaged women his phone number, as he had done multiple times. I was pushing Starfire to hurry up and make a decision on what to purchase so we could get away from that creep, who I knew was currently undressing her with his eyes. Since I was empathetic, I could literally feel the lust radiating off of him.
"You know, sweetheart, that sure does look nice." He wasn't referring to the placemats. "I definitely think it'd be fine if you-"
"So you're getting them? Excellent." I interrupted swiftly, leading her to the checkout quickly, eager to leave. Without sparing the man a second glance, we exited the store with our purchases.
"So." I glanced around the mall. "Where did you want to go next?"
"Hmm. There is one last store I wish to go in." She began leading me to the clothing departments. I internally groaned, know that she could spend hours shopping for clothes. I was starting to get curious as she continued walking beyond her favorite shops, and into the part of the mall where I never dared to venture. I put my foot down when it was clear she was about to enter Victoria's Secret.
"I'm not going into a lingerie store." I stopped walking and crossed my arms.
"Please, I wish to purchase the appropriate attire for my honeymoon, and this store offers a wide range of visually appealing night clothes and undergarments, does it not?" She asked.
"It does, but really Starfire, do you have to drag me along with you?" I complained.
"I will not force you, but I think it would be good for you, as I am quite certain that you do not own any items of this sort. Perhaps you may find something you like as well."
"I doubt that." I muttered as I reluctantly followed her into the dreaded shop.
After about an hour of pestering and prodding, Starfire somehow managed to rope me into buying a few things. They weren't as bad as what she was getting, but I was sure that they couldn't possibly cover my whole bottom. There were changing rooms, but I decided that I would never even have to wear the offending garments; as soon as we got home I would stuff them in the back of my closet to be forgotten. I was relieved when we finally exited the store.
"Now let us please go to the salon of nails to get a manicure. Your nails haven't been properly taken care of since the last time we were here." Starfire pulled me into the Beauty Salon, which I also detested. Once we were situated and my hands and feet were submerged in hot water, Starfire broached a subject I wished she would not.
"So I take it that things are going well with friend Beast Boy?" She asked casually.
"What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously.
"Raven, are you not in the romantic relationship with Beast Boy?" Starfire asked innocently. I nearly choked.
"What?" I was certain my face was turning red out of anger, obviously, I mean, I wasn't embarrassed. "Why would I be?" I answered her question. "He's annoying and immature, he seems unable to clean up after himself, he irritates me to end-"
"He is always doing the flirting with you. I believe that he has the romantic interest in you, besides, he proposed marriage to you just this morning, I overheard while in the kitchen." Starfire had a victorious smile on her face. "Tell me, Raven, why did you not accept?"
"Come on, Starfire. He was joking around, like always. You know how he is." I glared at my hands, which I was sure were wrinkling like prunes in the hot water.
"Yes, he is always taking part in the joking around, but he is only trying to help you have fun." Starfire narrowed her eyes at me, "You should start to accept and enjoy the entertainment dear Beast Boy provides. You must put an end to your unwillingness to have fun."
"I'm not unwilling to have fun. Beast Boy just isn't fun." I pointed out.
"You don't give him the chance."
"I've given him plenty of opportunities to prove his maturity, and he hasn't yet." I disagreed.
"He possesses the maturity in his own way. He is brave and determined, but still has the ability to be like the child, yes?" Starfire asked.
"Yeah, he definitely acts like a child sometimes." I muttered.
"So do you or do you not have the feelings for him?" She demanded, point black. I, of course, immediately denied having any sort of interest in the changeling.
"I see." Starfire dropped the subject as the cosmetologist returned to paint our nails, leaving me to my thoughts.
:::::::::::::
After undergoing such torture today, I was surprised that I was in a fairly good mood. Until Robin (or Nightwing, whatever) decided to open his mouth.
"So what did you two do today?" He asked Starfire and I during dinner.
"We had the most splendid time at the shopping mall, did we not Raven?" She glanced at me and smirked. I stabbed at my food with a little too much force than necessary.
"Yeah. It was fun." I stated with absolutely no emotion in my voice.
"What were you shopping for?" Robin asked Star. I cringed, hoping she wouldn't mention Victoria's Secret. That would be mortifying.
"We were doing the shopping for dinner placemats and napkins for the reception, we ordered the flowers, picked out some vases of glass, and we purchased some of the female lingerie." Starfire took another bite of her food calmly.
"That's..." Robin tugged on his collar at the thought of Starfire in lingerie, "Um, nice."
"You bought lingerie, Raven?" Beast Boy wriggled his eyebrows at me suggestively. "Do I get to see?"
"If you value your life at all," I said darkly, "You will shut up."
"Raven and I also did the discussing of her feelings for you, Beast Boy." Starfire said, as if she were commenting on the weather. Beast Boy grinned hugely.
"I knew you couldn't resist my charms!" He exclaimed, exuding cockiness.
"You have no charms." I informed him.
"Then why do you like me so much?" He asked.
"I don't. I tolerate you." I focused my eyes back on my food, wishing for him to drop the subject.
"Oh, come on. You know you love me, Rae." He smiled impishly.
"I am certain she does, friend Beast Boy. Even if she will not admit it." Starfire smiled at me. "You shall be much happier if you embrace your feelings."
I stood up. This conversation was getting out of hand. "I do not have feelings for Beast Boy. End of story." I stalked to room, furious at Starfire for saying all that.
"Hey, wait Raven." Beast Boy shouted. I did my best to ignore him. "I'm sorry." Did he just apologize? "You don't have to go hide in your room. Stay and finish dinner with us."
"Not likely." I said over my shoulder, tossing him another glare. "Leave me alone."
"No." He got up and followed me down the hallway, jumping in front of me and crossing his arms as he stood in front of the door to my room, blocking my entrance. "I know you think I'm just making fun of you, but I promise I really do care." He looked to the ground. "You probably already know this, but I like you, Raven. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable." He paused, and a small smile lit his face. "Well, OK. I do sometimes enjoy messing with you, but that's not the point."
"If you cared, even a little bit, then you would stop pestering me nonstop." I attempted to duck around him, but he caught my arm and held me back.
"You can't just stay locked in your room." His words burned with emotion, and I realized he'd something very similar to me once, a long time ago.
"I'm not staying locked in my room. I just want at least an hour of peace and quiet without any interruptions. I need to meditate, so please, for you sake and mine, let me be." I gave up trying to struggle my way out of his grasp and simply teleported myself two feet in my bedroom, where I could finally relax.
I hummed to myself as I got ready for bed early, gathering my things as I headed to the bathroom to shower. The hot water unwound my muscles and helped clear my head. Today has been one of those days were I just can't get a break, so I felt no remorse in wanting to get to sleep as quickly as possible. As I headed back to my room, I stumbled across Starfire.
"Hello Ra-"
I held up my hand to stop her flow of words. "Please, don't. I just want to go to sleep."
"I merely wished to apologize." Starfire looked down. "I am sorry that I made you embarrassed today, but I did not intend to upset you so much."
"Oh. That's... Alright." I said tentatively. "Please just don't do it again."
"Understood." She nodded at me. "Well, I wish you the good night."
"Goodnight." I entered my room and shut my door, finally alone. Too tired to bother meditating, I sprawled out on my bed and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
I think I'm going to make this a chapter story, but I have another one I'm working on right now, so it depends on which one people want to read the most, and then I'll prioritize them. Please tell me what you think!
