Robrae Weekend 2023 Prompt: Books
Hope you enjoy reading this... Surprisingly this idea has never been done before - I know shocker! I think I got the idea as the RobRae prompts came out at end/start of the UK tax year… and balancing the books is often a phrase used to do your taxes. Once the idea took hold, it wouldn't leave me, I had to write it. Give it a chance and maybe you'll be rewarded with a giggle or two… I'm not sorry for the pun in the summary - it was totally intentional (lol)
Please do not repost or copy/paste.
Raven just made herself a hot fresh pot of chai tea, she sighed at the simple pleasure of black tea infused with her secret blend of ginger, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon which warmed her from the inside out, relaxing her muscles and forming a barely there smile of content on her face.
It was at that moment of bliss that she saw the green shape of Beast Boy fall past the lounge area window! She watched as he turned into a green falcon, spread his wings and soared away across the bay.
Raven raised one eyebrow displaying some surprise, mainly because normally she was the one tossing him out of a window… or off the roof. Her mind whirled through the possibilities… It was unlikely to be an attack as the console, her communicator and all panic buttons were quiet and not activated. Cyborg was upgrading the T-Car in the garage. Starfire was having a shopping spree in Metropolis with Supergirl… which left Robin… Robin who was doing the Teen Titans tax return… in his office… which was located… just above the lounge. Raven pursed her lips, contemplating her choices… concluding that there was really only one choice… with a soft sigh, she poured a second cup of chai tea from the pot, and picking up both cups sank into a portal in the kitchen to arrive in Robin's office.
Robin was frantically trying to weigh down the receipts and paper, flying in the breeze coming in off the bay through the smashed panel of glass, with anything remotely heavy, such as photo frames, scissors, tape dispenser, his coaster, even a strange prism.
"Raven!…" Robin started and then rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner whilst attempting to avoid direct eye contact, confirming her suspicions.
Raven placed Robin's chai tea on the coaster on his desk, then took a minute to look around. As she'd suspected the window was shattered and if she squinted slightly, tilted her head a little to the left, it even looked like a comical silhouette… almost a Beast Boy shaped hole.
"Your technique could use some work, but it's good for a first attempt" Raven murmured, hip resting on Robin's desk.
Robin had the grace to go red in the face, the amount of times he'd chastised Raven for tossing Beast Boy out of the window for annoying her. He picked up the tea, accepting that he may have had too much coffee… and not enough sleep.
When he remained silent, Raven blew on her tea, and took a sip, before asking, "So what did he do?"
Robin rubbed his eyes, wondering if he should tell he that the red and black figures had started doing the can-can on the spreadsheet in front of him… and he'd had to call Beast Boy in to explain a rather large, complete unsanctioned expense…
"He tried to claim a moped as a Teen Titan's business expense…" Robin muttered, realising how trivial it sounded… Beast Boy was always trying to get a moped on the Teen Titan's account. He prayed for a Teen Titans alert, Bat alert… fire alert… any alert…
Raven paused, sipped and watched Robin over the rim of her tea cup. Eventually she said, "He tries that every year… you've never tossed him out of the window before."
Robin groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, it was becoming apparent that Raven was not going to let this go…
He sighed and gave in, "Why did I decide it was a good idea for me to do the Teen Titan's tax returns?"
Raven raised an eyebrow, "Well Robin… despite my constant, I believe the word you used was "nagging", that you were letting your obsession with Slade get the better of you… you went without sleep, without food, you snapped at our friends, and finally you practically accused our accountant of working for Slade… the accusation ended with you announcing her pregnancy in front of a packed cafe… To be honest, I'm not sure that's how she wanted her husband to find out…"
Robin groaned at the memory, a Slade obsession combined with excessive coffee consumption was not a good combo.
"The only way we were able to contain the situation and avoid a lawsuit, was by giving her a full years paid maternity leave… with the promise that you will not speak to her for the entire year" Raven reminded him.
Most would only have heard her usual monotone, Robin however, heard the gentle reprimand.
"Why didn't we hire another accountant?" Robin asked rubbing his temples in an effort to relieve some stress and tension.
"You were too stubborn," Raven replied bluntly
"Why didn't you say something?" Robin asked almost hesitantly.
Raven's eyebrow shot up again, "I did. You said, you were paying so it was your decision, I believe your exact words were… "after all how hard can it be?""
Robin winced, "I'm sorry."
"Why? It was the truth," Raven responded, "you were paying for it… or at least Bruce was."
Raven took another sip of her chai tea, still watching Robin who now looked slightly distraught and on the verge of a breakdown.
Deciding he'd probably suffered enough based on the level of distress on his face and the emotions of guilt and regret, humming through their bond, Raven took a deep breathe, on the exhale she uttered her chant, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
At her manta, the shards of glass surrounded by her dark magic, lifted in the air and rearranged, with another "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" the pieces fused together back into a single plane of fitted glass
Robin wondered if he would ever not be amazed at the versatility of Raven's powers.
She waited until his masked eyes met hers, then relented, "I spoke to Lucius Fox. I thought if Batman can trust him to do his books, then maybe we can too. He'll finish up Bruce's tax return and start ours on Monday."
Robin was so busy trying to contain his tears of relief, that he, almost unconsciously, said with some feeling, "I love you, Raven!"
Robin went white, as what he had let slip sank in. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound emerged, for once he was speechless. Then he simply glazed at Raven, masked eyes round as saucers, waiting for Raven to throw him out of the window, or worse toss him into another dimension. Raven's eyes widened as well. To buy herself some time, she took another sip of tea, while she weighed his worlds against the new jumble of emotions tumbling through their bond, his surprise, fear, relief… love…? She paused and stared at him for a moment longer, recording the moment in her memory… "I love you too, Boy Blunder."
Small print:
- Teen Titans/Nightwing are owned by DC Comics.
- Raven and Nightwing were created by the dynamic duo of Marc Wolfman and George Perez.
- Dick Grayson was created and introduced as Robin by Bill Finger and Bob Kane.
- This story takes characters from the awesome Teen Titans Animated Series and places them in an original work by me.