A.N. This chapter took far longer to turn out than I expected. School is an absolute nightmare. The only reason I found time to post this is that I'm off on Thanksgiving holiday this week. (Happy Turkey Day, everyone!) Sorry for the delay, and please enjoy the chapter.
Chapter six of Like It Or Not, entitled "Mayhem Tuesday"
Tuesday, May 22; four days remaining
Raven was feeling rather irritable from the moment she awoke. It was a few minutes before four-thirty when she groggily opened her eyes and knew for certain that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep again now that she was up. For yet another night she had slept restlessly, spending most of the time teetering on that horrid line between sleep and alertness, which subjected her to a cloudy, dreamless sort of rather un-rejuvenating rest.
Weak with drowsiness Raven struggled to sit in her bed, blinking against the faintly moonlit darkness that would still be covering the room for at least another hour. She had the urge to simply lie in her warm, cozy bed for a while longer, but she couldn't shake off a feeling of trepidation stemming from God knows what. She had been brooding about the curse for enough time now that even when she wasn't actually thinking about it, apprehension hung about her subconscious like a thick, persistent fog.
But there was no sense in just lying there fretting when there were better things to be done.
After reluctantly leaving the solace of her comfortable bed, dressing, and stopping by the bathroom to brush her teeth, Raven silently made her way down to the common room, looking forward to a bit of meditation in front of its expansive window before everyone else woke up. Perhaps some of her tension would be released by a good bit of peace and quiet. Watching the sunrise over Jump City was one of her favorite ways to start the day, the silence of the Tower at the crack of dawn adding to the naturally calming feeling of watching a new day being ushered in.
But much to her severe dismay, as she opened the mechanical doors and stepped into the common room, Raven was greeted by a whoosh of obnoxiously loud, electronic music. Raven frowned murderously, her hopes for a quiet morning immediately being shot dead. And who else would be the one to ruin her morning plans but the one she was betrothed to?
Completely unaware that he was in the wrong place at a terribly wrong time, Beast Boy continued to sit on the couch, completely engrossed in a racing car video game.
At freaking four-thirty in the morning.
Oblivious to the fact that a very upset Raven had just stepped into the room, Beast Boy continued to furiously manipulate buttons on his controller, physically leaning and jumping as his car sped through a simulated highway that looked more like a bizarre obstacle course than a proper road.
"C'mon, c'mon!" Beast Boy muttered to himself under his breath, leaning severely to the left to dodge what appeared to be a mutated monkey as it jumped screeching in front of his vehicle. He jammed a button, which honked the car horn, and a red plasma ray shot from the bumper. It melted several nearby lava lamps into shiny, techni-colored puddles that sizzled and dissolved through the road.
Feeling immensely irritated that she apparently wouldn't be getting her much needed quiet time here, Raven half-watched as Beast Boy drove through several silver coins, which caused pixilated sparks to fly across the screen and cued some very annoying victory music.
Tired of watching on, Raven cleared her throat loudly. Beast Boy jumped at the sudden noise behind him and his head whirled around. Raven glanced at the screen with disinterest as his car skidded loudly off the road, collided with a broken hotdog stand, and unceremoniously burst into flames. Deep, maniacal laughter sounded as "GAME OVER" flashed across the screen and Beast Boy cried out in distress. A dancey, Mission: Impossible-esque theme tune began to play as he was brought back to the main menu screen.
"Aw, I was this close to beating Cy's all time high score!" Raven's groom-to-be whined loudly, tossing the controller onto the coffee table with a clatter.
Raven stared dispassionately at Beast Boy as he pouted.
"Is there any reason you're up so early?" she asked, mind already formulating dozens of plans to get him out of the room.
Beast Boy grinned sheepishly. "Actually, I'm just up late."
Raven raised an eyebrow dubiously. "You haven't slept at all?" she inquired. Beast Boy did love to stay up late watching television, reading comics, eating ice cream, and doing other things of that frivolous nature, but four-thirty was pushing it, even for him.
"Yeah, I kinda gave up trying to fall asleep 'round two and I wanted to try out Road Map Extreme 3. There's nothing like driving through a dangerous alternate universe to get your mind off things." The changeling shrugged and Raven noticed that his eyes looked a bit darker than usual. She eyed him skeptically.
"Seriously, don't worry 'bout it," Beast Boy replied, waving her off. He rose and switched off the game, which mercifully stopped that God-awful theme music and plunged the room into silence. Raven continued to stare furtively at Beast Boy with her arms crossed, obviously waiting for more of an explanation.
For a minute he seemed unwilling to say anything more, but then he sighed in defeat and flopped back on the couch, patting the cushion beside him. Raven considered him briefly then slowly moved to take a seat on the couch a good distance away from him. For a moment neither of them spoke.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Raven asked at last.
"You know what's wrong," Beast Boy replied automatically. "Well, nothing's wrong wrong, ya know, just… I have too much to think about."
"So you're still too worried about our wedding to sleep?" Raven guessed gently.
Beast Boy hesitated "Yeah," he admitted. "Don't tell me you're not. Not even you get up this early."
"Guilty as charged," she said quietly.
Beast Boy frowned tiredly. "Well, you know I'm here if you ever wanna talk," he reminded her, his last few words slurred together by a tremendous yawn.
"Right," Raven said noncommittally, chalking up his strange offer for anything that resembled a heart-to-heart to the fact that he was more than a bit sleepy. But Beast Boy was apparently waiting for a better response, because he cracked one slightly bloodshot eye open mid-yawn and looked expectantly at her. No doubt Beast Boy was waiting for her to reciprocate his offer to gladly listen if he felt like pouring out his thoughts and feelings. Raven smirked to herself. No amount of sleep deprivation would make her do that, and that much was certain.
"Well, you look tired to me," Raven said at last, breaking away from what was becoming a rather uncomfortable discussion. She had a hunch that Beast Boy was extremely close to nodding off. "Why don't you go off to bed again and see if you can sleep?"
Beast Boy slowly shook his head. "Nah, I won't be able to."
Raven shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm going to meditate. Don't you dare turn on your video game again," she warned him, standing up.
"Yeah, whatever," he shrugged, lying down on the couch on his side and resting his head in the crook of his arm.
Raven grinned a bit to herself, feeling better now that she would be getting her quiet meditation time. Sharing a room with a snoozing Beast Boy wasn't too far from being alone, even though he did have a tendency to snore.
Before five minutes had gone by, Beast Boy had ceased moving and was apparently slumbering. Raven walked to the window and assumed the lotus position on the floor. She gazed out the window at the sky, where the faintest hues of purple and pink were just skimming the horizon. Raven comfortably sunk into meditation, chanting her mantra slowly under her breath and enjoying the pacifying feeling of blissful disconnection that came streaming in.
Unfortunately, the tranquility didn't last more than five minutes.
"Rae?"
Raven's concentration broke and her eyes opened. She frowned.
"What?" Raven replied shortly. She could feel his sheepish smile without turning around.
"I was thinking about what you said, ya know, about how nothing has to change," Beast Boy said from behind her back. "When we're married."
Raven's expression of perturbation faltered.
"Were you?" she responded, staring pointedly out the window at a building far away.
"Yep."
Raven waited for him to continue.
"Well…" Beast Boy trailed off uncertainly. "I just think that…" He breathed out lightly. "Maybe everything doesn't have to stay exactly the same, 'cause maybe this is all happening for a reason," he said all at once and very quickly. So quickly, in fact, that Raven almost couldn't understand him.
Raven cautiously turned her head towards the changeling. "Why do you say that?" she inquired evenly.
Beast Boy wouldn't meet her gaze but instead stared out the window to her right. He took a full minute to decide how he would respond.
"Maybe it's dumb," he said slowly, "But I've never thought that stuff like this - big stuff, I guess - happens for no reason at all. Out of everything that could have happened you're stuck with me, but that can't just be random. Like, there's got to be a purpose to why we're getting married other than to just satisfy this curse thing. Maybe it's supposed to be more than just saying 'I do' then going off and trying to forget we're even married, and I know that's exactly what you planned to do, so don't try to argue."
"Beast Boy," Raven cut him off with a sigh, "You're just rambling. Seriously, go to bed."
"Rae," Beast Boy said, his voice almost pleading. His eyes locked with hers. "Please don't give up before this thing even starts, ok?"
Raven stared back at him for a moment then shook her head slowly.
"I can't promise you anything," she replied quietly. "The team is our life and our biggest commitment right now. Nothing can disrupt that."
Beast Boy nodded sadly. "I knew you were gunna say something like that," he admitted. "Well don't forget that I'm not giving up, even if you have." He grinned, genuinely but sedately.
Feeling puzzled, Raven turned her head back to the window as she felt her cheek grow warm from the early morning rays of sun that had all of a sudden sprung up, illuminating the city in a soft, hazy light blue.
"I won't forget," she said carefully. Raven cleared her throat, trying to dispel the awkward feelings that Beast Boy seemed bound and determined to ensnare her with.
"That's all I ask," he replied with a tone of finality, hopping up from the couch. "Maybe I'll go give sleeping another shot. I guess I'm feeling a little tired. 'Night, Raven."
Raven didn't reply, and she didn't even turn around as he left. She just scowled internally, miffed that Beast Boy had to go and think and complicate everything even further.
TT
The early morning hours passed by too quickly in Raven's opinion, and before she knew it, it was nine o'clock and Cyborg had come in to invite her for breakfast. He informed her that Starfire and Beast Boy were already in the kitchen but Robin had either already eaten or was skipping breakfast in favor of working.
Although not particularly hungry, she acquiesced and joined three of her teammates in the kitchen. Someone had left a few pieces of burnt toast on a plate in front of the seat where she usually sat, and she opted to forgo her usual cup of tea for a glass of orange juice. She then sat down to eat between Beast Boy and Cyborg, across from Starfire, who had placed Silkie in a highchair beside her.
"I trust that you are having a most pleasant morning, friend Raven?" Starfire chirped, spooning hot pink muck into Silkie's gaping mouth.
"Sure," Raven replied dully, eying a particularly charred corner of a piece of toast.
"Splendid," Starfire exclaimed, "Although I fear that Beast Boy is not feeling well," she said, a frown clouding over her face.
"For the millionth time, Star," Beast Boy said indignantly, mouth full and waving a fork laden with tofu egg, "I am not sick. I just didn't sleep that much, that's all."
"And why did you choose not to partake in rest last night?" Starfire asked patiently.
Beast Boy shrugged. "I kinda couldn't stay asleep." He shot a furtive glance at Raven. "I did try, though."
Starfire's frown grew. "On my planet, the inability to achieve slumber over a long period of time may signify the presence of evil spirits in the body of the afflicted, either that or giant Korzag worms. Friend Beast Boy, are you suffering from evil spirits or Korzag worms?"
"What? No!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "I just…" He scowled. "Forget it, it's nothing important."
Cyborg eyed his friend wisely but did not comment. His knowing look made Beast Boy feel strangely uncomfortable.
"Anyone know where Rob is?" Beast Boy asked, trying to change their topic of discussion.
"Robin is working on very pressing matters in the operations room," Starfire replied. "He declined to dine with us this morning as he has much to accomplish today."
"Typical Robin," Cyborg sighed, prodding his heap of bacon with his fork.
"Well let him work," Beast Boy declared. "If he wants to hole up in the Tower all day by himself that's his own fault."
"Hey, don't forget whose wedding he's got to sort out so much stuff for now," Cyborg reminded his friend.
Beast Boy looked slightly contrite. "Of course I'm not forgetting. But how much stuff does he have to do?"
"Could you be any more guileless?" Raven replied caustically.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Beast Boy shot back.
"So," Cyborg spoke up, sensing that a classic clash of Raven's corrosive witticism and Beast Boy's often aggravating ignorance was about to ensue. "Anyone else watch the news this morning?"
Raven lost interest in Beast Boy for the time being in favor of answering Cyborg.
"No, why? Was the wedding leaked?" she immediately responded.
"Chill Rae!" Cyborg said defensively. "No. At least not really. Some guy got a picture of you and BB downtown yesterday. Nothing big."
Raven raised an eyebrow. "When exactly was the picture taken?" she inquired, almost afraid to ask.
"In front of the jewelry store," Cyborg admitted, "But I can guarantee that Rob's working on it." He could tell that Raven was ready to vociferate her worries on the matter so he kept talking. "But what's done is done. Don't worry 'bout it, really. You got the rings, that's all that matters, right?"
"Right!" Beast Boy agreed. "In fact, I think I've got 'em here," he said as he rummaged through his pockets. "Aha!" he exclaimed in triumph as he pulled the two silver rings from his left pocket.
"And why are you keeping those in your pocket?" Raven asked in slight disgust.
"For safe keeping," Beast Boy replied with a shrug.
Silkie, who had finished its meal and hopped up onto the table to stare longingly at the breakfast plates, blinked at the rings as Beast Boy set them down on the table. Before Starfire could react, the silkworm had skittered forward, upsetting Cyborg's glass of orange juice as it dived for the rings.
"Silkie, no!" Starfire cried, but it was too late. Silkie had descended upon and swallowed the rings with a single squelchy gulp, clucking happily and utterly unaware of what precisely it had done.
Beast Boy yelped, immediately grabbing Starfire's pet and trying to pry open it's mouth. The startled worm let out a petrified squeal of fright and began wriggling madly, trying to break free of the changeling's grasp.
Raven just sighed in exasperation and put her head in her hands.
Cyborg was fighting back a laugh, but knew that he should at least offer to help his struggling friend. He compromised with himself by removing Beast Boy's glass of orange juice from where it was dangerously close to being elbowed off the table. Shrugging, he emptied the glass with one swallow, only to choke on it a moment later when he almost burst out laughing as Silkie's teeth clamped down on several of Beast Boy's fingers.
Starfire was all the while standing close by Beast Boy, wringing her hands and asking Silkie to return to friend Beast Boy what it had eaten.
"Hello? Little help here?" Beast Boy called, glancing in frustration around the table at Raven and Cyborg who were watching him, Cyborg still coughing.
"You should not have placed such shiny objects within close proximity of Silkie," Starfire admonished him.
"Me?" Beast Boy cried in disbelief, "He's the one who jumped across the table and ate my rings!"
After several more minutes of Beast Boy wrestling the now severely traumatized worm, he was able to triumphantly squeeze the rings (along with the entirety of its hot pink breakfast) onto the kitchen table, using a move akin to the Heimlich maneuver.
While shaking her head and telling Beast Boy that he would have to boil her ring in bleach before she would even consider wearing it now, Raven deliberately moved her juice and plate of toast to the far corner of the table, away from the mess near Beast Boy.
Starfire was crooning at and cuddling a severely shell-shocked Silkie, who was shaking intensely and staring wide-eyed in Beast Boy's direction.
Deliberately pocketing the dirty rings again, Beast Boy scowled severely at Silkie. It jumped a good half-foot in the air when Beast Boy rose to get paper towels, making the changeling grin evilly.
"I insist that you do not further emotionally harm my innocent bumgorf," Starfire demanded loudly.
"What! Did you not see that evil little monster swallow my rings?" Beast Boy shot back.
"Star, he doesn't know what he's saying!" Cyborg replied quickly, seeing that Starfire was prepared to duke it out with (and probably severely harm) Beast Boy for insulting her pet. "He's just sleep deprived, remember?"
Starfire, whose eyes had begun to glow green, suddenly returned to normal and filled with compassion for her friend.
"Oh Beast Boy, I implore for your forgiveness! I had forgotten that a Korzag worm infestation also causes one to lose control of their reasoning."
"For the last time, I don't have Zorkag worms!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"Of course you don't," Starfire replied kindly in her best nurse-at-a-happy-house voice.
Cyborg sighed to himself and closed his eyes. Sometimes he wondered why he ever tried.
TT
Robin groaned, closing his eyes and massaging his temples while he laid his head against the high back of the chair he occupied. He had been on the phone for most of the morning, answering questions from newspapers and television stations regarding a single photo taken of two undercover Titans spotted shopping downtown the day before. It was a dumb thing to spark so much talk, but he supposed that it was a slow news week and the media was desperate for something to turn into an unnecessarily big deal.
Aside from handling that madness, he had reluctantly placed a call to his mentor, the notorious Bruce Wayne. Now Robin was certainly not one who enjoyed asking for help, but he was smart enough to know when help was needed. Bruce was far better than he at pulling off all sorts of undertakings without tipping off the wrong people, and while Robin hated to trouble the Batman over his own team's problems, he had done so anyway. As Robin expected, his unflappable mentor had hardly sounded surprised when he was informed that Raven and Beast Boy were to be married. Calm as ever, Bruce had graciously agreed to aid his protégé, and proper arrangements had been set.
Between all of this, Robin was spending some much needed time just thinking about the wedding. Now that a bit of time had passed since he learned of it and the initial shock had worn off, he came to the ego-bruising conclusion that he may have been a bit wrong to be so opposed to the marriage. After all, Raven marrying Beast Boy wasn't nearly as bad as her dying. Alright, so Robin had been selfish, and it had been wrong to refuse to help simply because the marriage could potentially weaken the team. The reality had struck him a little while ago that if she did not go through with the wedding, Raven would actually die. It was difficult for him to fathom a life without the dark sorceress on his team, so much so that he had pretty much blocked out that possibility long ago. He truly wanted to believe that the Titans would all be together and happy forever, so when something came up that threatened to break them apart, his initial reaction was to do whatever he could to prevent the change. He had all but refused to accept the prospect of disruption to his satisfyingly ordered world, a mistake he would hate to confess to anyone. Still, admitting his mistake introspectively certainly counted for something, didn't it?
Robin lazily opened an eye when he heard the doors to the operations room whoosh open. He nonchalantly waved his greeting as Cyborg and Starfire entered. Cyborg went over to one of the research consoles while Starfire sat down in a chair and scooted it close to Robin's.
"You look quite tired, Robin," she remarked while carefully eying her weary leader, whose head was still propped on his chair back. "Are you feeling healthy? I do hope that you are not also suffering from a Korzag worm infestation."
"What? I'm fine," Robin assured her, slightly puzzled, "I was just dealing with some wedding business and fending off the media."
Starfire nodded grimly. "Cyborg has informed us that the media is aware of the situation."
"They think that something's up," Robin replied, "But then again, they always do. I wouldn't worry about it."
"Their only source of information here is a picture from a camera phone taken of BB and someone assumed to be Raven in front of a jewelry store. It's no big deal," Cyborg added, not glancing away from the monitor he was half-heartedly studying.
"I contacted the jewelry store where Raven and Beast Boy bought their rings. Luckily they have a policy against divulging customer sales records," Robin said. "I personally paid the shop a visit this morning to make sure that the record would remain confidential."
"Death threats?" Cyborg joked.
Robin grinned. "Nope, but we're all wearing Timeless jewelry to the Jump City Summer Gala."
Starfire clasped her hands together. "Glorious!" she exclaimed. "Your Earth jewelry made of precious metals and tiny stones is most enchanting."
Cyborg wasn't nearly as impressed, but he grunted and went back to eying the screen in front of him.
"My friends," Starfire began after a comfortable silence, "I have researched the matter and have found that it is traditional for the acquaintances of the bride and groom to offer gifts on the wedding day. What will we give to our friends on their day of celebration?"
Robin's brow furrowed. "You know, I haven't given that much thought, but I don't think that Raven particularly wants any presents, and Beast Boy would be happy getting… pretty much anything."
"You can't go wrong with videogames," Cyborg offered.
"But we always get Beast Boy videogames. In fact, I can't think of a single birthday or Christmas that he hasn't gotten videogames," Robin reminded his friend.
Cyborg grinned. "But what else can we get him that won't end up lost and forgotten somewhere in that pigsty he calls a bedroom?"
"I have learned that it is customary for the newlywed couple to travel to a moon of honey following the conclusion of their wedding," Starfire declared. "Perhaps we could purchase this trip to the moon of honey for our friends as a gift."
Cyborg couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think they'll be going on a honeymoon, Starfire."
"But why not?" Starfire asked. "I think it is a wonderful idea for the recently married couple to have a vacation during which to celebrate their recent union."
"Honeymoons aren't ordinary vacations," Robin replied carefully. "They're usually a lot more… you know, intimate."
Starfire blinked. "Intimate?" she repeated.
He tried not to blush. "Yeah. They're supposed to be all romantic and about the couple connecting with each other."
"And our friends do not wish to connect with each other on a moon of honey?" Starfire said, attempting to understand.
Robin was about to stammer a reply when Cyborg spoke.
"What Robin's attempting to sugarcoat," Cyborg replied with a longsuffering sigh, "Is that honeymoons are all about being in love, having sex, and getting to know your partner better."
"Oh," Starfire replied while nodding slowly, realization finally dawning, "Then I see why our friends would not wish to take such a trip."
"Exactly," Robin agreed quickly. "So, Cyborg," he said, switching subjects, "What're you working on?"
"Right now not much, but real early this morning while you were already busy P.R.-ing, we got a fax from the JCPD. Two warehouses on opposite sides of Jump City's factory district were broken into last night and a total of three hundred pounds of steel was reported stolen this morning."
"Must be Rancid," Robin grumbled, mask narrowed.
"That was my first thought too, but after pokin' around a little bit, I'm pretty sure it wasn't him. For one thing, all surveillance cameras in and around the first warehouse were deactivated simultaneously and no alarms were tripped. There were no witnesses and only some broken glass lying around afterwards as evidence. The thief, assuming that it was the same guy who pulled both heists, repeated the same method in the second warehouse later the same hour. It was a real clean job, and Rancid wouldn't be able to pull off something like that. I meant to tell Rae and BB all that at breakfast but I never got the chance," Cyborg finished, giving Starfire a look.
Robin shook his head in aggravation. "Why wasn't I informed about all this earlier?"
"Hey, you were busy. Besides, the rest of us are perfectly capable of doing a little research," Cyborg pointed out. "And it's not like there's anything we can do about it now but be ready for this thief to strike again."
"We'll have to double up on patrol duty for a while," Robin stated. "One of us will go about the normal night rounds and one of us will be assigned to patrol only the factory district."
"Sounds like a plan," Cyborg agreed.
"This will indeed be quite taxing to our team," Starfire remarked. "With Raven temporarily unable to perform the patrol, that leaves only four of us."
"With two four hour shifts per night, we'll be fine without her for a few days," Robin assured her. "Where's Beast Boy? He needs to be informed of the patrol schedule change."
"No clue," Cyborg answered. "The happy couple has been MIA since breakfast."
"Well I'm done 'P.R.-ing' for now," Robin announced, standing up. His joints cracked audibly, protesting the abrupt movement after hours of sitting. He stretched his sore arms over his head. "If any more nosy news companies call the Tower, I've got our statements written down by the phone in here."
"Robin, if you do not have any more pressing matters to attend to, would you like to accompany me to the shop of wedding cakes?" Starfire inquired. "I wish to attend to that matter today. You can aid me in the exciting task of picking out the best tiered pastry confection for our dear friends!"
"Sure. Just let me run some things by Raven and Beast Boy first, then we can go," Robin replied.
"Wonderful! I will be eagerly awaiting your arrival in the foyer of our home," Starfire informed him. "I assume that you wish to again travel in the cognito?"
"It's incognito, Star," Robin corrected her. "And yes. I'll meet you on the first floor in a minute."
"Enjoy your little date," Cyborg called over his shoulder as his friends left the room together, the doors closing behind them before they could reply.
TT
After checking the kitchen, the training room and Raven's bedroom, Robin finally found the sorceress staring at a book in the common room, not even pretending to listen while Beast Boy jumped about expressively, prattling on about some horror movie he had seen recently. When Robin entered the room, Beast Boy was in the middle of single-handedly enacting a scene in which zombies tore apart a wooly mammoth. Grateful for another excuse to ignore the boy, Raven turned her head to watch Robin as he stepped into the room.
"Hey," Robin greeted his friends. "I'm heading out with Star to pick out your wedding cake, so if either of you want to come, speak now or forever hold your peace."
Raven scoffed and Beast Boy snorted.
"I'll take that as an 'I could care less' from both of you," Robin said amusedly.
"You know us well," Raven replied, absently tracing a finger over the spine of her book.
"Well," Robin began, suddenly falling into his all-business leader mode. "Neither of you have been briefed on last night's steel heists. You'll have to ask Cyborg to fill you in. I would, but Star's waiting for me. Anyway, I've decided that we're going to double up on our nighttime patrolling force for the time being. There will be two shifts per night, two of us on each shift. One of us will go about the normal patrol rounds while the other focuses only on the factory district." Robin noted that Raven's face grew a little bit darker while he was speaking. She was already anticipating his next words. "Raven, you won't be assigned to patrol duty until you regain your powers."
Raven nodded curtly, subconsciously gripping the binding of her book a little bit more tightly.
"Before I forget," Robin continued, "I made arrangements for you two to visit a certain marriage license clerk tomorrow."
Beast Boy blinked. "Marriage license?" he said skeptically.
Raven sighed in exasperation.
"Bruce called in a favor from an acquaintance who works as a marriage license clerk," Robin explained. "She's willing to work through the paperwork you two need for the wedding, no questions asked."
"That's great," Raven replied, quite relieved by this news.
"So when are we going?" Beast Boy inquired excitedly.
"You and Raven will be flying out to Gotham tomorrow morning, and you'll be back by late afternoon. Bruce's jet will pick you up from Jump's city limits and drop you off at the same place."
"Sweet, we get to ride in a jet!" Beast Boy enthused, doing a little victory dance.
"Yippee," Raven cheered sarcastically. "We just have to be back before dinner. Starfire wants to take me dress shopping then."
Beast Boy sniggered, and Raven glared daggers at him.
"Just be careful that no one recognizes you," Robin said uneasily. "We don't want a repeat of the jewelry store mishap."
"There was nothing we could do, Robin," Raven insisted, "Beast Boy had to take down those criminals. He took off his hologram ring and some lucky guy must have snapped a picture of us. It's no big deal."
"I know, I know," Robin assured her, holding up his hands in a defensive sort of way. "Just be careful, that's all I'm asking."
"Of course we will be careful," Raven replied spitefully. She glanced over at Beast Boy, who was still hopping about with excitement over getting to fly in a jet.
"Well, I'll be going," Robin said, retreating from the room with a wave.
Raven continued to watch Beast Boy as the kitchen door swooshed closed. "Why are you so excited?" she asked, her tone apathetic. "You get to fly in the T-Ship at least twice a month."
"But this is Batman's jet, Rae!" Beast Boy grinned at her, "It's so much cooler than the T-Ship!"
"It's actually Bruce Wayne's jet. And don't let Cyborg catch you saying that," Raven warned him.
Beast Boy plopped down on a stool near Raven. "Whatever," he said dismissively. "Anyway, I'm kinda surprised that you didn't want to go with Rob and Star to get the wedding cake. You know they're probably gunna get some sugary, lacey, flowery thing just to spite us, right?"
Raven sighed resignedly. "It's not a big deal. Cake is cake. Around here, if it's edible, it'll be eaten no matter what it looks like."
"No kidding. Oh! That reminds me. Do you think they'll remember to get a vegan friendly wedding cake?"
"Is it even possible to make a cake without milk and eggs?" Raven replied dubiously.
"That's a good point," Beast Boy admitted. "Maybe we can get a cake made out of–"
"Don't say it," Raven warned him, "We aren't going to have a tofu wedding cake."
"I don't see why not," Beast Boy argued. "Maybe –– hey, I've got a great idea! You know how there's usually a little figurine thingy of the bride and groom on top of the cake?"
"Yes, what's your point?"
"We should use our action figures!" Beast Boy announced brilliantly.
"That would bring tackiness to a whole new level," she responded, unimpressed.
"Aw, c'mon! It'll be cute," the changeling pleaded, "I've already got the action figures and everything."
Raven blinked at him. "And why do you have action figures of our team?" she asked, slightly disturbed.
Beast Boy shrugged. "It's a novelty."
"It's creepy," Raven muttered.
"Oh come on," Beast Boy said, rolling his eyes. "They just sit on my desk most of the time." He smiled devilishly. "That is, when I'm not using them to enact my secret fantasies."
Raven looked at him in disgust. "I sure hope you're kidding about that."
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Beast Boy replied vaguely, obviously enjoying messing with her head. "Anyway, back to the wedding cake. Are we going to do that thing where we freeze the top tier of the cake and eat it on our first anniversary?"
"That would be a completely pointless tradition to keep," Raven replied.
"But it'll be so romantic," Beast Boy crooned, giving Raven his sappiest smile.
Raven looked unimpressed. "There's nothing romantic about wasting freezer space on something that'll inadvertently end up being accidentally eaten, destroyed, or just forgotten about long before one year has passed."
"You're so… unsentimental," Beast Boy pouted.
Ignoring his comment completely, Raven stood up and set her book down on the coffee table. "I'm going to meditate," Raven informed him, leaving the room without so much as glancing at her future husband.
The doors shut behind her and Beast Boy was left alone. "Yeah, see ya," he said in the direction of the closed door. He yawned, already bored of being alone in the quiet room. Maybe he'd go find Cyborg and beg him to play video games, or maybe he'd just spend some time flipping channels. Surprisingly, neither of those activities seemed quite as appealing to as they usually did. Perhaps he'd just go for a nap instead. Right then, he needed all the extra rest he could get.
TT
Robin and Starfire arrived downtown on Robin's R-Cycle, leaving it hidden in an alleyway near a main street. Both Titans were clad in casual civilian clothing, and Robin particularly enjoyed the strange experience of walking around in public without being mobbed by fans. Dark sunglasses took the place of his mask, in addition to a pair of colored contact lenses ("Just in case," he justified). Perhaps what he enjoyed the most was the jubilance with which Starfire talked on about the wedding, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was the only one excited about the occasion.
Their first stop was a little store that was known for being one of the best bakeries in the city. A single bell tinkled overhead as Robin held the door open for Starfire.
"Oh, is this not the most perfect little shop, Robin?" Starfire exclaimed with a gasp, her eyes flitting around the bright, single room store, which was crammed with many tables and displays of abundant pastry confections. The store smelled wonderfully of freshly baked bread and was impeccably clean. It was also incredibly silent, as Robin and Starfire were the only patrons.
"Sure," Robin agreed with a grin, taking in his surroundings.
Just then a young, male employee with black hair and a thin face stepped out from the back of the shop, stepping quickly through the store to greet his customers.
"Can I help you with anything?" he asked while wiping his flour-covered hands on his slightly stained white apron.
"We would very much like to see your selection of wedding cakes, please." Starfire replied.
"Alright," the employee nodded. He motioned to a table to their left. "There's a binder of our wedding cake designs. We've got eleven flavors of cake to choose from, so when you're ready I'll bring you some samples."
Robin thanked him and moved to where Starfire was already busily flipping through the laminated pages of the old binder.
Within the hour, they had selected both the design and flavor for Beast Boy and Raven's wedding cake. After paying for the confection and giving instructions to have it ready for pick-up by very early Saturday morning, Robin felt surprisingly light-hearted. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Starfire couldn't stop giggling with infectious excitement and was barely being able to keep her feet on the ground. Maybe it was because on their way out of the shop, the young, dark-haired employee called after them, wishing them well on their wedding day. But whatever the reason was, Robin was quite happy that he had given up the foolish notion that the wedding was nothing but bad news.
--
I apologize for the long wait and also that this chapter was a bit uneventful compared to the others. It was a lot of setup for the chapters to come, so bear with me.
I'd like to hear what you think about the story. Any ideas or comments would be much appreciated.
As always, thank you for reading!
