22. Velvet, Tux, and Slings

"Okay…first order of business," a relatively healthy Robin said. "We need to get the laundry back."

"Umm…Robin, I'm telling you," Cyborg said, motioning to the B Level doors in front of him. "They're all sealed tight! Some error in our wiring caused the flood guards to go up. I'm surprised Noir could even breathe down there for so long."

Robin looked at me.

I shrugged.

"No doubt…that's why you couldn't teleport out of there," he said.

I nodded sheepishly.

"Well then…let's work on getting the flood guards disabled." Robin walked to the elevator.

"That could take all day!" Cyborg exclaimed. He and I followed the Boy Wonder. "Come on, Robin. We spent all of last night on a wild goose chase. Plus, with all the missions we've been on lately…can't we just take a break for one day?"

The elevator doors closed and we rode the platform up the length of the tower.

"Easy for you to say, Cy," Robin said. "You don't wear clothes."

"Oh, don't start pulling that on me again!"

"Think of the girls! They need that laundry taken care of pronto. Did that ever occur to you?"

"Since when did the girls' clothes matter more than yours, Noir's, and B.B.'s?"

Yeah…

I folded my arms and glared at Robin.

"Well, you know. Cuz…….they're girls."

Cyborg smirked. "Somebody needs a gender time out."

"Listen. We're heroes. We're busy. We're getting the lower levels of the Tower fixed. If we let those flood guards stay there, sealing the doors, we'll eventually forget about them."

"No we won't!" Cyborg said. "Robin, my brain is half *circuitry*. I won't forget it after twenty-four hours, k?"

"Very well," Robin sighed. "No use arguing with you, Cyborg."

"Boo-ya!"

I silently sniffed the air in the elevator. The suspicious smell of burning tofu increased as we rode up to the Main Room.

"We'll get our day off. Let's just hope nothing disastrously bad happens to the spare clothes we're wearing before we can get to that load of laundry again."

*DING*

The elevator doors opened.

I smelled the burning intensely.

Before us and bubbling out of the Main Room was a congealed mass of overheated, white goo coming out of the kitchen area. The chaotically waving figures of Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy in a chef's cap shouted at us: "LOOK OUT!!!"

The three of us guys recoiled in horror.

"AAAAAH!!!"

"YAAAAAH!!!"

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

SPLORTCH!!!!!!!

When I opened my eyes, I found my shades covered in a thick film of tofu pudding. I wiped the material off and saw the entire main room with a new paint job. What's worse, the Titans were covered from head to toe with the sticky, staining material.

"Um….think you cooked it long enough?" Raven dryly said.

"Hoo boy," Beast Boy sweatdropped. "That's gonna take forever to wash out."

Robin blinked behind his eyemask. "Okay then." He looked up at his android partner. "Got an idea for a place to spend the day off yet?"

"You mean besides up Beast Boy's butt??"

"I'm thinking the mall would be good."

"Well allright."

"Good idea."

"Sure."

"Glorious!"

I nodded.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"What are we taking? The T-Car?"

"Heck yeah, baby!

"Boy do you seem excited, Cy."

"You bet! Road trip!"

"Dude…it's just to the mall and back."

"Oh come on…don't harsh my buzz."

"Some buzz."

"Ugh…," Robin grunted as he walked into the garage. "These jeans are way too tight on me."

"Hey man, I'm not looking."

"Me neither."

He glared at them through his eyemask and retorted, "I'm not asking for your opinion. I mean it. I should just give these to the salvation army or something."

"Uh uh…I always burn my casual clothes after I'm through with them," Beast Boy said. He had a baseball uniform handy in the extreme corner of his closet. He seemed surprisingly cool despite the obvious….obviousness of his jersey and pinstriped shorts. No they didn't match. "Or at least I dip them in acid till there's nothing left of them!"

"Why so protective of your threads?" spoke Cyborg in his typical titanium buff.

"Hel-lo! We're crime fighters! There's no telling who would want to get her or his grubby hands on my shorts, find traces of DNA, and clone an army of Beast Boys or something!"

Robin blinked. "And how would they find DNA on your shorts of all places?"

"Um……," Beast Boy blushed. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Where're the girls?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, that's a good topic. Noir? Where're they anyways? They're late!"

I scratched my head and walked over to the T-Car.

All three looked at me.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Denim on denim?"

I sighed and shrugged.

"What's that you have for an undershirt?"

I parted the denim jacket over my jeans and revealed a white 'L.A. Clippers' logo.

Robin and Beast Boy laughed their heads off.

Cyborg sarcastically did a thumb's up.

I stuck my tongue out at them.

"I guess I could have it worse," Robin smirked.

"Noir, I must ask a question," Beast Boy raised a finger. "Do you ever have a butt?"

I was about to say something when the voices of girls wafted down from the stairs leading into the center of the garage.

"Raven! Do please come down!" Starfire was clad in jeans and a t-shirt with a cartoony turtle on it (the hell?). She spun around in sandal-clad feet and beckoned towards an unseen individual amidst the shadows. "You look perfectly fine!"

"I…am not….going out….like this…"

"Do not be so complacent," the earthly-dressed Tamaranian folded her arms and smiled, her head cocked to the side. "Your attire is most complementary to an outing such as this! Come on out, there is nothing to fear!"

"I will kill you…," Raven shuffled out and frowned in a pink summer frock. "Each and every one of you…"

Robin sweatdropped.

Cyborg whistled innocently.

And Beast Boy? "Hehehehe…hey Raven, you forgot your Easter Bonnet and all the frills upon i---"

Robin's and Cyborg's palms clamped over the changeling's mouth.

I scratched my neck and smiled innocently up at Raven.

She glared daggers at everyone. "This is not worth it. I shall just give you my measurements and let you buy things for m---" she glanced at Starfire.

Starfire smiled back.

"Never mind. I'll go."

"Glorious! I shall be by your side any time you need me. We've made excursions to the mall before. You remember how simple it is!"

"Yes…I remember having to explain to you that credit cards have as much a mortality rate as everything else on this strange planet we call Earth."

"Then it is settled! For surely you must remember my gratitude to you for such deliverance!"

Raven grumbled and looked down at the summer dress that dangled fully around her ankles. "Are you sure…this is your only other article that I can borrow?"

"Mmmhmmm," Starfire nodded. "Is it not pleasant?"

"It's certainly…….very pink," Raven muttered. She glanced up with a suspicious pair of eyes. "You sure I have to wear this and not what you have on?"

"Most definitely it had to have worked this way," Starfire remarked. "Height plays a major role. Besides, giving you a dress of mine is the best solution for accommodating your…..accommodating your……ahem…"

"Accommodating what?" the pink Raven glared.

"Never mind!" Starfire blushed, looked desperately over at Cyborg, and squeaked. "'Shot of the gun', please?"

Cyborg opened the front passenger seat door and smirked with an extended arm. "All yours, princess."

Starfire hopped in. Cyborg closed the door behind her and headed for the driver's seat.

"Four to the back?" Beast Boy scratched his head. "Sounds fun."

"We'll make do," Robin said. "Let's just get some new clothes and get back here."

"My thoughts exactly," Raven said, shuffling awkwardly to the left side.

I didn't realize until she was nearly at the door that I could have opened it for her. So I did at the last second, nearly frightening her.

"Um…thanks…," she said.

I simpered and let her in.

Robin and Beast Boy entered the other side—in that order.

I sat down to Raven's left.

It was quite a crunch, but we managed. It's a good thing Cyborg was driving and not riding.

I bumped elbows with Raven and looked apologetically down at her.

"Pleased to meet you," she said.

A sense of humor.

She looked off towards some unseen horizon with blank, blue eyes.

I almost felt sorry for her.

"Allright, people! Let's get this day on the road! Boo ya!"

"Take it easy, Cy!" Beast Boy spoke, squeezed to the extreme. "This is a task for some of us, ya know!"

"Oh go blow your nose," Cyborg grinned, kicked the car into gear, and throttled forward.

All of us scrunched back into our seats.

"Um…Cyborg?!?!" Robin gritted his teeth and sweatdropped. "The garage door!"

I bit my lip.

Beast Boy and Starfire covered their eyes.

Cyborg smirked.

He tapped the handle at the last second.

The door lifted, exposing the sunlight which blinded me as we swerved under the thin gap and zoomed off down the road.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!!" Cyborg laughed his head off. "I've been dying to show you all that!!"

"We can tell," Beast Boy squinted.

"I did not expect to be so frightened on this happy day!" Starfire winced.

"Um…Starfire?"

"Yes, Raven?"

"…..you might not want your dress back now."

"…….oh."

Beast Boy and I scrunched away.

Raven smirked.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

We cruised down the road towards the City Mall. Cyborg dangled his titanium arm out the window, whistling to his heart's content. "Ah….nobody could ask for a prettier day."

"Come on thunderclouds…," Raven chanted. "Come on thunderclouds—"

"Don't ruin the moment!"

"Yeah, Raven," Beast Boy peered over and smirked. "You're betraying your dress color."

"Somebody let me out or I'll convert this thing into a convertible and levitate home."

"Oh no you don't!" Cyborg cried. "Somebody talk some sense into her!"

"Think about it, Raven," Robin smirked from his window side. Hair blew at his dark bangs as he said, "Either you can stay stuck like that inside the Tower, or you can come with us and get some replacements!"

"Why couldn't we go in our uniforms?"

"Cuz they're for field action! Don't you get it?!" Beast Boy interrupted.

"That never stopped us before," the dark girl said. "And take a good look at yourself, bat boy. Hit any home runs lately?"

"Pbbbt!" Beast Boy stuck out his tongue.

"Oh, how I do enjoy listening in on such friendly banter!" Starfire grinned, her hands clasped together. "May I join by adding that Beast Boy's athletic costume is most reminiscent of a Treblagork Flower Petal?!"

"Umm…," the changeling looked at Robin. "Did she just call me a flower?"

"She sure did!" Cyborg chuckled.

"Dude! I am so NOT a flower!"

"That is a shame," Starfire grinned, her eyes shut. "You are most green like a stalk!"

"Uh…….what?" Beast Boy blinked.

Robin suddenly chuckled.

Beast Boy looked at him, a question mark bouncing above his forehead.

"That was p-pretty funny, actually," Robin snickered.

"You're all wyrd…."

"You're cute, you know that, Starfire?" Robin chuckled again, a hand over his eyemask.

"Heeeeeee," Starfire beamed.

Cyborg rolled his eyes, spotted a turn in the road, and grinned. "Gotta go west. HANG ON FOLKS!"

Beast Boy glared. "What are you talking abo—WHOAHHHH!!"

"WHOAHHH!!!"

"AAAAAIEEE!!"

Half the occupancy screamed and chuckled as Cyborg took an unnecessarily hard, swerving curve and accelerated us onto a straightaway that led eventually towards the mall in question.

The turn forced me to lean towards the center of the T-Car. I tried desperately to hold onto the Jesus bar above me, but it wasn't sufficient enough to keep me from leaning into Raven's petite shoulder.

"Ooof!" she grunted, forced into Beast Boy's side.

When we reached the straightaway, I scooted dramatically back against the window and gave her an apologetic bow of my head.

"It's okay," she mumbled. "I-I'll live."

"……..?" I glanced at her.

She looked away, but was blushing.

"?????" I shrugged it off and looked out the window.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

--CHIRP!!--

Cyborg locked the car by remote and slipped the device away into a titanium compartment. He sighed happily. "God, I love my car."

"Keep it to first base on the first date…," Robin patted him on the shoulder and led the way to the mall. "Let's go do this thing."

"Oh yeah! Dressed to kill!" Beast Boy did a jig in his baseball outfit.

Cyborg sweatdropped. "You're being sarcastic, I hope."

"I'm being alive."

"Whatever," a pink Raven droned.

The six of us were heading through the parking lot towards the main doors of the mall.

"Say…last time I was here, we had to beat up Mumbo Jumbo and win back the cash he stole from a Steak Escape."

"Why steal from a Steak Escape?" Cyborg remarked.

"Perhaps he was hungry?" Starfire suggested.

"If I recall…," Raven said, "…he was planning on robbing the software store downaways."

"We should have waited till he did!" Beast Boy slapped his forehead. "Lord knows all he got jailed for after we turned him in was an impromptu snack!"

"It's all in the past now," Robin said. "Right now, I want to get out of these jeans."

The five of us looked at our leader.

"After buying something else and changing! Jeez! You guys have a one track mind or what?!"

"I think you're flustering the girls here," Beast Boy motioned.

"Hardly likely," Raven mumbled.

Robin glanced at her, then at Starfire.

"We are here!" she spun and giggled at the sliding door entrance.

"Any chance people will recognize us out of uniform?" Beast Boy remarked.

"What uniform?" Cyborg glared.

"Oh right. Someone hide Cyborg."

"Hehehehe…friends! Do not be anxious! We are free to shop here without hindrance!" Starfire stepped into the mall. We followed and came to a stop. The interior was absolutely silent. Before us was an interspersed throng of shoppers, walkers, and security guards. And they were all staring at us.

Beast Boy gulped.

Starfire blinked. "Eek!"

"Got that right," Robin sweatdropped.

I looked to my right. Raven was missing. I did a double-take until I sensed a pink-clad figure hiding desperately behind me.

"Must….get…out…of…here…."

"Get ahold of yourself, Raven," Cyborg said. "Let's just….walk forward quietly….do our shopping…and head on back."

"You've got nothing to shop for…," Beast Boy whispered to his metallic friend. "So why don't you just….I dunno…."

"Distract them?"

"That sounds good."

"BOO-YA!!" Cyborg cheered, causing everyone within a visual radius to jump. "TEEN TITANS IN THE HIZZY, Y'ALL!!"

The crowd loosened up, laughed, and clapped their hands: cheering the arrival of the city's heroes.

"Cyborg…," Robin sweatdropped. "We all hate you."

"Yeah…hahahaha!" Beast Boy pointed. "Raven especially!"

"We go….NOW!" Raven shoved me in the rear with her knee.

I jumped, cleared my throat, and whistled innocently—walking along sideways so that the dark girl in pink could hide behind my shuffling figure. We headed straightway for the nearest store I could find.

Hot Topic.

I wonder if this'll be up her avenue……blah……scene change.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"You are certain it is wise to split up in this fashion?" Starfire asked. "Raven seemed most flustered when she and Noir carried off. And Cyborg seemed in a great deal of a hurry to leave the scene along with Beast Boy. Perhaps the mall was not a good place to come to."

"Don't be silly, Star!" Robin smiled at her as they walked past a few storefronts. "Besides, it was my idea. We needed a time out of the Tower. We can't keep cooped up in that place forever!"

"And I suppose I do need to get a new sling."

"I beg your pardon?" Robin looked at her wyrd.

"You know, a sling!" she smiled. "I've been meaning to purchase one from one of your earth vendors as of late."

"Whatever it is, Star…as long as it isn't too expensive," Robin chuckled.

They continued walking.

"You seem in quite the good mood today, Robin," Starfire smirked. "Are you fully recovered from your ailment?"

"So it seems," he exhaled. "How on earth did you and Raven get better so quickly?"

"Raven has meditative powers. It is beyond me to envision the secrets to her improved health," Starfire said.

"You put it so technically…," Robin remarked.

"I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for! It's cute, Starfire."

The casually dressed Tamaranian girl glanced at him and focused back on their trek. "I seem to be cute a lot more lately."

Robin scratched his neck. "Yeah….well….I won't hold you to it."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"Dude…that is—like—so wrong…," Beast Boy said.

"Need we say more?" Cyborg added.

"Just look at them…"

Cyborg reached a metallic hand out, picked up a 'Beast Boy' toy off the shelf of the kids' store, and looked it over. "Man…they got your ears all wrong."

"It's tiny and plastic! They wouldn't focus on detail!" Beast Boy stood on his tip toes and gawked at the action figure. "Oh my god…look at my crotch!! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Cyborg winced and put the package back. "I'd rather not."

"Are you here?"

"Yup," the android smirked and held up a box from a shelf. It was titled: 'The Titanium Titan'. "Check it out! They gave me a motorcycle! With missiles!"

"There's no cyborg motorcycle," Beast Boy folded his arms and frowned. "And no missiles either!"

"Actually, it's not half a bad idea," Cyborg chuckled. "Man…the scary ideas playthings give me."

"Don't ever repeat that sentence, thank you," Beast Boy cleared his throat. "Can we go get my clothes now?! It's just plain…freaky seeing licensed toys that look like yourself."

"Some of us are lucky," Cyborg mumbled and looked at the aisle in the toy store. "I'm not seeing any Raven or Starfire action figures."

Beast Boy rubbed his neck. "Um…try the girl's section on the other side."

Cyborg blinked. "Don't tell me—"

"They're dolls….yeah," Beast Boy simpered. "I dunno about Raven, but I just know Starfire beat out Tickle-Me-Elmo last Christmas."

"Lemme guess….lots of fake, red hair."

"I worry for the vacuum cleaners of girls' mothers everywhere," Beast Boy moaned. "Those dolls are way too…maintenance centered to be practical."

Cyborg shrugged and walked out into the mall area. "I'll take your word for it."

"HEY!" Beast Boy shuffled after him. "I wouldn't know anything about a Starfire doll!"

"I believe you."

"I've never even handled one!"

"Uh huh."

"…..seriously, I haven't."

"Right."

"……."

"……."

"……..not in the least—"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?!?!"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"This is so pointless. This is so pointless. This is so pointless."

Raven and I stood in the dark corner of the Hot Topic. Raven folded her arms and fumed in Starfire's pink frock while I busied myself with looking at a few t-shirts depicting classic video game characters and snazzy logos.

"I have all the robes I need at home," Raven rambled. "We could have spent the whole day salvaging the laundry from the sealed off cellar, but Robin and Cyborg had to insist on our trip here."

I held up a shirt with a Zelda Cartridge illustration….thought about it….then put it back on the shelf.

"And don't get me started on Starfire," the girl folded her arms and gritted her teeth. "That innocence and naiveté is all a ruse. She pleases herself in torturing me. I just know it."

I fingered through Mega Man…Ryu…and Samus.

"And Beast Boy. He can't keep his animalistic mouth shut. I hate immaturity. It just….just…complicates……..things……"

I looked at a pair of jeans, sighed, and put them down.

It was strangely silent.

I looked over at Raven curiously.

The girl was suddenly rummaging through a collection of black, velvety jeans with clothespins. "These are……interesting."

I raised an eyebrow.

"And….the size….," she said breathlessly.

A beat.

"Hold onto this," Raven tossed some pants into my arms. "Please?"

I stumbled with the sudden articles in my grasp and awkwardly recovered my balance. I managed to catch sight of Raven looking furiously through a set of gothic attired, mumbling things to herself. She was like a librarian.

I raised a free finger to gesture something when suddenly--

"I'll be right back," the girl said and ducked into a nearby dressing room.

"…….," I cleared my throat and stared at the floor.

Beneath the door frame of the room, I saw a pair of bare feet. Shadows moved around a few seconds before a pink dress fell to the floor like a deflated flower.

I spun around and stared out the entrance of the store. I hugged the pants to my chest.

It was my turn to blush.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"Beast Boy! Come out of there!!" Cyborg banged his knuckles on the dressing room door inside a JC Penney's.

"Just a second!!"

"You've been in there a whole twenty minutes! It's time to regroup with the others, for crying out loud!"

"Patience is the key to success! In this case, success is a good looking changeling! HA!"

"Oh please," Cyborg rolled his eyes. "I'm off to the arcade, smell you---"

The door flung open.

Cyborg flinched, sweatdropped, and whimpered. "….later?"

"Wellllllllll?!" Beast Boy posed in a tux.

"Um……..B.B.," Cyborg cleared his throat. "The idea was to buy day clothes. Not something for the prom."

"It sure beats a baseball uniform anyday in my book!" Beast Boy smirked and did a Humphrey Bogart impression.

"God help us all."

"Indeed. I'm buying it!"

"Your funeral."

Beast Boy led the way to a nearby checkout counter. A young female clerk came to his attention.

"I'd like to….buy what I'm wearing," the green elf smirked and snapped a suave, pointed finger at the girl.

Cyborg planted a hand over his face and moaned.

"……..sure thing, sir," the girl stuttered. "What type of transaction?"

"Cha-Ching!" Beast Boy whipped out a card.

"Not credit again, B.B…..," Cyborg muttered.

"So what? Hey, I'm responsible!"

The clerk smiled politely. "Can I see some photo I.D., sir?"

Beast Boy glanced at her. He chuckled. "Don't you see, Miss? I'm Beast Boy!"

She stared at him.

"You know…the guy who puts the 'A' in TitAn? 'A' as in 'Animal'?"

"I still need to see some I.D., sir."

His face fell. He looked up at Cyborg.

The android smirked. "You'll look back and miss the anonymity, pal."

"Pfft…sure," Beast Boy held out a learner's license and smirked. "Ya know…most girls just ask for my number. If you like my face enough, I could give you another pic. I have copies."

"Um…your credit card, sir."

"Yes, honey?"

"It's declining."

"…………um…Cy?"

Cyborg sighed and pulled out a wallet from an arm panel.

"Tens or twenties?"

"Anything I can pay you back with."

"Fat chance."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"Robin, why do they call it 'American Eagle'?"

The boy shrugged, tugging a bag of shirts and new jeans behind him. "Must be a name they chose when the store was founded way back in—"

"But there were no fowl to be located within the boundaries of the store."

"…..it's a clothing store, Star. It has nothing to do with eagles."

"And Americans?"

"I think that speaks for itself."

"Oh…," Starfire remarked. She looked to the right side at the stores ahead of them and beamed. "Yes! Now I can get my sling!"

"You know…it isn't so bad shopping in public. Not like I once thought," Robin smirked. "I was afraid some morons would flock around us and keep us from living normal lives."

"Thankfully that was not the case," Starfire smiled at him, turned, and headed straight for her store in question. "Though I am perplexed what interest our fellow citizens would have in your purchase of pants and my search for an efficient—" she paused when she noticed Robin wasn't following him. "Robin? Is there something the matter?"

A bit flustered, the boy stood stock still a few feet behind her and cleared her throat. "Ahem….I-I don't think I should go in there, Star."

Starfire looked at him strangely, turned around and faced Victoria's Secrets, and glanced back at him again. "You do not wish to assist me in finding a sling?"

"What's this sling you keep talking about, Starfire?"

"Why…naturally, it is what girls use to suppor—"

"A bra?!?!" Robin made a double-take. "You want me to help you find a bra?!"

Starfire grinned. "So that is what they are called! Quite perplexing. I think it was Beast Boy who aptly compared them to sling shots during a high-spirited conversation with Cyborg early when I came to this planet—"

"Sorry, Starfire. But I have to stay behind."

Starfire looked hurt. "Did I not help you in finding your jeans?"

"It's not….the same, you see," Robin scratched his neck. "Jeans are jeans, but what you need….what you need…"

Starfire looked down, her innocent complexion saddened.

Robin bit his lip. "You only live once…," he muttered and walked over to Starfire's side. "Make it quick."

"Glorious! We shall now embark upon the mission for the sling!"

Robin whimpered and they were off.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I stood in the corner, holding a pile of clothes.

I was almost nodding off when the dressing room door opened and:

"Okay….what do you think," Raven's voice asked in a slight bend of the usual monotone.

I looked up.

I blinked from behind my shades.

The usually robed girl stood in a pair of gothic, velvet slacks that appeared positively streamlined—save for the needles and baby pins fastenings that lined the pantlegs vertically. Her top was a long-sleeved blouse of sorts, mesh around the shoulders and solid throughout the torso with spider-web designs that criss crossed around the bodice and met along the sides with string fasteners.

I scratched my head and mouthed: 'Scary'.

She read my lips: "'Scary'?"

Good scary.

"Hmmmm," Raven walked over to a mirror and posed. Her face was deadpan, but I could have sworn I saw a fraction of a millimeter of a curve to the sides of her lips. "Maybe I won't kill Starfire for this after all."

She turned and faced me. "I'll get all of them."

I about pratfalled.

"Now where's that sales counter?"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"Dudes!!" a ridiculously tuxed Beast Boy embraced us invisibly from afar. "There you are! We've been waiting fore-----" Beast Boy's jaw dropped.

So did Cyborg's.

"Raven?"

The girl stood before them. "What?"

"Um……….you look like you had fun."

The expressionless girl glared at them. "So I did do a little bit of shopping. Big deal."

I simpered, straining with the weight of three or four shopping bags on my arms.

"Um……….okay," Cyborg shrugged. "Not my money."

"What wonderful garb you have chosen, Raven!" Starfire beamed as she walked over with a little pink bag. "May I ask…was the experience full of trepidation in my absence?"

Raven blinked at her. "Positively nightmarish."

"I am sorry…I will assist you next time like I promised," the Tamaranian apologized. "I was busy purchasing a sling…with Robin's help!"

"A 'sling', huh…," Raven smirked. She looked over. "Is that right, Robin?" A pause. "Robin?"

Cyborg leaned forward. "Yoo hoo….Earth to Robin."

The team leader stood still behind Starfire. He gazed into nothingness. Shellshocked. Melancholy.

"Um….is he gonna drool or something?" Beast Boy shuddered. "If so, I ain't cleaning it up."

Robin whimpered. He looked wounded.

Silence.

"All right…let's go home," Cyborg grabbed Robin's shoulder and pointed him towards the exit as he moved us all along. "I think we could all use a DVD or something."

I strained with my bags and tried to catch up.

"Yeah! How about Mallrats?!" Beast Boy jumped.

"Toss away that tux…and I might consider it."

Starfire giggled.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

It wasn't until halfway during the ride home in the T-Car that I was interrupted from my gaze out the passing window by Raven's comment:

"What did you get for yourself, Noir?"

I glanced at her in the light of the setting sun. Then at the rest of the car. Everyone, save for a numb Robin, was glancing at me at one point or another. Curiously.

I smacked my head and sighed.

Beast Boy chuckled and straightened his tux's bow tie. "Poor newby! Maybe next time, eh?"

I shrugged.

Raven smirked and looked ahead.

Maybe I'll grow used to denim?

Who knows.

Robin whimpered again…