Another chapter done! Thank you again to everyone who is following and reviewing and just reading my stories. I love feedback and I definitely want to hear what you think of my writing, my stories, and what you hope will happen in this story in particular. Please, R/R.~ Love, Sam.

Sprezzatura

Lady Disdain

"But it is certain I am loved of all ladies, only you excepted."

"So, when you gonna pop the question to Star?"

Robin whipped around faster than he had ever executed one of his well-practiced maneuvers. Like a deer caught in the headlights, he stared at Cyborg, his hand frozen around his half assembled silk tie.

"How the heck did you know?"

Cyborg only smirked as he straightened out his simple black bow tie and then smoothed down his suit. The men had gone ahead to Gotham to let Robin spend some time with his former mentor as well as take care of some reports about their top-secret mission.

"Dude, you've only been carrying around the ring in your pocket for the past year," Beast Boy laughed and then checked himself out in the mirror, smoothing down his normally unruly locks.

A bright blush spread across the Boy Wonder's cheeks as he quickly turned away, absentmindedly touching the tiny black box that he had tucked into his suit pocket last minute. He hadn't meant for anyone to find out, but the idea of proposing had come about his first year on the mission and his first year without her. Cyborg had been wrong earlier. He'd been carrying the ring around for the past two years, taking it with him as a sort of good luck charm and a reminder of what was waiting for him back home.

"Shut up, man." Robin turned around fully to face the two men, sitting down on the edge of the bed as he finally took the box out of his pocket and stared at the sparkling diamond ring that winked back at him. "I just… I don't know how to ask her. I don't even know what she'll say. She's a princess. How am I supposed to do anything or be anything that's going to measure up to that?"

"It's Star. How could she ever say no?" Cyborg shoved his hands in the pockets and shrugged. "The girl is head over heels in love with you. She's gonna say yes. But if it makes you feel better, I'll bring it up with her to see how she feels about the whole thing. That sound cool?"

Robin's smile could not have been wider. he let out a sigh of relief as he clapped Cyborg on the back. "Yeah, that's cool. Thanks, man. Who knows, maybe it'll be you and Bee next. Or Beast Boy." Robin smirked at the two of them before fixing his hair again and heading for the door.

Cyborg barked out a laugh and glanced over to Beast Boy. "Yeah right, man. Like Garfield is tying the knot anytime soon."

Beast Boy watched as Cyborg followed him out of the room, hearing the two of them revert to talking about Robin's proposal. He lingered awkwardly in the room, hearing the door slam shut after them. Beast Boy was left alone with nothing but his thoughts and the soft whirl of the A.C. unit. All the talk about marriage kind of freaked him out.

Of course there was a very tangible reason as to why he wasn't quite willing to settle down. And despite all of his excuses about not having the time to date, or not liking the girls he came across, it all boiled down to one thing.

Raven.

Flashback:

He watched her tiny fists pummel his chest, over and over and over again through his half lidded eyes, blinded by the drops of rain that dribbled down from his eyelashes. Even in her anger, she was beautiful. She was a hurricane, passionate and unpredictable and so undeniably powerful. But he fought against all of her stubbornness to get to the eyes of the storm and what he found there was breathtaking.

It had taken him years to convince her to let him in. And after all of that, she had shut him out all over again.

And he let her.

Because he deserved it.

He watched her with pained eyes as she released all of her anger, her small fists beating against his faded out band t-shirt until she wore herself out and finally collapsed wordlessly against him. He caught her easily, his arms encasing her small frame in a circle of warmth and shelter, and he knew that she wouldn't push him away anymore because she didn't want to and if he was honest with himself, he didn't want her to either.

They stayed like that for an eternity and a half, until there was nothing but the sound of waves lapping against the shore and the soft sound of raindrops drumming against their skin.

The rain stopped and his eyes widened when he realized that there was still water trickling down her flushed cheeks.

She was crying.

Guilt hit him like a freight train, slamming into him head on and without warning. He could feel his breath hitch before he lifted one hand to brush away her liquid sorrow with the pad of his thumb.

"Raven, I-"

His hoarse voice echoed, lonely and empty on the roof of the titans' tower. He hadn't noticed it, but she had drifted off to sleep in his arms, sometime in between her fiery anger and subdued grief. Her small hands were fisted tightly around the material of his still damp t-shirt, and despite the dewy smell of fresh rain, he could still smell the lavender and vanilla that had haunted his dreams and relieved his nightmares for years.

In silence, he slid one arm beneath her legs, picking her up and cradling her gently against his chest.

Garfield Logan stood on the roof for a little longer, his emerald eyes scanning over the bay. When the first hesitant rays of light began to peek over the horizon, he turned and went back inside, Raven still curled up snugly in his arms. He set her sleeping form as lightly as possible on their shared queen sized bed, pulling the comforters up to her shoulders.

He turned around to leave, but his steps faltered as he stared at the door waiting for him. With only a moment of hesitation, he walked back to Raven and pressed his lips against her forehead as gently as he could manage. with that settled, he left the room in silence, picking up his bags as he walked over to where Robin, Cyborg, and a top secret mission from Batman were waiting for him.