I don't own Teen Titans.

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"I'm…going on a trip," Raven ground out. The room quieted a bit; Cyborg turned down the TV and Starfire ceased her banging in the kitchen, both listening to her without abandoning what they were doing. The other two, however, both looked at her, awarding undivided attention.

"Vacay? Sweet! Where to?" Beastboy cheered, already making a show of pulling out sunglasses from God-knows-where and pretending to be staring down a bright, sunny sky.

"Not a fun one, a necessary one," she amended, warily regarding his pose with about as much cynicism as she could muster. At the moment, all she wanted to do was sigh.

"Where are you going?" Asked Robin, crossing his arms, probably already sensing that something was bothering her.

"I'm visiting my father… Well, 'visiting' might not be the right word," she amended. This got a horrified response from everyone; the two other Titans dropped what they were doing and immediately came over, Cyborg not even caring that his car crashed in the video game that he was playing, now messing up his all-win record.

"What's going on? Is he planning to - ?"

"Earth is safe, as far as I know. I just need to go down there and sort some things out."

"'Down there?' …You mean…you're visiting Hell?"

"Again, 'visiting' might not be the right word. It's possible that I'll be living there for a long time, or that I don't come back," she said, thinking of the possibility that she died in battle. Or was executed for blasting her father on sight.

"Why do you have to do this?" Robin questioned, his stare hard. There was no doubt that he wished to prevent this, which was the exact opposite of what Raven wanted. If he got it into his head that there was something he could do…

'There's nothing he could do! Absolutely nothing! This is why you waited so long to tell them!' Raven thought to herself, doing her best to stamp out any thoughts that entertained a hostile relationship between Earth and her father. It was better that everyone remained ignorant of any dealings that went on between the two, but telling the other Titans was just necessary; she couldn't disappear – her friends deserved better than that.

"As one of his children, I'm a part of his court. I got a formal summons and am required to go, to help sort out an arrangement between his domain and another one," she explained tiredly.

"And what does 'help' include?" Robin asked.

Raven resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He just couldn't make this easy, could he? "A truce between the three lands on that level is going to expire soon; my father's kingdom and another are expecting to be heavily attacked as soon as it does, and want to officially join to better defend themselves against the third. This requires a marriage. As the oldest available heir to the throne - "

Starfire gasped, "But, Raven, that isn't – is this something that you want to do?"

The four other Titans stilled and gave the redheaded girl thoughtful glances. While she was a bit of a ditz, Raven had to admit that the Tamaranian was wise for her age. "If it'll keep Earth safe, then absolutely. Plus, the chance of me having to deal with the guy forever is slim if I don't like him." Option one: die in battle. Option two: fight well, return to Earth, go back to being a Titan. Woe be to anyone who dared to get in her way back home if she survived this.

"Friend Raven, I know the position you are in. Together, we were able to overcome the enemy when I had to marry someone I did not wish to. Why not this time around?"

"This time, as oppose to when you were in an arranged marriage, the threat to my home is very, very real. I want to go and make sure that nothing will harm Earth. For you, going there will be impossible without…you know; and this time, there isn't much chance that I'll be forever stuck with my spouse." Raven was sure that she hadn't always hated that word, and she had a hunch about why it was that she disliked it so very much now.

"Dang," Cyborg muttered, "So will we at least have some time with you before you leave?"

"Um…" She hadn't thought this through. She thought she had, but she really hadn't. "About one-and-a-half days…" She gave a sheepish smile.

The room was silent. Then,

"Why so short?" Beastboy whined, slouching comically in a defeated way - "Are you sure you don't want our help?" Robin said, serious expression never having gone – "If that guy thinks he can - " Cyborg began…

"Friends!" Everyone looked at Starfire, who fixed each of them with a stern expression that surprised Raven, "We will not make this any more difficult for Friend Raven than it already is. Instead, we shall give her a proper send-off." This statement claimed several beats of silence after it was said, allowing everyone to absorb Starfire's understanding of the situation.

"So…" Everyone turned to Cyborg, who, himself, turned to Raven, "You up for pizza?"

[-M-]

There was lots of joking around at lunch. Most of it came from Beastboy, as Raven didn't have the heart to burst his bubble. Robin said nothing, chewing his pepperoni with the steady pace of a bull. Cyborg assisted Beastboy in his attempts to trick a smile out of Raven, entertaining the age-old and absolutely over-used Meat Lover's VS. Veggie Deluxe argument that everybody at the table was sick of. Starfire only asked the occasional question of the group, commenting on things that made no sense to her, and serenely spreading mustard all over her Hawaiian whenever she wasn't eating. Raven didn't eat very much of her 3-Cheese slice, which didn't encourage anyone at the table to talk about what was really on their minds.

At the end of the lunch-date, they all walked towards the local amusement park. Everybody was thankful that Beastboy's lack of tact didn't prevent him from paying for his own ticket instead of complaining to the others about how he was saving up for a new computer game and needed the cash. He knew that it wasn't likely that she'd get another chance to see them after she left, and didn't want to delay the Official Fun. It was just-as-well – her money was useless to her now; she would've paid for his ticket. There was lots of laughing and she was glad that hers was genuine. Faking enjoyment at them just didn't seem right to her.

The evening finished off with a movie-watching spree that ended with the infamous 'Wicked Scary.' Thankfully, her bleak mood didn't prevent her from smacking Beastboy for joking about her being scared. That had Cyborg chuckling and even managed to make Robin smile. When the movie was over, Beastboy leered at her, "So, Raven? Did it scare you?"

She smacked him again.

[-M-]

Last goodbyes were absolutely despised by her, both in movies and real life. They were cheesy, overly emotional and unappealing; especially if it was Starfire who was giving goodbye hugs.

Raven grunted when she was released, finding herself weak-kneed when her feet found the ground again, "Uh, thanks, Star. But I'll see you guys again tomorrow."

"Then I shall hug you again then!" Proclaimed the alien, giving a big smile and floating a bit at the prospect of more time with her closest girlfriend. Raven sweatdropped and took a small step back, hoping no-one noticed. As it was, Robin chuckled a bit before telling everyone to go to bed.

With a small sigh, Raven glanced outside before following everyone to the stairs. The sky was cloudy, so no stars were visible, although the moon did give off a feeble light from behind a thin veil outside. Perhaps she'd stay up a bit later, since she wasn't all-that tired, anyway.

[-M-]

Breakfast was solemn; everyone chewed Cyborg's pancakes quietly – Beastboy made little noise concerning the non-vegetarian food, simply pulling out vegetarian sausages and heating them on the stove without engaging in an argument with the other breakfast fanatic. Starfire once again astounded everyone with her taste in condiments, mixing mustard in with the syrup before scooping it with her bacon like it was dip. Raven refrained from commenting and instead deeply inhaled the aroma coming from her breakfast tea.

"So when are you leaving?" Beastboy murmured. Everyone paused their quiet shuffling to hear her answer.

"Around noon – a portal is supposed to open up. I'd suggest staying away from it. There's miasma…there…and it might have a negative effect on you guys," Raven explained, spearing a fourth of a pancake and lightly dapping it in the pool of syrup that had accumulated on the right side of her plate. After placing the food on her tongue she winced; the flavorings that humans had created were too overwhelming for her.

"Where…?"

"Probably wherever I'm at. It's not too difficult to make a portal between worlds," she inwardly grimaced. Did she just accidentally give them a clue about how to get there? Noticing Robin's expression, she berated herself, 'You shouldn't have said that; now they'll be planning to storm in and…' This just… it brought along a whole host of problems that weren't hers to begin with! What did some other lord overthrowing her father have to do with her?

Her chair made a loud sound when she scooted away from the table, gathering her plate and utensils with a hushed, "Thanks, but I'm not very hungry." Everyone made small expressions of upset at this, which required her to add, "I kinda wanna be alone for a bit." Lest she start ranting about the unfairness of it all and make Robin's decision about whether or not to go after her for him.

The door closed behind her and she heaved a sigh, glad that nothing exploded due to her lax control. Damned king, acting all high and mighty…

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A/N: I think my guitar likes me again. For the first time in weeks, we're being civil to each other. My instructor even complimented me! (That adds up to a 'It was a bit better today.' Stingy.)

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