I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

Barely, but still. Sorry again for taking forever. Insert generic excuses here.

None of that matters, especially the me being alive part. What matters is, Raven has issues, and so does Starfire. Will they work things out? I dunno, but if you've read all my other stuff~

Enjoy!

PS. The TTG movie was great, and if you haven't heard "Upbeat Inspirational Song About Life," well, refer to the title, friendo.

"It has literally been forever!" Beast Boy complains as a new episode of his favorite show begins playing on the TV. It was pretty mediocre and didn't have the best numbers critically or commercially, but the creator had good intentions, and the small cult following gave it vibrant life.

Even if new episodes did take a very long time to get out.

Cyborg enters the room with a glass of almond milk in hand, and proceeds to join his green friend on the couch to watch it.

"Hey B, what's good?" he asks, disregarding his usual bro snark or uber enthusiasm.

"Just kind of hangin' man," he answers.

And for a moment, awkward silence ensues.

It doesn't take long for Beast Boy to address it.

"Okay, so it's not just me, right? Things have been weird since Robin asked Starfire out," he thinks aloud.

"Phew…" Cyborg sighs with relief. "I'm glad it's not just me. Seriously man, it has been really weird. Robin's been acting all nervous and corny and cringier than usual. Starfire's been way too quiet, and Raven…"

He doesn't finish. He turns to Beast Boy with a privied look in his eyes, and Beast Boy meets him with the same expression.

For better or worse, it's enough for them to know that, they each understand what's up with Raven.

Robin soon makes his way into the living area, wearing a semi-formal outfit for his upcoming date to the movie with Starfire.

"Hey guys, what's happening?" he asks.

The other two boys look to their leader, then to each other, then back to Robin.

"Just watching a new episode of this one show," Cyborg answers.

Robin paces forward to check what it is, then winces as he recognizes it. "Oh. It's an alright show. I just don't like how they portray that one guy. One minute he's a total nub, and the next he plays it cool. Make up your minds, will ya?" he says, as if someone could actually be listening.

He then moves on from his brief interaction with Beast Boy and Cyborg to go gussy up for his date, leaving them to themselves once more.

"How do you feel about this?" Beast Boy asks his bro.

Cyborg sighs again. "I don't know man. Part of me wants to be happy that Robin finally made a move on Starfire. But…"

He looks to BB with the same privied expression as before, and again, Beast Boy returns it.

And it's his turn to sigh.

"Raven…" he answers for him.

Belatedly, Cyborg forms a response.

"So, how do you feel about it? I mean, it's different. You dated her."

"Yeah, I know man," Beast Boy begins. "And like you said, I like that Robin finally made a move. But at the same time… I just think- I just think there's something there between Starfire and her. I dunno. They wouldn't be acting so weird if there wasn't."

"Fair enough," Cyborg says as he takes a swig of his almond milk. "Say, I just realized that, in this show you watch, people are always eating and drinking stuff. Fatties," he jokes to lighten the mood.

"Yeah. That's nothing compared to all the dorky references to obscure stuff though," Beast Boy jokes back.

It feels good to share a little laugh about the topic of discussion, but they get back to their initial conversation soon enough.

"The thing is; I think Starfire doesn't know what she wants. Not just from Raven, but from Robin either. I dunno. She doesn't think about this stuff the way we do," Cyborg says.

"I don't know, man," Beast Boy rebuts. "She might not think like us, but I still think she'll figure out what she wants like- deep down. You know what I mean?"

Cyborg considers his heartfelt words, then nods with approval.

"Yeah. I know what you mean."

Shortly after speaking those aforementioned words, a door opens across the hall, and Raven steps out of it.

She lets out a heavy sigh from her frowning mouth, and then starts levitating towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. She lethargically raps on the door.

She tries to say, "Is anybody in there?" but it actually comes out as, "uh hum nuh huh?"

"Occupied," Robin responds from inside the restroom, where he happily combs his hair for his forthcoming date with Starfire. His eyes happen to wander to the toilet, and of course the toilet seat is up, because he lives with a bunch of ne'er-do-wells like the actual, literal animal that is Beast Boy.

His anime forehead vein pops out, and he slams the thing shut. Something catches his eye though, and he opens the toilet seat back up.

"Huh. I can't tell if that's a pepper, a poop, or a pepper someone pooped. Oh well," he says with a shrug.

...

Raven sighs again as she realizes she can't even mope in the bathroom in peace, and decides to just turn around and go back to her bedroom… to wait to diiiiiiiiiiiie.

But, by happenstance, Starfire exits her bedroom, and steps out into the very same hallway. She's dressed in a ceremonial blue-violet dress that accentuates her toned figure, revealing just enough of her collar, stomach, and legs to the naked eye.

Upon seeing the beguilingly dressed girl, Raven's astonishment becomes transparent. Her eyes widen like saucers, and her mouth is stuck between wanting to fall to the floor and wanting to pucker from lemons.

Starfire notices Raven noticing her, and becomes pink in the face. Their interactions were already scarce, but with the way Raven gawks at her, she can't help but feel this degree of embarrassment.

And yet, she's strangely glad.

"Uhm, hello Raven," she timidly begins.

Raven swallows the spit she's choking on as she stares at Starfire's exposed collar, then musters the Super Saiyan-esque strength to look to her emerald eyes. For the first time in… forever… she's actually wearing makeup. Eyeliner, mascara, blush, the whole nine yards.

If her resolve wasn't so firm, Raven could swoon back into an interdimensional purgatory of gayness and purple prose.

"Just when I thought I might be able to move on, you go and do this to me," she almost inaudibly utters.

"I am sorry?" Starfire responds.

Raven shakes her head to get back in the game. "Uhm, no, you're fine. I mean-" she awkwardly fumbles out.

The two girls just share a mutual gaze for a moment, but have to look away from one another as their cheeks burn brighter.

"I uh… So… You're going out with Robin tonight, huh?" Raven is able to say in an attempt to overcome her numbing dumbness.

"Yes. We will be going to the cinema, as the hipsters call it," Starfire straightly answers.

Silence ensues, giving them both ample time to recognize that any further conversation will probably go horribly wrong. It's best to just end it now, so Star can go have fun on her date, and Raven can go back to her room to reflect on all things melancholy and sorrowful.

"So… I guess I'll just- see you later?" Raven almost guiltily tells her crush, hanging her head lowly as she does.

"Oh," Starfire says before sorrowfully looking to the floor. "I suppose I will talk to you later, then."

With that, Raven floats on back the way she came, leaving Starfire to herself. The redheaded girl lets out a dejected sigh as she watches her friend, the one who trusted her enough to share a friend kiss, go her own way.

Without a word, she simply returns to her room, slowly closing the door behind her.

Meanwhile Raven is about to do the same…

Until she happens to glance over to the gentlemen on the couch, who look to her with piteous expressions. She wants to pretend she's fine, or at the very least, that she's annoyed by their obvious sympathy for her… but she just doesn't have it in her.

Beast Boy's frown curves into a soft, sincere smile, and Cyborg's does too shortly after.

Seeing their gesture brings a warmth to Raven's pattering heart, and she's able weakly half smile back before placing her hand to the knob of her bedroom door.

Cy and BB realize they're better off leaving her alone, and reluctantly decide to return their eyes to the TV screen playing their tacky program.

Raven takes a deep breath, and then, removes her hand from the doorknob.

"What are you guys watching?" she simply asks before pusillanimously pussyfooting her way to the couch.

Beast Boy and Cyborg exchange pleasantly surprised looks, then again smile to her.

"It's called Ottoline, Jane, and Some Dumb Other Third Thing. Wanna watch?" Beast Boy answers with a smile.

Raven cringes. "Uh… That… That sounds pretty terrible…" She eases up though, and allows another smile to come to her face. "But why not?"

She scoots herself down on the couch by her friends, and they share more smiles before relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

Meanwhile, Starfire stands before her vanity, trying to brush her hair, even though she's already brushed it more than enough tonight.

She should be happy! She has a date with Robin tonight! He's a nice guy when he's not glued to his phone looking at cringey Crowd House stuff, and he's always proven to put his team before himself. And in some ways, Starfire even more so than the others.

"So… Why do I keep thinking about Raven?"

She puts the brush down, and paces over to her bed before allowing herself to fall back on it and look up to the ceiling. She gives her nearby pillow a good punch, because that's all it's really good for, then grabs on to her nearby Alfred plushie to cuddle with.

Sometimes she wished she had someone real to cuddle with, like maybe her sister Blackfire, or even Silkie- if he'd stop stuffing his fat face for two seconds.

She wouldn't even mind cuddling with… Raven…

She lets out a sigh. Ever since that friend kiss, things had just been so odd. Raven was always distant, but how could she give Starfire that, and then just go back to being her brooding self? Was it still because things didn't work with Beast Boy? Things seemed to be alright between them now…

But… it had to be something. There was Raven, and then there was sad Raven. Sure, they were hard to differentiate to the average Joe, Jane, or Ottoline; but Starfire knew something was bothering her.

"Perhaps I could try to help her again? She seemed to have fun at the expense of Mumbo Jumbo at the Pretty Pretty Pegasus convention. And we did enjoy that day at the park together being insubordinate and finding that adorable kitten…"

"She… She kissed me… She trusted me enough to do that. We are the bestest of friends. I've never heard of anyone else friend kissing, I always assumed it was just for lovers…"

She sits up with plushy Alfred still in her embrace, and a thoughtful look comes to her face.

"The earthlings are so confusing… RAVEN is so confusing…"

A gentle knock comes to her door, breaking her of her monologue induced trance.

"You may enter," she politely says to the mysterious knocker.

It isn't a bird. It isn't a plane. it's Robin.

"Hey you," he greets with a soft smile.

Starfire forces a smile of her own. "Hello," she simply says.

Robin looks to see her holding on to plushie Alfred, and amusedly huffs. "I see you've already found a suitor for the evening," he jokes.

His attempt at humor goes over her head at first, but she grasps it like her plushie butler soon enough. "Oh… Yes…" she coyly responds.

Robin's smile wanes as he recognizes the somber manner of her face. "Is… is everything alright, Starfire? Are you feeling okay?" he asks, taking a seat on the bed a comfortable distance away from her.

"What? I am well. Everything is… fine…" she fibs.

Her gloomy green irises say otherwise, and Robin learned more than just how to look super fashionable from his caped crusader mentor. He also learned how to be a detective, a gumshoe…

A dick.

"Starfire," he begins, carefully resting his hand within inches of meeting her leg. "If you don't want to go out tonight, it can wait for some other time," he tells her, "Even if I did spend forty dollars on these movie tickets," he mumbles to himself.

Starfire shakes her head, and places Alfred to the side. "It is alright. Leaving the Tower for a little while will help distract me from my woes."

Robin, who is still wearing his mask by the way, because of course he is, meets her with incredulousness.

"That might be true. But as your leader, I'll tell you it's a good idea to face your problems head on."

He takes the dive, and ghosts his fingers onto her leg.

"And as your friend, I'll tell you that, I'm here for you."

Starfire feels her lips curving into a little smile thanks to Robin's endearing gesture. And yet, despite his best efforts to be here for her, she can't help but think of Raven.

She softly sighs, and motions her leg away from him.

"Robin… I must tell you something," she starts.

He's taken back, but he keeps a cool head. "Alright. Anything Starfire. Like I said, I'm here for you," he repeats.

Starfire gets off her bed and rushes to the door to make sure no one is eavesdropping, then scurries back to the bed to rejoin Robin.

He meets her with a confused eyebrow raise as she plops down beside him. "Okay, I need to ask you something, but you must promise you will keep the open mind. I wish not to be laughed at for… my misunderstandings…"

"You're fine, Starfire. What's on your mind?" Robin asks before checking his watch. "And is it gonna take longer than ten minutes because that movie starts at 9:00 and I'd like to sneak some of Cyborg's Bon Bons with me into the theater."

Starfire heavily sighs. "Okay… Here it the goes."

"The truth is, I have been very conflicted in my feelings… because of Raven…"

"Raven?" Robin replies. "Is everything alright between you two?"

"I do not know," Starfire answers. "Something happened between us, and it has made everything quite strange ever since."

"Okay. What happened?" Robin asks.

"It… it is complicated. She requested that I do not tell anyone. But I have already broken that promise by telling Cyborg."

"Calm down, Star. Whatever it is, that you told Cyborg before telling me," he grumbles to himself, "You can trust me not to say anything."

Starfire takes a deep breath, then continues. "Very well. A few days ago, well… Raven… Raven kissed me," she quickly gets out before hiding her face in her forearms.

Robin's masked eyes practically bug out of his titanic teenage skull. "Raven kissed you?"

"Yes," Starfire timidly answers, and she proceeds to elaborate as Robin just stares in awe.

"She told me that she wanted to symbolize how much our friendship means to her with the kiss. She said that it was very sacred, and that it was to stay a secret between the two of us. But I do not understand it? Why would she want to keep it a secret? Why have I never heard of the friend kisses?..."

"And why do I feel so strange now that I think about her?..." she admits as she falls back onto the bed again, her eyes all but welling up.

A complicated blend of emotions begin to flow through Robin's chest. For starters, forty dollars could have bought him some grade A Crowd House fanart of his favorite crack ship, and now it has essentially been wasted. Starfire isn't going to be able to enjoy a movie with him tonight, and he knows well why.

It's the same reason he feels so bad for her right now, and the same reason that he selfishly feels some disappointment.

She doesn't feel the same way about him that he does her, because, she probably feels that way about someone else...

He sighs, but bucks up and puts a smile on as he eyes the two movie tickets he takes out of his pocket.

"Starfire… It sounds to me like you two need to talk about this," he suggests.

He then reaches out the tickets, and invites her to take them.

She meets his gesture with some trepidation, unsure of how to react. "What is this? Are you worried you will lose the tickets in the same way you lost faith in humanity after filming that Titans trailer?"

"We don't talk about that," Robin sharply says before allowing his sincerity to return to him.

"Just… here. Why don't you ask Raven to go to the movies with you instead."

Starfire just looks at the stubs with uncertainty before trajecting the look to Robin.

"But… This is supposed to be our night for leisurely activities?"

"I know, and it's fine. We can hang out some other time," Robin gladly responds.

Starfire thinks it over, but still isn't sold. "I… I don't think it is a good idea. Raven will not want to go. And I will feel too strange asking her."

Robin bucks up even more, realizing he'll need to do what he does best as a leader by pushing his teammate.

"Well… Maybe you will. Maybe it will be a little hard to face her. But I know it'll be worth it, and I know Raven values your friendship enough to work things out. One way or another."

He reaches out his hand to rest it comfortably on her shoulder, but stops halfway through. He decides that, instead, he'll just give her a friendly thumbs up.

She eyes the tickets once more, and then smiles as she finally accepts them. "Thank you Robin. You are a great friend."

"Yeah, I know," Robin sarcastically says with a wave of the hand. "Now go on, get out of here. Raven's probably just waiting for something to get her away from that horrible TV show those two conned her into watching."

Starfire thinks it over, and decides to go ahead and wrap Robin into a great big hug. "Thank you," she says as she squeezes him, and he just smiles as lets it happen.

They share a brief mutual gaze of understanding, and then Starfire darts out of the room quicker than The Flash after having gas station coffee.

Robin just watches on with a sense of pride, not getting up from Starfire's bed. Because… It's cozy. Cozy enough to just… sort of lie down, curl himself into a fetal position, grab a hold of Snuggle-Me-Alfred, and try not to cry.

But then, cry a lot.

He gets a little crybaby bawling out, but then he has a thought.

"Huh. I wonder if Blackfire is still in town…"

Starfire makes her way into the living room, and discovers Cyborg and Beast Boy singing their very own "Upbeat Inspirational Song About Life" to Raven. They're really getting into it too. They have wigs, guitars, and plastic novelty glasses that would make the bois from BER jealous.

But Raven… is not amused. She just glowers at them with her familiar brand of disinterest as she slouches further and further down into the cushion of the couch, almost being sucked into it like one of her portals.

"Is it too late to tell Dad I wanna enslave the universe?" she grumbles.

Starfire hesitantly steps in between the unwelcome concert, and clears her throat to make herself heard through the cacophony.

"Ahem. Excuse me, Cyborg, Beast Boy…"

"Upbeat! Upbeat! You know it's super- Upbeat! Upbeat! The song is feelin'-" they continue to sing.

She grows restless waiting for them to silence…

"HEEEEEEEY!" she shouts like a banshee, actually blowing the glasses and wigs off of them like something from a criminally underrated daytime cartoon.

The boys just stand there, stunned, and Raven turns her head to see Starfire. She quickly looks away though, feeling herself becoming very, very, very small.

"Raven?" Starfire quietly says, cautiously approaching her.

Realizing Starfire has beckoned for her attention, Raven finds the inner strength to respond to her… but not enough to look at her. If she wasn't in the revealing dress~

"Hey…" she simply says, almost as quietly as a church mouse.

Cyborg and Beast Boy just watch on with conspicuous curiosity, and maybe some inner fangirling.

Starfire takes a breath as she nervously twiddles her hands together, then holds up the movie tickets for the Azarathian girl to see.

"Friend Raven, would you wish to accompany me to the cinema tonight?" she asks. No jokes, no the's… just a question in need of a yes or no answer.

Of course, it is not so easy for Raven. Between the horrible earworm that Cyborg and Beast Boy bored into her brain, the sexiness of Star's ceremonial attire, and just everything that has led up to this very moment… She's at a loss.

"You… You want to see a movie with me?" she gets out, almost out of instinct alone.

Cyborg and Beast Boy gayly watch on, making their fangirling obvious now as they gawk like geeks at the magic unfolding before them.

The ladies disregard them, and continue with their conversation.

"Yes. I would like to spend the night of leisures with you, very much so," Starfire calmly and shrewdly says to her confidante.

Raven struggles with herself for a moment, because it's still so sudden and unreal.

"But- but I thought-? Aren't you supposed to go out with Robin tonight?"

"That was the original intention, yes," Starfire answers, and she looks to the spazzing idiots behind Raven with a privied look much like they shared with one another.

They see it, and Beast Boy proceeds to grab a pillow and scream into it. Cyborg does one better. He picks up the ottoman and gives it his sweet shipping shouts.

Starfire smiles at Raven now. "But I would prefer to spend my evening with you," she tells her.

Raven feels her heart begin fluttering in her chest. She realizes so many things at once; why the boys are being stupid, why she thinks she hears Robin crying, and maybe even why Starfire is smiling at her like this right now.

She could get upset about certain things, hell… she could turn the tower upside down if she wanted to. Literally and figuratively.

But she doesn't care about any of that. It doesn't have to matter.

What matters is, Starfire looks damn good, and she can go to the movie without actually watching the stupid thing.

So, with reddening cheeks, Raven smiles back.

"Sure. Let me go find something to wear."

Thanks as always for reading and being patient with my slow self.

Okay, so I'm back in the spirit of Teen Titans, but I'll also admit, after going back and rereading previous chapters, I wasn't happy with where this story was headed. So, I changed plans, and know how I want this thing to end for reals this time.

So if you feel like I butchered this story's continuity or the characters involved, yell at me. But I think you all will appreciate it in the long run. Teamwork makes the dream work!

Also…

Fuck Batman :D