Little One, Little Danger
(The Revision)

Chapter 5:
"Ball Shopping"

The following morning came around and the Titans were gathered in the living room per Robin's request. Raiden was asleep in the guest room and the team was still half asleep. Robin cleared his throat, "Alright team, I know I didn't give you an explanation on why we're gathering this morning but—"

"Just get on with it…*yawn*…dude." Beastboy rested his head on the back of the chair he sat in.

Their leader sighed, "Fine. Bruce has invited us to a ball he's throwing at Wayne Manor this evening."

"Party in Gotham? Sweet." Cyborg smiled.

"Yeah, that starts at eight tonight." Robin informed.

Beastboy whined, "Then why wake us up so early!"

"Well, Beastboy, like most of Bruce's parties, there's a dress code. Got anything in that closet of yours that fit the bill?" Robin folded his arms across his chest.

The green boy smiled nervously, "Uh…point made." He then looked over at Raven as a thought occurred to him, "You think you'd be up to it Raven?"

She raised a brow confused, "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, it would require you to wear a dress." BB chuckled, "And we all know how much you hate those."

A vein on Raven's temple throbbed, "I don't HATE them, I just don't see the point in them."

"So you're staying?"

"No. I'll be attending."

Beastboy burst into laughter, "Sure hahaha! This I have to see!" The vein on her temple throbbed again in irritation.

Starfire turned to Raven with a huge grin, "Oh! Does this mean there will be a trip to the mall of shopping?!"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Cy smiled but then realized something, "Wait, Robin?"

"Yeah?" The boy turned to him.

"What about Raiden?"

Robin's face dropped slightly because he forgot about their house guest, "I can't believe I forgot."

"She can just come with us. That mansion has more than enough rooms." Raven suggested.

Robin turned to her and nodded in agreement, "You're right. I'm sure Bruce wouldn't mind."

The guys huddled together as Star pulled Raven into another conversation about the soon to happen shopping trip. "Hey guys, how about we place a bet?" BB grinned.

"I know that look." Cyborg chuckled, "What do you have in mind?"

"Twenty bucks says that Raven's dress will come pretty close to that of a witch's on Halloween."

Robin shook his head with a chuckle, "Come on Beastboy, it won't be THAT bad."

"Yeah." Cyborg agreed and the three then turned their attention towards the girls, seeing Raven who was getting a little annoyed with Star's suggestions of bright-colored dresses. "I'll put twenty down on yes."

Robin groaned, "Does that mean that I have to bet against to make the odds even?" Cyborg and Beastboy nodded with smiles; he sighed, "There goes my video game money."

{ }

[The Mall]

The Titans arrived at the mall which was scarce of occupants for the early hours. Robin came up with a shopping plan for them. "Okay, the time right now is eight-o-one and we need to be heading to Gotham come eleven o'clock at the latest. So, let's split up and meet in the food court in an hour." They soon headed in opposite directions; Star and Raven to the right and the guys to the left.

Beastboy did a little dance, "You guys ready to get classy?"

~o~

Starfire lit up at the display windows of a frilly dress shop and headed inside with Raven reluctantly following behind. "Look at these Raven!" Her friend turned her way as the alien girl held up a rainbow-colored dress adorned with bows. Raven's eye twitched. "This will look cute on me, yes?"

"Um…sure Star, but I suggest that you go with something a little less…BUSY."

Starfire examined the dress in a curious manner, "Perhaps you are right. It does seem a bit exciting for a party in gloomy Gotham." She smiled, "I would not like to look like a blang horg in front of Robin."

"No you would not." Raven watched the girl put the dress back and browse a different rack.

"Raven?! After I find my dress shall I help you look for yours as well?!" Star spoke from across the store and her words hit Raven like a lightning bolt, causing her to head out the store to another so she could pick out something herself.

"If I let Star help me pick out a dress, I'll end up looking ridiculous and Beastboy won't let me live it down. I need to find one and find one fast." Raven ended up in a boutique several shops down from the one she left Star in. She looked around at the selections on the rack. "So Beastboy thinks I don't have it in me huh? I'll prove that little green pain wrong." As the thought crossed her mind, a dress towards the back of the space immediately caught her eye; almost like it was calling out to her. She approached it, taking the material into her hands, "This is…really beautiful." It was like her body moved on its own as she took it and headed to the check-out counter.

"Big date tonight?" The clerk behind the counter asked while ringing up the item.

"No…just a gathering at a friend's." Raven informed him. "What would Robin think about the dress?" She shook the thoughts out as quickly as it crossed her mind, "Did it really matter? I don't care if he likes it or not. Wait…these aren't my thoughts, are they?"

"Gonna be fun I bet." The clerk's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Raven nodded slightly, "I suppose so."

"That will be $84.56." Sweat dripped down the side of Raven's face; she forgot to look at the price tag. The clerk couldn't help but chuckle at the expression on her face. "Hey, but since you're one of the Titans and quite cute…how about I give you a discount? Let's say an even fifty."

Raven raised a brow, "That's a generous discount. What's the catch?"

"No catch." The young man chuckled again, "You guys do a lot of good for Jump City so…it's my pleasure."

Still not convinced, she accepted, "Thanks."

"No thanks needed." He bagged the dress and took her payment, "I'm Ben, by the way."

"Raven." She took her receipt along with the bag he handed her.

"I know." He gave a dashing smile that almost got her to smile herself, but she refrained and headed towards the exit as he watched. "Enjoy your gathering." Raven was off to the shoe store.

~o~

The guys went into one store together and Beastboy was gawking at a dark green tux that was hanging on display. "Dude, look at the awesomeness of that suit!"

"Really Beastboy?" Robin chuckled.

"That's the one! We're destined to be together!"

Cyborg shook his head with a grin, "Go for it man, I'll be sticking with the traditional black and white."

"How are you getting into that thing anyway?" Beastboy finally calmed himself down.

"Cyborg will not be attending the ball." Their friend gave a slight pose as he spoke in his best spy impersonation, "Victor Stone will."

Robin smiled with a nod, "Nice man. I'm with you in sticking to the traditional tux." He walked towards a rack of the suits and retrieved his size along with a bowtie.

Beastboy was the first to make it to the checkout counter, "Hi there, found everything you needed?" The clerk smiled as she rung up his tux.

"Sure did, until I saw you cutie." He winked.

She grinned unamused and uninterested, "Well aren't you the charmer."

Robin walked over with his tux in hand, "Beastboy, stop harassing the girl, it's rude."

"Hey, a compliment is not harassment. Though if it was wrong…" He turned back to the clerk, "…then I don't wanna be right."

Robin hit him upside his head, "Excuse him."

The clerk shook her head with a chuckle, "Don't worry, I've been hit on by worse." After bagging Beastboy's tux, she finally lifted her gaze for it to land on the team's leader. "Robin?"

He turned his attention to her, becoming a bit surprised, "Karen? I didn't know you worked here."

"Yeah! Though I'm only part-time until I graduate." She smiled as she made her way from around the counter to give him an unexpected hug; Beastboy narrowing his eyes at him.

"Oh cool." The two released one another and Karen returned to her station. "Sorry for not giving you a call. Had a crazy couple of days."

Karen shook her head as she took Beastboy's payment and began ringing up Robin's tux. "No worries. I know the whole hero gig can be a bit complicated." She finished the checkout process and handed him his receipt, "You'll have other opportunities."

Robin smiled shyly, "Yeah. I guess I'll see you around until then."

"Until then." Karen grinned as the two boys left the counter.

"Dude! What was that all about?" Beastboy nudged him.

Robin steadied himself, "Nothing. Karen's just a girl that I met at the grocery store the other day."

"Dang…I should go shopping next time." He mumbled under his breath having an epiphany.

"Where's Cyborg?" Robin realized their friend hadn't been around for quite some time.

"What you guys think?" The young man walked out one of the dressing rooms, image inducer activated to give him his look of Victor Stone dressed in the tux he picked out.
Robin smiled giving him a thumbs up, "That looks great man."

Beastboy was still lost in his thoughts around Robin's friendly encounter with the clerk, "Hey, Robin? You think it's cool for you to be going out with other girls? Star would be—"

"Would you cut it out." Robin sighed while nudging him, "I'm not going out with anyone and besides…Starfire and I are just friends."

Cyborg grinned while heading back to the dressing room, "Says you, but we can all see the longing between you two."

"Longing?" Robin's face turned red, "There's no longing of any kind going on."

Beastboy snickered, "Yeah yeah."

"I'm seri— "

"Friends!" The voice of their alien teammate rang in his ears as she flew towards them.

Robin was caught off guard, "Star? Done already?" He noticed she was alone, "Where's Raven?"

"I do not know." She hunched her shoulders, "Somehow we got separated."

He shook his head and sighed, "Why can't she just stick to the plan." He then focused on Starfire again, "Alright, did you get everything you need at least?"

"Yes." She smiled, "But you will not see until the festivities."

~o~

Raven finished gathering all her necessities and decided to head back to the store she left Star in. However, when she got there, the girl was nowhere to be found. She sighed, "Great, just what I need. Next stop is the food court I guess, which I'm pretty sure that's where I'll find Star along with the others." The girl made her leave and headed in the direction of the food court until she felt a light tap on her shoulder that startled her slightly. Someone burst out into laughter as she placed a hand on her chest to feel her rapidly beating heart. "Not FUNNY, Aqualad." Raven turned to face him.

He lifted his hands in defeat as his laughter started to cease leaving him in a chuckling state, "In my defense, I did call out to you a few times but you didn't respond."

"Really." She sighed, heartbeat calm now. "Fine, you're off the hook." Raven turned to walk again and he fell into step with her. "What are you doing in the mall so early?"

"Looking for a birthday gift for Speedy."

Raven raised a brow, "His birthday is today and no one said anything?"

"After last year's incident, he didn't want anything big so we've kept it under wraps. You know how Star can get carried away with celebrations." He chuckled as the food court came into view. "So, what about you? The mall's not one of your favorite places either."

"Had to get an outfit for a soiree in Gotham hosted by the caped crusader himself." The two finally entered the food court.

"That's cool." Aqualad shoved his hands into the pockets of the jeans he wore. "So, uh…anything new going on with you guys?"

"Not unless you know something I don't."

A soft smiled crept across his lips, "Somehow, I had a feeling you'd say exactly that." The girl grinned.

Robin was the first to spot them as they headed in the direction of the team's table. He was relieved to see her but was a bit confused as to why she was with Aqualad. He gave them a wave and the water teen did the same; they soon approached the table. "Where did you run off to?" Robin addressed Raven.

"To do exactly what you said. I found a dress that I found agreeable for tonight."

Beastboy nearly choked on his beverage while he laughed, "What? You really went through with getting one?"

"Whoa, a dress?" Aqualad turned to her, "When you said you had to get an outfit, the last thing I thought was that."

"Man, I should've placed a separate bet on that." Beastboy shook his head chuckling.

That vein on her temple returned as she glared at him, "A BET?"

"Beastboy!" Cyborg and Robin reached over to cover the boy's mouth, but it was too late as the girl teleported from before them out of the mall and to the T-Car.

The two boys removed their hands from Beastboy and narrowed their eyes at him, "Way to go Beastboy."

"What? I couldn't help it."

Robin shook his head, "She probably headed to the car, "I'll go check on her and you guys meet up with us after you're done here." He stood and turned to Aqualad, "Sorry to run off but we'll catch up later. Tell Speedy happy birthday, I sent him a card."

"It's Speedy's day of birth?" Starfire looked at Aqualad wide-eyed.

As Robin made his way to leave he reminded them, "Don't forget we have to pick up Raiden before we leave for Gotham."

"Yeah we know." Cyborg waved him off and then punched Beastboy in the arm, "If Raven takes out her frustrations on the car, I'll put you on some major repair duty."

{ }

Raven was seated on the back seat, bags placed in the trunk moments prior. What a bunch of idiots, especially Beastboy. How she couldn't wait for him to eat his words when they got to Gotham. Normally his teasing and remarks didn't get to her, so she wasn't sure as to why she found them more irritating than usual. Really? A freaking bet? Not to mention Cyborg and Robin being involved in it! No…she closed her eyes and exhaled…she wasn't going to let it get to her. Suddenly there was a knock on the window nest to her, "Raven. Unlock the door." Robin.

"I think I rather like the solitude." Her eyes remained closed. "

"Look, I'm sorry for what happened back there. You know how Beastboy can be."

"And how his antics rub off on those around him."

Robin nodded, "Yeah…that too, but I swear we—"

"Did you place a bet as well?"

He felt himself grow nervous, "I uh…"

Raven didn't even have to read his mind for an answer, "Goodbye Robin." She then began to spread a dark aura over the car.

"No Raven wait!" Robin placed his hands on the vehicle, "If you teleport the car we'll have no way home! If not for us, reconsider for Starfire's sake!"

"Starfire can fly."

Sweat dripped down the side of his face, "Right…she can." He needed to use a different tactic, "But Raven…you don't really want to leave us stranded without a ride do you?" The question was a stupid one but he had to at least try. "Beastboy's an idiot and so am I and Cyborg." The engulfing aura rising over the car ceased, "Just, hear me out and if you still want to teleport our means of transportation out of here, I won't stop you."

Raven pondered over it, knowing that she should be he bigger person since she was obviously more mature than they were. She sighed as she opened her eyes and cancelled the teleportation, reverting the dark aura. Robin heard the doors to the car unlock and he smiled before opening the door and taking a seat next to her. "Thanks Rae."

"Just get on with it."

"As I said before, I'm sorry. We should've never let Beastboy pull us into his stupid bet." Robin's words seemed sincere enough, "But, you do know that we would never do anything to upset you. I mean REALLY tick you off. We know better because we value our lives." He chuckled.

Raven glanced his way briefly and gave a small grin, "Sometimes I wonder if you guys do or not."

"You have NO idea. I bet Beastboy is trying to figure out a way to get back on your good side as we speak."

She found herself feeling a little less annoyed, "I won't make it easy for him." Robin chuckled again and she couldn't help but think of his words and it ached her heart a little. "You know…I would never really HURT you guys, right? So…don't ever feel like you can't joke with me at times." Raven lowered her head slightly, "I'm not actually ever…THAT upset."

Robin turned to her and noticed the faint blush upon her cheeks; he smiled softly. "Yeah, I know Rae, no reminder needed. And hey, if you want…" He playfully bumped his shoulder into hers, "…I'll pick on you a little more often."

The girl sighed with a smile, "Sure…I guess I'd be fine with that if it's you."

"I got you covered, since I'm like your best friend and all and it's basically my job." He grinned.

"Whatever you say boy wonder."

She felt him place a hand upon hers which got her to lock gazes with him, "So…am I forgiven?"

Raven could feel the warmth passing from his hand onto hers and it tingled. Has this happened before with him? She shook the feeling and thoughts out before responding, "We're okay, but only because of best friend perks."

"Best friend perks?" He raised a brow.

"Yeah. But just so you know…Starfire is in the lead on those."

The boy couldn't help but laugh and she simply smiled at his reaction, their gazes locked as his laughing died down into a soft smile. Though soon after, like the day before, that unusual growing feeling stirred inside them. "Again?" They responded simultaneously while looking down at themselves. Their gazes then lifted, a smile on both their faces.

Robin then stretched his arms above him with a yawn, "So did you pick out something that would make my jaw drop?"

"I thought you always preferred that it was easy to take off." It was like lightning struck the car as they realized the words that came out of their mouths with no control. There's no way that…

"D-Did you uh…s-say something?" Raven turned away from him, face a bit flushed.

Robin shook his head as he scooted away from her, "Nope, not a thing. D-Did you?"

"No."

The rest of the team finally made it to the car and piled in after filling the remainder of the trunk with shopping bags. Raven and Robin remained quiet, flushed red faces still until he shook it off to address the other two guys. He leaned forward because they were seated in the front seats. "Don't you two have something you want to say to Raven?"

Cyborg and Beastboy exchanged looks and then lowered their heads in shame, "Sorry about the whole betting on you thing."

Raven sighed, "Don't worry about it you two. It's…cool."

They turned around a bit taken back, "Seriously? So, we're good?"

"We are."

Beastboy sighed in relief, "Whew, I was worried for a mom—"

"For now."

The boys glanced her way again at her chilling voice only to see a faint grin on her face. "F-For now?"

"Revel in your forgiveness this day…for discipline comes when one least expects it." Sweat dripped down Robin and Starfire's faces as Cyborg and Beastboy's gulps could be heard before they turned away from her and started the car's engine.

"Don't worry Robin." The boy heard Raven's voice within his thoughts, "I won't follow through on my threat. Just want to make them squirm a little." His tension relaxed as he smiled and glanced her way, though she had turned to look out the car window on the opposite side.