Raven could feel a headache beginning right behind her eyes. She had been in this Godforsaken place for almost two hours now. Staring at the crowds around her, she was forced to take a calming breath. Why in Azar's name did I think this would be a good idea?

Raven felt her temper rise as she was once again shoved in the back by the people behind her. She had to remind herself that the people here did not know her like those in Jump City. The citizens of Jump had long ago realized that Raven required a bit more space than the others. Very few, if any, people knew who Raven was here in Steel City. Her current attire did not exactly scream 'superhero' either. Raven glanced down at her new clothes.

One of the benefits of changing cities was the chance to try and be a little more 'normal'. Raven had decided long ago that she wanted to try and fit in a bit better and that had meant getting a new wardrobe. She was notorious for always wearing her uniform. Not that she was the only one to do so. Most of the titans tended to wear their uniforms everywhere since they were never sure when they would get a call. She didn't know when that had changed, but slowly the others had started to shed their uniforms. Raven had wanted to do the same, but a part of her was reluctant. So much had changed in the last year. She had started to open up and she had started to show more emotion. She wasn't ready to make a physical change as well.

That was something she could do here without the looks or the questions. These titans did not know that she only ever wore her uniform places. They would not give those knowing looks that the others might, however unintentionally. When Cy and she had agreed that she would be the temporary leader for the Titans East, she had created her own plan. This was a fresh start, a chance to get comfortable with a new Raven. She knew that if she became comfortable with the new her she was trying to create, no jokes, questions, or looks could bother her.

Parts of her transformation were easy. She had started with simply spending more time out of her room in the same areas as some of her friends. At first, they had been unsure about what to talk about with her, but they soon discovered that they did not always need to talk. Sometimes all they did was just sit in each others company. After that, she had found it easier and easier to open up to her friends. It had taken months but she was now more talkative with her friends and more open to the idea of going out for an evening. These had been subtle changes that were rarely questioned by the other titans. Of course, Beast Boy had voiced some concern that she might not be who she said she was.

As she was shoved in the back for the third time, she again reminded herself that this was all for a good cause. Before the prophecy came true, she had been a girl with no future, so she had not given a thought to it. Now her future was there, a vague and unknown venture. Both terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.

Raven was shaken from these thoughts as she finally made it to the counter. Thank God this is my last purchase. She attempted to reign in a scowl as the woman at the counter rang in her new clothes. The woman gave her a sickening sweet smile. "Out for a little shopping are we? Oh I love this shirt." Raven barely refrained from rolling her eyes at the woman. Her silence did not seem to deter the talkative woman however. Raven tried to tune out the noise as she gathered her bags ready to depart.



Finally, she was ready to go. Without a second look to the overly cheery woman, Raven walked as quickly as possible to the nearest bathroom. She had decided she didn't want to draw any more attention to herself. Once inside an empty stall, Raven let her powers go to work. The mall was not far from the tower. She was able to quickly transport herself and all of her bags directly to her room. It was a little something that Cyborg had hooked up for her back home. It allowed her to phase right into the tower without setting off the alarms. He had been good enough to set up something similar here.

Once in her room Raven fell back on the bed. Here, where she was alone, she felt comfortable enough to let down her guard. She was still unsure about these boys. She knew Aqualad a bit. He seemed like he was going to be ok. At least he hadn't chattered away in her ear this morning. He had sat quietly and just enjoyed his morning. The twins were still a bit of a mystery. It didn't help that she didn't understand a word of what they said. They just seemed to be there.

She really wasn't sure about Speedy. Usually one glare from her had people running. Even Robin and Cyborg would cringe if she turned the Raven eye on them. It rarely happened with them, but when it did, they had the sense to back up quickly. This guy just smiled and laughed at her and she was not sure how to react to that.

Raven sighed, feeling her emotions start to bubble to the surface. She sat up from her bed. It was taller than her bed at home, with thick fluffy mattresses and topped with blue blankets and soft pillows. A thick white comforter lay folded at the bottom of the bed from when it grew colder. She had to admit that it was extremely comfortable. In the corner was a comfortable armchair with bookcases lining the walls. Nightstands and reading laps were scattered around the room, allowing for many comfortable nooks and crannies for reading. Obviously someone had informed the Titans East of her tastes. Admittedly the room was brighter than she was used to. The walls painted much lighter, but it made the room seem bigger, more inviting. As she crawled down from the bed she thought that maybe her room at home would need some redecorating. It really was a very comfortable room.

Raven made quick work of putting away all of her purchases and decided that a short meditation session was needed. After Trigon, she did not have to fight so hard to keep her darker self contained, but she still had to be careful with her emotions. Even with her father gone, she still had to control her reactions and her emotions. Maybe not as much as before, but her emotions were still tied to her powers and she was not about to let someone get hurt when she could avoid it.

By the time she was ready to face the new team it was dinner time. She heaved another sigh. It was not that she was uncomfortable with them, but she was not really comfortable either. It tended to make her a little more standoffish. As she entered the kitchen she felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. She could hear muffled shouts and her mind wandered to all of the fights Beast Boy and Cyborg had just before meals.

She glanced down at her current outfit. It would be the first time she would walk out of her room in anything other than pajamas or her uniform. The sun was still shining and the weather was still warm. Raven wore a white tank top with olive green cargo pants. She had traded her blue boots in for a pair of simple tennis shoes. The outfit was really quite comfortable. It was something she knew that she could 

fight in if she had to but it would also allow her some anonymity in public. Well, as much as she could get with purple hair and a chakra stone anyway.

She turned the corner with her scowl firmly in place. It would not do to have them see the smile when they were fighting. She saw Speedy sitting at the kitchen table with his feet up. She saw a pile of tacos in front of him. Aqualad was yelling at him, looking slightly sick.

"How many times do I have to tell you? If you are going to eat fish, do it where I can't see it. Good Lord Speedy, those could be my friends."

She watched as Speedy shrugged as he popped another taco into his mouth. "Then don't have such tasty friends. Besides, I didn't think you would be home. I thought you were going to hunt down our esteemed leader."

Raven decided to save Speedy from placing his foot firmly into his mouth just then. She stepped from the shadows. "And here I thought I would get away from the daily food wars." Her voice was emotionless. The two boys jerked their eyes towards the empath.

Aqualad was the first to break from his shock. "Raven, when did you get home? We were getting worried."

"I've been home for awhile now. I didn't use the front door."

Speedy smiled at her. Once again, Raven was not sure how to react to him. Even her fiercest scowl was not fazing him. "Princess, if I would have known you were home, I would have brought extra tacos."

Raven's jaw clenched at the sound of the nickname. Before he could finish, her eyes shone brightly and a lash of magic erupted from her hand. The magic whipped past Speedy's uniform cutting down from the neck just a bit. She gave the startled boy a glare. "Call me Princess again and I cut off something else, and I guarantee that it will be something you miss."

She watched as Speedy's pale face regained some color. He smiled a bit and chuckled. "Got it. Sorry Boss." He fingered the cut in his uniform. "Didn't know you were a tailor. You do good work. I think it makes me look rugged and handsome, don't you think so uni-tard guy?" Speedy looked at Aqualad.

Aqualad looked at Speedy and then looked at an obviously confused Raven. He gave a short shake of his head and smiled, just a bit. Obviously no one else had ever responded to her this way. He could actually see her place on an emotionless mask to cover the confusion. It took only a second before all her emotions were covered up.

It was at that moment that the two boys seemed to realize that Raven was not wearing her usual outfit. She tensed, waiting for questions or looks of some sort. Again Speedy succeeded in confusing her. Speedy smiled warmly. "You look good Raven."



She raised an eyebrow, looking for the joke she was sure was coming. "Thanks." Nothing came. No jokes, no laughs, and no raised eyebrows. After a few more moments, she gave a small smile. "So where are the twins?"

Speedy shrugged, "Around here somewhere. Probably on the upper deck playing video games. They already ate their tacos."

That seemed to remind Aqualad of their previous fight. He glared in Speedy's direction. "You know, if you are going to get food for everyone, you need to think about those of us that don't eat fish."

One thing with living with Cyborg and Beast Boy, Raven had long ago learned ways to stop the fight or at least shorten it. She stepped between the two boys. She turned her full gaze on Aqualad. "So you haven't eaten yet?"

This made the two boys pause. "No."

Raven turned and headed towards the door. "Good, then you can show me a good place to eat in this town." She was almost out the door when the shocked boys were able to react.

Aqualad was still standing by Speedy. "What?"

Speedy however was quicker on the uptake. He hated being left out of anything, and the chance to sit down and actually get to know Raven a bit was almost irresistible. "Hey, if water boy over here doesn't want to go, I could go for some more food."

He was partially up and heading towards Raven. She turned a look at him. "You already had food." She turned back to Aqualad. "Well, are you coming or not?" Without a second glance she was out the door. Aqualad jumped up and walked after her, shooting a smug look at Speedy.

He caught up to Raven and smiled at her. "So how do you feel about Thai food?"

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This was the way to do it she decided. Aqualad had taken her to a small hole in the wall. The small restaurant was walking distance from the tower. It was private and the food was excellent. The two had not talked much during the walk over. Of the four boys, she was definitely most comfortable with this one. She had known Aqualad before and it didn't hurt that she had had the tiniest crush on him when they had first met.

That was of course a long time ago. He was handsome, there was no denying that but the small crush had dissipated awhile ago. From what she could see, Aqualad was not one to argue. He was one who would work as a mediator and she had long ago realized that she needed someone with a bit more fire. She still enjoyed his company though. He was calming and quiet and Raven appreciated those qualities.



Even now, as they sat finishing their food, they were doing so quietly. He did not force conversation. With a contented sigh, Raven pushed her plate away. Aqualad chuckled. "So, was it as good as I promised?"

She smiled at him. "It was." Silence again took over. Finally Raven decided to make the first move. She had promised Cy that she would try to be friendly with the boys. "So it was a good fight today. You have some good moves."

Aqualad raised his glass in a mock salute. "Thanks, but I think you were the one with the moves today. How did you get him to give up like that?"

Raven shrugged. "I've done it before. The move scares him." Aqualad shook his head at the answer.

"There's more to that story."

"Oh, and how do you know that?"

Aqualad was quiet for a moment. Finally he smiled. "I don't know. Maybe it's in the way your face becomes blank. It shows you are trying to not show emotion. When your face goes blank, it makes me think there is more to the story."

Raven stared at him, wide eyed. No one had ever told her that before. She knew that people close to her knew when she was not being entirely truthful, but this was the first person to tell her why they knew. She was so shocked by this revelation that she found herself telling the story of her first fight with Dr. Light. She edited some things, such as her different selves, but he got the general idea. When she finished, he was smiling at her.

"Well, I certainly can see why he doesn't want to test you again."

She shrugged. "I don't use that method all the time. I figure it will lose its effectiveness at some point, but when I want to end the fight quickly, I pull it out."

This led to a discussion about fighting techniques and reliving previous battles. The two friends paid for their meals and started walking home. Never once did Aqualad try to invade her space. He walked close, but with distance between them. He seemed to know she needed that space, though he never asked why. When they reached the tower Raven stopped outside the front door. She reached out and placed a hand on Aqualad's arm.

"Thank you."

He stopped short. "For what?"

She debated how much to say. She was not known for long speeches of gratitude. "I don't do well with change or working with new people. It takes me time to get used to people. You read people very well, and you seemed to know what I would need to be comfortable here. Thank you."



He smiled patting the hand on his arm. "Anytime Raven."

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Thank you to everyone that reviewed. Yay! The computer is still up and running. I am working on the next chapter even as we speak, so I will leave you to do that right now. Thank you again.