Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ Falling ❯ Preparations ( Chapter 8 )

Robin faked left and ducked right, taking a couple of long strides past Cyborg to jump up and deposit the basketball through the net. “That makes it eight to six,” he said, tossing the ball back to his mechanical friend.

Cyborg passed the ball between his legs. “So, a man in love really does have the strength of thousands, huh?”

“What?”

Cyborg shook his head, dribbling the ball. “Nothin’. Something I heard somebody say once. Seriously though, you do seem happier here lately.”

“How’s that?” Robin lunged for the ball, but Cyborg sidestepped and bounced it behind his back.

“Since you and Starfire have been together.”

“Yeah, well…” Robin stepped back and smoothed his sagging hairstyle out of his face, smiling a little. “She’s pretty great.”

Cyborg took a step and launched the ball, swishing it through the net. “Three pointer!”

“No way,” Robin protested. “You were way over the line.”

Cyborg pointed to his foot, which had not moved. “It was on the line.”

Robin grumbled and went to retrieve the ball.

“Speaking of Starfire, how was your demonstration the other night?” Cyborg smirked as he jogged over to where Robin was dribbling.

“I don’t kiss and tell!” He pushed past Cyborg and made to shoot, but the ball was grabbed out of his hands.

“Aw…not even a little?” Cyborg made sucking/kissing noises as he held the ball over his head. Robin took a running leap and tipped it out of Cyborg’s hand, dribbled it to the three point line and shot. “Eleven to nine.” Robin dusted off his hands.

Cyborg recovered the ball and dribbled it around the court, looking for his next angle. “Can you at least confirm that there was kissing involved?” He waggled his eyebrows at Robin.

Robin rolled his eyes behind his mask. “Yes, there was kissing involved.”

“Woo woo!” Cyborg launched the ball from behind the three point line again, but it bounced off the backboard and right into Robin’s hands.

Robin dribbled, passing the ball between his hands. “Honestly, though, our relationship hasn’t really changed all that much. We spend most of our time talking, just like we always did. Only now we do it holding hands.” He took a few long steps and leapt for a lay-up, bouncing the ball off the backboard and into the net. “Thirteen to nine.”

“And then there’s the making out part. That’s different.”

Robin fired the ball at Cyborg. “There really hasn’t been that much of that, not that it’s any of your business.”

“Really? With a hottie like Starfire?”

Robin crossed his arms and glared at Cyborg. Cyborg gulped and dribbled. “Okay…easing off that topic.” He drove in for a jump shot. Robin rushed him, trying to tip the ball out of the way, but failed. “Eleven to thirteen.”

“Ya know,” Cyborg went on as Robin chased after the ball. “You should really take her out on a date.”

Robin caught the ball mid-dribble. “How am I supposed to take her out? I could probably pass in street clothes without the mask, but Starfire would have to have plastic surgery not to be recognized.”

“Yer holdin’, man.” Robin grit his teeth and bounced the ball back to Cyborg. Cyborg took the ball to center court. “Still, you should really try to take her on a date, even if it’s just someplace quiet in the Tower.”

“How is that different than what we’ve been doing?” Robin asked, eyeing Cyborg and waiting for his next move.

“I don’t mean sitting on the roof holding hands talking about life on Tameran. I mean dinner and dancing. Wearing nice clothes.” Cyborg jogged in just past the three point line, faked right, bounced the ball between Robin’s legs, dashed after it and tossed it one handed over his head to somehow make it through the net. “Boo-yah! Thirteen all!”

“What would be the point?” Robin caught the ball on the rebound.

“Look man, we both know that none of us will ever have any kind of a normal life. And while most of the time, I love what we’re able to do, there are some times when I wish I could just hang at the mall or take a girl out for pizza and wonder whether or not I should kiss her when I take her home. You and Starfire get to have a little bit of that. You should take as much advantage of that as you can.”

Robin tossed the ball into the net. “She did look pretty nice when Kitty dragged us to the prom.”

“There ya go. She can drag Raven to the mall and buy a new dress. I’ll make a nice dinner for ya, set up a nice table in the Observatory, pipe some music in, and keep BB out of your hair.”

Robin couldn’t help but laugh. “It does sound nice.”

“I’ll be great!” Cyborg did a slam dunk. “Fifteen all!”

“I’ll ask her today.”

Cyborg bounced the ball back to Robin. “Great, but get your head back in the game for now. We’re not done.”

Robin grinned ferally and dribbled in for a lay-up.

--

Raven sat at the counter in the kitchen, engrossed in her latest book. She looked up briefly as Robin and Cyborg entered. “Who won?”

“Cyborg all the way!” The half-android lifted his arms over his head in victory.

“It was close though. Twenty-two to nineteen.” Robin poured himself a glass of orange juice.

“Ahhh! BB! Tell me you are not cooking!” Cyborg’s arms dropped to his side.

“What?” Beast Boy turned from his mixing. “I can cook. I’m actually a very good cook.”

“Maybe, but your cooking usually involves tofu.”

Beast Boy shook his head. “No tofu this morning. Breakfast today consists of assorted fruit and non-dairy pancakes.”

“Non-dairy…how do you make non-dairy pancakes?” Cyborg planted his fists on his hips. “Pancakes at last need eggs. And to make them really good, they need buttermilk.”

“Not if you make them with soy milk.”

“Isn’t that what they make tofu from?”

“Well, no, actually…” Beast Boy turned back to his mixing and poured a few circles onto the griddle, mumbling something under his breath.

“What was that?” Cyborg demanded.

“Soy milk is what’s left after they make tofu.”

“Well, at least the fruit is edible,” Robin said, crunching into an apple.

Beast Boy flipped the first batch of soy pancakes. “C’mon guys, this is a new recipe, and I really think you’ll like it. Please?”

“I will have several, Friend Beast Boy!” Starfire appeared, her hair still damp from her morning shower.

“See! Starfire’s willing to try some.”

“Starfire has nine stomachs,” Raven commented, not looking up from her book.

Robin chugged his orange juice. “Okay Beast Boy, I’ll try a couple.”

“Are you trying to impress Starfire?” Raven queried, turning a page.

“No,” Robin frowned. “Beast Boy went out of his way to make breakfast for us; the least we can do is try it.”

“Whatever.” Raven turned another page.

“Great.” Robin poured syrup on the pancakes that had been placed in front of him. “How about you, Cyborg?”

Cyborg sighed. “Okay. But I’m making the meal for your date.”

“Date?” Beast Boy squeaked. “What date?”

“Cyborg! I didn’t even have a chance to ask her yet.” Robin stabbed at his pancakes.

“Ask what of whom, Robin?” Starfire asked as she squirted mustard over her pancakes.

Robin sighed. “Well, Cyborg had this idea, and I thought it was good, that we could set up a kind of restaurant in the Observatory, and we could go on something of a date.”

“Date?”

“We’d get dressed up nicely and have a nice dinner, maybe do some dancing…”

“You mean like at the prom?”

“Kind of. But it would be just the two of us.”

Starfire clapped her hands and hopped up out of her chair. “And I could get a new dress?”

“Sure.”

Starfire grabbed Raven’s hand and started to drag her towards the door. “Come, Friend Raven. We must go to the mall of shopping and purchase a new garment!”

Raven managed to pull her hand from Starfire’s grasp. “Uh, could I finish my breakfast first?”

“Oh yes, I am sorry. I should finish my morning nourishment as well. But then we will go, yes?”

Raven rolled her eyes. “Yeah sure.”

“So when is this date?” Beast Boy asked, wolfing down his pancakes.

“Uh…How’s tonight, Starfire?” Robin asked, hoping not to sound too dorkish.

Starfire had just finished inhaling her pancakes and was busily licking the mustard from her plate. “This evening would be most acceptable, provided Raven and I are able to get to the mall of shopping soon!” She glared at Raven.

Raven sighed and put down her fork. “I wasn’t that hungry anyway.” She rose from her chair and Starfire again grabbed her hand, this time succeeding in pulling her out the door.

“Well then,” Cyborg put his fork down as well, leaving his pancakes untouched. “I guess I have some work to get done.” He got up and bustled away, muttering to himself about wiring the Observatory.

Beast Boy hopped after him. “Hey, how can I help? I want in on this too…”

Robin looked around at the empty kitchen, feeling very left out of the preparations for his date. “Uh…I guess I’ll wash the dishes…”

--

Cyborg had been busy all day. This little date of Starfire and Robin’s had really brought out the romantic in him. He had spent the morning wiring the Observatory for sound and had burned an MP3 disk of what he thought were the most romantic songs of all time (there were over 200 of them; they barely all fit on one CD) so he wouldn’t have to worry about having to change the disk or that there might be some song to ruin the mood. He’d also hung a small mirror-ball. Then he had set up a table near the large windows in the room and had laid it out with a tablecloth, a small bouquet of flowers and several small candles. He frowned as he set the dishes on the table; their standard set wasn’t exactly restaurant grade; in fact, they were just heavy plastic. They took normal wear and tear well, but were far from refined. But then he had the bright idea to cast some new ones in stainless steel. He used the set-up to create parts for himself and his various vehicles. He was very pleased with how the two settings he’d made for the evening turned out. He may just make enough for all of them to use once he had more time.

Since mid-afternoon, he’d been cooking. He stirred, he chopped, he sautéed. The date was scheduled for 6:00. At 5:58, Beast Boy wandered into the kitchen.

“Dude, that smells incredible! What’s on the menu?”

“BB! Just in time! Do me a favor and get the breadsticks out of the oven.” Cyborg dumped a large spoonful of green goo into a bowl containing a white paste with some yellow-green flecks and began to stir.

Beast Boy grabbed a hot pad and pulled the pan of toasted breadsticks from under the broiler. “Tell me that tastes better than it looks.”

Cyborg smiled indulgently. “Trust me. The appetizer, which is nearly complete, is toasted breadsticks with spinach, artichoke and cream cheese dip.” He finished mixing and spooned half of it into one of his new stainless steel bowls. “The entrée, which I shall begin as soon as our lovebirds are seated and enjoying this, is mushroom and parmesan stuffed ravioli in a mustard-alfredo sauce of my creation with a side of buttered asparagus.” He set the bowl on the platter and arranged the breadsticks around it. “The beverage of the evening are raspberry-lemonade spritizers and dessert…” He heaved a contented sigh, as if he couldn’t wait. “Dessert is tiramisu made with espresso and chocolate curls.”

Beast Boy drooled.

“Don’t worry, BB. I made enough for all of us.”

“Cool! That means I can have some of this dip?”

“Absolutely. Just make sure you leave some for Raven and me.” Cyborg checked his watch. “6:05. They should be up there by now. I’ll be back. Don’t touch anything but the breadsticks and dip!” Grabbing a pitcher of the afore-mentioned spritzer in one hand and the appetizer platter in the other, he hurried off.

Beast Boy muttered to himself, mocking Cyborg under his breath. He dipped a breadstick in the green and white goop and took a bite. It was actually pretty good. He went in for a second dip…

“Hey. No double-dipping.”

Beast Boy looked up. Raven stood in the door, hands on her hips.

“I was just…”

“Well, at least use the other end.”

Beast Boy watched her as she walked over and perched herself on a stool, helping herself to a breadstick. He shook his head. “Uh...yeah.” He flipped his breadstick over to dip the end he hadn’t bitten. He heard Raven crunch into hers. He looked up to see her chewing, her eyes closed and a small smile on her lips.

“Cyborg really is a good cook,” she commented after Beast Boy had watched the bite go down her throat.

He shook his head again. What was wrong with him tonight? He dipped his breadstick and shoved it into his mouth. For some reason, Raven seemed almost…pretty.

“So…” he said, starting a new breadstick. “What do you think of all this romance stuff?”

Raven shrugged, licking her delicate fingers. “Overkill. But if they’re happy, I guess that’s what’s important.”

Beast Boy laughed nervously. “Yeah…I mean…what does eating all this food have to do with …with…” He wasn’t sure where he was going with that sentence.

“Getting it on?” Raven suggested, plunging a breadstick into the dip.

“Yeah! I mean…No! Uh…do you think they’re…”

“Not yet,” Raven replied, snapping off a breadstick in her mouth.

Beast Boy choked on his breadstick. “Not yet! You think they will?”

“Probably eventually. They both want to. They’re broadcasting it like some bad infomercial.”

Beast Boy laughed nervously again. “Yeah. It’s so obvious….”

Raven cast a sidelong glance at him, her eyes half closed. “Like you would know.”

Something about that glance made Beast Boy’s ears get hot. “Yeah, okay…so…I don’t exactly have a lot of experience, but…”

“You have more than I do,” Raven said softly.

“I do?”

She skewered him with a stare. “Terra.”

Beast Boy suddenly felt very uncomfortable, although he wasn’t sure why. “I don’t know how much of a romance that was. I mean, I never even kissed her.”

“Maybe not, but the two of you were a couple, if only for a little while. The closest thing I’ve had to romance is a three-thousand-year-old demon who tricked me into thinking he was a prince under a spell.”

“That doesn’t mean that only demons would be interested in you. I mean, maybe some almost-normal human might…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Raven cut him off. “The last time I let myself be vulnerable like that, it almost got the rest of you killed. It’s not going to happen again.”

Beast Boy thought about that. “You don’t want to be happy?” he finally came up with. “I mean, Robin seems much happier now that he’s with Starfire, and I…I was pretty happy with Terra before…before she ran away.”

“Of course I want to be happy. But allowing someone else to have that kind of control over my emotions would be dangerous.”

Beast Boy chewed another breadstick, pondering that. The pair fell into silence for what felt like a long time. “That’s too bad,” Beast Boy said, thinking out loud. “Because any guy would be lucky to have you.”

“Oh?” Raven looked at him quizzically. The cynical hardness that was usually there was gone, however.

“Yeah. I mean, you’re smart, and funny in your way, and actually kind of pretty…” Beast Boy trailed off.

Raven smiled that shy smile of hers, the color rising in her cheeks. “I’m pretty, huh?”

Beast Boy scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Yeah, I mean...”

Cyborg bustled into the room at that moment. “Okay kids, you need to get. I’m gonna need some space to get the main course ready. How was the dip?”

“Great!”

“Best snot-colored thing I’ve ever tasted!”

Raven snickered.

Beast Boy nearly got whiplash turning to look at her. “Was that a laugh? Did I actually make you laugh?”

Raven fixed a frown on her face. “No.”

“Yes I did! I did!”

Raven rolled her eyes. “That was not a laugh.”

“It was the beginning of a laugh!”

“Okay, it was the beginning of a laugh.” She grabbed a breadstick. “So Cyborg, anything I can do to help?”

Beast Boy grinned to himself and watched Raven as she monitored the steaming asparagus.

Be prepared to brush your teeth!  This chapter and the next one are just ubersweet.  But that's okay...it gets all angsty in another few chapters.  Sometimes it's just fun to play with the characters being happy and having a good time.  I've been complimented on my description of the basketball game...apparently I got it right!  (I am not a sports fan.)  This is also my only nod to the Beast Boy/Raven pairing, one I'm not real sure I see, but seems to be almost as popular as the Robin/Starfire pairing.