Sunlight filtered through the window, a steady block of light casting tall shadows from every object in the darkly redecorated hotel room. The owner stirred as the sunlight reached the bed, violet eyes fluttering open as she pushed herself up on one elbow to peer at the clock. Neon numbers flashed at her, alerting that it was only a little after six. Robin, Starfire and Cyborg would be awake by now, most likely in the sprawling suite's kitchen eating breakfast. With an almost catlike stretch she folded the silky black sheets down, swinging out pale legs and shivering at the chilled air outside of her warm bed. Another day in Tokyo, what would she do?
She pondered this as she went into the bathroom, picking up a towel to hang on the towel bar before she turned the knobs for the shower to start. As she waited for it to warm up she slipped her black fleece pants down, taking her forest green bikini panties with them and kicked them to the side. A few moments later she tossed off her blue tank top and tossed it to the pile before she stepped into the shower, shivering at the warmth as it began to make her skin heat up to a dewy pink from the heat. After lathering up her hair and body she leaned into the stream of water to rinse off, closing her eyes as she lets loose a sigh that made it sound like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Perhaps she did, after all she was a hero.
Shaking her head to clear her mind, her wet hair slapped against flushed cheeks while dark eyes narrowed in determination. Thoughts like that were poisonous; negativity was dangerous in her line of work. This only fueled her to snap off the shower and step out, placing a towel on her head to begin drying herself off starting with her head. A low sigh of pleasure rose from her as she re-entered the bedroom, tossing her pajamas into the small hamper and moving over to the closet. There was no telling how long she stood in front of it, staring at the clothes as she tried to figure out what she wanted to wear. After perhaps ten minutes an idea clicked in her head, she remembered seeing an old abandoned temple that she had spotted when flying around the week before. Now that she had an idea of what she was going to do today, she quickly put together an outfit. As quickly as she could she donned pale blue undergarments before slipping her legs into dark washed skinny jeans, plucking a black camisole to pull over her head with ease. She flipped through her closet until she found a silk red button-up blouse and slid it on, stepping into black ballet flats at the same time. Only a quick brush of her hair and a layer of lip balm was needed before she exited her room, striding out into the kitchen with a soft hum while thinking nothing could ruin this day.
When she entered the kitchen area there was Cyborg in a chef's hat flipping pancakes onto a large platter, Robin and Starfire were sitting by each other holding hands and looking into each other's eyes adoringly. Ever since the fight with Brushogan the week before they had been inseparable, spending every waking moment by each other's side. It almost would have sickened Raven had their vacation not been full of separate activities. Starfire and Robin often went out together to have fun, hitting up arcades and restaurants and other tourist places. Robin would sometimes attend a martial arts studio that the pair had discovered. Cyborg would often go to different buffets and make friends with the restaurant owners; he seemed to be interested in brushing up on his culinary abilities. Raven would spend her days at various bookstores and temples, expanding her knowledge of the Japanese language. Occasionally she would visit dark clubs that pulsated with music, of course then she would take a rare chance to cut loose and skulk about in dark corners talking with other 'gothic' types about poetry and whatnot. She never danced of course, mainly because she didn't know how and she wasn't the sort to dance by herself. Now Beast Boy spent his days with his fangirls, each day he was out with a different girl and sometimes more than one. Cyborg and Robin thought it was funny, Starfire thought it strange and Raven…well that was her own opinion that she had yet to voice.
"Morning little miss darkness, pancakes?" Crowed the ever-cheery Cyborg, gesturing with a spatula. Simultaneously Robin and Starfire greeted Raven with distracted murmurs, still whispering to each other and grinning stupidly.
"Sure, why not." She replied in her usual monotone, her steps gliding as she moved to make her usual tea. Soon Cyborg shut off the skillet, a tower of pancakes sitting in the middle of the table as the four begin to devour the delicious breakfast. When they were about halfway through a loud mewling yawn pierced the air, signaling the appearance of a certain green changeling.
"Mmm hey what's up dudes? Oh cool breakfast. Aw man you didn't use my soy eggs in it did you Cy?"
"Man ain't no one gonna be wanting that nasty stuff."
"C'mon man…"
"Beast Boy just get your own breakfast." Robin finally interrupted, growing irritated as every morning started the same way.
"Fiiiiine." Beast Boy grumbled, sulking to the fridge to pull out his tofu eggs and bacon. It wasn't long until the overly-hyper teen joined them with his health food, chowing down quickly and rather noisily. This made Raven gain one of the red frustration marks you see in animes, her eyes narrowing at him before she scoffs. "Geeze can you be any more of a pig?" She remarked with a snarky tone, lifting her teacup to her lips.
Beast Boy paused in mid-bite, lifting his eyes up to the dark empath before lowering his fork and smiling at him. "Sure can Rae." He immediately morphed into a swine, twitching his nose at her before turning back with a wink and digging into his food again. If he hoped to get a reaction out of her then he failed, her face as stoic as ever despite how she was slightly amused. "Just when I thought you couldn't get any messier." She commented coolly, lowering her now-empty teacup to the table as she moves to stand up. She didn't notice however that Beast Boy's ears lowered a bit, his grip on his fork tightening and his smile growing more forced.
"Friends! What are the plans we have for today?" Starfire asked cheerfully, eyes glowing happily as she floats above the table.
"Well Star I'm helping create a new recipe for barbecue sushi." Cyborg put in with pride, flashing a thumbs-up.
"I think I'll hit the martial arts studio for a while today and then you and I can go get lunch together." Robin smiled to his girlfriend who blushed profusely.
Raven kept quiet, washing out her teapot while the others talked about their plans. She was only partially paying attention, not caring about what the others were doing until she heard the familiar raspy voice pipe up.
"Well I've got three dates today. I'm heading out early to check out a comic book signing with this cute girl who has her hair dyed blonde, I'm meeting this other girl for lunch and later tonight I'm going to a club with this girl who's in a band." Beast Boy said proudly, leaning back in his seat with a smirk on his face. Cyborg of course gave him a high-five for all the cuties while Starfire and Robin shared a glance of concern.
"Beast Boy that's a lot of girls, you sure you can handle it?" Asked a concerned Robin, Starfire piping up as well. "Yes friend Beast Boy, so many girls at once is dishonorable and misleading. How can you possibly care for them all at once?"
"I'll be fine guys, trust me there's enough of the B-man to go around." He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows, missing the dark energy surrounding the teapot in Raven's hand. However they all jumped in surprise as they heard the shattering, turning to look at the dark teen that stood quietly at the sink. She went to pull up the hood of her cloak before remembering she wasn't wearing it, causing her to feel suddenly vulnerable. Without a word being said she vanished off to her room to fetch her purse, reappearing by the doorway a moment later to announce she was heading out. The rest of the team stared after her with dumbfounded expressions as the door shut behind the dark teen, Starfire being the first to break the silence.
"Does Raven have the time of the womans?" She asked with concern, hands clasped as she looks back and forth between the boys who looked shocked at her question.
"Uh I don't know Star, that's none of my business." Cyborg and Robin voiced unanimously, looking put off and embarrassed. Cyborg then blinked and perked up a bit and turned towards Beast Boy.
"Stuff only started shattering after you mentioned all your dates. Did you go and annoy her BB?" He asked accusingly to his friend who frowned and gestured to himself.
"Me? Dude I didn't do anything to miss cranky butt! I don't know what her deal is." He said defensively, shoving away from the table to stomp off to his separate room to get dressed.
Beast Boy took far less time getting dressed than Raven did, grabbing a pair of slightly baggy jeans, a black t-shirt proclaiming Mega Monkeys 5 in Japanese and a pair of black and purple high-tops. He ran a bare hand through his hair and tucked a wallet into his pocket, strolling out and saluting the three at the table before leaving as well. Cyborg and Robin shared knowing looks while Starfire peered out the window with concern.
On the streets:
Beast Boy grumbled to himself, kicking a stray can on his way to the comic book store. "Stupid Raven, why does she always have to have an attitude? All I try to do is have fun and make her laugh." He growled, brows steeped together with a frustrated expression as he sighed and rubbed at his face. "No, gotta get a grip. C'mon BB you're going on dates with three different girls today, you need to cheer up and show them a good time."
Meanwhile Raven stopped in front of a store, catching sight of something that made her eyes widen. Glancing around to make sure no one was looking or recognized her, she slipped inside the comic store. It never crossed her mind about seeing anyone from the team there; after all there were hundreds of comic book stores in Japan. Swiftly she moved towards the book she picked it up with delicate fingers, clutching it to her chest as she moved to turn around only to bump into someone. Tilting her chin up she realized she had bumped into a tall dark teenager with bright blue eyes; eyes that made her breath catch in her throat. The boy smiled to her and said something in Japanese which made her utter the only Japanese she knew, how to say she didn't speak Japanese. This made the boy laugh and switch to English.
"I'm sorry; I didn't look where I was going." He rumbled, sticking his hands into his black slacks. "Can you forgive me miss…?" He paused, prompting a reply from her.
"It's fine, you are forgiven." She said quietly, moving to go past him to pay for the book which he snapped up from her grip. "Hey! Give that back." She demanded angrily, violet eyes flashing.
"Hey calm down, I just wanted to sign it for you." He replied calmly, pulling out a pen and scribbling something down in it. "First who do I get to make this out to?" He flashed a charming smile that seemed to curl into her belly.
"I was going to get it for a friend so you can just make it out to them." She said stubbornly, arms crossing over her chest. "While you're at it make sure to write down tips for manners." Came her usual dry wit.
The man's eyebrows shot up, shock written on his features before he tipped his head back with a laugh. "Oh you I like, most people are too timid to joke with me. So who's this friend hmmm?" His pen poised above the comic.
"His name is Beast Boy, and I'm not joking." She said dryly, violet eyes challenging as he scribbled on the comic before handing it back.
"Tell you what, you keep this comic and you can pay me back by going out to lunch with me."
"No." She said shortly, taking the comic back.
"Why not?" He asked surprised.
"Because I don't do lunch dates with strangers."
"Well how about just meeting me at a club then? Public and you can ditch me if you want. The name's Logan, Logan Zabrathian." He stuck out his hand to her, flashing another smile. Raven just stared at him, face impassive. "Raven and I don't dance." She said shortly.
"You don't have to dance, just come listen to music with me." He said earnestly, leaning down closer to her.
She frowned a bit, glancing down at the comic book before sighing. "Fine, but I don't dance." The rest of her words were lost on him as his face lit up with glee, hurriedly writing down his information on a slip of paper. "Awesome, here call me later about five and I'll tell you where to meet me. Now I will talk to you later, I have to go let the owner know I gave you the book and then I have to get to my signing. Don't worry I will make sure that Beast Boy doesn't get a copy so you can give that to him as a surprise. What does he look like?"
She smirked a bit. "He's about my height, green with pointed ears and fangs. You can't miss him, I'll call later." Without another word she turns and exits the store, leaving behind a very happy comic book writer.
Elsewhere:
"Alright! Here we are baby, about to get our limited edition comic books and get them signed by the famous Logan Zabrathian himself!" Beast Boy smiled to the attractive Japanese girl on his arm who simply giggled, batting her eyelashes at him and speaking in rapid Japanese. Beast Boy still didn't understand what she was saying but he didn't think it mattered, she was cute and willing to go out with him so that's all that counted right? As they entered the store they went to the section where people were picking up books, stuck at the very end of the line. Being polite he let her stand in front of him, saving himself for last even though he was bouncing with excitement. Slowly the line inched up, person by person getting their books and rushing off to get them signed. His date got hers but when he got up to the counter he was told they were sold out, causing the green teen to slump. "But…..awww man!" Glumly he went with his date to get her book signed, not even looking up when they got to Logan. However when Logan actually greeted him by name, he jerked upright with stars in his eyes.
"Dude you know who I am?"
"Yes I do, a very special girl came here earlier and mentioned you specifically." Logan had a spark of mischief in his eyes, leaning forward on his elbows towards the Titan who instantly got curious.
"Who was it? Was she cute?"
"Tell you what, meet me at this club and I'll point her out to you. I somehow managed to convince her to go with me there so you will be able to see her." Logan said slyly, scribbling down the name of a club on a strip of paper. "Be there at seven sharp. Drinks are on me, virgin ones of course."
Beast Boy was too far gone with excitement to notice the gleam in his comic hero's eyes, already dragging his date out of the store chattering excitedly despite her looking grumpy at the mention of another girl.
Back at the hotel Raven was carefully doing something that she had never done before, cleaning Beast Boy's room. She figured that with his room so messy he would never see the comic book, something she couldn't risk. Why the sudden change of heart? After years of being on a team with him he had gone from annoying to little brother-like. From there he had somehow wormed his way into her heart, causing her to feel a sort of tenderness for him that she didn't understand. Normal people would have recognized it right away, however being raised as Raven had been she had no idea what the emotion was let alone how to handle it. She felt compelled to every now and again to do something nice for him.
Once his room was tidied up she carefully propped the comic book up against his pillow with a small note she wrote, smiling as she exits his room and closes the door. Once done she returns to her room to pick out an outfit for later that night, deciding to try and use some of the outfits that Starfire had snuck into her suitcase. Begrudgingly she made the executive decision to try and put herself out there, being brave in a new way. Going into the bathroom she brushes her hair, pulling it up into a small bun with tendrils around her face that she curled to give body to it. The next step was to gently apply smoky eyeshadow in cobalt blue and shimmering silver, causing her eyes to go from simply magnetic to sultry bedroom eyes with just a few swipes of an applicator. The last thing to do before getting dressed was to add the tiniest amount of blush and then a thick application of lipstick in a spicy cinnamon shade. Satisfied with her appearance she exits the bathroom to go to her closet, heart skipping a few beats as she pulls out the outfit she was going to wear and stripping out of her current one. Before she lost her nerve she inhaled softly and stripped her undergarments down, the outfit calling for a strapless bra and panties that were thin enough to not leave visible lines.
Raven bit her lower lip, gently picking up the black strapless bra and hooks it on. The effect was instant, pushing her modest breasts up until her cleavage fibbed of a larger size. Bravely trudging on she picks up her v-cut panties, slipping into them as they fit snugly against her curvy hips. Once on she steps into the white miniskirt, the cloth ending three inches below the curve of her rear and showing off her long lean legs. A dark green halter top slid onto her torso, the shirt had a sweetheart neckline and a ruched bodice that had an open back. The final touches were knee-high white heeled boots and her jewelry, several gold bangles for each arm and a pair of dangling earrings that had small discs that were mirrors hanging from it. Glancing at the clock it was a little after noon and she was tired, deciding to lay down for a nap until five when she had to call Logan. Without another thought she dropped onto the down-turned black silk sheets, falling asleep quickly.