A Tameranean's Raven

Home Away From Home

(A/N: currently unedited)

It was Dick's Birthday and naturally that meant the Titans had plans. There was no way in hell they weren't about to give their leader the time of his life. After all, that's how all birthdays were celebrated. Even Raven's and she wasn't a huge fan of birthday celebrations seeing as how hers was shrouded in misfortune.
Starfire, who was currently splitting time between a recovering Tamaran and Earth, was more than willing to take a mini vacation for her beloved friend. She needed a break from work and this was the perfect excuse for it. Of course, she wasn't exactly sure what to give Dick as a present but that could be decided later. For now, she was desperately trying to drag Raven out of bed.
"Rachel, come on. We must start the birthday events!" Starfire insisted, flopping on top of Raven who was still trying to sleep.
"Kori, it's too early for birthday stuff. Parties never happen in the morning. If they do then they're bad parties," Raven groaned.
"Yes, but we must plan the celebration. Unless you, Gar, and Cy have already done the planning," Starfire continued, resting her head on Raven's chest.
"As far as I know, Gar had some games planned and then he wants to go out to one of the bars," Raven explained, wrapping her arms tightly around Starfire, effectively stilling the other energetic girl.
"Hmm, will we still get to have cake?" Starfire asked, her excitement waning ever so slightly.
"Of course. Birthdays without cake are dumb!" Raven laughed, reluctantly opening her eyes to see Starfire smile happily at the idea of cake. "Now, can I please go back to sleep? At least for a little while longer?"
"If you did not stay up so late reading you would not be so tired," Starfire reprimanded. "But yes, I will leave you alone now. Would you like me to bring you tea?"
"Only if you want. You can stay too you know. I don't mind the company or the cuddles," Raven replied, yawning and letting go of the princess.
"I will be quick," Starfire promised, pressing a kiss to Raven's forehead before temporarily abandoning the half demon.
As promised, Starfire returned shortly with a warm mug of tea and after drinking it, Raven was awarded another few hours of sleep. It wasn't until the boys started moving around that she was forced to accept the fact that she was going to have to get out of bed. With a frown, she clambered out of bed and dressed while Starfire excitedly left to start the day.
Sulking into the kitchen Raven found that she couldn't be too upset based on the energy radiating throughout the tower. Everyone was happy and excited. It was contagious.
"I know you guys have plans already but I was wondering if it was okay to invite my girlfriend over?" Dick asked, bashfully avoiding eye contact.
"You have a girlfriend?" Raven asked through a bite of cereal. "When did that happen?"
"Months ago," Dick admitted.
"And you told none of us?" Gar shrieked, looking like a pissed off goblin. "I am deeply hurt by this information."
"Oh calm down you dramatic green bean," Cyborg sighed. "You can invite her so long as she's okay with our craziness."
"I'm normal," Raven replied.
"Says the lady who can turn into a red demon," Gar retorted, earning an eye roll from said half demon.
"What is your girlfriend's name?" Starfire asked excitedly. "She must be lovely!"
"Barbara. She's pretty cool," Dick smiled.
"Does she know about your side gig?" Cyborg asked, taking the jug of milk from the fridge.
"She's part of my side gig," Dick explained, taking a seat at the table.
"Like, how?" Gar frowned, reaching for the cereal box in front of Raven as if she were going to bite his hand off.
"She's Batgirl." Dick's admission was enough to almost make Raven choke on her breakfast.
"Batgirl? For real?" The half demon demanded. "You're lying. There's no way!"
"Jealous?" Dick smirked, arching a brow.
"I'm not jealous in the slightest, but that doesn't mean she isn't cool," Raven muttered. "I can be a fan, okay?"
"Nerd!" Gar giggled, this time actually earning retaliation from Raven. He yelped when his spoon flew up and smacked him on the forehead.
"Point is, you can invite her," Cyborg laughed.
"Thanks everyone," Dick grinned, getting up from the table and pulling out his phone. He didn't use it often, but this was more of a personal call and less of a business one.
— — —
Barbara couldn't have picked a stranger time to show up to the tower. She walked through the elevator to the sound of music, maniacal laughing, and even yelling. Then she rounded the corner and saw what the cause of the commotion was.
A thin and lanky green skinned boy was dancing alongside a half machine half man to the tune of Umbrella. For a moment, she considered retreating back into the elevator when Dick spotted her and excitedly waved her over.
"STAY ON YOUR SIDE!" Gar yelled, hip checking Cyborg in the middle of the dance as he waved the hand held controller.
"I AM ON MY SIDE, YOU HEATHEN!" Cyborg argued, falling back into the proper rhythm after being temporarily thrown off.
"Five bucks says they kill each other," Raven grinned, watching happily as the boys fought over their respective 'space' in order to win. At last, the song died out and both fell to their knees breathing heavily. Cyborg had just barely snatched the win.
"A wonderful performance gentleman," Dick chuckled, drawing everyone's attention. "Everyone, this is my girlfriend Barbara. That there is Cyborg, Gar, Starfire, and Raven."
"Uh, nice to meet all of you. I've heard a little about you but it's nice to see you in person," Barbara smiled, giving a small wave. What she didn't expect was to see Raven looking at her with an arched brow and a mildly confused expression.
"You have a type. She looks kinda like Sta-!" Gar laughed, before Raven slapped a hand over his mouth muffling what he said next.
"Anyways," Dick continued, "we're just playing a few games right now. Feel free to join in if you want or you can just watch."
"I think I'll watch for now. It looks pretty intense," Barbara decided, taking her place on the couch beside Raven.
"If you guys are recovered enough we can do a team dance," Dick proposed.
"That's not fair! You and Star always win!" Gar protested.
"She doesn't have to be on my team," Dick snorted.
"Oh no, you can keep her. We'll get them this time Gar. You gotta have faith. Come on," Cyborg smiled, pulling Gar back up onto his feet. Once everyone was situated, Gar picked the song since he had lost the previous dancing duel. Raven didn't expect him to pick the hardest one, but he was committed to making Dick and Starfire work for the win. She admired that.
"Do you not like playing their games?" Barbara asked, sparing the quiet girl a glance.
"Sometimes I join in. I just don't dance," Raven shrugged. "It's fun enough watching."
"That's fair," Barbara nodded. Making herself comfortable on the couch, she watched the dance unfold along with all of the chaos that followed it. She'd be lying if she said it wasn't funny watching Gar and Cyborg struggle to keep up. Much to her surprise, Dick was a pretty good dancer, but Starfire was even better. She had a certain weightlessness about her that made it easy for her to transition through the dance moves.
At one point, Cybrog accidentally stepped on Gar's foot, sending him to the ground laughing and crying in pain all while Dick and Starfire struggled not to lose focus. Eventually, the song came to an end. Cyborg and Gar lost by a landslide.
"You still got it!" Dick laughed, smiling from ear to ear as he did a little handshake with Starfire.
"Next time you guys should change up the teams," Raven snorted, trying to hide her laughter as Gar glared pointedly in her direction.
"You act like you can do better?" Gar asked.
"Here's the thing, I know I can't, so I don't give myself the opportunity to fail in front of people. This is why I'm smarter than you," Raven smirked.
"You know, I bet we can beat our last high score on your favorite song," Dick decided, stealing Gar's controller and clicking back to the menu.
"The last time we did this one was ages ago," Starfire worried.
"It'll be easy," Dick reassured, "it's practically muscle memory at this point. Just like old times. Barbara do you want to run one with me next?"
"Sure," Barbara nodded, but some strange feeling started to bubble up in her chest. One she wasn't particularly familiar with. Shaking her head, she pushed it aside as Gar sat beside her desperately trying to cool off.
— — —
After promptly destroying their previous high score together, Starfire passed the little controller over to Barbara and took her place on the couch. Admittedly, Barbara was a bit nervous. It wasn't like she could compare to the red headed alien. She wasn't going to destroy any high scores by any means. In fact, she found it difficult to sync up with Dick through the duration of the dance.
On more than one occasion they ran into each other earning a series of giggles from the others. Barbara tried not to be embarrassed but it was hard. She wasn't exactly super familiar with Dick's friends and she was already in an embarrassing situation.
When the song ended, she couldn't have been happier. With a tiny smile she gave Dick a light kiss on the cheek.
"May we have cake now?" Gar asked, his stomach rumbling loudly. "My tummy is demanding sustenance."
"Cake?" The word immediately piqued Starfire's interest much to the others' amusement.
"Yeah we can have cake," Dick laughed, watching as everyone raced to the kitchen.
"They're going to fight over slices aren't they?" Barbara asked.
"Oh definitely. That's just how they work," Dick laughed, taking her hand and leading her along into the kitchen.
As predicted, there was nearly a war over the cake for corner and center slices. Raven was adamant that only psychopaths picked the middle slice to eat first. Gar was determined to have the middle slice just to spite her while Starfire wanted the one that said Birt on it in neat lettering. Cyborg took whatever he could get wanting to get his slice before the cake was potentially destroyed.
Soon enough, silence fell over the tower as everyone ate happily, to focused on their own slice of cake to say much for the time being. That was until Starfire got cake in her lap.
"Awe man," she sighed.
"That's why we take small bites so they stay on the fork," Cyborg snickered.
"Here," Raven laughed, passing over a bunch of napkins.
"Dude, you got frosting on the floor too! Have some self control!" Gar giggled, looking under the table.
"Cake is really good," Starfire pouted.
"You should have seen her the first time she ever had any," Dick muttered, smiling to himself as he noticed the way Barbara was trying not to laugh.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"All I will say is that nothing gets between a hungry Tamaranean and cake," Dick informed, taking a bite of his own piece. "Chances are you won't survive the ordeal. Or you'll get frosting in really weird places."
"Like your ears," Raven shivered, some semblance of a memory making its way into her head. Part of Barbara wanted to know the full story while the other part of her didn't. Frankly, she wasn't too certain about Starfire. It seemed like the other girl had a knack for being the center of attention. It didn't sit well with her.
"Question," Barbara began, "you can turn into animals right? Does that mean if you were to have chocolate while being a dog it would kill you?"
The moment she finished her question Cyborg was howling with laughter. She got the impression no one had ever really thought of that before.
"Thankfully, no. I can eat whatever I want while being whatever I want," Gar boasted, puffing out his chest.
"Trust me, if chocolate could have killed him, I would have poisoned his food with it by now," Raven snickered, dodging a playful punch from the green boy.
"Gar does make a very adorable puppy dog," Starfire noted.
"Why thank you. Starfire is the only person here with taste," Gar insisted, smiling quite happily.
"Yeah, she loves helpless little creatures. Right, Silkie?" Raven asked, glancing over at Silkie who waited patiently by the table for any scraps of food thrown his way.
"Why do you bully me?" Gar pouted, setting his chin on the table. "I'm just a little man trying to have a good time."
— — —
Fortunately for Gar, he didn't have to suffer Raven's snide remarks much longer. Not when they were making their way through the city as the sun slowly began to set in the distance. After having cake, the lot of heroes played a few more games before venturing out into the real world.
Gar refused to stop talking much to Barbara's mild amusement, while Raven said little to nothing at all. She found herself somewhat drawn to the reserved girl. Raven looked to be level headed and observant, qualities Barbara admired. She could see why Dick talked so highly of the half demon when he'd bothered to mention her.
"I hope they aren't too much for you," Dick sighed, running his thumb over Barabara's knuckles as he held her hand.
"I like them well enough," Barbara assured, offering her partner a tiny smile. "They're excitable. It's cute. Very different from Bruce."
"Yeah, it's refreshing. I like having a change of pace when I'm not at the Manor you know? A second home so to speak. Given time I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you stuck around more. It would give you a bit of a break from the dreary cave," Dick smiled warmly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Pausing, he took a moment to look over his shoulder and realized that both Raven and Starfire had disappeared. "Hang on guys, we lost the girls."
"Awe man, we're almost there," Gar whined. Turning on his heel he started to walk back when both Raven and Starfire came running out of an alley laughing their heads off. "Oh no."
"What did you do?" Cyborg asked wearily.
"We got a cat!" Starfire exclaimed, opening her jacket to reveal a black cat missing an eye tucked snugly against her chest.
"Did you just take that thing and run?" Dick asked, eyeing the cat skeptically.
"It was following us," Starfire noted, scratching lightly at the cat's ears and causing it to purr. "Can we keep it?"
"No, you can't keep it," Dick protested.
"But it's so cute! Look at the little face!" Starfire pouted, holding the cat up and batting her eyes.
"What if it belongs to someone?" Gar asked, poking at the cat with his finger.
"Hang on." Raven's eyes turned black for a moment and within a couple of seconds they returned to normal. "Nope. No one's missing a cat. I checked."
"Don't encourage her," Dick frowned.
"Excuse me? You think I'm going to pass up the opportunity to have a cute little black cat?" Raven scoffed, gesturing at the one eyed critter. "It's so mysterious. I love it."
"We can't take a cat into the bar," Cyborg laughed.
"Alright, I'll make a deal with you," Dick decided, "if the cat is still here waiting for you when we leave you can keep it."
"Yes!" Starfire laughed, showering the scrawny cat with kisses.
"You better stay put or she's gonna cry," Raven warned, taking the cat from Starfire and setting it gently on the ground.
"Now, can we go? Please?" Gar asked. Barbara, admittedly, was on his side of things. She simply wanted to reach their destination; not steal a cat. She wasn't exactly fond of people with cats in the first place, they were all somewhat sneaky and conniving individuals.
With the cat fiasco settled, the group of heroes made their way into the bar and settled down at the counter. The music was loud but not overbearing and the lights weren't too harsh either. It had just the right amount of atmosphere to it.
Not much of a drinker, Barbara decided she'd be the sober friend for the group. The others clearly had different plans. Gar had every intention of getting wasted and Starfire didn't seem to care about how hard the liquor was. Barbara supposed that had something to do with her alien genetics.
"Thanks for coming along, it means a lot," Dick insisted, sparing the red head a light kiss.
"It's your birthday, I wouldn't miss it for the world," Barbara insisted, but as excited as she was to be there at the start of the night, that feeling quickly faded with time.
Gar who was always a talker couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut anymore and any amount of filter he had in the first place was gone. It didn't take long for him to get into some form of trouble and Raven was the first to pick up on it. Her eyes smarted a bright red as she got to her feet only for Dick to push her back down in her seat.
"If Gar is going to run his mouth he has to handle the consequences," Dick warned.
"He's going to be pulverized," Raven frowned, watching the situation intently.
"He has to learn one way or another," Dick insisted. With an agitated sigh, Raven caved and did her best to ignore the problem at hand. In the mean time, Starfire was half asleep, slumped over on Dick's shoulder. They all had learned pretty quick that while Starfire didn't suffer the same consequences as normal people when it came to alcohol, she got really sleepy.
While no one else seemed to mind, Barbara did. She was well aware of the arm Dick had placed about the alien girl's torso to keep her from falling off the stool, and she was even more aware of the way the Tamaranean seemed to snuggle up into Dick's side. It put a bad taste in her mouth and it made her earlier feelings of jealousy only worsen.
Thankfully, Raven seemed to clue in on just how close Starfire was to actually falling asleep. With a small roll of the eyes she leaned in and whispered something to the Tamaranean.
"I'm gonna take her home," Raven called over the music.
"I can do it if you-." Dick started.
"No. It's your birthday. Shut up and have fun," Raven glowered, punching him in the arm. "I'll see you later."
With that the two girls made their way slowly outside leaving Dick and Barbara alone at the bar.
— — —
As far as birthdays went, Dick had a great time. He was reminded how much his friends loved him and he couldn't be happier, but he was beginning to notice a certain kind of tension with Barbara. Over the next month she visited on more than one occasion even going so far as to spend the night.
It seemed harmless until Dick began to notice they way she passive aggressively addressed Starfire. Of course, Starfire didn't seem to notice and carried on like everything was fine. After all, she had a new little cat to take care of and the one eyed creature demanded attention quite regularly.
One morning, as Dick woke up, he was confronted by Barbara who was already dressed for the day and preparing to leave for the Bat Cave. He could tell the moment he made eye contact that it was a serious discussion which needed to be had.
"I need you to be honest with me," Barbara started, "do you still have feelings for Starfire?"
"No," Dick replied, getting out of bed and moving around the room to get ready for the day.
"She seems awfully fond of you," Barbara frowned.
"That's just how she is. On her home planet friendship is something they value more than most other feelings and relationships. She's a physically affectionate person. Give it time and she'll start hugging you too," Dick assured, pulling on a shirt,
"She doesn't do that with Raven," Barbara countered. She watched as Dick frowned, almost like he wanted to say something but refrained from it.
"Listen, Barbara, I get it. Jealousy is a common feeling. I've been there myself. Just, talk to her. There's only so much I can say that's going to ease your mind. Starfire is very approachable and quick to forgive." Dick offered his girlfriend a tiny smile which she wasn't too keen on returning. With a sigh, Barbara caved. She knew he was right, but that didn't mean she actually wanted to talk to the alien girl. Mustering up some courage, she ventured down the halls to the door guarding Starfire's room. She knocked a few times only to enter and find it empty. Albeit a bit confused, she resorted to asking Raven where the Tamaranean had gone.
Turning curtly on her heel, she made her way across the hall and slid open the door belonging to Raven's room. It didn't take her long to realize her mistake when she spotted both Starfire and Raven stark naked and sound asleep. The half demon had red hand prints along her shoulders and back while Starfire's chest and collarbone were decorated with small bruises. Clothes were strewn about the room haphazardly and the two girls were nothing more than a tangled up bunch of limbs.
Swallowing tightly, Barbara eased the door shut. Shock was the only word she could use to describe the situation. Making her way back the way she had come, she confronted Dick yet again.
"Did you know Raven is sleeping with Starfire?"
"Uh, not particularly no," Dick stammered, "they've been dating for a while so I'm not too surprised."
"Wait what?" Barbara asked, her jaw dropping. "You didn't think to tell me that? That would have resolved literally all of my feelings."
"I didn't think it was my place to tell you. Not everyone is chill with it b-."
"I'm not a homophobe Dick," Barbara sighed. "God, now I feel like a total bitch."
Suddenly a lot of things began to make sense. She hadn't paid too much attention to the way the two girls behaved around each other but recalling the past few days there were obvious signs. They always sat beside each other and looking back on it held hands under the table. Raven always kept a close eye on the Tamaranean and vice versa. They seemed to be in sync at all times without even trying and the night at the bar made a lot more sense. Barbara had noted very briefly how gentle Raven was with Starfire, more so than someone who was just a friend.
"It was a simple misunderstanding, that's all," Dick assured, pulling his girlfriend into a hug. "They'll understand. They keep things pretty private so it's not unusual for people not to notice."
"You probably think awful of me," Barbara muttered.
"Of course not. Like I said, I used to be jealous too. I wasn't a huge fan when they first got together but Star and I have both moved on. We're in a better place now," Dick smiled. "You're my girl. Don't doubt it."
— — —
At one point during the evening, Starfire ventured to the roof of the tower with One Eyed Willie in tow. She'd settled on a name for the little black cat that she and Raven had found. It was a reference to one of the first iconic earth movies Cyborg had shown her: The Goonies.
"You look so cute in your collar," Starfire mused, scooping up Willie and adjusting the purple band around his neck with a little gold star on it. "You are a handsome little man!"
Purring loudly, Willie arched his back and snuggled up close to his new friend. As far as he was concerned, this was the perfect life to have. Two lovely ladies making sure he was warm and well fed with an alien worm as his sibling. At the very least it was better than the alley he frequented.
"Starfire?" The voice was both familiar and foreign but the Tamaranean turned to find Barbara hesitantly stepping out onto the tower roof.
"Hello!" Starfire called, turning back to the sun that was slowly setting on the horizon.
"Hey, I was wondering if we could talk for a second?" Barbara asked, moving to stand beside the taller girl.
"Of course. I was wondering when you would wish to talk. Raven did the explaining to me. You are jealous?" Starfire asked. What surprised Barbara the most was the Tamaranean's tone. She wasn't judgmental or hostile, she was gentle and curious.
"Well I was," Barbara admitted. "Then I learned that I didn't have anything to worry about."
"Did Dick not tell you Raven is my girlfriend?" Starfire asked, running a hand down Willie's back.
"He didn't, actually. He had his reasons but it would have been nice to know before I was sort of a jerk to you." Biting at her bottom lip, Barbara caught sight of a small smile on Starfire's face. "What?"
"Nothing, I am just reminded of how he used to act when we dated," Starfire shrugged. "He overthinks a lot."
"He does, doesn't he?" Barbara laughed.
"He means well. Most of the time. It is nice to see him happy with you. I was always worried he would be lonely without me," Starfire frowned.
"If you don't mind me asking, were you the one to break things off?" Barbara questioned.
"I was," Starfire nodded. "It has worked out for the best in my opinion."
"I like to think so too," Barbara nodded, tucking her hands in her pockets. "So, are we cool now?"
"Of course," Starfire smiled. "May I hug you?"
"Sure." Barbara didn't expect the hug to be as warm as it was, but she found it nice and comforting. It had been a long time since she'd had someone hug her like this. It was nice.
The two girls lingered for a moment to watch the sun slowly fall on the horizon when a dark portal appeared beside them and Raven stepped out of it.
"Dinnertime," the half demon informed.
"YOU CHEATED!" Gar yelled, stumbling out onto the rooftop.
"I would never," Raven smiled.
"Did you race again?" Starfire asked.
"He never said no powers," Raven shrugged much to Gar's irritation.
"I'll be there in a bit," Barbara promised as Starfire set Willie down. The cat scampered off in pursuit of Gar and vanished from sight.
"We will save you a spot," Starfire promised, following Raven back towards the door leading to the roof. Barbara noticed the way they linked their pinky fingers together and walked shoulder to shoulder. It was adorable, and while she felt ridiculous for having been jealous, she was glad to have moved past it.
The Tamaranean really wasn't bad at all. Smiling to herself, Barbara felt content. Maybe she could get used to the tower after all. Like them, she felt like this could very well be a home away from home. Something she desperately needed, and, if she was honest, she thought Raven was pretty cool. Truthfully, she was a bit of a fan but she'd never admit it. Instead, she'd keep that bit of information to herself and hope they could be friends. Barbara thought they were off to a decent start.