Celestial Skies

“Alright, thanks for your time.” Cole said as he hung up the phone.

He wasn't the best at planning out dates having just picked up most girls at the bar, or Penny just swinging by. He figured it would be best to play the field to make sure everything went right. Calling all three restaurants to see which one he could get a table at, only Celestial Skies had room left for reservations. Odd, he figured a place like that would be completely booked considering the theme of the festival.

“Maybe more people want dinner by moonlit windows than artificial stars.” He muttered to no one as he hefted a box of books up. He left the storeroom he had taken the call in.

He still had the rest of the shift to do. Which with the house and Raven, wasn’t bad. Made him feel nostalgic about being back home working at the local shop. Also he didn’t have to get hit as much as his old job. He’d thought about trying to work at the gym as a trainer, maybe move to another city to do so. This though was a nice alternative to that idea. Maybe there was something to this whole life.

He stopped at a shelf and placed the box down on the floor, moving to put some magazines out on display. He paused when he saw someone looking puzzled over some of the selections over in the “how to” section.

“Need help finding something?” He asked the man upon walking close.

He spun, holding a book in one of his hands. The man looked to be about his age, maybe little older, wearing a vest and jacket with slacks, all a light brown. He scratched the back of his head as he fought for words. Cole noticed the book was about how to best practice boxing.

“Looking to get into boxing huh?” Cole said pointing at the book in the mans hand.

“Oh huh?” The mans eyes went to the book, “Yeah? I suppose? Heh. I need more exercise and I just can’t picture myself jogging into shape.”

“If it’s just for that, here.” He took a moment to dig through the shelves before finding a hard cover book. He handed it to the man while taking the flimsy bright covered manual from him. “This one is far more informative about how to get started.”

“Oh hey thanks.” Th man turned the book over in his hands a few times, “So wait do you box?”

“Not since an injury few years ago.” Cole explained, “I can carry heavy stuff, make some leaps, even throw a punch. But my leg, I can’t move it as fast as I’d need to. I’d just be a big easy target in the ring.” He added a sigh and shrug to that.

A lie, but hopefully a believable one. Part of what he had to read yesterday was a cover story Raven wrote up. Granted it was more Cupid's 'cover' with Raven just simlifiying it to a more managable. read. Cole went to College and boxed for a while before a leg injury made him quit, with Raven being by his side since they bumped into each other during a study session. It was easier than explaining the true story of how they came here.

“Ah Sorry to hear that. If I bought back had memories…” he started.

“It’s fine it’s fine.” Cole waves the man to stop, “Probably better this way. I had a GF that stuck with me through it and well, we have rings and this store now. I know pro boxers with less than me.”

“I suppose that is true. It is kinda a rough sport. Active though which is why I thought to pick it up. Heck I can do it at my place when it rains.” The man said with a grin.

“There you go. I’d look into maybe joining a gym though. It can be rough to practice alone.” He paused to cup his chin, “anew in town though, I don’t know where a gym is though.”

“Think there’s one on. 5th and Current. That’s about six blocks from here.”

“Hmm might need to look into that. Thanks. Come on, I’ll help ring you up if you’re done.” Cole offered with a smile.

---

“So, did you find a place?” “Course I found a place.”

The two were at the counter top table in the kitchen. The rest of the work day had passed without a fuss. Most people were chatting about their plans for the coming week. It had actually made Cole rather excited to see what this was all about. Full of energy, he took the cooking role tonight and made up some burgers for them. He was still feeling really hungry so he might have gone over board with his own patty, along with making up a few extras.

“Are you going to tell me where we're going?”

“You said surprise you. I’m just following orders.” He grinned before opening his mouth wider to take a large bite of his meal.

" I suppose I walked into that." She murmured, before putting a small smile to her lips. "You do have an outfit for this right Cole?” She asked.

“I can find something. There's a dress code but just a normal suit should be fine enough.” Another large bite. He finished chewing before talking again, “Same question though, do you have a dress?”

“Do I have a dress. I wouldn’t have asked to go to a place if I didn’t have one.” Raven said as she rose to put her plate away. “It was, good. Thank you.”

“No problem. You do t want another? I made extra just in case.” He gestured towards the two smaller patties set aside on a plate. Raven just shook her head as she dabbed a napkin on her lips.

“You can have them. Probably should too. I’m still uncertain how much your regeneration burnt to keep you alive. I wouldn’t be surprised if you lost some weight." She looked him up and down, trying to gauge if that was true or not. "Even with your healing, burning mass to heal probably isn’t healthy in the long run.”

“So eat up and get it back is what I burned is the prescription? Well, trust the doc I guess.” Cole said as he finished his burger and took a long drink to wash it down.

It wasn’t uncommon thing to hear for people with big injuries to be advised to eat more to replace what was lost. Either from the event in question or from the healing process when they couldn’t eat more than hospital food. So this wasn't completely new to him, just the whole magic angle to it. All that 'power' had to come from somewhere and as a 'new' mage, he probably had to burn all that energy after Raven gave him the potion, before tapping into his physical reserves. Maybe, probably; he wasn't sure how this all worked.

But Raven was smart so he was going to listen to her about this.

"Indeed. Just to be safe." She stretched and stifled a yawn. "I'm not used to work hours like this yet. I think I'll go read in bed for a bit before turning in." Raven said as she stepped through one of her portals.

Cole just shrugged as he went for another burger.

---

"....Do I have a Dress?" Raven thought as she started to dig through her closet.

She had to have something. She'd been to formal dinners before, either under cover or for building rapport with team members. But with her new figure, she wasn't sure if any of them would fit. Or be appropriate here. She tossed away one that had too many skulls on it.

There was one however, further in the back. It had been a gift from Jinx and Starfire a few years ago, back when Starfire was hosting some guests from space though Jinx was the one that pushed the outfit and thus design. She dug it out and slipped into it, making sure the walk in closet was locked on her side. It was a little tight, but workable. Perhaps she could make it fit a bit better before the date.

"...I can't believe I'm doing this." She muttered as she slipped out of the dress, "It's not like me to do this."

And yet, maybe this was what she needed. New start without any of the baggage from her past. Even if something came from it, if it fell through the plan was still the same. Get back home, seek help, and go from there. Cupid could **** them together but that didn't mean it would actually 'take'. Perhaps they could 'date' while trying to break the contract that bound them. And if it worked well, they could just stop looking to undo it.

"...., I wonder if this is why mother signed me up for this." She muttered, slipping into her pjs.

She laid out in bed, flicking through one of her books. Time passed and she pursed her lips when she looked at a clock. Cole should have finished eating and come to bed by now. A quick search found him in the living room, laid out on the couch.

"We have a big night tomorrow. You should be heading for bed rather than watching tv.” Raven began tapping her foot.

“I mean, I am.” Came the response.

What he did next caught her off guard. He got off the couch and reached under it before pulling. A frame was pulled out showing a mattress attached to it, along with a small pillow and thin blanket.

“I wasn’t aware that was a pullout.” Raven circled around the couch. It didn’t seem to be when she had first inspected it.

“Oh this? I had the house change it. Wasn’t sure it would work but it did.”

“Hmmm, why though?”

“Well…,” he put a hand on the back of his neck, “I noticed how bothered you seemed in the mornings we shared the bed. I just assumed it was my snoring or something else.”

“Figured it would just be better for me to sleep away from you so I don’t bother you.”

She thought she hid that well enough, more so with how annoyed she was with the whole thing. That he picked up on her discontent…, even if he Came to the wrong conclusion about it; that was rather nice of him.

Besides…, it would let her see if it was something the bed(and thus Cupid) was doing or the house as a whole. If he was in bed come morning…

“…That…, actually means something. Thank you, Cole. Do you…, want anything from the bed though?”

“Nah, I should be fine here. You take everything. Think of this as maybe an early preview of dinner. Just trying to be nice here. Besides, after worrying over me, you could probably use an actual night sleep without me.”

“I see…, thank you. Sleep well.”

With a wave she ducked back to the bed room. It felt…, far larger without having to share it with someone else for the night. This feeling was even more pronounced when she was on the bed. It was clearly designed for two people more so than her old bed in the Tower.

“Wonder how they’d react…” she muttered, her thoughts turning her thoughts to showing up at the tower with Cole and a ring.

Nightwing would be curious about the whole thing while Starfire would be way too happy about the news of her friend getting married. BB would take it a little hard but Terra was with him now and that would probably soothe that problem. If anything, he might team up with Nightwing as “Overprotective”. Cyborg probably would split the difference between acting the same and being glad for her with some light teasing tossed in.

She stretched out, thoughts of her friends and what tomorrow would bring drifting off into darkness as she gathered the blankets over her. She took a deep contented breath as she got comfy.

“Mmmmm, still smells like him…”

One of her eyes cracked open wide as she realized what she muttered.

“….. is that creepy… that might be a little creepy.”

Then again, she knew of girls that wore the jackets of their boyfriends. Heck, she did it herself a few times. Wait was she really moving to that step….

“AGH” she groaned into a pillow, “Even not here he’s going to bother my sleep...”

---

The following day came; with Cole having a bit of a pain in his back while Raven had one heck of a night. It was both a good deep rest and… rather interesting dreams. Lust was really acting up, no doubt fueled by the coming date.

The store was opened for a half day, as most smaller stores were expected to close earlier to prepare for and enjoy the festivities. Honsttly with all the buzz around the festival, it reminded Cole of Mardi Gras or maybe Christmas.

When it came time to get ready, Raven shoved Cole into the office and tossed in a few of his dressers in with him. She needed the bedroom to get read and even with the walk-in closet, she didn’t want him spying a look. Cole just shrugged and started to dig around his clothes.

He was never a fancy dresser but he did have a couple things. Usually for meet and greets, or some interviews before things went south. Soon he was dressed in a light gray two-piece suit and a black dress shirt. Not the best outfit but should pass the dress code of the restaurant.

While Raven was still getting ready, Cole checked the car in the garage. Finding the keys and turning it on; he half expected it to roar to life fromwhst Raven had told him about it. Instead, it just slowly hummed to life, almost like a computer sounded like. He wasn’t sure if that was more worrying or not.

He stopped it before heading back inside, not wanting to let the engine idle in a closed room, and uncertain of opening the garage without leaving. As waited I The foyer her pulled out a small check list.

-Table, check.
-Directions, check.
-Knowledge of the menu, check.
-Light dance practice, check.
-Suit, check
-Car, check

“Wonder if I should have sprung for a Taxi? Money already kinda tight though.” He grumbled to himself as he paced around the foyer.

“What about a taxi?”

Cole stuffed his note in a pocket as he heard her voice. Raven wasn’t even that stealthy from his memory of the show, she just didn’t make noise at all. Suppose that was just enough to get by sneaking up on him; probably due to the floating making her not have foot steps.

He turned towards the voice to say something, but the words died in his throat as he saw her in the stairs.

She wore heels. Not terribly high ones like models or other female super heroes; but the fact she was in about two inch black slipper heels floored him. He’d never heard about her in heels before. The dress’s hem looked flayed but it was more stylized to look like that. Her shapely legs were still noticeable under the black fabric. This flowed up to her waist till a small blue Pettit coat like skirt covered the longer skirt.

Above that was a corset like chest covering(though his mother would hit him across dimensions for calling a Bodice that). This was black with details of dark blue, and a pretty good bust space. Right above them. At her neck line was a red pendent, hanging from that black choker she took to wearing. Long black sleeves covered her arms, before fanning open to show her hands. She wore gold bracelets around he wrist to keep the material in place.

As a final piece, she had a small fur collar around her shoulders.

(I can never figure out how to put images IN the story but here's the inspiration/source; https://www.deviantart.com/justanotherravenfan/art/Raven-in-a-dress-775875140.png )

Cole wasn’t one to believe ‘Love at a sight’, even if he had a more archaic idea of love an dating compared to most people. But just seeing her dressed like that, stopped on the stairs and knowing she’d done this for him and just everything thus far; well…, damn he’d be an idiot not to at least try to see if it could be anything more.

She eyed him, her gaze narrowing as she took the last few steps. Taking her time to walk towards him, Raven wondered just what was going through his head. Fear, uncertainty, doubt, desire? She made sure to put more sway in her steps, just to enjoy the reaction.

“He faced down three kidnappers, a Golem and possibly ****. And here he’s like a deer in headlights more so than Garfield.” She thought, inwardly smiling at the result her dress got. She'd have to thank Jinx about it next time she saw the trickster.

Words hadn’t gotten out of Cole by the time she reached him. And with a smooth motion, she leaned in, put a finger under his chin, and pushed upward. Cole hadn’t registered his mouth was open till she closed it.

“Not what you were expecting.” Raven asked as she moved away.

“Yeh no I uh… unexpected is a good way to put it.” He babbles, finding his voice back, “You look… really good. Stunning even. I mean you usually look good but you look better now and wait…”

“Breathe.” She said walking past him a bit. She enjoyed a small smile before turning back to him, “You said something about a Taxi?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure if we should go by car or taxi. I’d consider a limo or something fancier than a taxi, but on a budget here.”

“The thought is appreciated but I asked for a dinner, not a night on the town. Perhaps next time.” She said walking towards the garage.

“Wait next time?”

She simply looked over her shoulder and gave a smile as she walked. A smile that made him shiver from anticipation and maybe a little fear. He suddenly had a feeling he should try not to fuck this up. Well an even bigger feeling now.

“Alright. Went 6 rounds with someone two weight classes higher. I can do a simple dinner right?” he thought to himself as he pumped himself up and followed after.

The drive was a simple trip. They had to go to a ritzier side of town than they lived but Cole had memorized the directions along with using the GPS to make sure he was right. Or whatever was this world’s GPS; maybe it used magic instead to pinpoint locations? The two made light small talk on the way but most the drive was in silence. Their thoughts racing as each started to realize or accept what this dinner could or would mean. She broke the silence first.

“So…, where are you taking me? I assume it is a fancier place than the one I took you to.” Raven said as she shifted her coat. She had felt awkward in the seat with just her dress and the coat provided some added comfort.

“A place I think you might enjoy. Besides the food. In fact, this should be it.” He said with a nod of his head.

They had pulled up to a large building with an equally large parking lot. The structure was built from a white type of stone, with large archways leading to equally large glass plane doors. A few marble columns were placed here and there along the outside edge of the build, and several star themed murals dotted the walls.

The two big things she noticed though was a lack of windows, and the large half sphere on the roof. She cocked a head as he drove up to the repetition area.

He got out and walked over to her side before opening the door and offering a hand. She took it and with a small breathe to steady herself, slowly stepped out onto the welcome carpet. Her mind was at war when he hooked an arm around hers as they took a few steps before being stopped. Cole just handed over the keys to the attending velvet who wished them a good meal.

Once they got inside and through the reception area, waved ahead as they had a reservation, the sight of the main dining room made it Raven’s turn to be shocked.

Before her was a small flight of stairs than ran the length of the room, leading right down to the main floor. In the middle of the room was a small tiled dance floor with a few guests enjoying a waltz of some kind; music was never something she really understood. On the fair end was a fully stocked bar, with several barkeeps making fanciful displays of mixing drinks for the few people there. Dotted across the floor were several tables with chairs for usually two or four people to sit.

But it was the theme that drew her eyes. The entire place was tinted in a 'galaxy' themed hue, deep blues and purples. The tables were covered in cloth em-blazed with starts and comets, and all the staff wore a simliar symbol on their clothing.

And above it all was the curved dome, displaying a galaxy of stars and colors, slowly moving across the roof. Every moving, ever shifting colors, like a space version of a cloudy day at sunset. Smack dab in the middle of it all was a bright white orb, shining down onto the dance floor below, cutting a white light through the dimmer colors.

She paused for a moment to take it all in. It was impressive to say the least, and rather showy too. Maybe a bit too much, but she wouldn't see something like this back home. She cocked her head to the side to look at Cole who was shifting in place a bit.

"You know my friend would like this place far more than me." she said, turning to stare up at the dome once more, "....,but I can't say you're wrong about me not liking this place." her voice picking up some mirth.

"Thanks. .... wait.. hang on." he started to try and do some English in his head to double check before an arm wrapped around his as Raven drew close.

"Don't hurt that head of yours too much." she smiled as she gently pulled him down the stairs, "Just show your wife where the table is. As if you put us near the kitchen doors, I'm docking points."

Cole just gave a small laugh as he checked his ticket he was given at the front counter to find the table number before leading her off.