The Ravens

Raven finally mustered up the courage to look at her future self again. She was sitting on a chair next to her and reading a book. Raven recognized the title as one of her own. She was about to instinctually yell at her for going in her room when she remembered it was her future self.

Future Raven smiled. "I'm sorry. I should have asked before I went inside. I've forgotten how much I used to prefer my secrecy."

"I can tell," Raven said. She glanced down to see Future Raven was sitting on a towel and had her legs crossed. "Although I am glad to see we've managed some decorum."

"Yes, old habits die hard," Future Raven chuckled. "But no need to be obscene. Our lifestyle is about openness and love, not wanton sex."

"Really? Some of your friends make it sound a little like that," Raven said.

Future Raven thought for a second. "Okay, it's not supposed to be, but...well, we've been repressing a lot of emotions for our whole lives. Sometimes those feelings come out all at once, and it's hard to stop."

"Well, that would explain..." Raven lowered her book to gesture at her future self's nude body. "...that."

Future Raven glanced down at herself, as if she had forgotten about her own nudity. "Oh, this? No, this took quite a long time to get used to. I may have conquered my problems with my father early on, but my habit of hiding myself was hard to break."

Raven took a deep breath, finally ready to ask. "So, how did you end up this way? I imagine Beast Boy and Starfire had a hand in it."

"Well, they certainly helped," Future Raven said. "Starfire's culture and happiness became contagious, and Beast Boy was there every step of the way alongside me, encouraging me to embrace myself and my feelings. But other things happened before we stopped wearing clothes altogether."

"Such as?"

"A wardrobe malfunction here, a mischievous prank from our female friends there, and a few of Tameran's more strict festivals that require certain acts to attend. One or two times, I only went naked because I was running out of clothes or needed to do laundry. Then I'd forget to get dressed for a few days. And soon, I just got used to it."

Raven felt a blush spread all over her face. What her future self was describing sounded humiliating and perverted all at the same time. She didn't mind being with her friends on Tameran, but she wondered if there were a way she could avoid the more embarrassing moments. But that meant asking about the future, and she was NOT keen on hearing stories about herself running around showing off her bare body to everybody.

She finally lowered the book and took notice of her friends. The Beast Boys were still playing their game. The Starfires were excitedly talking like they were long-lost best friends. Robin and Nightwing were discussing the future themselves. She noticed that Robin turned red a few times at learning certain things, but quickly got over it before asking another question.

Closing her book and leaning her head back, Raven took a deep breath. "I know I'm going to regret asking, but...I need to know."

Future Raven regarded her past self with a mix of sympathy and humor. "About what?"