Work Text:
The sorceress was the first up in the tower, as was almost always the case, and rummaging around in the kitchen. She had arranged an assortment of jars on the counter, and the tea was brewing. Thinking to herself, she tried to remember both the spells and the steps. She pulled out various fruits from the fridge and started chopping them absentmindedly, while also grabbing more ingredients from the cupboards.
Robin awoke some time later, taking a quick shower and throwing on his usual uniform before entering the common room. He walked in to see his girlfriend busy, and was slightly puzzled to see so many glass jars and random ingredients strewn across the kitchen. Approaching behind her, he lightly put a hand on her shoulder.
“Good morning.” She turned around and gave him a small smile.
“Morning, Robin.” She turned again and directed her attention back to the items in front of her, examining them.
“So what’s going on here?” he asked with a chuckle. “I knew you had a purpose for visiting that masonry store the other day, but this seems a little excessive.”
“Brewing kombucha,” she replied, before lifting an ugly goo-like object out of a jar.
“Kombucha?” he asked, eyeing the object with a hint of disgust.
“It’s a fermented drink,” she explained, putting the object into another jar with hot tea and sugar. “Tea as the base. You ferment it for a while with this, the SCOBY, and then add other flavors if you want.”
“SCOBY?”
“It’s a bacteria and yeast culture. It usually takes a week for this process to complete. However…” Raven raised a hand towards the jar and recited a brief incantation, then both of them watched as liquid in the jar changed color and swirled. “I found a few spells to make it go by faster. So this way I can make more of it and in less time.”
“Hmm,” Robin wondered aloud. “How did you discover this?”
“Café,” Raven replied simply. “Ludicrously expensive. Much cheaper homemade. And I know how important our finances are.” She poured the liquid in the jar, as well as in other ones she had completed, out into new jars, then sealed all but one with caps. Pouring some of it out into a cup, she took a sip and smiled.
“Can I try?”
“Uh, I’m not sure you’ll enjoy this right now,” she warned him.
“I mean, if you liked it, I ought to.”
“That’s…not how things between us work,” she said drily.
“It is more often than not,” he replied. Shrugging, he walked over and poured himself some out of the jar. To prove a point, he took a big gulp from the glass. The Boy Wonder then made a face as the taste of the liquid hit his tongue. It had barely a hint of sweetness, the fizz was still fresh and wreaking havoc in his mouth, and the overwhelming flavor was a mild sour.
“What is this?” he asked, eyeing his glass. He remembered the SCOBY and became slightly more disgusted. Raven rolled her eyes.
“It hasn’t been flavored yet, birdbrain. That’s what these are for,” she said, gesturing to the various fruits strewn on the counter. “But even without it, it doesn’t taste that bad. You’re just not used to it.”
“Could use some more sugar,” Robin muttered.
“Amateur,” she retorted, taking another sip of her glass, though both of them knew she was teasing. She unscrewed a few of the jars and brought them over to the counter with the fruits, where several large mixing bowls, spices, and other ingredients also sat.
“So, Boy Blunder. All these options. Pick what you want.”
“Don’t you already have flavors in mind?”
“You try to be nice to people and you get all this pushback,” she drawled, shaking her head. Robin took her hand and placed his on top, then looked into her eyes.
“Giving you a hard time. It’s what I do,” he said, smiling. He turned to the counter and scanned the options. “Hmm…I’ll do the pineapple, ginger, maybe some raspberry, throw in some mint, hint of lemon, and some cinnamon.”
“Interesting and probably ultimately disappointing combination,” she commented, reaching out a hand to gather all the ingredients. “Usually I don’t do more than three or four. You won’t be able to taste everything.”
“Alright, toss out the cinnamon and raspberry,” he conceded. She nodded and began mixing everything together in the bowl. The liquid became lighter again due to the addition of the pineapple, and the sorceress collected and poured it into another large jar, marking “Robin” on the surface with a marker. She poured some into another glass and handed it to him.
“Now try.” He obliged and took another sip, this time enjoying the sweeter taste and flavoring the ingredients brought.
“It’s good,” he commented. The young detective looked up in thought for a moment, then back at Raven. “Fermentation, you said? So there should be some alcohol in here.”
“It’s usually not that much,” Raven answered, as she got to work producing other combinations. “Sometimes the spell does get whacky though. But it won’t be more than like a beer’s worth. Impressive recall of biology knowledge, in any case.”
“Why’d you brew so much?” he asked, as the empath finished up and started cleaning up the counters. “I mean, you’re not gonna drink all of that. And I have no idea what the others will think.”
“Just experimenting,” she replied. “Maybe some of these flavors will turn out okay.”
“Hopefully you can finish them before we run out of space in the fridge.”
“I can just sell them off if we can’t finish them,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “Vendors at the farmer’s market already strike it rich doing that. Plus, it never hurts to have more money laying around.”
The two birds walked over to the window and looked out as the sunrise started to give way to a warm morning sun. The others still hadn’t gotten up, though they would start streaming in soon. They stood in silence, each enjoying the delicate moment. Raven glanced over at Robin, his arms folded and brow slightly furrowed. He was always pondering what else he hadn’t gotten in order yet.
“Cheers,” Raven said, raising her glass. He looked at her for a couple of seconds, then smiled and picked up his glass. They clanked the glasses together and each took a sip, continuing to bask in the sunlight before the day truly started.