Okay this is my first BBRAE that you all know about. Please read and tell me how I did at the end!
Truths and Lies
"I mean seriously! How could he even do that? Does he even know who we are?" Raven ranted. Beast Boy rolled his eyes. While her rant was understandable, she was putting too much into it. He wasn't annoyed. In fact he was right there with her.
"Rae, he was an idiot, but we took care of it! Why don't we enjoy the next day we have by ourselves here? I think I saw a tea shop," Beast Boy tried to sway her attention. He looked at his multi-function watch. Fifteen minutes. He sighed and stopped abruptly as he noticed Raven's shoulders were still really tense. She began again.
"I mean woman's rights are being fought for because of people like that bastard. Seriously, I'm okay with you being chivalrous because it's a sign of respect, but that was undermining! 'Hot ass'! Hot ass my… well… that doesn't work. Damn it! I'm so flustered because of that idiot. 'Hot ass'!"
Oh boy… He knew he had to get the stress out of her somehow. He grabbed her by her hand, turned her around, and right as she was about to fall ungracefully, he gathered her in his arms. She opened her mouth to yell at him as she fought, but he started first, holding tight.
"My dear, precious Raven: I am in love with you. And I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed, and that one day all of our labors will be returned to dust. And I know that the sun will swallow the only Earth we will ever have. And I am in love with you," he stopped, hoping what he said worked. Raven stood on her own two feet, brushed herself off and crossed her arms. Shit.
"'The Fault In Our Stars, huh? You're really pulling out the big ones," she said with a smirk, silently thanking Starfire for making the team watch that movie.
"Yeah, well, after watching it, I read the book," he admitted, staring at the ground. Raven faked the best shocked face she could.
"Garfield, is that you?" She faked. He gave her an annoyed smile. Raven stopped for a second. My, have the roles reversed. Who knew I'd be the fun one. She shook it off.
"Well, we're in Gotham. We should get into something. Bird Brain doesn't expect us to be home for another couple days. Rae, this is vacation," Beast Boy stated. Raven happily agreed. "The only question is what to do…"
"Let's just walk for a bit," Raven suggested. Normally plan-oriented, she felt the relief of not having any obligations. It was odd, considering their lifestyle, but she was content.
"I can be happy with that," Beast Boy stated, taking her hand. They walked down the sidewalk of a large street, however there was not many people. They both soaked in the moment.
Raven was sitting on the couch in the main corridor of the Titan's Tower. She had been resting there peacefully for several hours now, not being interrupted once. She was very relaxed, though she couldn't shake the constant wondering of where her teammates were.
She chuckled at herself for a moment. Not too long ago she wouldn't have given a damn. But ever since things started with Beast Boy, she had become more aware of her teammates and wanting to be around them. She decided she had enough alone time and went looking for someone in particular.
Once she arrived at Beast Boy's door, she knocked lightly so that if he was napping, she wouldn't disturb him. Thankfully, the door swished open revealing her boyfriend.
"Hey, Rae," he said, solemnly. She noticed the reason for his tone. He had a bad black eye. She instinctively raised her hand to touch it, coming closer to him in the process. He winced as she touched it.
"Come here," she said, pushing him into his bedroom, door sliding behind them. "Sit." He obeyed and sat on his bed. As they have gotten older, Beast Boy had been a little tidier. There were still cloths piled in one corner and random clutter around, but it wasn't nearly as bad as when they first started dating. Raven's hands turned to a pale blue and she started moving them along Beast Boy's face.
"What happened?" She asked curiously. Beast Boy was usually pretty gentle, but from the look of the bruise, he seriously pissed someone off. Beast Boy sighed, knowing he couldn't lie to Raven – nor did he want to.
"Well, when I went out with Cy a while ago, we found a newspaper stand and our picture was on the front cover. The guy running it said he had been really busy with our story since it came out last week. One of the guys standing there said he wanted to do an interview of us for a magazine so there wouldn't be much confusion and rumors floating around." This caught Raven's attention and she sat down next to him. She knew that when she and Beast Boy came out together, they would be facing scrutiny, but she was surprised anyone wanted to interview them. "I told him I didn't think we were up for it, because, knowing you, that's not what you'd want. I just want to say for the record that the guy is an ass and you shouldn't worry about it, but he made a whip sound. When I started yelling at him for it, the guy went ballistic and punched me! I just didn't want you to worry about it."
Raven sat for a second. What? Surely the guy didn't just punch him. Beast Boy had to be leaving out details.
"And that's all the happened?" She asked, skeptically. He nodded, his bruise still there, but not as noticeable. "Well, you know we might be hearing something about this. We should remain on the down low."
"Agreed."
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment. Raven reached up to finish healing his head, but was stopped when Beast Boy grabbed her arm.
"It feels better. I'll be fine now. Thank you," He said. She nodded, leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you," she responded. He looked into her eyes and nodded like she did.
"TITAN RAGE SHOWN: ARE CITIZENS SAFE?"
"What the hell! He punched me! I just defended myself," Beast Boy exclaimed. Raven put her hand on his shoulder for comfort. His shoulders immediately relaxed but once he turned around, his face was still tense. "Raven, do you believe this? This is insane! They're calling you a witch and you weren't even there."
Raven took the paper from him and made him sit on the couch, holding a hand in hers while she threw the magazine behind her. Their teammates were behind them in the kitchen paying attention while pretending to cook breakfast. Raven didn't break eye contact with her boyfriend even though she knew everyone was watching and listening.
"Care for a road trip?" She asked with a smirk.
"Oh, no. That's probably not a great idea, you two," Robin called out, breaking the unseen wall between the two groups.
"And just why not? We wouldn't go to hurt him, we'd just go to report him to the editor and tell them what happened. Most of those reporters lie gallons to get their stories like this on front page. He probably told his boss that Beast Boy attacked him," Raven debated. She knew she wasn't going to lose this one. Robin sighed. He could see she was serious about this.
"Fine, I'll call Bruce Wayne and get you both set up to go there," he said, walking out of the main room. The secret of Bruce Wayne was well known to the Titans. In fact, once they knew, everything seemed to fall in place. They connected the dots and it was like a huge mystery was solved.
Raven looked to Beast boy who was obviously happy about the trip that they were about to go on. They both relaxed onto the couch. Beast Boy especially felt relieved, even though they had no idea how this whole confrontation was going to go.
"You're a genius," Beast Boy whispered giving her a kiss on the forehead. Cyborg bit his tongue trying not to say anything. Ever since the two started dating, the quips he had made didn't turn out great for him. He saved the good ones for when there was the right moment to get them. "And a little trip to Gotham doesn't sound too bad either."
"So that is why we're here. We want to set the record straight and to tell you that your employee didn't report the truth. And when the truth isn't being reported, your magazine becomes more of a tabloid," Raven concluded. The Editor-In-Chief was a middle aged man with a receding hair line that Raven thought was most likely from the stress of the job.
"Well, Miss Raven, Mr. Beast Boy," Beast Boy cringed at the name combined with 'Mr.', "I hear your complaints, however I do not understand why you came to me now. This is a magazine, not a blog. We can't just take it down – it's already been published. And I hate to say it, but I'm afraid you're out of your league coming here." Raven raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?" Beast Boy sat up straighter. This was going to get interesting. Raven had instructed him not to say anything until he thoroughly thought it out.
"Dude, you might want to watch it," Beast Boy warned. While he wanted a good show, this magazine seemed to already have their names on their list. The man picked up a pen and started working on a piece of paper.
"Well, you guys are in the public's eye. It's not like you're not going to get some bad publicity," the man said. Raven swallowed, trying not to get pissed off.
"I thought you'd jump at the opportunity to fix a mistake your employee made," she inquired with a bit of force. Beast Boy looked at her, seeing the flame in her eye.
"Well, who said he made a mistake. Do you have any witnesses besides yourself that know he's lying? Did you come with your case prepared?" He probed without even glancing at them.
Raven scolded herself for not thinking that through, however, she thought he'd be a little more helpful.
"You don't think we're reliable enough?" Raven stated, gathering fire in her mouth.
"I never said that," he assured. "Witnesses would help your case though."
Raven lost it.
"So would a boss who worried about the future of his magazine! You obviously don't understand the kind of power we hold." She stood up and put her hands on his desk, leaning into his face. He was now paying attention. "I can guarantee that this magazine will not be read again by as many people that are reading it now in a few months. That is my promise for being so 'helpful'. You will be out of the job and then there will be more stress when there won't be any more openings for you. I can make it my personal mission to make your life hell." She seethed. The man glared, he didn't seem very frightened. In fact, he stood up as well.
"And who said I can't do the same? I have even less respect for you when you came in. Apparently, a young girl with a hot ass can't take a little heat from the press. And she apparently wears the pants in a relationship as well! I think I found my new story!"
At that point, Beast Boy jumped up and got in front of Raven as her four red eyes came to be on her face. The man's face had a look of worry cross it before it went back to enraged. He had a lot of balls, Beast Boy would give him that.
"Dude, you better back off. We're leaving and if we're in this magazine again, our threats will be real," Beast Boy growled, leaving the man speechless. Beast Boy wrapped his arm around his calmer girlfriend and walked her out of his office.
Once they reached the elevator – walking there silently – Beast Boy turned to her.
"Are you okay?" He was really concerned. He wished he hadn't dragged her through this. He should have just accepted that being a couple in the public's eye would have drawn spectators.
"We'll talk about it outside," she replied, looking at the ground. He nodded and stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her lovingly and kissing her cheek. She leaned into him, welcoming the embrace.
Once the elevator doors opened, showing the main lobby downstairs, they broke part and stepped out. Beast Boy captured her hand in his and entangled his fingers with hers. They walked out peacefully, but once they hit the street, Raven's mood changed.
"Was he fucking serious?" Raven fumed. She was holding it in so that no one could write about her "rage". Somehow, Beast Boy knew that.
"Rae, I know, but come on."
"Hey you two. How was your trip?" Robin asked as Beast Boy and Raven walked back into the tower, carrying their bags.
"It was great!" Beast Boy chirped. "We saw a lot of things, we went out to eat all over the place - they have awesome Italian restaurants - and just had a good time. It was really needed."
"Okay, and what about the original reason you went?" Robin inquired, obviously confused. They went to talk to that guy, not for vacation, Robin thought.
"What reason?" Beast Boy asked stupidly. Raven nudged him, glaring.
"The guy was an ass. He was no help. If anything, he was worse than the original writer." Raven looked at her boyfriend lovingly and grabbed his hand, "But while we were there, Garfield and I decided that some bad press is the least of our worries. We're done dealing with those idiots. We're sorry it took us that long to figure it out," Raven finished. Beast Boy nodded in agreement.
"Well, I'm glad you both figured that out. I'm sorry about how things happened, but I think it'd be best to leave this behind for the team's sake," Robin encouraged. He looked out the window to see that it was really late. The moon was high in the sky, showering a gleam in the ocean. It was definitely a picture worthy view. "Get some sleep, we're going to have training at seven o'clock sharp. See you both there."
The couple walked to their rooms silently, Beast Boy walking Raven to hers.
"Meet me on the roof in ten minutes," Raven said, giving a chaste kiss before disappearing in her room.
When Beast Boy arrived on the roof, Raven was already sitting on the edge. She turned around to see him, tapping the ground next to her to sit next to her. He obeyed. After a few moments, she lowered her head onto his shoulder and hugging his arm – him kissing her head in response.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay with people writing about us?" Beast Boy asked. He knew she really didn't like attention at all, in any kind.
"That depends," she stated. "Are you gonna be there to help me through it?"
Beast Boy thought for a second, wondering why she would ask such a question. He chalked it up to her just needing conformation. He let go of her, grabbing her face and bringing it to his, giving her sweet, gentle kisses. He let her go, leaving his forehead against hers.
"Of course my darling," he said, almost too sickeningly sweet for her taste, but relished in the love she was receiving. "I will be there for you for a long while. You want to know why?"
"Sure, why not," she said with sarcasm. He put one of his cheeks against hers so hip lips were close to her ear.
"Because I love you. For reals," he joked on the last part, imitating an old reality show Starfire watched occasionally. Raven chuckled.
"I love you present tense," Raven quoted.
So yeah, that's my first BBRAE. I quoted The Fault in Our Stars mainly because of the quotes. I've never read it as I am a person who has been sick my entire life and I hate the romanticizing of illness. (This is how I have so much time to write…) I could go on about it since I bring a perspective many don't have, but I'll leave that for another time. Thank you all for reading! Please tell me how I did! Love to all.
