AN:

Hello, dear readers! I'm starting a new collection of BBRae drabbles/one-shots. These will range from relatively angsty/dramatic/tear-jerking to fluff and stuff. This collection will only have twelve, thus the name A Dozen Roses. All in all, they'll range in length from five-hundred words to 1K and up. Some will be AU, some will be in universe: some will use themes, some won't.

My update schedule is rather erratic, with Of Burns and Bruises being on-going. I hope you enjoy! This is just some BBRae fluff. x)

[edit]: I fixed a mistake spotted by Chico Magnifico, thank you so much! I repeated something about Beast Boy being cheesy twice... exactly the same! Dx I actually wrote this on FF's doc-manager because I don't have Word on my computer and it bothers me using things other than Word... and whenever I'd save, Internet Explorer would screw up and I'd lose my work. I ended up rewriting the latter half of these four or five times because of that and so I kind of forgot if I - okay, rambling.

A DOZEN ROSES
A Wolfie Production

o1: AMARANTHINE
Forever was in the lingering happiness in her eyes and the amaranthine flower clutched carefully between her pale fingers.

.

"Raven?" he called out, almost timidly. His voice echoed in the empty hallway. Cyborg was down in the living room; he could hear the beeping and occasional frustrated shouts. He almost felt foolish for trying to visit her, and in her room nonetheless, but he was feeling particularly daring. He reached out and rapped on the door, the sharp sound hurting his pointed ears.

Once, he knocked. Twice. Twice turned into three times. No answer. Of course she didn't answer. She probably wasn't home (or just didn't want to see him). Cheeks and ears burning up with shame, he turned around, about to retreat when she swung the door open.

"What—"—her expression softened—"oh, Beast Boy. Hi." Her greeting was flat and unimpressed; her face bored and unentertained, but he didn't miss the smile in her eyes and the way all hostility faded from her face.

"Hi," he replied dumbly for lack of something intelligent to say. He never really was good with ladies, no matter how much he wished he was. Awkwardly, he reached out, scratching the back of his head.

But a miracle had occurred. Raven had not only opened the door; she was talking to him. Bingo. Perhaps he wasn't so bad with the females, after all.

"I really hope that's not what you bothered me for," she answered coolly. He couldn't help but smile, despite the sarcasm and cynicism in her tone. It was Raven, anyway. He opened his mouth and shut it firmly, feeling stupid. Where had his words gone? All previous hope of being a "lady's man" evaporated.

Stupid.

He had so much to say and yet everything just faded when he tried to confront her. She snorted, almost as if she was secretly amused, and ran a pale hand through her violet hair. He was always fascinated with her hair; violet.

Sure, he had green hair and green skin and green eyes, but she always fascinated him: from her pale, pale skin to her violet hair. He didn't realize he was staring at her until she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah," he stammered, laughing nervously. He swore his blush wasn't noticeable: would reddened cheeks show when his skin was green? "I was wondering if..." Again, all words evaporated from his mind.

Gods above, he was so stupid!

Raven snorted, rolling her eyes. His eyes widened and he stood, dumb-founded, as she stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. She didn't smile. The smile was all in her eyes. "If I'll visit the garden with you?"

Right. Raven could read minds. "Uh, yeah, that's what I mean to say." Scratching the back of his head sheepishly, he reached out for her hand. She ignored it, walking ahead of him. He followed after her, whistling happily.

"Hey, Raven?" he found himself asking. He almost regretted it when she turned around and gave him a bored, flat stare. "I just realized something," he went on, fidgeting and twisting his hands. They kept walking, turning corners. The entrance to the back got closer and closer. "Your eyes."

An eyebrow shot up and she looked at him flatly, clearly unamused. "What about my eyes?"

"They're not violet." He stared at the floor, nearly walking right into the door before she opened it for him. Was that a giggle he heard? Raven? Laughing? And at him? She wasn't laughing at his jokes, but it was a miracle nonetheless.

"Seriously?" He hated it when she used that sarcastic voice.

Outside, the sun was on full blast, as if it was trying to burn anything and everything in its path. The grass had browned a bit from the constant heat. Some of the flowers had wilted, wrinkling together despite Robin's best efforts.

Wiping what he assumed was sweat from her forehead, she took a seat in the shade. The wooden bench, though crudely made (he and Robin insisted they didn't need Cyborg's help), certainly did the job.

"Your eyes are..." he trailed off, thinking for the right word. Raven was sophisticated. She didn't want a plain word like "blood-red" or "red" or even "dark red". And he certainly didn't want to scare her away: for the goddesses' sake, she was outside! With him! "They're amaranthine," he proclaimed at last, feeling proud of himself.

To his dismay, she just snorted again, shaking her head softly. "You finally used a dictionary. Impressive."

He gaped at her, clutching a hand to his chest. She giggled a little (good gods, was he in the zone today or what?), but quickly bit it back, her face taking on the same stony, cold expression as before.

"Raven, you wound me!" he whined, trying to ignore the shame that reddened his cheeks and the tips of his ears. So what if he'd used a dictionary? He knew what it meant! Indignation flared in his voice. "I'll prove it to you!"

"I never said I didn't believe you," she deadpanned, stretching her arms. Was that a smirk?

"Amaranthine," he breathed, leaning close to her. She raised a brow, but didn't pull away. Again, she didn't smile, but he saw the mirth in her eyes. It lit up her face and (Robin would never forgive him for saying so cheesy) made her shine brighter than the sun. "A deep, purple-red. Suits you, I think."

She laughed; a tiny, suppressed laugh, but it was a laugh nonetheless. "You took it out of the dictionary - brilliant. You've blown my mind."

He scowled at her, ears dropping in the slightest. "Amaranthine," he began, hopelessly trying to impress her, "is also a flower." He threw his arm around her shoulder and she glared at him until he pulled his arm back. Clutched between his fingers was a delicate flower - one of the few that hadn't wilted.

"Beast Boy, I don't like flowers." Was it wrong that he found her cynicism cute?

"It's pink and white," he teased, and held out the flower to her, careful not to crush it. "But it's purple, too." Behind the white-and-pink layers, a soft shade of purple ringed the center.

Her eyebrows raised again and she rolled her eyes, the slightest of smiles appearing on her face before fading away. "Now you're trying to be romantic. How cute." He wasn't one to gloat, but he thought he'd impressed her. That was a feat within itself.

"Not only is it beautiful," he felt the urge to continue, "but it's also strong. See?" He pointed next to her and she peered over the edge of the seat, seeing many amaranthine flowers nestled into the green protection of leaves.

She furrowed her brow. She did that when she was thinking. "Or maybe Robin just takes good care of them."

He scowled at her again. "You're doing that on purpose," he accused, trying not to sound too whiny.

"Please," she laughed, tossing her head back haughtily and narrowing her eyes. "Everything I do is on purpose." He sat there, frozen, as she leaned forward and touched his cheek.

Sure, it wasn't a kiss or anything of that manner, but it was definitely something. Boo-yah, as Cyborg would say.

"Hey, Rae?" he asked softly, leaning against her. He pulled back, immediately embarrassed. She didn't seem to notice and he sighed, relieved. "Amaranthine can mean something else."

"Really?" she tried to appear uninterested, although she was failing desperately. Again, he was contracting the cheese disease from Robin, but her eyes were prettier than the flower.

She snatched the flower from him and looked it over carefully, as if she'd crush the petals with the softest touch.

"Yeah," he beamed it her. "It can mean forever. Lasting."

She snorted, and he knew now it was her form of laughter, just like her happiness was all in her eyes. "Now you're just being cheesy."

Silence enveloped them for a few moments, and it was bliss. They just sat there, Raven twisting the flower between her fingers and him watching her, face hurting from the smile that couldn't go away.

"Yes," she mused, "forever."

She didn't smile, but he didn't care because forever was in the lingering happiness in her eyes and the amaranthine flower clutched carefully between her pale fingers.

end

AN:

For the record, I know Raven's eyes are violet, not amaranthine. But for the sake of the one-shot/drabble thing, okay?

All reviews welcome! :) I'd love to know what you think, and stick around for the other eleven roses!

Wolfie