Laughter Is The Best Medicine
Another prompt, this time from weirdoflower. In this story, I would consider them a little older and in some strange middle ground where they're both kind of attracted to each other but not ready to take the next step. Hopefully, you'll see what I mean in this little tidbit.
Raven stood at her door, staring at the plain, grey surface. She was dressed for comfort, wearing grey sweatpants, a pale blue hoodie and was currently barefoot. On most days, her control over her emotions was perfection, an exemplary display of mental discipline. Occasionally, her discipline cracked and allowed her powers to escape. That wasn't to say she couldn't show her feelings - she had smiled, laughed, cried and shouted in the past with no jolts of power to show. But sometimes, every once in a while, her emotions got the better of her. Not in a dangerous way but in a way the reminded her that she wasn't entirely demonic. A way that reminded her that, in part, she was human.
"Let's just get it over with," she muttered to herself, tapping a button to open the door. She stepped out into the corridor and walked to Starfire's room. As her emotions were a little unstable, she worked extra hard to contain her abilities, which diminished her empathic capabilities as well. Only when she was at her door did Raven suspect Starfire wasn't in her room. She knocked anyway to be sure. There was no answer. Fighting down a brief spike of anxiety, Raven moved on. In the past, when Raven had similar issues with her control, she had sought out her friend merely to be near someone. Starfire had obliged, of course, overjoyed that Raven had actively pursued company instead of spurning or merely tolerating it. Raven reached the common room. No Starfire. Risking an outburst, she momentarily expanded her empathy: Starfire wasn't in the tower. In fact she sensed only one person other than herself and he was sat in front of the TV wearing shorts and t-shirt. She approached him.
"Beast Boy?" she called quietly. His head whipped around.
"Hm? Hi, Rae!" he said, grinning. Raven edged closer.
"Where is everyone?" she asked, trying not to panic. Beast Boy answered while turning back toward the TV, messing with something she couldn't see.
"Rob took Star on "patrol" for the night," he said, making the inverted commas gesture. Raven stifled a rare giggle. "Cy took his baby to some car rally. Something about custom stuff, I dunno, I didn't really listen to him." Raven was stuck. Beast Boy was her only choice. Up to now, Starfire had been the only one to see her at times like this and she was understandably discomfited about revealing something so personal, even to someone she trusted.
The fact that they had a little mutual crush going on probably didn't make it easy either.
Yes, she liked him. He liked her. She knew he liked her, he knew she liked him and they both knew that they both knew. They also both knew they weren't ready. So friends they remained, though perhaps Beast Boy could get away with more than he used to and perhaps Raven wasn't deliberately annoyed as often by the changeling. Anyway...
"What are you doing?" Raven asked. Beast Boy grinned again and held up what he had in his hand. It was a DVD, a copy of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
"Bought this today. I haven't seen it for years and, seeing how everyone was out, I took the chance to watch it on the monitor. You wanna watch?" he asked. She saw behind his smile, the disappointment already manifesting at his certainty she would say no. But tonight she needed company.
"Sure," she said, getting a gasp of amazement from her colleague.
"Uhh... Okay, then! Take a seat and prepare to be utterly amused," he said dramatically. Raven folded her arms and put on an air of indifference.
"I will tolerate it for the sake of politeness," she said. Beast Boy laughed.
"I bet you'll laugh. Bet ya a dollar!" he challenged, stretching his hand toward her. Raven rolled her eyes before shaking his hand.
"Deal."
The movie was actually very funny, a mix of satire and preposterousness that Raven found she liked. They were watching the scene where Arthur and the knights met the wizard who, after a dramatic pause, declared that there were some who called him... Tim. Raven guffawed, quickly slapping a hand over her mouth. She looked carefully at her friend - he was staring at her, giddy in victory and she swore his eyes were actually glowing.
"Pay up! You laughed, Rae. You owe me $1000!" he enthused. Raven laughed again, no longer interested in the pretense.
"A thousand?! The bet was for one dollar," she reminded. Beast Boy nodded sagely.
"Yes, but I added... (he paused while he checked his math)... 99,900% interest for the sassy eye-roll. This is how finance works, Rae," he said seriously. Raven folded her arms, still smiling.
"Whatever, I don't have that kind of money anyway," she lied. They all had savings. Not that she wouldn't keenly feel such a loss. Beast Boy sighed.
"Such is the state of the economy..." he breathed. "I guess you'll just have to pay me with your body, then." Raven sat upright and slapped him on the shoulder, scandalised but still smiling.
"Garfield Logan! Do you want to be sent to another dimension so badly?" she asked. Beast Boy feigned confusion.
"What are you talking about, Rae? I just meant you should use your body to go into the kitchen and bring us back some chips. As payment," he replied. His smirk was challenging and full of humour. Raven smacked his chest before getting up, eliciting a satisfying 'ow!' from him. Soon, he had a bag of (vegan friendly) chips thrown in his face.
"There you go, Garfield. Paid in full," Raven said, opening a much smaller bag for herself. Beast Boy smiled, shaking his head.
"Gee, thanks Raven," he drawled sarcastically, opening the bag and digging in.
"You're welcome," Raven replied innocently. She naturally finished hers much more quickly. She spent equal time watching the movie and the changeling. Soon, her craving grew too powerful. She shifted closer to him and leaned against him. Beast Boy looked down, seeing her unable to meet his gaze. The way she clung to him... something was up. He paused the DVD.
"What's wrong, Raven?" he asked. Raven turned and looked him in the eye. His expression was one of determined worry. He wanted to know what was wrong. He was going to know. Even at her best, she found his resolve difficult to resist when he was like this. In her current state, she didn't even try.
"Sometimes... sometimes my control slips, Beast Boy. It doesn't happen often, maybe once, twice a year. Three times if I'm unlucky. So right now, my emotions are more... well, emotional. When I'm like this I... I just don't want to be alone. I can't be alone. Please, Beast Boy... Garfield... just let me have this," she pleaded, squeezing his arm. She almost whimpered when he extricated his arm from her grip but sighed in shuddering relief when he wrapped it around her shoulders and held her to his side. She looked up at him again. He was smiling and, with his other hand, offered the half-empty bag.
"Chip?" he asked. Raven shook her head but smiled. When he resumed the movie, she boldly lay her head on his shoulder. The movie was approaching its end now, though she hadn't been paying attention, instead basking in the warmth of Beast Boy's aura while he laughed. She cracked open her eyes to see his smile again before turning her face into his shoulder. She was so lucky to have him. To have all of them. She had never dared to hope for such an existence, a life filled with friends. Family. Though she tried not to, the tears slipped free. She heard the movie stop again.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed into his chest. She felt his fingers under her chin, gently but irresistibly turning her head to face him. He had that look again.
"Tell me," he whispered.
"You... and the others. Robin, Starfire, Cyborg..." she sobbed. "I... I love you all so much!" she blurted, crying in earnest again. Beast Boy pulled her closer, stroking his hair and muttering soothing nonsense as he rocked her slowly.
"We love you too, Rae. We all do," he repeated, his own voice thick with emotion. Feeling a little calmer, Raven looked up at him again.
"I don't know what I would do without you. Any of you," she confessed. Beast Boy smiled and tapped her on the nose with his finger.
"Well that's the point isn't it?" he said, both arms now wrapping tightly around Raven and pulling her close, his chin resting on her head. "You'll never know, because you'll never be without us." Raven smiled.
"Yeah," she replied simply, closing her eyes and relishing his closeness. Her smile transformed to a look of curiosity when he held her by the shoulders and pushed her back enough to look her in the eye.
"Besides... you're Raven. You'd be just fine. And you wouldn't have to deal with all this sexual tension between us," he said. For the second time that night, Raven burst into laughter. Beast Boy watched in delighted fascination as her face lit up with a true smile before pulling her back to his side. With his head leaning on hers, he spoke lazily.
"Totally made you laugh. You owe me $1000 again," he joked. Raven snorted derisively.
"I'm pretty sure we covered the part where I'm not of entirely sound mind right now. I plead temporary insanity," she retorted, getting a booming laugh from Beast Boy.
"Yeah, okay. Movie's over. You wanna watch something else?" he asked. Raven smiled.
"Sure. Something that'll make me laugh."
I'm pretty sure weirdoflower was asking for something fluffy and sweet and I might have made it all melodramatic and stuff. Whatevs, I still quite like it. Read, enjoy, review!
-Jack