A Likely Story
I saw some people playing with fake dating stories and I wanted to play along with a little story of my own.
"Oh no..." Raven groaned into her tea cup.
EARLIER
The team had stopped at a handily located cafe after their latest alert, a simple robbery attempt. Honestly, why did they even bother in the Titans' city? As it was such a fine day, the Titans had even elected to sit outside around some small tables. As they were currently prone to gut-churningly sweet publid displays of affection, Robin and Starfire were left with a table of their own while Cyborg and Beast Boy sat at one nearby. They looked to Raven but, with a polite apology, she had declined company for the time being and sat alone, sipping her tea and letting the noise of the world wash over her. They were the only people sitting outside for a long while, until a girl had approached Cyborg and Beast Boy's table, giggling and starry-eyed in Cyborg's presence. After some not-very-subtle hints, Beast Boy had got up and plopped himself down next to Raven. She eyed him warily but not with unfriendly eyes.
"Sorry, Rae. Cy kicked me to the curb. I can stay quiet if you want, I guess," he said, already leaning his chair back and closing his eyes in the sunshine. Raven pondered for a moment.
"No, it's alright. I'm finished," she said. Without opening his eyes, he spoke again.
"FInished what?" he asked. Raven thought about her answer: she had't been meditating exactly...
"Centering myself," she said, finally. He nodded with a deep and relaxed sigh.
"Cool." he murmured, starting to doze. Raven smiled at her friend, glad of his company, especially while he was in such a quiet mood. She sipped her tea.
"Raven?"
Raven's head whipped around to locate the voice that had called her. She knew that voice...
"Oh no..." she groaned into her tea cup. Beast Boy opened his eyes. He followed Raven's gaze to a young man jogging down the street towards them. She was clearly not pleased to see him.
"Raven! How are you?" the man asked warmly, his voice strangely excited.
"I'm well, thank you," she answered. The man waited for her to reciprocate his query. He waited in vain. Beast Boy eyed they man with suspicion: why was Raven so curt with him?
"Hey, I heard there's a collection of mystic artifacts on display at the museum. Wanna go take a look?" he asked. Beast Boy goggled - this guy had just asked Raven out! He sorta seemed her type: educated, a little bookish, clean-shaven and well-spoken. Maybe she would actually say-
"No, thank you, Paul," she answered. Paul. The man was called Paul.
"Come on, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I'll pay," Paul offered. Beast Boy's eyes widened in sudden realisation: Raven had recently mentioned a fan who was 'pursuing' her, no matter how often she shot him down. Beast Boy grimaced - he had behaved similarly once or twice in the past and shuddered at the unsought and embarrassing recollections. He had learned his lesson, though. Had even had the chance to apologise to one of them. He realised the back and forth between Raven and Paul had continued and immediately decided to come to her rescue.
"Hey Rae, you gonna introduce me to your buddy here?" he asked brightly. Paul paused at being labeled Raven's 'buddy'. Raven looked at Beast Boy like a drowning man spying a lifeboat.
"Yes! Yes. Be- Garfield, this is Paul. Paul, this is Garfield... my lover," she said, making a show of taking Beast Boy's hand and holding it on the table. To his credit, Beast Boy didn't immediately ruin her subterfuge, just continued to smile happily at Paul, though his eyes did widen at being put forward as Raven's significant other. He got what she was doing of course, hoping it didn't blow up in their faces.
"L-lover?" Paul stammered, trying and failing to appear nonchalant. Raven and Beast Boy nodded with matching fake smiles. Beast Boy gently leaned his head against hers.
"Yup. She's my little Rae of sunshine," he said, winking. Raven just about managed not to explode. Suddenly, Paul's expression became suspicious and doubtful. Raven's stomach dropped: he didn't believe her!
"Hmmm... so tell me about your first date. I'm sure it's a good story," he challenged. Raven gulped - improvisation of this sort was not her forte. Fortunately, she had with her the Titans' self-proclaimed 'Master of Bullshitting'... and he had decided that more extreme measures were needed to drive Paul away.
"Oh man, I wish!" he began, drawing the attention of Paul and Raven both. "To be honest... uhhh Phil, was it?"
"... Paul."
"Paul, right. To be honest, we didn't really date as such. Our lives can be pretty stressful and, sometimes, we need to blow off steam. And one night, somehow, Raven and I ended up 'venting' with each other if you catch my meaning." Raven's hand now gripped Beast Boy's with alarming strength.
"Be- ummm, Garfield... honey... don't you think that story is a little too... private?" she muttered with clenched teeth. Beast Boy faced her and wore an artfully sheepish expression.
"Sorry, Raveycakes," he said (Raven almost lost it at that). "I just can't get over it, y'know? We're just friends one day and that same night... I still dream about the way you looked underneath me, the way it felt having my weight press down on you, your legs around my waist..." Beast Boy's gaze grew heavy and his voice husky as he stared at Raven. For her own part, the sorceress was blushing up a storm and staring back with wide eyes. Suddenly, she smirked at the changeling, who grinned in anticipation.
"Mmmmmmmyy little Wild Thing... the things I'm going to do to you when we get home," she moaned. Beast Boy managed not to laugh in her face.
"Yeah? Like what?" he asked. Raven stilled for a moment, a little miffed he had asked her to elaborate.
"Lets just say I already warned Cyborg you might end up in the infirmary with a shattered pelvis," she breathed, drawing closer to the shapeshifter. She saw his cheeks inflate as he almost let loose his laughter. He controlled himself and moved in closer, Raven feeling his hot breath on her ear and neck.
"I'm gonna pound you into your mattress until your bed shatters" he hissed. Raven, her face now hidden from Paul by Beast Boy's, resorted to biting her companion's uniform, clenching the fabric between her teeth to restrain her own mirth.
"OH! LOOK AT THE TIME!" Paul announced loudly. Very loudly. "I gotta run and... bye" he yelped as he turned and walked briskly down the road.
"Later, Paul!" Beast Boy called. The moment Paul was out of sight, Beast Boy tipped his chair backward, falling to the ground and laughing raucously. Raven laughed quietly, hand over her mouth, still blushing.
"I can't believe that just happened," Raven said.
"I ca-... I can't... I can't breathe!" Beast Boy managed to gasp out between bouts of guffawing merriment. Raven helped him to his feet and righted his chair. He flopped into it and grinned apologetically at the other three Titans who stared at them with understandable confusion. It only took moments to explain what had happened. They returned to their own interests, leaving Beast Boy and Raven alone again.
"Thank you for that," Raven said, after a time. "He would never have taken the hint otherwise."
"Ah, he didn't seem all that bad. Just didn't know when to quit," Beast Boy answered.
"Perhaps. I'm actually surprised he stayed for so long," Raven added.
"Yeah... y'know, if you ever need to prove any of that, I'll gladly-"
"I'm sure you would!" Raven interrupted, smirking. "You little perv." Beast Boy laughed, stopping when she stood to leave.
"Where you off to, Rae?" he asked.
"Home, I think. I've had enough excitement for today." As she turned to leave, Beast Boy watched he go, weighing some things in his mind. He made a snap decision and leapt out of his seat, running after Raven.
"Rae, wait!" he called. Raven turned with a smile, but paused when she saw that the confident, swaggering Beast Boy had been replaced with a shy changeling with his hands in his pockets.
"Beast Boy?"
"I uh... I heard there's a collection of mystic whatsits at the museum. Wanna go have a look?" he asked. Raven stared back at him, smile gone and skin pale. But a moment later, her cheeks burned red. Slowly, she smiled at him, her usual poise returning to her. He smiled back at her, bashfully.
"Okay. Let's go," she said. Beast Boy grinned widely. "No touching," Raven stipulated. Beast Boy nodded.
"Sure thing, Rae. No touching yet," he agreed. Raven's cheeks coloured at the idea of him 'touching' at some point in the future.
"Not even when you get bored," Raven added as she began to walk in the direction of the museum.
"Whaaaaaaat? Bored? Me? I'll have you know I've always had a profound interest in magical doodads," he insisted. Raven shook her head and rolled her eyes, smirking fondly in dry amusement.
"Pfff. A likely story."
THE END
Well, there you have it, my little plot bunny. Not perfect by a long way but fun to write. Hopefully it'll be fun to read.