Happy New Year! I've been super busy (yeah I know, what else is new), but I managed to give you guys another one-shot! Again, I'm sure some of you have read a story similar, but honestly once this idea popped into my head... I had to do it; just like what happened with "Legs". Which by the way, I'm very grateful for the reception of my first one-shot! Thanks guys. And if you haven't read "Legs"... well, you should. Haha. Anyways without further ado, enjoy the new year and enjoy this little snippet!


Rituals.

Everyone in the tower had them; Robin woke up each morning at around 6:00am to train for three hours before having a protein heavy breakfast. Raven was up an hour prior to have her morning tea and early relaxation before she had to deal with the rest of her teammates. Starfire made sure that as soon as it hit 5:00pm in the evening, she would have Silkie bathed before indulging herself in what she called her "happiness" pudding.

It mainly consisted of mustard.

Beast Boy would generally sleep in till 1:00pm, drag himself out of bed for a very late brunch, then hole back up in his room to read comics before coming back out to play the GameStation.

As for Cyborg… well, it was a little more simpler than that.

The cybernetic teen would work on his T-Car here and there, but other than that he usually went with the flow. Sometimes he had to make repairs or maintenance some of the things in the tower; though these things weren't completely time consuming. Cyborg just, did not really have much he devoted time to. He loved watching sports, cooking, playing video games, and hanging out with his team. But he never had something he did on a consistent basis.

Well at least, save for one thing: His midnight snack.

Of course, it was not always at midnight; sometimes in the early morning times like 3:00am for example. Either way, the one thing Cyborg was most passionate about was eating. He absolutely loved food… no matter what kind it was. Unless, it was tofu. That stuff was disgusting.

But food… food, was life. Food is the essence of life. But food was not just limited to a daily substance! No. Food was an art! Something to appreciate and admire. Cyborg respected every culture and the way they prepared their food. Each culture had a certain taste to it; each with their own personal preferences to be found in every dish. Food was unchanging. Consistent. Always there for you. Unlike any girl, food would never leave you or disappoint you. Except for if the chef completely sucked.

He didn't know why it was, but for some odd reason… food was the greatest late at night. For some reason it was just so satisfying when he couldn't sleep. Being hungry in the middle of the night was the worst thing in the whole world! But sneaking around at night in order to grab that amazing, beautiful slice of cold pizza was something to savor. Okay, he had to be honest with himself…

It was definitely more than one slice.

Regardless, his late night snack was something he looked forward to every chance he had. So tonight the tin man found himself tip toeing towards his door in order to reach the kitchen; in efforts to complete his fridge raid.

Being careful not to make any noise, Cyborg quietly walked slowly but surely opened his door and peeked his head out… looking both ways to assure himself no one had been stirred awake. He did not want to be identified as the "fridge thief" that Robin had spoken about.

So what if he sometimes almost cleared out the refrigerator?

Cyborg began walking down the halls, and by the doors of his fellow teammates' rooms. His stomach growled, and he held it with both hands while silently berating it for possibly causing any disturbances. He kept his eyes forward, heart set on his goal. He could feel the tension and anticipation building as he was only a few yards away from having hunger subdued.

He was about to leave the hallway via entering through the common room doors, when he heard something. Curious as to what it was, he turned around and looked back. He began to backtrack himself; looking left and right to find the source of this noise. As he moved deeper back into the hallway, he located the general area of the noise.

He also heard the noise in full clarity.

And what he heard absolutely traumatized him.

"OH YESSSSSSS! God Beast Boy, I didn't know you were so good at this."

"What can I say Mama, I know how to hit all the right spots."

"OH MY GOD! RIGHT THERE!"

"Wow… you're so soft…"

"HARDER BEAST BOY!"

"I'm trying!"

"YES! Ohhhhhhhh…"

Wide eyed and mentally scarred as possible, Cyborg ran for the hills figuratively as he busted into a full out sprint towards the kitchen; wailing in horror.


"What was that?" Raven asked.

"I'm not so sure." Beast Boy answered.

"Well, thanks. I really needed this." The empath said genuinely, violet irises beaming at the Changeling.

"It is my pleasure m'lady." Beast Boy confessed as he gave a goofy but humble bow.

"But… why? Why would you do this for me?" Raven inquired rather timidly.

"Well… it's ah. It's because I may possibly, probably, maybe, might, kinda, actually like you." Beast Boy said while looking away and blushing.

Raven's face slightly deviated from it's normally deadpan state, but still upheld most of its neutrality.

"…Really?" She asked unbelieving.

"Yeah…" Beast Boy answered.

"Why would you like me? We don't always get along, and we don't exactly spend that much time together. Plus, I do kind of throw you out of windows occasionally." She finished before shifting her eyes to the side.

"Yeah, we fight sometimes. I don't get to be with you as much as I would like; and yes, I have been flung through a few windows. Actually, a lot of windows." Beast Boy said nervously, scratching the back of his head while cringing slightly as if he were reliving the pain of things.

"But even so, the times we do get along… the time we do have together; all of it means so much to me. And it has given me enough to go by. To know, who you truly are behind that hood of yours you always like to hide behind." Beast Boy continued. As he said this, Raven's cheeks turned crimson.

"The thing is Raven, when I first met you… I thought you were so beautiful. And when I found out you were so smart, well, it was a bonus for me. Even though you try to mask what you feel, how you act, what you like; over the years I've learned to read you. And there's so much more to you than what people realize. You have a big heart, Raven. You care about people. You care about us. Despite what you have been through, what you thought you were, what Slade and Trigon wanted you to be… you still managed to overcome and show the world that you can be whatever you want to be. And that, not only shows your strength; but it shows that you won't ever let anything get in the way of something you really believe in."

Raven finally managed to look back at Beast Boy again, though the Changeling was already looking off to the distance.

"For the longest time Raven… I've tried to understand you. When I first had my crush on you, I didn't know what to do. You shut me out, and I could not find a way to really get to you. Which is why I went to Terra. I thought she cared for me. She laughed at my jokes, she liked my ears, and we spent so much time together. Even more than what me and you have had. Yet, she was never able to fill this empty void I have in my heart. When I was around her, I was unaffected for some reason. I thought I liked her. I thought I loved her. But when I really thought about it, I didn't. I only liked her because she tolerated me and hung out with me. Outside of those things, we didn't have much in common to even work with."

Beast Boy let out a huge breath. He cleared his throat before continuing.

"It's been years Raven. Years since then. And during all this time I've had so much more with you than I could ever have had with Terra. Even if you don't think you did Raven, you've shown me that you really do care. And I'm thankful for that. But the weirdest part is, I've fallen in love with you… from a distance. I've never gotten close to you, but from all the experiences and things I have seen, I managed to fall in love with the person I see you as. And I was hoping…" He said before trailing off.

Raven thought she felt a little bit of warm water on the side of her face.

"I was just hoping that I could also fall in love with you right with you. Not from afar, not just seeing you. Something more personable. I know I am far from perfect, and I know that I might not be your ideal guy… but… I really care for you; that should count for something, right?" He asked her finally looking back at her.

No more words were exchanged as Raven rushed forward and planted her lips onto his. Before he had anytime to react, she had already wrapped her arms around his neck lovingly. After recovering from shock, Beast Boy immediately reciprocated and held her head with his hands; pulling her face close to his. While he was holding her, he felt her occasionally quiver; as if she was slightly whimpering. Concerned, he broke off and looked at her, though making sure not to create too much space.

"What's wrong…?" He asked her.

Raven smiled through her tears as she looked at him with fierce affection. "Nothing at all. It's just… what you said was so… beautiful. I can't believe someone could care for me so much."

Beast Boy smiled before the two picked back up where they left off; in each other's arms while their lips danced. Moments that felt like hours passed, and yet when it ended it felt like seconds. Once they finished recovering from their onslaught of passion, they both stood up from her bed and began to walk towards her door.

"Want to join me for some tea..?" Raven asked Beast Boy hesitatingly.

"Absofreakinglutely!" He answered with a grin.


The new couple started walking out into the hallway, taking their time as there was no need to rush. As they walked, Raven turned and looked at Beast Boy.

"You know… you were amazing back there." She told him earnestly.

"You think so?" He questioned.

"I do. You're really good at it." She said sheepishly, allowing for a blush to show.

"So you enjoyed yourself?" He pressed.

"I really did. And if it's okay with you, I would like to do it again sometime." Raven mused.

Beast Boy's grin went from ear to ear. "Any time! Just ask."

They grew silent for a bit as they almost reached the common room. As they arrived at the common room doors, Raven again turned back to Beast Boy.

"I just can't believe how good you are at giving back massages. I swear my back feels a million times better." She expressed.

"It should. You were really tense. There was a lot of knots in your back we had to work out." He told her

"Where did you learn to do all of that?" Raven inquired.

"That's a story for another time." Beast Boy answered before pressing the button to open the doors.

As they walked in, they looked to the kitchen and noticed Cyborg by an opened refrigerator; cradling himself and rocking back and forth while gripping a half-eaten sandwich tightly in his hands. He appeared to have PTSD.

"What's with him?" Beast Boy asked while he motioned to Cyborg with his thumb.

"Don't know, maybe he also needs a back massage." Raven concluded.


And there you have it! Just goes to show you that context is very important! Lol, anyways, leave a review and let me know how it is. Also, favorite or follow or both to show your support! Toodles.