My disclaimer for the entire collection: I DO NOT, NOR WILL I EVER WILL, OWN THE TEEN TITANS OR ITS CHARACTERS.

Bedtime Rituals

6-28-2015

For the hundredth time that night, Beast Boy peeked at the alarm clock. His enhanced vision could just pick out the mechanical hands as they crawled to midnight. He groaned, rolling onto his back.

One downside about being a changeling was that Beast Boy was constantly at war with the instincts of not only his human self, but those of countless animals as well. The diurnal half of him wanted nothing more than to catch some Zs, but his nocturnal half was buzzing with energy. It came in handy during his all-night videogame marathons, but not so much when he knew Robin's training routine and fights against bad guys were waiting for him the next day.

Sighing again, he curled onto his side so he faced his partner. Even as she slept Raven had her cloak draped over her. The dark fabric made her hard to pick out from the shadows. Beast Boy reached over and shook what he hoped was her shoulder. The last time he had shaken her head by mistake she had woken up with four eyes.

"Hey, Raven?"

"Mmm…"

"Rae, are you up?"

"Mmm…"

"I think we need to initiate Operation Sleepy Time."

"Mmm…"

Maybe he should start Operation Wake-Up first. Beast Boy morphed into a cat and climbed onto her shoulder. He dragged his sandpaper tongue across her cheek, something he'd never get away with if she was awake. When that triggered only a twitch of her fingers, he batted her nose with his paw. "Meow!"

A hand swatted at him weakly, and she grumbled something that likely threatened his nine lives. Still unsatisfied, he leaned down until his whiskers were tickling her ear. He yowled. Loudly.

"Beast Boy," she groaned and burrowed her head deeper into the pillow.

Not good enough, the changeling thought wickedly. His yowls grew louder.

And louder.

And—

"Keep that up and your fur will decorate a hat."

He stopped.

Green eyes glinting in the dark, Beast Boy watched as Raven slowly sat up and shot him a glare. At least she only had two eyes. "This better be good if you're waking me up at—what is it?"

Beast Boy morphed back into human form. "'Bout midnight," he said. "I've tried counting sheep, staring at the ceiling, and drinking your disgusting tea—"

"What was that?"

"—your delicious tea, and I still can't sleep!"

Raven pressed her fingers against her temple, squeezing her eyes shut. "Again, Beast Boy? This would be the third night in a row we've had to do it."

"And I need it now like I did then." He smiled sheepishly. "Please, Rae-Rae? Guys need their sleep to stay beautiful, too, you know."

"You can't stay beautiful if you never were in the first place." Even in the middle of the night the empath had the energy to criticize him.

Letting the gibe slide Beast Boy said, "I promise I won't bother you again tonight." His sheepishness transformed into a cheeky grin. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Unless you want me to."

A pillow hit his chest.

"Shut up and change."

Beast Boy did as commanded, and a second later a green lizard blinked up at Raven from the sea of bed sheets. She sighed and picked up the reptile, flipping him over in her palm so his belly was face up. Without realizing it, she was humming as she stroked two fingers down his midsection. In less than a minute the lizard's eyes slid shut. Raven had just enough time to lay him beside her before Beast Boy shifted back into his regular form. She was grateful he wasn't awake to see the corner of her mouth lift at the sight of him curled up next to her, his even breaths tickling her thigh.

Leaning down, Raven pressed a kiss on his forehead. She nestled against his chest and pulled the covers over them. "Sleep well, Lizard Boy."

l*l*l*l

A/N: Confession time. So technically stroking a lizard (or a frog's) belly hypnotizes the animal, not put it to sleep, but I thought that if it happened to Beast Boy it would relax him enough so he could fall asleep.

Thank you for reading! All reviews will be loved and any critique adored!

NEXT: "If you had to pick just one animal to be which would you choose?"