In honor of BB/Rae week on Tumblr (which I don't actually have an account for but have heard about it from several other people), I have decided to put out my first ever Teen Titan one-shot. This will be a bit different from the style that I usually write with as it is a bit less humorous and slightly more intimate, although there is still humor in there. I am also going to apologize because there really is not as much of a plotline compared to my multichapter stories since it's so much shorter, but I still hope you enjoy it.
The Titans are a few years in the future, a little older than in the T.V. series, and Raven and Beast Boy are dating.
"Psst, Raven, you awake?"
He entered her room quietly, the single indication of his presence being the rustle of his feet over her carpet. The thing that woke the resting empath, however, was not the soft sound, but instead the breeze of emotions that the shape-shifter carried with him. Raven stirred in her bed, pulling her covers closer around her body as if to keep the lull of sleep close to her.
"Obviously not," she mumbled into her pillow, midnight and sleep deprivation drawing out her sarcasm quicker than usual. The familiar weightless chuckle from Beast Boy's throat reached her ears and the mattress dipped a little bit as he sat on the edge of the bed. Raven sighed, rubbing her cheeks and blinking until the teenager eventually came into focus. He wore a smile, but it wasn't the same grin that Beast Boy had etched into his face for everyone to see during the day. No, this smile was reserved for Raven alone, and the dark girl usually saw it at times like this late after hours. Tender, affectionate, and oh, ever-so-careful, the gentle grin formed the lightest of creases at the corners of his lips and lifted his eyes like he was entranced by no one else should see. That smile which Beast Boy set aside for Raven was enough to send warm shivers down the withdrawn girl's back. Yet, under all those sincere and heartfelt emotions, a hint of fear trembled inside of the green shape-shifter.
Sweeping the less-than desirable bedhead out of her eyes, Raven rolled onto her back and pushed herself into a sitting position. In the low light provided by the crescent moon, her bedroom was dim and dark, but she could still see the mysterious faint blush that Beast Boy developed when setting his sights on her. He inched closer, and Raven's late night/early morning mood softened. Responding to his movement, she leaned forward, touching the small of his back with her hand. He was wearing his familiar Doom Patrol uniform, probably because he was too tired from the activities of the day to take it off before crashing in his sleeping quarters. Raven's action took a little edge off of the anxiety in his emotions.
"What's wrong, Gar?" she asked him. "Nightmare again?"
Beast Boy didn't say so outright, but the spike in his emotions told her she was correct in her assumption. The shape-shifter faced the window, slanting his head to the side as Raven waited. "Yeah…," he started, and then, seeing a concerned expression cross the girl's face, hurriedly changed the response to, "No…." Now Raven was looking at him with disbelief, one eyebrow raised and mouth inclined down. "…Kind of," he finished with a sheepish laugh, shrugging up his shoulders. The blush deepened as he continued, gazing at the dark teenager beside him. "Just wanted to kiss my beautiful and smart girlfriend."
Now it was Raven's turn to blush, and she was quick to dip her head, her tangled violet hair falling forward to cover the color change like a purple veil. Nevertheless, she was aware that Beast Boy had seen it, for as she tried to hide her scarlet cheeks, a tingling of amusement and affection melted into her through her hand touching the shape-shifter. Raven folded her legs under her, drawing so close to him that they both experienced a flicker of nervousness when her shoulder brushed his. Sliding her hand over his shoulder and down to his chest, she touched just under his chin with her fingertips. Before her hair could engage in the threat to hide her entire expression, Raven allowed the boy to see a small smirk on her face.
"I shouldn't give in to your 'kiss it better' routines," she protested, trying to convince him as well as herself. Beast Boy easily called the bluff, securing her hair safely behind one ear and almost caressing her cheek as he set the strands in place. Once more, he presented Raven with that reserved smile.
Though there was no way for him to know that he was right, Beast Boy still had to tease. "Aw, you know you can't resist, Rae," he chuckled to her, flashing his canine tooth at the girl. Shaking her head with defeat, Raven closed the gap between them, touching his nose with hers. Her hand tilted to a different angle, index finger curling slightly and stroking the outline of his jaw. Beast Boy relaxed his shoulders at the soothing motion, running his own fingers up through her hair and stopping when his palm reached her cheek, cupping her face up to him.
Sighing, the teenager's tender emotions melted together into a single, unnamable, wonderful sensation. A hushed whisper escaped his lips. "…I love you, Raven."
It was a gentle kiss, one that provided security and compassion from both sets of lips. The two mouths brushed against each other, the soft flesh there tingling from the delicate contact. Moonlight illuminated the teenagers, highlighting pale and green skin in an iridescent glow, and when the couple drew back a little, noses still touching, Raven was stunned by the joy that filled Beast Boy to the brim, such pure pleasure pulsating from his body every so often like he was about to burst. It was always amazing how he blissful his emotions portrayed him as when they kissed, and, even since their first kiss was experienced and now passed, the strength of it never got weaker.
And yet, tonight beneath it all there was still that tremble of fear that Raven had detected from him earlier. It was unsettling, perplexing to her. Usually all traces of worry or anxiety disappeared, evaporating like water into the air, when he came into her room for a midnight kiss. Raven raised her eyes to his with concern, but before she was able to complete her action, Beast Boy swept his arms around the girl. She was not normally one for hugs, but the past few months of her relationship with the green teenager had warmed Raven up to the point where she no longer flinched away, or really minded hugs at all from him. Raven did not hesitate to return the embrace, slipping her hands over and clasping them together behind his back as he held her close to his chest. Beast Boy crossed his arms securely around her shoulders, clutching Raven to him as if he was afraid she wasn't real.
"Don't ever leave me," he begged quietly into her ear.
"I won't," Raven promised instantly, taking not even a moment to think about her response. She didn't have to.
Beast Boy still felt like he needed to convince her despite the promise, for his stomach churned and eyes became scratchy when the thought of losing her crossed his mind. Tightening his hold on her shoulders, the green boy murmured weakly, "I love you so much." He turned his head down, gently grazing her shoulder with his nose. When he skimmed back over up to her collarbone, Raven responded, tilting her head back and closing her eyes as he delicately kissed her lower neck. "I love you," he whispered, angling up and then kissing just below her jaw. He cupped her face in one hand, and Beast Boy slowly kissed her cheek just above the lips. "I love you," he repeated almost desperately with each kiss. "I love you."
Raven said nothing, not knowing what could make him feel better except for being there with him. According to the story his emotions told, her green friend, previously overflowing with beloved joy, was now drowning in an emotional turmoil of angst. How he'd arrived at such a different destination less than a minute ago, she didn't know. But it didn't scare her. This was a side that he liked to keep hidden; the side of him that he doubted the world would understand, especially because he was supposed to be an untouchable hero. Even the other Titans were just barely aware of it, and Beast Boy liked it that way. Raven was the one person he let see him all as he was by choice. Scared. Frightened. Afraid. Terrified that he would be left all alone, abandoned by those who he loved. And Beast Boy did not want to be abandoned, left isolated and thrown away like he'd been dumped into a ditch and left to rot. He had been forced to go through such situations multiple times in the past, so it was no wonder he was fearful of it happening over and over again. Raven was just glad he trusted enough to show her.
Beast Boy dropped his head, burying it in the crook of Raven's neck, shoulders shaking, and she folded her arms around the precious boy again, stroking his hair with one hand. Spikes of his emotions poked and prodded her like barbs, but she chose to focus on trying to comfort Beast Boy. "I won't leave you, Garfield," she reassured. "I promise."
Beast Boy's arms tensed once more before finally loosening, though he didn't let go yet. He softly pressed the bridge of his nose into her neck and took a deep breath. "I love you," he repeated one last time, his voice breaking. The raw emotion was enough to cause Raven's throat to tighten, but then Beast Boy's anxiety began to diminish and she could breathe again.
The green boy pulled back, arms still around Raven, blinking several times like he was trying to hide tears. Seeing the apology on his lips, Raven beat Beast Boy to speaking. "It's alright," she assured, her fingers fondling the base of his head where the hair started. Her other hand gently ran down the line of his spine, sending a shiver through both of them. Smiling, Beast Boy nodded, and he and Raven turned toward the window.
The city lights had disappeared to all but a few, and while the Titans gazed out the window together, a window darkened as someone across the water decided to settle in for the night. Raven and Beast Boy were long since wide aroused from their slumbers, however, and, as Beast Boy put an arm around the dark empath's shoulder, she tilted her head to the side at him. "Since we're both awake, care for some herbal tea?" she offered.
Beast Boy grinned at her words. "I'll go get some vanilla soy milk herbal tea. Don't move." He jumped to his feet, heading in the direction of the door, all his tormented emotions suppressed.
Raven threw her hand up at him. "Don't you dare sabotage my herbal tea!"
"No testing, no talking, Rae darling," Beast Boy winked, pointing a finger at her.
He'd reached Raven's doorway and was still smiling widely at their exchange when a soft voice, inaudible to anyone's ears except his, murmured, "Gar, I…" Raven drew her legs to her chest, draping one arm over her knees and pressing her nose to her wrist. "…I love you too." Of course she had always had her own qualms about their relationship, though for some reason she thought it was different for Beast Boy, perhaps more fearful than worried. But there was no denying that they loved each other; it was just more difficult for Raven to say it aloud, whereas Beast Boy constantly made sure she knew how much he cared about her. As a result, Raven didn't say those four words aloud very much, but for some reason tonight they had to slip out.
The swift padding of footsteps withdrew Raven from her thoughts, and she looked up in time to see Beast Boy leaping in the air over her mattress, pouncing like a cat, and obviously about to go for a fierce kiss. Raven had enough time to lift her head up in surprise when suddenly his legs made contact with the bed first and the base cracked. Beast Boy came down, his hands landing on her shoulders but the lower half of his body disappearing beneath a whirlpool of sheets and blankets. The two Titans stared at the broken section on the bed with eyes as wide as quarters, and then Raven broke the frozen spell, glaring at her boyfriend, her arms that somehow had found their way on his folding into a crossed position.
Blushing, Beast Boy gave a nervous laugh, sheepishly rubbing the top of his head with one hand. "Erm… Guess my love's too strong for your bed?"
Raven exhaled and touched his cheek with her fingers. "Stop talking," she instructed, slipping one hand around the back of his head.
Beast Boy smiled. "M'okay, I think I can do th-." He was cut off by Raven's tenderly pressing her lips to his, giving in to the lure of the kiss. Beast Boy's ears drooped ever so slightly with pleasure, and, as he responded gently, the subdued and desperate emotions that he'd entered into Raven's room with that night disappeared for good.
This was inspired by the ever-amazing artist on Deviantart, TwitchyTwitchaTwich. (Gotta tell you, I love that username.) They created this very story, except with pictures instead of words, so all the credit for the story goes to them. In fact, this story was inspired by the comic they created. Please, I urge you all to check it out; the visual gave me shivers down the spine. (I would provide the link, but FanFiction won't allow it.) Still, if you have the time, you can go to Deviantart and search I Might Need You To Hold Me Tonight. I want to give as much credit to the creator of the work because it is absolutely amazing.
On another, quicker note, I hope you all liked this, and I would love it if you'd leave a review.