DISCLAIMER: I own no rights to Teen Titans or other affiliated DC media and their characters, except those being my own.
"Duuuuuuuudes! Hurry up, before Halloween is over already!"
Without waiting for a response, Beast Boy skipped ahead of the rest of his team, his candy bag swinging wildly from his hand as he ran. The Titans just looked on with weary expressions, tailing the changeling reluctantly. It had been a long night of Trick or Treating in Jump City, and all they really wanted to do now was head home and get some rest.
Robin cleared his throat. "Beast Boy, we've hit every house there is…"
"Yeah, man! There's no place left to get candy from," Cyborg chimed in. He looked around at their surroundings dubiously. "And to be honest, this place gives me the creeps."
"You're telling me," Kevin grumbled from the back, frowning when a cold breeze blew through the street. Shivering, he hugged his wings - courtesy of Teighenth as part of his 'costume' - closer around himself for warmth. "Did we really have to take the spookiest part of town to Trick or Treat in?"
"What's the matter, Kevin?" Raven asked, turning her head to look at the brown-haired youth with an unreadable expression. The sorceress had said very little the entire night, choosing to stay in the back walking with Kevin and let the others do their thing. "Afraid of the dark?"
"No," Kevin retorted indignantly. "I just prefer not to walk the streets at ten in the evening."
"Whatever you say," Raven answered, pulling her hood up to hide the small smile that grazed her lips as she looked away. Beast Boy, meanwhile, had completely zoned out the rest of the group, having raced on the head in the search for more houses with candy.
"I should probably go after him," Cyborg sighed. "Just to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
"Probably a good idea," Robin agreed, watching as the older male moved on to catch up with the changeling. Beside him, Starfire yawned, raising a hand to her mouth to cover up the sound. "Forgive me, but I believe the drowsiness is coming upon me," she mumbled, her eyes drooping. "Maybe friend Kevin is right and we should go back?"
Robin looked in the direction Cyborg and Beast Boy had gone, his expression uncertain. Kevin, however, broke in and said, "Raven and I can wait here for them while you guys head back, if that's what you're worried about. I don't mind terribly."
"Well…"
"Kevin and I can handle ourselves," Raven added in. "And it looks like Starfire is going to drop soon." The sorceress nodded her head in the Tamaranian's direction for emphasis, and indeed, the alien girl looked ready to fall asleep at a moment's notice.
"Alright, but stay out of trouble, you hear?" Robin said sternly, before saying a goodbye and leading Starfire back the way they came, towards the Tower, leaving Raven and Kevin standing alone on the sidewalk, underneath a flickering lamp post.
Kevin shivered again involuntarily, and Raven glanced at him with a wry grin. "Regretting making that offer?" she asked.
"I'm NOT scared," the boy hissed. "I'm not a fan of the dark, is all."
"So you ARE afraid."
"I said I wasn't a fan, not that I was afraid."
"Mmm-hmm…"
A silence fell between the two teens.
"...Ok, so I'm a little afraid."
"Oh? I never would've guessed."
"Haha, very funny," Kevin muttered, glaring at the blue-cloaked girl as she giggled quietly. Sighing, he looked at the cobbled street while Raven composed herself. When she had, she glanced sidelong at the young sorcerer. "So why are you afraid?"
"Of what?"
"The dark?"
"Why do you ask?" Kevin's tone was suspicious.
"No reason," Raven said placatingly. "Just curious."
"Curious," the boy echoed, unconvinced, but commented no further on it. After another few moments of silence, he sighed. "It makes me uncomfortable."
Raven looked at Kevin with raised eyebrows. "Uncomfortable?" she repeated. "How?"
"I don't know what to expect from it."
"Meaning…?"
Kevin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's...kind of hard to explain."
"Well, it's not like we're going anywhere anytime soon," Raven pointed out, gesturing down the street where Beast Boy and Cyborg were most likely going off gallivanting. "So…"
"I suppose," Kevin answered slowly. He looked at the sorceress thoughtfully for a moment or so, before looking away again, taking a breath before speaking. "It's not so much it scares me. Honestly, I'm fascinated with it. It's probably my favorite time of day, since it's so beautiful."
"Beautiful?" Raven asked, interested and confused. For clarification, Kevin gestured up towards the night sky, and both looked up to see the stars and a full moon shining in the gloom. "You never get to see them until the sun goes down," Kevin continued to explain. "It's during the night that they are at the height of their beauty. That goes for other things.
"Like?"
Kevin blushed, suddenly finding the cobbled stone very interesting. "Well…you are a fine example."
Raven was very glad that she had her hood up at that moment, otherwise the boy might've seen the heavy pink color flush to her cheeks had he looked at her then. "You're just saying that," she managed to say finally, turning away.
"What do you mean?" Kevin asked, lifting his head to stare at the sorceress strangely.
"I'm not beautiful," she replied, her eyes slightly downcast as she spoke.
"NOT BEAUTIFUL?" The sorcerer exclaimed, surprising himself and Raven with the fierceness of the cry. Quickly recollecting himself, Kevin fixed the sorceress with a stern expression. "I'm sorry, but I don't think that's true in the slightest. I mean, how can you not think that you're beautiful?"
Raven shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, but Kevin's response intrigued her, and she looked at him curiously. "I don't know. No one has really told me I am. No one good, anyway."
"Like Malchior?" Kevin asked, figuring where this was going. When Raven hesitantly nodded the affirmative, the boy sighed. "He hurt you, I know, but if anything, he wasn't wrong about the beauty part."
"How so?" Raven asked, turning to face Kevin fully, her eyes fixating on him with an almost hawk-like intensity that made the boy slightly uncomfortable. But he'd dragged himself in - he might as well keep going.
"Well, for starters, your skin! It's like moonlight, especially when it comes to your face. It has that silver glow that I can't help but to stare at. Then there's your hair - like seriously, remember when I told you my favorite color was purple?" When Raven unsurely gave another nod of affirmation, Kevin continued. "Well, your hair puts purple to shame when it comes to vibrancy, and I love how silky it is, especially when you brush it away from your eyes.
"And speaking of eyes…" Kevin paused, hesitantly looking up at Raven's face to gauge her reaction so far, but her expression was unreadable beneath her hood. Taking a breath, he pushed on. "Your eyes are so easy to get lost in. They're so deep, so full of emotion. I know you try and hide them, but that's the one place where they can't hide, and they hit me harder there than anything else. That, combined with their amethyst shine, they're just...beautiful." The boy stared at Raven seriously. "You're beautiful, in both body and soul."
"Why are you telling me this?" The sorceress asked quietly, pulling down her hood as she continued to stare at him, dumbfounded.
"Because you need to know, and I hate not telling you before, but that's the reason why I'm so afraid of the dark. So afraid of...you.I...I didn't know how you would react, how you would respond if I tried to get closer, because of what happened to you before. But God, Raven, even though you scare the hell out of me 24/7, that wouldn't change how I feel about you. I loveyou, Raven, and if anyone else tells you different, I will personally tear out his or her tongue and shove it down their - "
Kevin didn't get to speak further, however - Raven had closed the distance between them unknown to him, grabbed the sides of his face in her hands, and before he could blink had crashed their lips hard together in a fearsome kiss.
The intensity was both terrifying and amazing - Kevin hadn't known the normally emotionless empath could bethispassionate. His body eventually surrendered to the course of feelings the kiss had evoked, and both teens' arms wrapped around each other as they held each other close.
Neither wanted the kiss to end, but they had only so much oxygen available, and breathing through the nose wasn't doing it anymore. Reluctantly, they slowly pulled apart, cheeks flushed as they stared into each other's eyes, awe and shock written in both their expressions.
Kevin was the first to speak, his voice breathless "What was…"
Raven blushed, her smile nervous as it grazed her lips. "I-I honestly don't know," she admitted, equally breathless as she looked away briefly. "I didn't think...I just...acted." Looking back at Kevin, she stared questioningly at him. "I...did you really mean all that?"
"Every word," the boy replied firmly, his honesty evident in his voice, and Raven's smile lost its nervousness. Boldly, she pressed her lips against his in another kiss, this one short and sweet, but still charged with emotion, and enough to once again take their breaths away. "Good, because I love you, too," she said after a moment of savoring the feeling.
"You do?" Kevin squeaked, surprised and ecstatic. "But...how...when…?"
"I was...kind of afraid to tell you, too," the sorceress admitted shyly, tracing her fingers along his neck. "I was afraid of my emotions, of losing control, and I didn't think you felt the same way. But when you told me all this, and I knew that you meant it...I realized I didn't want to keep running away. I wanted to take a chance. A chance with you."
Kevin's eyes were wide at Raven's admission, and slowly he too began to grin, which reassured Raven immensely. Humming with contentment, she leaned her head against his chest, enjoying the closeness between them, as did he. They stood there silently in the low light, loving the quiet and their solitude...at least until Beast Boy's childish shouts were heard further up the street.
"Damn, of course they would pick now to come back," Kevin huffed, as he and Raven released each other reluctantly.
"That's Beast Boy for you," Raven sighed, just as irritated as the young male. "Always shows up at the worst times."
"Are we saying anything?"
"And give him something to hold over our heads? Definitely not."
"Right. No need to make it more embarrassing. Even if it was agoodkind of embarrassing."
"True," Raven said, nodding slightly, before looking up at Kevin with a grin. "So do I still scare you?"
"Of course. But that only makes me love you more."
"Well, maybe next Halloween, I'll find a way to really terrify you."
"Oh, God, really?"
Raven laughed. "Kidding. Though, to be perfectly honest, you're cute when you're scared."
THE END