Dull.
Dull is the only word Raven would use to describe the night so far. It was unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, becoming a trend. No villains acting out plot, no gangs making trouble, even small crimes had seemed to dwindle. Raven was on the lookout for signs of any of these events, as she had been for more nights than she would like.
Robin had been putting them all on patrol, believing that this period of piece must be the calm before the storm. So, Raven flew, above the tall building of Jump City, searching for anything to make this night worth leaving her book unread at home.
Raven stifled a yawn, as she realized that in her fatigue she had crossed over into a part of the city assigned to Beast Boy. As she turned to fly back to her own area she felt it.
Strong emotions. Fear, sadness, jealousy, anger, and many more. Locating the source was easy. Just below her, on the very edge of a ten-story, sat a lone boy. This boy was the source of these emotions and Raven knew where they would lead him.
Suicide.
Raven drifted down to talk to the distressed boy, preparing both her powers as well as any argument she may need to dissuade his plans. She knew she had to be gentle. She wanted him to know that he had no reason to follow through with it.
"Ah. You know if you're going to do it, this is a pretty good night."
Raven recognized the voice of her friend Beast Boy. Only he would make such crude approach. Raven though before pushing her anger aside. Now she had to be even more careful, another person could make this even more complicated. She decided to watch, unseen from above, before interfering.
The boy turned around, startled by the changeling who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Beast Boy, however, walked up as if he were greeting an old friend. Casual as ever.
"Relax kid. I'm not gonna do anything. The name's Beast Boy, sometimes Changeling, sometimes Garfield, sometimes Slayer of Women's Hearts. Don't worry though, I'm very approachable." Beast Boy said with a flourish. "Nice to meet you…"
After a stunned silence the boy offered a weak, "Cory."
Beast Boy walked to the edge of the roof and looked over, whistling to himself. "That's quite the fall. You know, you should do a cool trick on the way down. It'll be the last thing you do after all." Raven wanted to slap him.
Cory's response began with a dry chuckle. "I was thinking of doing like a flip or something."
"Ooh ooh. How about, the Superman." Beast Boy said as he jumped up and imitated the famous super hero in flight, just before landing on his belly with a thud.
Cory stood up on the edge of the roof and brushed off his pants. "Yeah that sounds cooler, and easier to do. I think I'll go with that."
Beast Boy interjected, "Before you do, think I could get your help with something?" Beast Boy looked a lot less confident than he did from just moments ago. "My uhh… friend needs some advice… and I don't know what to tell him."
Cory appeared more suspicious now, pausing for a minute before asking, "You weren't going to let me jump, were you?" He crossed his arms.
Beast Boy scratched the back of his neck with that classic grin on his face. "I'm afraid not. I do really need help though if you don't mind."
"Why me?"
"Call it a hunch." Beast Boy shrugged as he responded. Cory chuckled to himself before sitting back on the edge of the roof. He motioned to Beast Boy to sit next to him.
"So, what's your friend's problem?" Cory asked after Beast Boy had accepted his offer to sit down.
"Well, it's a bit sensitive you see. So, you can't tell anyone." Cory nodded his compliance, so Beast Boy continued. "Well my friend has this friend, and this friend of my friend is like, amazing in every way. She's smarter than almost anyone, too beautiful for words, caring to a much larger degree than she would let on, braver than any hero out there. She can do the most amazing things, and love to help people. She's so strong too." Beast Boy paused to sigh. "He has fallen head over heels for her. But he's pretty sure she'd never go out with him. He thinks that even if she did go out with him, she would deserve so much more than he could give her."
Cory watched Beast Boy for a second before finally responding with something that took the empath off guard. "Have you told Raven how you feel?" Raven reeled back at that. All those nice things Beast Boy had said, could they have really been about her? Could he really have fallen for her like that? It's true that she tried to block out her friend's emotions a lot of the time to give them their privacy, but surely, she would have noticed something.
"Waa no I'm not… I was talking about my friend, not me! I don't like Raven! I mean I like her but, as a friend!" Beast Boy was waving his arms wildly before he slumped over defeated. "Is it that obvious?"
Cory laughed. "Dude, every time I see you guys on the news you're always right by her side, looking at her like she's the meaning of life. It couldn't be more obvious." Cory put his hand on Beast Boys shoulder. "Listen, I don't know everything about what's going on, but I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. I mean after all, aren't you the Slayer of Women's Hearts?"
Raven floated above the boys, trying desperately to reign in the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. Heat rising through her whole body as she thought of Beast Boy asking her out. She could already see all the goofy, romantic gestures he would try. The worst part is that in every imagined scene she always found herself saying yes. Why? Why was she not only considering that Beast Boy's advances would be nice, but also wanting him to try? This was Beast Boy after all. She couldn't like Beast Boy. He is irritating, crude, dirty… nice, cute and… No! What am I thinking?
Below the massive internal battle, the boys kept talking. Cory told Beast Boy about his home life. It wasn't the most tragic story, but the boy had been through some hard times. A constant battle with depression certainly didn't help. In the back of her mind Raven noticed that Cory's emotions were turning to a brighter shade, though she was still distracted by incessant though of a certain changeling and the possible way he could ask her out, or maybe even kiss her.
Before she knew it, Raven had decided that maybe just maybe she could try it. After all, Beast Boy had gone through an impressive number of hoops to see her happy, despite Raven's refusal to laugh at his jokes. She had lost track of all the times he had hurt himself, or stayed up late, just to do something nice for her.
"Listen, before you go, take this." Beast Boy's voice finally brought Raven back to her senses. "It's the suicide prevention hotline. Trust me. I know that tonight wasn't a cure, and you'll have more hard times. When you do, call. Please." There was a sincere look in Beast Boy's eyes that tugged at Raven's heart.
Cory looked at the paper he was handed, then hugged Beast Boy. "Thank you. I promise I will. Oh, and Beast Boy?"
"Yeah?"
"Try talking to Raven. I bet it'll go better than you think."
Beast Boy stood there stuttering out a failed attempt to respond, as Cory left him on the rooftop. Raven slowly floated down to land behind him. she made sure to land as softly as she could, so he wouldn't hear her. She needed to prepare herself. A minute later Beast Boy stood straight up, sniffing the air.
"Raven!" He turned around instantly. "Hey… When uh, when did you get here?" Beast Boy looked panicked as he scratched the back of his neck and flashed a nervous grin. Raven decided not to answer and instead walked up to Beast Boy. Challenging as that was, her legs felt weak from the anxiety of her own, impulsive plan. When she found herself within arm's reach, she stopped. He said something to her then, but she couldn't hear over the sound of her heartbeat in her ears. Every part of her felt hot, especially her face. She knew she had to do it soon or her nerve would leave her.
"Rea… are you ok?" Beast Boy asked her. She looked up and saw his eyes stare back. They were full of concern and so… beautiful. Were his eyes always this pretty? Focus!
Raven reached up and pulled Beast Boy close. Before he could react, she had planted her lips on his. It was quick. Just a peck really, and yet in that split second their lips touched, Raven was a thunderstorm. The electricity was so intense that any longer and she may have lost control. Lost to her own desires and emotions, in a most dangerous and beautiful event. When it was over the world had drained away and all she saw was Beast Boy.
At first, he was shocked. He stood there speechless, staring at Raven, who refused to meet his eye. Her pale cheeks were bright red. "That was really nice what you said. I…" Raven mutter, just loud enough to hear. Beast Boy slowly reached forward and gently grabbed her chin, pulling her face just inches from his. Raven ached for his touch far more than she ever thought she would. She needed his lips on hers again and he was only too happy to oblige, and yet the inches between them felt like miles.
"Titans! Trouble!" Robin's voice blared from their communicators. The pair jumped at the sudden intrusion. Beast Boy scramble to answer the call.
"Yeah uh, we're on our, uh way." He was surprisingly out of breath, just as she was. They stared at each other for a second, longing in their eyes. "We'll continue this later." Beast Boy told her with that classic grin on his face.