My very first fanfic! Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I really hope you enjoy it. R/R and follow me on tumblr iiDecomposition.~ Love, Sam.

The green teenager stood at the edge of the roof, watching the last rays of the rapidly setting sun reflect off the bay. His face was illuminated just barely with varying shades of red, orange, and yellow before the sun dipped beneath the horizon and disappeared altogether. With the darkness settling in, the multitude of flickering candles on the rooftop seemed to stand out even more, hundreds of little golden flames dancing happily with the cool breeze that drifted through the bay and ruffled the boy's hair.

Beast Boy looked down at the town across the bay, his eyes studying the lights that were a little brighter than usual. He knew why. It was the same reason he was up on the roof alone, surrounded by a million candles that had taken forever to light and the table that had taken ages to set up.

New Year's.

To be exact, New year's Eve.

Beast Boy's hands fidgeted with the buttons on his deep purple button down shirt. before finally untucking the uncomfortable garment. He knew he looked ridiculous, maybe that was why she didn't come. Stabbing his fingers through his gel-encrusted locks, Beast Boy released a long breath, figuring it would do him no harm to mess up his hair now. A glance down at his watch reminded him that it was 11:30, a whole hour and a half later than the time he had asked her to show up on the roof. Beast Boy looked back at the table behind him that was covered with a simple white tablecloth and place settings for two. Yet another candle sat in the middle, casting light on the two plates of uneaten food. It had long since gone cold, and the playlist of music he had thought Raven would like had long since stopped playing. It was all classical anyway and Beast Boy was much happier in the silence.

He had thought that maybe this would be the year. He was going to prove to Raven that he had grown up, that he was no longer the annoying kid she had always seen him as. Because the truth of the matter was, he wasn't. Now at 19, Beast Boy's features had all matured and his once scrawny frame had filled out with muscle. And he had thought that now he could finally impress Raven. So he had planned and planned and planned and then planned some more.

He had listened to classical music, dressed up, gelled his hair, asked Cyborg to cook meat, struggled to find out where the cutlery went in relation to the plate. He had done it all, and she hadn't even shown up. Beast Boy checked his watch again, sighing when he saw the time: 11:59. One minute until the time he had been planning to finally kiss Raven. Maybe it was time for him to accept the fact that she wasn't going to show up, no matter how grown up he was. The nervousness that he had been feeling all night faded. His shoulders untensed for the first time that night, and Beast Boy hadn't realized that he had been standing ramrod straight until he allowed himself to relax into his usual, comfortable stance. Below him, he could hear the crowd shouting faintly.

"10…"

"9…"

"8…"

"7…"

"6…"

"5…"

"4…"

"3…"

"2…"

"1…"

From behind him came the softest of voices, just a tendril of sound drifting through the wind. "Happy New Year, Garfield."

Beast Boy spun around to see the girl he had been waiting so long for behind him, her signature cape billowing behind her. Her hood was down for once and he could see a faint smile tugging up the corners of her lips.

"You're late."

A soft sigh and then, "Beast Boy, I-"

"Save it, Rae." He leveled his gaze at her, although he was now taller by a long shot. "Do you know how much time I put into this? Did you know that I had to light all these candles and ask Cy to cook meat and then get help from Robin to find a fancy outfit?" Beast Boy let out an exasperated sigh before his fingers found his dark green locks once more, messing up his hair again.

Raven's voice, firm, yet soft somehow overcame the cheers from the town below. "Garfield, listen. This," Raven gestured to the table behind her, "Isn't who you are. I want the real you. I like the real you. You don't need fancy music or fancy clothes or fancy food to impress me. You just need to be you. Think you can do that?" Raven arched one eyebrow at him, her hands propped up on her hips as she awaited a response.

Beast Boy nodded.

"Good. Now I think I owe you for tonight." And before he could do or say anything else, she had pressed her lips gently against his. It took a second for Garfield to realize just what was happening, but when his mind finally grasped the fact that Raven, Raven, the same Raven that he had been crushing on for most of his teenage years was kissing him of all people, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled her close. Garfield returned the kiss with everything he felt and had felt for her all those years, not even caring that his watch read 12:01.