AN: I haven't posted in a while, and I don't know why I'm posting this because it's really rough and bad. But I know if I don't post it I won't post anything. I've been really enjoying these two and I might continue this. I have no idea where to go with it if I do, so if you have any suggestions I'm completely open to them. Thanks for everything and I hope you enjoy this!
Aqualad was sitting on the roof of the Titans West's Tower, admiring the ocean view. It was different, and much nicer than the view they got at the East Tower, he had to admit. At the soft sound of footsteps her turned around and saw Raven with a cup of tea and a plate of various breakfast items.
"Good morning," She greeted him.
"Morning," He smiled. "I didn't know anyone else would be awake."
"I like to get a few Beast Boy free hours before he gets up." She sat next to him and placed the plate of food in front of the pair. "Would you like some food?"
"You knew I was up here? And you brought me food?"
"Of course. Did you think I would eat all of this myself?"
Glancing at the plate, he saw waffles, an assortment of fruits, some bacon, and scrambled eggs. "I'd love some," He plucked a piece of melon from the fruits and thanked the empath.
"I didn't know if you ate other meats or if you just didn't eat fish, so I brought a lot of different foods just in case." She confessed.
"I eat other meats, but eating fish is too weird for me. They're like my friends."
"So like a reverse Pescatarian?" She smiled a little at her comparison.
He chuckled, "Exactly."
A lapse of comfortable silence filled between them as they watched the light ripple across the ocean.
"If you don't mind me asking," She broke the silence, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, "I've always wondered about the thoughts of fish? How are they different from humans?"
A little taken aback with the question, he paused for a moment before answering, "Um—Well I guess the complexity. When something happens to a fish they don't question it. They just adapt and keep swimming. Humans are a lot more complex."
She accepted this statement and her brow furrowed slightly with concentration. Aqualad almost thought that the discussion had already finished when she added the next layer to it. "Do you believe that's a trait with all animals? The acceptance of circumstances?"
"I think so. They kind of have to for survival. If a fish doesn't adapt to situations as they come, its life would probably end in the next minute or so." He smiled at her face as she pondered his response. How very different was this young women, to be questioning the life of a fish. He liked it. He liked her. Her next question, however, seemed to be a double edged knife if he didn't answer it carefully.
"Would you consider me to be like an animal? My name, after all, is Raven." Her head tilted slightly as she waited for his response.
"This seems to be quite the loaded question." He confessed. She chuckled but didn't say anything in response, so he took it as a sign to continue. "Well, you seem to adapt to most circumstances very effectively, but I don't think you're like an animal. You accept situations as they come, but you still question them."
He examined her face as he said this, waiting to see if any of it offended her. It appeared that it did not, so he continued. "You think about things most other people don't. Other people wouldn't question the thoughts of a fish. You're different. Unique."
Raven's blush grew stronger and stronger as Aqualad continued his verbal analysis. At his final words she looked down, her face unbearably red and hot. She prayed he wouldn't notice, but by the tone of amusement his voice had adopted, he had. Her face cooled down enough for her to look up, but as soon as she did, she regretted it. The look on Aqualad's face was sending her cheeks aflame again, but she couldn't remove her eyes from his.
It was true, she had a brief and embarrassing crush on him. His appearance was that of a Greek God, how could she not? But she knew that this infatuation was superficial and that she did not truly like him. She didn't know him, therefore she could not like him. After today however, she felt as if she wanted to learn about the telepath. She wanted to find out more about Atlantis, and his opinions, and really who he was. But if he kept looking at her like that, she didn't know if she could handle any more conversations.
"Your eyes sparkle like sunlight on water."
Surprised, her eyebrows flit up onto her forehead and her cheeks grew even hotter. "W- what?"
Aqualad, at this time, was giving himself a mental face palm. Great, now you sound like a creepy idiot. Why would you say that!? Now he was the one who looked down. "They, um, they sparkle. And they're really pretty. Like the way sunlight reflects off of water."
At this, the bird laughed. A beautiful laugh really. Awkward and flustered, but still beautiful. Slowly, she leaned her head onto his shoulder, "Thank you."
His body stilled as he realized the position Raven willingly placed herself in, and then he smiled. A long content smile as he leaned his atop of hers as they ate breakfast and continued to watch the sun dance across the waves. He could definitely say that the view from the West tower was better. Especially if it involved a certain empath.