"Hey, Rae?"
"Yeah?"
"You asleep?"
"... Yes."
"What? But you just talked."
Raven rolled her eyes in the dimly lit room. "Oh, then I guess I'm awake."
Her hand was intertwined with the shapeshifters, both laying in the dark tangle of sheets. They were in Ravens room, mainly because Beast Boys was so unbearably stinky.
"Oh, okay, cool."
He paused for a while.
"Well?" She asked.
"'Well' what?"
"Weren't you going to say something?"
"Oh…" Beast Boy hesitated and adjusted himself so one foot was out of the covers. "Well, I was… But I got embarrassed, so never mind."
"No, say it." Raven turned to her side, bending their connected arms so that their hands were sandwiched between their shoulders.
Beast Boy turned his head away, "No, it's nothing. Really." Raven could see him blush from the moonlight cascading over half his face.
"Beast Boy. Don't be a wuss."
Beast Boy turned back to her quickly, "I am not being a wuss!"
Raven chuckled, "Then tell me."
He stared at her for a second and sighed, "W-well, I was just thinking… When did you start liking me?"
Raven blinked at him, not fully registering his question. Then, she burst into laughter.
"I said nevermind," Beast Boy pouted.
"I know… I know, it's just…" Raven said through her laughter, "I wasn't expecting that."
Beast Boy tried to let go of her hand and turn away, but she held onto it. "Wait, no, Beast Boy. I'm sorry. Come back."
He begrudgingly scooted back to where he was, resting his chin on her head, "I know it's a pointless question or whatever, but… I don't know, I was just curious."
Raven's face went warm as he wrapped his free arm around her.
"I guess…" Raven started out slowly, thinking about it. "The dance."
"Really? That was a while ago."
"Yeah, I know."
Raven thought back to that night. Robin had wanted everyone to go undercover at a high school dance. The school had gotten threats from some anonymous email. It turned out to be just some butt hurt student who wanted the dance canceled since he got dumped. The team decided to stay at the dance a little longer, despite the false alarm...
Raven sighed, "This is so pointless."
"I think it's delightful!" Starfire was grinning so hard, Raven was afraid her face might pull a muscle.
Raven shrugged. Of course Starfire liked it. She pretty much likes everything bubbly and cheesey.
Eventually and unsurprisingly, Star was whisked away by Robin, leaving Raven alone on the bleachers. She pulled out a small book from her bag. "How did I know I would need this."
Before she even got to the first page, a figure sat down next to her. She assumed it was one of the freshmen trying to dance with her. "Not. Interested."
"Oh… Ah, sorry. Should I leave?" Beast Boy asked, about to stand back up again.
"Oh, it's just you. I thought you were one of the students." She replied indifferently.
Beast Boy laughed, relaxing in his seat. "Have they been trying to dance with you?"
"Yes." Raven growled.
"... You didn't hurt one of them, did you?"
"Not yet."
"Oh, okay. Wait, what?"
Raven rolled her eyes, "Anyways, what are you doing here?"
Beast Boy shrugged, "I'm bored, I guess. And I figured if I sat next to you, the girls would stop trying to dance with me."
Raven looked up at him, "You're trying not to dance with girls? That's a first."
"I'm just as surprised as you are. I just feel, I dunno, weird about it." Beast Boy looked back at her, "I'm just not feeling it."
Raven paused, "Hm."
"What?"
"Maybe you just can't dance."
Beast Boy went red, "Huh?"
"Maybe you're too much of a… What's that word you use?" She grinned at him, "'Wuss'."
Beast Boy narrowed his eyes at her, "I feel like you're challenging me."
Raven shook her head, "Nope. Just calling it like it is."
He shot up from his seat and pointed at her dramatically. "I'll show you wuss." He then proceeded to drag her to the dance floor, ignoring her protesting.
They went through a few fast songs and a few slow songs. Beast Boy was surprisingly good at dancing and had to teach Raven a few moves. She executed them indifferently, but she did it nonetheless. At the last slow song of the evening, Raven and Beast Boy talked as they danced. In the short pause between topics, he smiled at her. That's all it took. A simple smile for her to realize she wanted to dance with him much longer than a few songs.
Raven sighed. That would probably be the only dance she would go to, but at least she enjoyed it.
"So, what about you?" Raven asked.
"Hmm…?" Beast Boy was just about to fall asleep as Raven came back from her flashback.
"When did you start liking me?"
Beast Boy took a second, half asleep and half thinking. "I think I've always liked you."
"What? That's definitely not true." Raven scoffed.
"Well then I can't really remember. I just know that it's been a while."
"When did you first realize it?"
His eyes flickered to different corners of the room, brow furrowed, trying to remember. "Oh! It was a long time ago. Before the dance, I think."
"Oh, when?"
"It's not really a big event, but it was when I tried to teach you how to play video games, remember? You were bored, so you let me teach you. And then, after you beat me (which, you were totally cheating, I know it), you looked at me, smiled and said, 'Another round?'"
Raven chuckled, "That's all it took, huh?"
Beast Boy shrugged and pulled away so he could look at her, "I told you, I already liked you. That's just when I realized it."
Raven blushed, trying to hide it with a smirk, "So, is getting your butt kicked in video games a turn on for you?"
Beast Boy grinned, "Hell yeah, wanna play?"
Raven blushed even more, "Shut up."
He laughed, giving her a soft kiss and then rested his chin on her head again. They stayed like that for the whole night, not bothering to fall asleep. Just talking about pointless things as their hands remained intertwined.
Thank you for reading this one shot! Feel free to check my profile for updates on any more writing projects!
-Bob