"You must feed and walk and bathe the silky with your tongue every 5 hours and make sure to give him the tummy tickles every 3 hours or he becomes the grumpy bumgorf and it is most unpleasant when he spews of the stomach liquid -"
"Okay, okay I get it you can go."
Raven pushed Starfire towards the elevator of the titan tower but the tamaranian ignored her, still listing out the duties of taking care of her pet.
"And then you must sing the lullaby of the gorpnof repeatedly until he falls asleep which then you must transition into the act of -"
"STARFIRE!"
Raven grew terribly irritated at her alien friend and gave her the iconic glare of annoyance.
"Just go. Silky will be just fine. Now hurry up before I change my mind and make beast boy take care of him instead."
"Oh no Raven you mustnt! I am afraid beast boy has the most unpleasant odour-"
" I know I'm joking good bye. " Raven slammed the elevator button and watched the doors shut, to her relief as starfire headed towards her home land for the next week for a visit.
Back in the living room, Cyborg and beast boy were making a ruckus as usual, and much to Ravens dismay, still playing video games.
"Dude that's not fair! I was supposed to fire off my super duper triple cannon laser first!"
"Sorry beastie, I'm just too much of a man to let you do that. Boo yeah!"
"Arent you supposed to be heading somewhere too Cyborg?"
Cyborg was busy mashing buttons on his controller , but managed to given Raven a response. This genuinely amused her.
"Yeah but my flight ain't til 338 and its only 3 right now. Takes me bout 10 minutes to get to the airport with my built in rocket boosters -ey Beast Boy! THAT'S CHEATING!"
The green changeling started hooting uncontrollably as two tiny characters blasted across the TV screen and a large title popped up: winner BB.
"AW YEAH THAT'S WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT! Go Beast Boy go Beast Boy, you da man you da man, uh-huh!"
"MAN YOU CHEATED! YOU CAN'T USE THAT LEGENDARY ROPE FOR TRIPPING MY CHARACTER THAT'S NOT EVEN LEGIT!" Cyborg threw down his controller.
Raven had enough of the boy chatter as clearly Cyborg wasn't going to give her a clearer answer nd decided to look for Robin, who was also taking some vacation time.
"I've got my bat towel, sponge, and toothbrush. I'm all set."
"Are you heading out now?"
"Yeah I am. You going to be okay with beast boy here for a week?"
Raven and beast boy were the only two who didn't have families to go back to, nor even extended ones. They will be staying at the tower and taking care of things while the other three take some time off.
"I'll manage. Somehow." She replied in an obvious distressed voice. Robin chuckled and gave her a pat on her shoulder. "You can always call me if you need anything. I'll leave the tower in your hands." He shot a look over at beast boy who was now stuffing his face with pizza against Cyborg as their last competition for the week. "Yep. Definitely in your hands."
"Don't worry Robin. You go enjoy yourself and I'll see you in a week." Raven gave him a small smile.
Robin departed with Cyborg, who had his arms folded tightly across his chest, upset that he lost the pizza competition too against beast boy.
"Have a good vacation loser! Hahaha!" Beast Boy gave his best friend a snicker and Cyborg in return shot a pizza out of his arm cannon, splooshing it right into Beast Boy's face.
"HA! WHO'S THE LOSER NOW! HAHA! I WASNT GONNA LET YOU WIN EVERYTHING I SAVED THAT SLICE JUST FOR THIS MOMENT!"
The elevator dinged and the doors closed, and the tower was finally quiet. Beast Boy wiped the pizza shot off his face, much to his delight.
"So we're the only ones here for the week?" He asked Raven in between chews.
"Yes. And don't even think about messing anything up in the tower. I'm not cleaning up after you." Raven started to float away towards the hallway.
"Wait where you goin Rae? Hang out with me!"
"No." The hallway door closed and beast boy was left alone in the main foyer, eating his pizza.
Raven teleported into her room and stood still for a moment. She had wanted to meditate earlier but something wasn't feeling right to do so now. What is wrong with me? She mused. She decided to lie down on her bed for awhile, perhaps nap it off. When she sat down on her bed, a knock came at her door, surprising her.
"Raven? Can I come in?"
"I'm meditating. Go away."
Silence greeted her and suddenly Raven felt guilty. She sighed but didn't open the door. She knew what was bothering her, deep down, but she did not want to face it.
She opened her door and the hallway was empty.
"Beast Boy?"
No answer.
Her chest suddenly clenched. This surprised her and she retreated back into her room, suddenly overwhelmed by… sadness?
Why am I sad? This is ridiculous. I always turn down Beast Boy…but why do I feel so bad?
The half demon sighed and shook her head angrily, trying to rid of the emotions. "Snap out of it Raven," she muttered to herself. She grabbed the half-burned candle from her drawer top and lit it- meditation will help her calm herself down. Slowly she levitated the candle into the air, and closed her eyes, letting her emotions and self drift away into—
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
Raven's eyes snapped open- as did her heart- and the candle fell onto the ground with a clatter, the flame instantly huffed away. It was Beast Boy's voice and it sounded like he had encountered something bad.
Without a second thought, Raven teleported herself into the main foyer. "Beast Boy! Beast Boy where are you, are you okay?"
Her eyes darted back and forth for signs of the danger but nobody was in the foyer. She heard some shuffling in the kitchen and immediately teleported into the dining area, ready to strike the first monster she saw.
Beast Boy was bent over at the refrigerator, his hands cradling… a box of tofu.
Raven couldn't believe her eyes.
"Oh hey Rae! I thought you were meditating so I decided to make myself some lunch but my tofu has gone bad." The boy sniffled dramatically and this made Raven snap.
"UGH! I am SO done with you! I can't believe I was scared for you for even a moment!" Raven threw her hands to her side, hands clenched into fists, giving off sparks of demonic energy in her anger.
"Wait- why were you scared? Oh!" Beast Boy stood up quickly, and shyly scratched the back of his head. "Sorry Rae, I didn't think I would have gotten your attention anyways." The changeling started towards the brooding sorceress, who was clearly in a very agitated mood.
"Whatever. I don't want to bother with you anymore for the rest of this week." Raven turned around and attempted to walk back out the kitchen.
"Wait, Raven—Raven!"
Beast Boy's voice suddenly turned from his usual higher pitch to a serious, almost angry tone. That stopped Raven in her tracks, and she turned around, slightly taken aback.
"What is wrong with you? I mean seriously, we're gonna be together for the entire week, the least you could do is TRY to talk to me! What is it about me that you hate so much anyways? I know I annoy you but that's who I am! If you don't like me just tell me up front. I would much rather you say it to my face than passively through your powers. At least treat me like a human being." Beast Boy took a deep breath from his rant, and looked up at Raven, expecting to see her bored expression and a quick, witty one worded response.
Raven couldn't hold back her tears and suddenly everything welled up in her eyes and spilled silently down her right cheek.
Beast Boy almost screamed again. Never had he seen Raven shed emotion, let alone cry. He had no idea what to do.
"R-Raven? H-Hey why are you crying? Raven?" Beast Boy started to panic. Does he hug her? Does he apologize? Was he too harsh?
"I don't hate you Beast Boy," Raven whispered in between cracks in her voice. "I don't know why I keep turning you away. All I ever want is to let you in. I always wanted to open up to you, to talk to you more and to get to know you more. But I'm so afraid of what you'll think of me. Everybody knows I'm usually quiet and estranged but...I never wanted to turn you away." She wiped her face with her right palm quickly, wanting to stop the tears.
"I like you Beast Boy. For such a long time. I just couldn't say it. You probably hate me now. I understand."
Beast Boy didn't hear anything after her first sentence. Did Raven…did she just confess her feelings for him? Raven? Likes him?
"Rae…"
Beast Boy took a step towards her. Raven didn't back up. She still had her head down, trying to wipe away the tears, and didn't pay attention to the changeling walking up towards her.
The two have known each other for almost their entire lives as Titans. Beast Boy had always taken a liking to Raven- like an instant attraction- but her brooding demeanor always kept him at bay from trying anything. He didn't want to scare her, or make her hate him. Throughout the years, Beast Boy kept noticing changes in her; the way she smiles under her hood whenever he joked, the way her hair smelled in the morning at the breakfast table- one of the only times her hood would be down- the way she reads her books with a constant scowl on her face as if she was deciphering an impossible math equation.
At this point, Beast Boy was within Raven's arm length. The young man threw his arms out and wrapped them around Raven, pulling her into a tight embrace.
He had fallen in love with the half demon long before he had even realized it.
He felt Raven's heartbeat flutter like a hummingbird beneath his chest, which made him pull her even closer to him. He felt her arms tense up and her breath quicken but Beast Boy continued to hold her gently. He nuzzled lightly into the side of her neck.
"I don't hate you."
Raven was locked in this moment. Time stopped for her. Everything she had thought about, all her thoughts, emotions, sense, fled her as she was trapped in Beast Boy's embrace. Her face was hotter than it had ever been, and her heart felt like it was going to give out. Beast Boy had grown almost two inches taller than her throughout the years, and he had been growing stronger too. The arms that were embracing her were built, toned, and comforting. She felt so nervous and extremely unworthy.
"B-Beast Boy…"
Suddenly without warning Beast Boy took a finger and pushed back Raven's hood, letting her hair fall loosely around her face. Raven couldn't look at him, but he gently lifted her chin up towards him. His emerald eyes were absolutely stunning- one of the reasons Raven found herself avoiding him was because she was scared she would stare into them forever. The changeling then leaned forward and oh so gently placed his lips onto hers- soft as a feather's touch.
Raven's world lit on fire. Her tears suddenly dried and nothing else mattered but the young man right in front of her at this moment, with his lips pressed onto hers. She quivered, the feeling so foreign, so wonderful, so frightening.
She pulled back, not knowing how to handle the kiss. Beast Boy also pulled back, a little faster, and immediately apologized.
"Raven! I-I'm so sorry I…don't know what got over me, I mean I couldn't help myself you know…I can't help it. You're gorgeous," he managed to sputter out, then gasped as he realized what he had just said.
Raven blushed.
"Kiss me again, Beast Boy."
The changeling's heart started pounding at his rib cage. This time, he took the sorceress by her face, cupping it and kissed her, fiercely, with all his emotions into it. He meant it. He meant every word of it. Raven was gorgeous- beautiful, intelligent, and absolutely mesmerizing to him. He couldn't stop looking at her, couldn't stop acting like a fool around her, couldn't stop being nervous every time she was near. She was the bane of his existence, and he needed her to know.
Beast Boy pulled back this time, and looked straight into Raven's eyes.
"Raven. I love you. I always had. For such a long time."
"L-love?"
Before Raven could question the changeling any further, Beast Boy picked her up by her waist and pinned her against the wall of the kitchen, hiking her legs around his body. His lips found hers again and this time he didn't hold back. He tasted every inch of mouth, and it was absolute heaven to him. So this is how Raven's lips feel. God I could kiss these forever. Raven was complying and returning his kisses as well.
The kitchen no longer was a kitchen to the two Titans as they sparked the long withheld tension between the two of them and nothing but passion was all they knew at that moment.
Beast Boy broke off the kiss slowly, then grinned at her, his tooth sticking out from his bottom lip.
"Yeah. Love."
Raven couldn't help herself, and giggled.
"You should do that more, Rae. It's so cute."
"Shut up," she said in an embarrassed tone.
"Nah," the changeling lifted her and carried her bridal style, surprising Raven.
"Gotta make me."
Before Raven could protest Beast Boy brought her to his room. Locking in a passionate kiss, the two entered his room, with Beast Boy closing it behind him.