Author's Notes: Just a BBRae Family One-Shot, featuring my OC Maria Logan, daughter of Beast Boy and Raven. If you read it, please review it! Thanks and enjoy!
The common room was empty save for the mother and daughter that sat comfortably on the long, black couch. Raven was lounging at the end of the couch, one elbow resting on the arm and the wrapped securely around the tiny body of her young daughter. Maria was snuggled up against her mother, her little legs stretched over her mother's lap and her cheek pressed against Raven's chest. The hand that was attached to the arm that rested on the couch held on to an opened children's book, while her other hand was held captive by the 4-year-old girl.
Maria was only half listening to her mother read her the tale of The Frog Prince. It was her favorite story, much like her father, but she had heard it enough times that it no longer needed her full attention. Instead, her mind, though young, was turning with more mature thoughts. Suddenly, her mother's fingers became far more interesting than the story, and she started gripping the slim fingers and examining them closely for what felt like the first time.
Her mother's hands were much larger than her own, but less pudgy. Raven had long, thin hands, whereas Maria's hand were short and chubby. Her mother's nails were also longer, and painted a navy blue. Maria's were shorter, unpainted, but much sharper. Like the claws on a kitten, they with short and pointed, and felt good to Raven as the little girl ran them gently over her skin. Maria wondered for a moment about these differences, but none stuck out quite like the color of her mother's skin. It was not green like Maria's, she knew that much. It looked almost white, but upon closer examination, it seemed too dark to be white. Not dark, but not quite white either.
"Mama, what color is that?" She asked, her voice high, but thoughtful as she pointed a finger to her mother's hand. Raven's amethyst eyes left the pages of the book to glance down at the spot her daughter pointed to. She blink for a moment as she thought about her daughter's question.
"I suppose you could call it gray." She offered with a shrug.
"Grrray?" Maria sounded out as she tried the word for the first time.
"Mhm" Raven hummed her approval.
"And mines hand is green, right Mama?"
Raven smirked at her daughter's improper grammar. It use to bother her at first, but she quickly learned her attempts to correct her and her brother were in vain. The two would learn soon enough, so she decided she'd let herself lose this battle, temporarily. For now, she's just enjoy the endearment of it.
"That's right my dear." She answered. "This is gray," she said as she laid the book down on the arm of the couch and used that hand to point at its twin, "and this is green."
Maria nodded her head, her pigtails flopping over her head. Then her brows knitted together in confusion.
"Why are you's gray and I's green?"
Raven somewhat expected this question, so she had a response ready to go. "Well my love, your skin is green, because your Daddy's skin is green."
Raven was sure that would add enough clarity to the subject for it to be dropped. She was always happy to teach her children, but sometimes their genuine curiosity put her in awkward positions and forced her to answer difficult questions.
"So was your Daddy's skin gray?"
And there was the difficult question. Raven grimaced at the painful memories of her evil, demonic father and recalled the blood red skin that he had inherited to her. Though she was thankful for being able to hide this second skin from her innocent daughter.
"No, but my mother's skin was kind of gray."
It was not a lie, her mother's skin was very pale, although she knew that her grayish complexion was a result of her demon blood, not human blood.
Maria titled her round head and her forehead puckered in confusion. "Kind of gray?"
"Her skin wasn't as pale as my own, but it was close." Her mother clarified.
"So why is my skin nots gray?" The young changeling questioned as she looked to her mother with large, emerald eyes.
It was a good thing Raven was quick on her feet. She did not want to go into her sinister sire with her child, so she had to come up with a watered down answer that she knew would satisfy the curious girl.
"Because some babies look like their mommy's and some look like their daddy's. You and your brother look like your daddy." There, that was a good answer, right?
"But Mama, what about Daddy? His Mama and Daddy aren't green."
Raven mentally cursed her child's brilliance. While she would normally praise her daughter for using such advanced critical thinking skills, she also willed her daughter to remain innocent to the horrors of reality.
"That's true." She sighed. "That's because your Daddy wasn't born with green skin like you and your brother. Daddy was born with white skin like Nana and Poppop."
"Den how'd he get green?"
Luckily, Raven was somewhat prepared for this question.
"Your Daddy was sick when he was little like you. His birth mommy and daddy gave him medicine that made him better, but turned his skin green and gave him his powers."
"Is dat how I's and Marky got powers? Were we sicky too?"
"No my love, you and Mark were very healthy little babies. You were born a little early, but we expected that since you and Mark were in my tummy together." She explained, the best she could, to the youngster.
Maria gave her head a vigorous nod. "Yeah, because your tummy wasn't big enough for two babies, right Mama?" She sounded excited to finally know an answer herself. Her mother and father had told her and her brother some stories from before and after their birth. She was well aware as to how she came into this world, albeit she thought she was.
"Not two big babies, no." Her mother teased as she tickled the little one's sides. Maria giggled and thrashed about as she tried desperately to free herself from her mother's crusade.
"I's was not a big baby!" She barked in between her laughter.
"Yes you were. The biggest baby!" Again, Raven tickled the little girl and the girl let out squeals of amusement. Raven's attack did not last long, much to Maria's relief, and Maria very quickly caught her breath.
"But Mama, if Marky and I's weren't sicky, why are we's green?" She asked as she looked back up toward her mother with a curious gaze. Raven took a moment to think it over.
"You're green, because the thing that makes Daddy green is also in you."
That seemed to make sense to her, but Raven could practically see the gears turning in her daughter's head."But why aren't we's the same green as Daddy?"
Raven had pondered this herself many times. She had two theories, but neither were very convincing to her. Gar had always been the smarter one when it came to genetics, but even he could only give a general idea as to why their children came out a pale green, rather than forest green or stone gray. But she knew there was no way out of this question, so she had to think up the most simplified explanation she could muster.
"Your skin is lighter, either because my genetics and your father's merged to make a lighter green or because you have less of whatever was in the medicine that made your father green."
Maria's expression was blank as she gave her mother a simple blink.
"Mama, I don't know what dat means."
Raven had to stifle a chuckle at her daughter's bluntness.
"I know baby. I'm sorry. Mama doesn't know much about that stuff either. You're Daddy would be the better one to ask. He's better at science stuff, than I am." She said bashfully.
"Yeah Mama, Daddy is better at science stuff."
At this, Raven's head snapped down to look at her daughter. The young girl was still playing with Raven's fingers, and would not meet her mother's gaze. Raven opened her mouth to retort this, although true, completely inappropriate response, but the kid-changeling continued.
"But you's better at explaining stuff."
Raven's mouth closed and she stared at her daughter with surprise.
"Oh, and why is that?" She asked tentatively, as if she were somehow fearful of the answer.
"Because Daddy talks funny."
Well that was certainly unexpected. Raven's first instinct was to be defensive of her husband, but her common sense quickly dismissed such a silly reaction. Her daughter was only stating something that she thought was obvious, and she had no ill intentions by it.
"Funny how?" Raven probed, this time genuinely curious.
"He uses "dude" too much."
Rather it was what her daughter said or how she had said it, or maybe even both, Raven could not say, but this honest statement was too much for the normally stoic sorecesses to handle. In an uncharacteristic fashion, Raven threw her head back in a fit of laughter. Her jovial reaction was contagious, and soon Maria joined her in a fit of chuckles.
"What's so funny?" The two had been so caught up in their moment, neither had noticed the two males that had entered the room until the much older and taller one had said something. Their laughter died down instantly, and Maria jumped out of her mother's lap, just to run with open arms to the man who had spoke.
"Daddy!" She cheered as he bent down and wrapped his long, strong arms around her small frame.
"Hey there Pup! Oh, I missed you so much!" He said as he placed a loving kiss on top of her head.
"Sissy!" Maria turned to her twin brother who was pulling at his father's arms in an attempt to reach his sister.
"Marky!" Maria wiggled out of her father's embrace and shared a hug with her brother. The siblings began sharing their stories of how their day had gone, their excited chatter fading into the background as the father stood up and made his way over to the woman who rose from her spot on the couch, the book she had now completely forgotten.
The man leaned down to press a welcoming kiss on the woman's awaiting lips.
"Welcome back, Gar." She greeted him as he pulled away from her.
"Good to be back." He replied with a fanged smile. "So what were you two laughing about?"
Raven smirked at him. "It seems your daughter thinks you use "dude" too much."
"What! My own daughter!" He placed his hands over his chest in mock offense. "Geez Rae, I leave you alone with her for one day, and she's already turned into a mini you!"
"Oh please Gar, we both know she is more like you in just about every possible way." Raven challenged as she allowed her gentle gaze to fall on her children still talking happily about their day.
"No way, they both may look like me, but Honey, they act exactly like you." Gar finished as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. Raven leaned into his partial embrace with a content sigh.
"So what did you two do today?" He asked her, tearing her away from her thoughts.
"Oh, just had a little talk about skin."